Earl of Shaftesbury
Earldom of Shaftesbury | |
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Heirs male of the body of the 1st earl | |
Subsidiary titles | Baron Ashley Baron Cooper |
Status | Extant |
Seat(s) | St Giles House |
Motto | LOVE, SERVE |
Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the
These titles are also in the
History
The first Earl was succeeded by his son,
In 2004,
Other family members
Other prominent members of the family include
Upon that marriage the Earls of Shaftesbury began close social links to the royal family. Lady Mountbatten was a leading member of London society. Edwina's mother was Amalia Mary Maud Cassel (1879–1911), daughter of the international magnate Sir Ernest Cassel, a friend and private financier to the future King Edward VII and one of the richest men in Europe.
When her grandfather died in 1921, Edwina inherited his vast fortune, which included £2 million, the 5,000-acre (20 km2) country seat of Broadlands, Romsey, Hampshire; Brook House in London; Moulton Paddocks estate in Newmarket, Suffolk; Classiebawn Castle, Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Ireland; and a seaside house at Branksome Dene in Bournemouth. They married on 18 July 1922 at St Margaret's, Westminster. The monarch's immediate family attended; the then-Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) was the best man. The relationship between the families continues, as descendants have often been royal godchildren.
It was at Broadlands that Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, spent their honeymoon night in 1947. In turn, Prince Charles and his first wife, Lady Diana Spencer, spent their honeymoon night there in 1981.[citation needed]
St Giles House
The family seat is
Early owners of the estate included the Malmayne family. Matilda Malmayne, heiress of the estate, married Edmund Plecy. The Plecy male line became extinct towards the end of the fourteenth century, and the estate was transferred to Edmund and Matilda's descendant Joan Plecy, as heiress. Lady Joan Plecy was soon married to Sir John Hamelyn (d. 1399), but with no male heirs, the estate went to Sir John's daughter Egidia, by his second wife, who married Robert Ashley. The estate has belonged to the Ashleys and Ashley-Coopers ever since.
Construction on St Giles House began in 1651, by Sir Anthony Ashley-Cooper, later to become 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. The manor house is built on top of the ruins of the previous estate home. This large house and surrounding grounds include 400 acres (1.6 km2), along with a seven-acre lake and a 1,000 yards (900 m) avenue of trees. The family also owns Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles.
As noted by Christopher Hussey in his article on St Giles' House,[2] "The whole, so little changed in two centuries, is a splendid example of the Kent manner changing into the rococo of the mid-century." However, following World War II, the contents of these rooms have been gradually dispersed in a number of sales. The record of these and a number of published articles indicate that the design of the furniture shows a highly accomplished progression from the architectural Palladian style to the full fanciful rococo style. The accomplished design, together with the high level of craftsmanship, clearly indicate a metropolitan origin for the majority of these pieces, but unfortunately the surviving Shaftesbury Account Books contain few references to London cabinet-makers other than William Hallett, his name appearing a number of times between 1745 and 1757 with references to 'carved chairs,' 'the Blew Bed,' and 'Mahogany Cisterns.' The payments to other cabinet-makers mentioned in accounts are small in nature and probably indicate their local origins.[3]
The Shaftesburys are known to have had connections with London cabinet makers. The 4th Earl's wife, Lady Susannah Noel, daughter of
South Carolina
The
Cooper baronets, of Rockbourne (1622)
- Sir John Cooper, 1st Baronet (died 1631)
- Sir Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 2nd Baronet(1621–1683) (created Baron Ashley in 1661)
Barons Ashley (1661)
- Sir Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley(1621–1683) (created Earl of Shaftesbury in 1672)
Earls of Shaftesbury (1672)
- Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (1621–1683)
- Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 2nd Earl of Shaftesbury (1652–1699), only adult son of the 1st Earl
- Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713), eldest son of the 2nd Earl
- Anthony Ashley Cooper, 4th Earl of Shaftesbury (1711–1771), only child of the 3rd Earl
- Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 5th Earl of Shaftesbury (1761–1811), elder son of the 4th Earl
- Cropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of Shaftesbury (1768–1851), younger son of the 4th Earl
- Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (1801–1885), eldest son of the 6th Earl
- Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury (1831–1886), eldest son of the 7th Earl
- Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury (1869–1961), only son of the 8th Earl
- Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley (1900–1947), elder son of the 9th Earl
- Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury (1938–2004), only son of Lord Ashley
- Anthony Nils Christian Ashley-Cooper, 11th Earl of Shaftesbury (1977–2005), elder son of the 10th Earl
- Nicholas Edmond Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl of Shaftesbury (born 1979), younger son of the 10th Earl
The heir apparent and the only person in line of succession to the titles is the present holder's only son, Anthony Francis Wolfgang Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley (born 2011).[5]
Male-line family tree
Male-line family tree, Cooper baronets (of Rockbourne), Barons Ashley, Barons Cooper and Earls of Shaftesbury. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- ^ a b Doyle, James William Edmund. The Official Baronage of England: Pembroke-Zetland, London: Longman, Green, & Company, 1886, Vol. II, p. 300.
- ^ Hussey, Christopher. Country Life, "St. Giles's House, Dorset," September 10, 17, 24, 1943)
- ^ Sotheby's Lot No. 93[permanent dead link]
- ^ Historic Charleston Foundation Archived 6 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Announcements". The Times. London, UK. 27 January 2011. Full text: "ASHLEY-COOPER, On 24th January 2011 to the Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury (née Streifeneder) a beautiful son, Anthony Francis Wolfgang."
External links
- Shaftesbury Estates – official website
- The Grand Shaftesbury Run