The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself replaced by the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801.
The ranks of the Peerage of Great Britain are Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. Until the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, all peers of Great Britain could sit in the House of Lords.
Some peerages of Great Britain were created for peers in the Peerage of Scotland and Peerage of Ireland as they did not have an automatic seat in the House of Lords until the Peerage Act 1963 which gave Scottish Peers an automatic right to sit in the Lords.
In the following table of peers of Great Britain, holders of higher or equal titles in the other peerages are listed. Those peers who are known by a higher title in one of the other peerages are listed in italics.
The ranks of the peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.[1]
Marquesses, earls, viscounts and barons are all addressed as 'Lord X', where 'X' represents either their territory or surname pertaining to their title. Marchionesses, countesses, viscountesses and baronesses are all addressed as 'Lady X'. Dukes and duchesses are addressed just as 'Duke' or 'Duchess' or, in a non-social context, 'Your Grace'.
The last non-royal dukedom of Great Britain was created in 1766, and the last marquessate of Great Britain was created in 1796. Creation of the remaining ranks ceased when the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed; subsequent creations of peers were in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
The last 8 (6 non-royal and two royal) people who were created hereditary peers (from 1798 to 1800) were:
Grantee | Date of creation | Title(s) | Noted for |
---|---|---|---|
Sir Horatio Nelson | 6 October 1798 (extinct) | Baron Nelson | Military peerage–Navy |
Prince Edward | 23 April 1799 (extinct) | Duke of Kent and Strathearn Earl of Dublin |
Fourth son of King George III |
Prince Ernest Augustus | 23 April 1799 (suspended) | Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale Earl of Armagh |
Fifth son of King George III |
Sir John Scott | 18 July 1799 | Baron Eldon | He was the incumbent Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. |
John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare | 31 August 1799 (extinct) | Baron FitzGibbon | He was the incumbent Lord High Chancellor of Ireland. Also he had an imperial peerage in the House of Lords as Irish Peers were not allowed to sit in the Lords. |
Alexander Hood, 1st Baron Bridport | 16 June 1800 | Viscount Bridport | Military peerage–Navy |
Charles Cadogan, 3rd Baron Cadogan | 27 December 1800 | Earl Cadogan Viscount Chelsea |
|
James Harris, 1st Baron Malmesbury | 29 December 1800 | Earl of Malmesbury Viscount FitzHarris |
Shield | Title | Creation | Grantee | Reason | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
10 September 1711 | James Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton[note 1] | His descendants sat in the House of Lords until 1963.[note 2] | Queen Anne | |
|
28 April 1719 | Charles Montagu, Earl of Manchester | King George I | ||
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22 October 1766 | Hugh Percy, Earl of Northumberland | Former Viceroy of Ireland. | King George III | |
|
24 April 1799 | Prince Ernest Augustus | Currently suspended |
Shield | Title | Creation | Grantee | Reason | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
6 December 1784 | William Petty, Earl of Shelburne | Former Prime Minister. | King George III | |
|
Marquess of Stafford | 1 March 1786 | Duke of Sutherland in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. | ||
|
31 October 1787 | George Townshend, Viscount Townshend | Military peerage–Army. | ||
|
Marquess of Salisbury | 18 August 1789 | James Cecil, Earl of Salisbury | Incumbent Lord Chamberlain of the Household. | |
|
Marquess of Bath | 24 August 1789 | Thomas Thynne, Viscount Weymouth | Incumbent Groom of the Stool. | |
|
Marquess of Abercorn | 15 October 1790 | Duke of Abercorn in the Peerage of Ireland. | ||
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5 July 1793 | Francis Seymour-Conway, Earl of Hertford | Former Lord Chamberlain of the Household. | ||
|
21 March 1796 | John Stuart, Earl of Bute |
Shield | Title | Creation | Grantee | Reason | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7 July 1712 | The Rt Hon. Henry St John, MP | Incumbent cabinet minister.[note 2] | Queen Anne | |
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2 July 1716 | Held by the Viscount Bolingbroke in the Peerage of Great Britain since 1751.[note 2] | King George I | ||
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2 July 1717 | Held by the Earl of Harrington in the Peerage of Great Britain since 1967.[note 2] | |||
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23 May 1718 | Richard Temple, Baron Cobham | Military peerage–Army.[note 2] | ||
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9 June 1720 | Hugh Boscawen, Esq, MP | Former Member of Parliament for the Whig Party. | ||
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11 June 1720 | Earl of Portsmouth in the Peerage of Great Britain. | |||
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21 September 1721 | The Rt Hon. Sir George Byng, Bt., MP | Military peerage–Navy. | ||
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Viscount Leinster | 21 February 1747 | Duke of Leinster in the Peerage of Ireland. | King George II | |
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29 June 1747 | Earl of Radnor in the Peerage of Great Britain. | |||
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3 April 1761 | Earl Spencer in the Peerage of Great Britain. | King George III | ||
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Viscount Mount Edgcumbe and Valletort | 5 March 1781 | Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in the Peerage of Great Britain. | ||
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Viscount Hamilton | 8 August 1786 | Duke of Abercorn in the Peerage of Ireland. | ||
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Viscount Hood | 1 June 1796 | Samuel Hood, Baron Hood, MP | Military peerage–Navy. | |
|
26 October 1796 | Earl of Lonsdale in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[note 2] |
Shield | Title | Creation | Extinct | Grantee | Reason | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Baron King | 29 May 1725 | 31 January 2018 | Sir Peter King | Incumbent Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. | King George I |
|
Baron Lovel and Holland | 7 May 1762 | 6 November 2011 | John Perceval, Earl of Egmont, MP | His descendants sat in the House of Lords until 1999. | King George III |
Title | Monarch |
---|---|
Barons | |
Baron Brownlow | King George III |
Baron Hawke | King George III |
Currently none