Marquess of Salisbury

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the title in the Peerage of Great Britain. For the British prime minister, see Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury.

Marquessate of Salisbury
heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titlesEarl of Salisbury
Viscount Cranborne
Baron Cecil
StatusExtant
Seat(s)Hatfield House
Cranborne Manor
MottoSERO SED SERIO
(Late but seriously)

Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury.[1] Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly the 3rd Marquess, who served three times as Prime Minister in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Background

This branch of the Cecil family descends from

Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Lord Privy Seal and Lord High Treasurer. In 1603 he was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Cecil, of Essendon in the County of Rutland
, and the following year he was created Viscount Cranborne. In 1605 he was further created Earl of Salisbury. The last two titles were also in the Peerage of England.

The Earl of Salisbury was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He represented

high treason
. However, the charges were not brought any further and he was succeeded by his son, the fifth Earl, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire.

History

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

The seventh Earl was a politician and served as

Lord Chamberlain of the Household for many years. In 1789, he was created Marquess of Salisbury in the Peerage of Great Britain
.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second marquess. He was a Conservative politician and held office as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council. Lord Salisbury married as his first wife Frances Mary Gascoyne, daughter of Bamber Gascoyne, in 1821. The same year he assumed by royal licence the additional surname of Gascoyne.

He was succeeded by his third but eldest surviving son, the third marquess. The third marquess was Prime Minister three times, from 1885 to 1886, 1886 to 1892 and 1895 to 1902 and also served four times as

foreign secretary. His time as Prime Minister coincided with a great expansion of the British Empire. Lord Salisbury is also remembered as an adherent of the policy of "splendid isolation", the desire to keep Great Britain out of European affairs and alliances. He was also "the last Prime Minister to lead a government from the Lords".[2][3] Salisbury was offered a dukedom by Queen Victoria in 1886 and 1892, but declined both offers, citing the prohibitive cost of the lifestyle dukes were expected to maintain.[4]

He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fourth marquess. The fourth marquess was also an influential Conservative politician and served as Lord Privy Seal, as President of the Board of Trade, as Lord President of the Council, as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and as Leader of the House of Lords. Like his father he was regarded as a staunch Conservative and bitterly opposed the Parliament Act 1911, which sought to curtail the powers of the House of Lords.

His eldest son, the fifth marquess, was also a Conservative politician. In 1941 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a

Secretary of State for the Dominions, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords. He was an opponent of attempts to reform the House of Lords but was forced to see the Parliament Act 1949 even further limit the power of the House of Lords. However, Lord Salisbury was also behind the Salisbury Convention
of 1945, which states that the House of Lords shall not oppose the second reading of any government legislation promised in its election manifesto.

The fifth Marquess was succeeded by his eldest son, the sixth marquess. Although he briefly represented Bournemouth West in Parliament he did not take such an active role in national politics as his predecessors.

As of 2012, the titles are held by the sixth marquess's eldest son, the seventh Marquess, who succeeded in 2003. The seventh marquess is also a Conservative politician. After representing

life peerage as Baron Gascoyne-Cecil, of Essendon in the County of Rutland, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom,[6]
so that he could remain a member of the House of Lords.

Several other members of the Cecil family have gained distinction.

Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
.

The Salisbury Chapel in St Etheldreda Church, Hatfield, traditional burial place of the marquesses

The family seats are Hatfield House and Cranborne Manor. The traditional burial place of the marquesses is the Salisbury Chapel in St Etheldreda Church, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The 6th Marquess had holdings of 8,500 acres around Hatfield House, and 1,300 acres at Cranborne Manor, Dorset. At the time of his obituary he owned property around Leicester and Leicester Square, London, held by Gascoyne Holdings.[7]

All the marquesses, except the 6th marquess, have been appointed as Knights Companion of the Order of the Garter.

Earls of Salisbury (1605)

Marquesses of Salisbury (1789)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Robert Edward William Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (b. 1970).

Family tree

The Cecils are descended from

Member of Parliament. He was born into a Welsh family, the third son of Richard Cecil ap Philip Seisyllt of Alt-yr-Ynys on the border of Herefordshire and Monmouthshire but settled near Stamford, Lincolnshire.[8]
The spelling of the family name as Seisyllt is still similar to how the name is pronounced, Sissill.

Cecil of Salisbury Genealogy
Cecil of Salisbury Genealogy

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "No. 13123". The London Gazette. 18 August 1789. p. 550.
  2. ^ "Prime Ministers in the House of Lords - History of government". history.blog.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  3. ^ The 14th Earl of Home was the last prime minister to be a peer, but he disclaimed his peerage immediately after his appointment because he felt that it was impractical to serve as prime minister from the House of Lords
  4. ^ Andrew Roberts, Salisbury: Victorian Titan (2000), p. 374-75
  5. ^ "No. 52911". The London Gazette. 5 May 1992. p. 7756.
  6. ^ "No. 55676". The London Gazette. 23 November 1999. p. 12466.
  7. TheGuardian.com
    . 15 July 2003.
  8. ISBN 978-0-9711-9662-9
    .

References

Further reading

  • Cecil, David. The Cecils of Hatfield House: An English Ruling Family. Houghton Mifflin, 1973.

External links

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