Baron FitzWalter

Title in the Peerage of England

Baron FitzWalter

Or, a fess between two chevrons gules
Creation date(1295-06-24)24 June 1295
Created byEdward I
PeeragePeerage of England
First holderRobert FitzWalter
Present holderJulian Plumptre, 22nd Baron FitzWalter
Heir apparentHon. Edward Brook Plumptre
Seat(s)Goodnestone Park
MottoJe Garderai ("I will guard")[1]

Baron FitzWalter is an ancient title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 24 June 1295 for Robert FitzWalter. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines.

History

Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
and 12th Baron FitzWalter
Goodnestone House, Kent

One of the oldest titles in the English Peerage, the barony of FitzWalter has a long history. The fourth baron was an Admiral of the Fleet. The fourth baron's grandson, the sixth baron, died from dysentery at the siege of Harfleur. He was succeeded by his brother, the seventh baron, who was the last known male line descendant of Rollo of Normandy, and was succeeded by his daughter and only child, Elizabeth. She was the wife of John Radcliffe. Their son, the ninth baron, was attainted for treason in 1495 with his title forfeited. However, his son Robert Radcliffe obtained a reversal of the attainder by Act of Parliament in 1509 and later served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire. He was created by Viscount FitzWalter in 1525 and Earl of Sussex in 1529. His grandson, the third earl, was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in 1553 in his father's junior title of Baron FitzWalter. Lord Sussex later served as Lord Deputy of Ireland. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the fourth earl. He had earlier represented Maldon, Hampshire and Portsmouth in the House of Commons and also served as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. When he died the titles passed to his only child, the fifth earl. He was Lord Lieutenant of Essex.

On his death in 1629, the barony of FitzWalter separated from the viscountcy and earldom. The latter titles were inherited by the late earl's cousin and heir male, the sixth earl, who notably sat as a Member of Parliament for Petersfield, Bedford and Portsmouth. When he died in 1643 the viscountcy and earldom became extinct. The claim to the barony of FitzWalter was passed on to the fifth earl's cousin and heir-general Henry Mildmay, de jure fifteenth baron. He was the son of Lady Frances, the only daughter of the second earl of Sussex by his second wife, Anne Calthorpe. He claimed the barony in 1641 and 1645 but was unsuccessful both times and was never summoned to the House of Lords. His grandson Henry Mildmay, de jure sixteenth baron, successfully[citation needed] claimed the title in 1660. However, his younger brother Benjamin Mildmay successfully petitioned for the peerage in 1667 and was summoned to the House of Lords as the seventeenth baron. In 1730 his younger son, the nineteenth baron, was created Viscount Harwich, in the County of Essex, and Earl FitzWalter, in the Peerage of Great Britain. Lord FitzWalter later served as President of the Board of Trade and was also Lord Lieutenant of Essex.

However, on his death in 1756, the viscountcy and earldom became extinct while the barony of FitzWalter fell into abeyance between the daughters of Mary, only sister of the sixteenth and seventeenth barons. The peerage remained in abeyance for 168 years, until it was called out of abeyance in 1924 (after a petition to the House of Lords) in favour of Henry Fitzwalter Plumptre, who became the twentieth baron.[2] He was the son of John Bridges Plumptre and grandson of Eleanor, wife of Reverend Henry Western Plumptre and daughter of Sir Brook William Bridges, 4th Baronet, of Goodneston, a descendant of the aforementioned Mary, sister of the sixteenth and seventeenth barons. Sir Brook William Bridge's eldest son Sir Brook William Bridges, 5th Baronet, of Goodneston, had unsuccessfully claimed the barony in 1842, but was instead created Baron FitzWalter, of Woodham Walter in the County of Essex, in 1868 (for more information on this creation, which became extinct in 1875, see Bridges baronets of Goodneston).

The twentieth baron died childless in 1932 when the peerage once again fell into abeyance. The abeyance was terminated in 1953 in favour of Fitzwalter Brook Plumptre, the twenty-first Baron. He was the son of George Beresford Plumptre, the younger brother of the twentieth baron. As of 2017[update], the title is held by his son, the twenty-second Baron, who succeeded in 2004.

The family seat is Goodnestone Park. The house was built in 1704 by Sir Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet, of Goodneston. The house came into the Plumptre family through the marriage of the aforesaid Eleanor Bridges, daughter of Sir Brook William Bridges, 4th Baronet, of Goodneston, to Reverend Henry Western Plumptre, whose son John Bridges Plumptre inherited it upon the death of the last Bridges baronet of Goodneston in 1899.

The FitzWalters were of the same line as the de Clare. Presuming they were from an unbroken male line, the seventh baron was the last agnate of the House of Normandy. Through de Balliol they also have a connection to the old Saxon line in England.

Baron FitzWalter (1295)

Viscount FitzWalter (1525)

Arms of Radcliffe: Argent, a bend engrailed sable

Earl of Sussex (1529)

Baron FitzWalter (1295; reverted)

Headstone to Fitzwalter Brook Plumptre in the cemetery of the Church of the Holy Cross, Goodnestone, Kent
  • Henry Mildmay, de jure 15th Baron FitzWalter (c. 1585–1654)
  • Henry Mildmay, de jure 16th Baron FitzWalter (d. 1662)
  • Benjamin Mildmay, 17th Baron FitzWalter (c. 1646–1679) (confirmed 1667)
  • Charles Mildmay, 18th Baron FitzWalter (1670–1728)
  • Benjamin Mildmay, 19th Baron FitzWalter (1672–1756) (created Earl FitzWalter in 1730)

Earl FitzWalter (1730)

Barons FitzWalter (1295; reverted)

  • Henry Fitzwalter Plumptre, 20th Baron FitzWalter (1860–1932) (abeyance terminated 1924; abeyant 1932)
  • Fitzwalter Brook Plumptre, 21st Baron FitzWalter (1914–2004) (abeyance terminated 1953)
  • Julian Brook Plumptre, 22nd Baron FitzWalter (b. 1952)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Hon. Edward Brook Plumptre (b. 1989).

Barons FitzWalter (1868)

Family tree

  • v
  • t
  • e
Baron FitzWalter, Viscount FitzWalter, Earl FitzWalter, Viscount Harwich and Earl of Sussex (2nd creation)

Baron FitzWalter, 1295
Robert FitzWalter
(1247–1326)
1st Baron FitzWalter 1295–1326
Robert FitzWalter
(before 1300–1328)
2nd Baron FitzWalter
John FitzWalter
(before 1315–1361)
3rd Baron FitzWalter
Walter FitzWalter
(1345–1386)
4th Baron FitzWalter
Walter FitzWalter
(1368–1406)
5th Baron FitzWalter
Humphrey FitzWalter
(1398–1415)
6th Baron FitzWalter		Walter FitzWalter
(1400–1431)
7th Baron FitzWalter
Elizabeth FitzWalter
(1430–1485)
8th Baroness FitzWalter		John Radcliffe
(d. 28 March 1461)
John Radcliffe
(1451–1496)
9th Baron FitzWalter

Viscount FitzWalter, 1525
Earl of Sussex (2nd creation), 1529
Robert Radcliffe
(1483–1542)
1st Earl of Sussex and Viscount FitzWalter, 10th Baron FitzWalter 1525–1542
Henry Radcliffe
(1507–1557)
2nd Earl of Sussex and Viscount FitzWalter, 11th Baron FitzWalter 1542–1557		Humphrey Radcliffe
(d. 1566)
Thomas Radcliffe
(c. 1525–1583)
3rd Earl of Sussex and Viscount FitzWalter, 12th Baron FitzWalter 1557–1583		Henry Radcliffe
(c. 1530–1593)
4th Earl of Sussex and Viscount FitzWalter, 13th Baron FitzWalter 1583–1593		Frances Radcliffe
(d. 1602)		Thomas Mildmay
(d. 1608)		Edward Radcliffe
(1559–1643)
6th Earl of Sussex and Viscount FitzWalter 1629–1643
Earldom of Sussex and Viscountcy of FitzWalter extinct, 1643
Robert Radcliffe
(1573–1629)
5th Earl of Sussex and Viscount FitzWalter, 14th Baron FitzWalter 1593–1629		Henry Mildmay
(c. 1585–1654)
de jure 15th Baron FitzWalter
Barony of FitzWalter dormant, 1629
Robert Mildmay
(d. 1646)
Henry Mildmay
(d. 1662)
de jure 16th Baron FitzWalter		Benjamin Mildmay
(c. 1646–1679)
17th Baron FitzWalter de jure 1662–1667, confirmed 1667–1679		Mary Mildmay
(1637–1715)		Henry Mildmay
(d. 13 December 1692)

Earl FitzWalter and Viscount Harwich, 1730		Bridges Baronets of Goodnestone, County Kent, 1718
Charles Mildmay
(1670–d. 1727/1728)
18th Baron FitzWalter		Benjamin Mildmay
(1672–1756)
1st Earl FitzWalter and Viscount Harwich, 19th Baron FitzWalter 1730–1756		Frederica Schomberg
(1687–1751)
formerly Countess of Holderness		Frances Mildmay
(1666–1705)		Christopher FowlerBrook Bridges
(1679–1728)
1st Baronet 1718–1728
Earldom of FitzWalter, Viscountcy of Harwich extinct and FitzWalter Barony (1295 creation) extinct, 1756
Edmund Fowler
(c. 1701–1751)		Brook Bridges
(1709–1733)
2nd Baronet 1728–1733
Fanny Fowler
(1746–1825)		Brook William Bridges
(1733–1791)
3rd Baronet
Brook William Bridges
(1767–1829)
4th Baronet		Reverend Brook Henry
(1769–1855)		Reverend Brook Edward Bridges

Baron FitzWalter of Woodham Walter, County Kent, 1868
Brook William Bridges
(1801–1875)
5th Baronet, 1st Baron FitzWalter 1868–1875		Brook George Bridges
(1802–1890)
6th Baronet 1875–1890		Eleanor Bridges
(1805–1892)		Reverend Henry Western Plumptre
(d. 1863)		Thomas Pym Bridges
(1805–1895)
7th Baronet 1890–1895		George Talbot Bridges
(1818–1899)
8th Baronet 1895–1899
FitzWalter Barony of Woodham Walter, County Kent extinct, 1875Bridges Baronetcy extinct, 1899
Major John Bridges Plumptre
(1832–1888)		Elizabeth Wright
(1835–1909)
Baron FitzWalter (1295 creation) abeyance terminated, 1924
Henry FitzWalter Plumptre
(1860–1932)
20th Baron FitzWalter 1924–1932		George Beresford Plumptre
(1869–1934)
Baron FitzWalter (1295 creation) abeyant, 1932
Baron FitzWalter (1295 creation) abeyance terminated, 1953
FitzWalter Brook Plumptre
(1914–2004)
21st Baron FitzWalter 1953–2004
Julian Brook Plumptre
(b. 1952)
22nd Baron FitzWalter 2004–present
Edward Brook Plumptre
(b. 1989)

Notes

  1. ^ Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage
  2. ^ "No. 32980". The London Gazette. 7 October 1924. p. 7251.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Christopher Starr, ‘Fitzwalter family (per. c.1200–c.1500)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 20 Aug 2017
  4. ^ a b "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Radcliffe, John (1452?-1496) - Wikisource, the free online library".

References

  • Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David, eds. (1990). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. New York: St Martin's Press.
  • Baron Fitzwalter[usurped]
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

  • Goodnestone Park
  • The Peerage
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^This barony was created by Simon de Montfort, who, in the King's name, issued writs of summons to a parliament to attempt to stabilise his position during the Second Barons' War. This barony was given its precedence by the House of Lords in 1806.