Marquess of Winchester

Marquessate of Winchester


Arms of Paulet, Marquess of Winchester: Sable, three swords pilewise points in base proper pomels and hilts or
Creation date 1551
Monarch Edward VI
Peerage Peerage of England
First holder William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester
Present holder Nigel Paulet, 18th Marquess of Winchester
Heir apparent Christopher Paulet, Earl of Wiltshire
Remainder to the 1st Earl's heirs male whatsoever
Subsidiary titles Earl of Wiltshire
Baron St John
William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester and Lord High Treasurer of England

Marquess of Winchester is a title in the Peerage of England that was created in 1551 for the prominent statesman William Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. The Marquessate of Winchester is the oldest English (and British) Marquessate still in existence, and as a result, the holder of the title is considered the Premier Marquess of England. The current holder is Nigel George Paulet, 18th Marquess of Winchester (b. 1941).

History

It was created in 1551 for the prominent statesman William Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. He had already been created Baron St John in 1539 and Earl of Wiltshire in 1550, also in the Peerage of England. The first Marquess was one of the most noted statesmen of his time, serving in high positions under Henry VIII and all his children, and served as Lord High Treasurer of England from 1550 to 1572. He was succeeded by his son, the second Marquess, who had been summoned to the House of Lords in his father's lifetime through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron St John. His son, the third Marquess, was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration as Lord St John in 1572. His grandson, the fifth Marquess, represented St Ives in the House of Commons. During the Civil War he was a strong supporter of King Charles I and became known as "the loyal Marquess". The family seat of Basing House was burnt to the ground by the Parliamentarians during the conflict. During this period, the courtesy title for the heirs apparent of the Marquesses was Baron St John; that of Earl of Wiltshire does not seem to have been used, perhaps because of an unsubstantiated tradition that that title was surrendered upon the creation of the Marquessate.[1]

He was succeeded by his son, the sixth Marquess. The sixth Marquess was a supporter of William III and Mary II and was rewarded for his support after the Glorious Revolution when he was created Duke of Bolton. He was succeeded by his son, the second Duke, who, as heir apparent to the Marquessate in 1675, was the first to adopt the courtesy title of Earl of Wiltshire.[2] The second Duke was a politician and notably served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household and as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. On his death the titles passed to his son, the third Duke, who was also a politician. He was a Whig Member of Parliament and served as Lord Lieutenant of several counties. In 1717 he was meant to be summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron St John (of Basing). However, he was mistakenly summoned as Lord Pawlett of Basing and this inadvertently created a new barony.

However, the barony of Pawlett of Basing became extinct as he had no legitimate offspring while he was succeeded in the other titles by his younger brother, the fourth Duke. He notably served as a Lord of the Admiralty and as Lord Lieutenant of both Hampshire and Glamorganshire. His eldest son, the fifth Duke, was a Member of Parliament and Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixth Duke. He was an Admiral of the White. The sixth Duke had no sons and on his death in 1794 the Dukedom became extinct. Most of the family estates passed to his niece Jean Mary Browne-Powlett, illegitimate daughter of the fifth Duke. She was the wife of Thomas Orde, who assumed the additional surname of Powlett and was created Baron Bolton in 1797.

The late Duke was succeeded in the Barony of St John, the Earldom of Wiltshire and the Marquessate of Winchester by his distant relative (his third cousin once removed) George Paulet, who became the twelfth Marquess. He was the great-grandson of Lord Henry Paulet, third son of the fourth Marquess. He had earlier represented Winchester in Parliament. His son, the thirteenth Marquess, was a Member of Parliament for Truro and served as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. In 1839 Lord Winchester assumed the additional surname of Burroughs. He was succeeded by his son, the fourteenth Marquess. He was also Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. His son, the fifteenth Marquess, was a Major in the Coldstream Guards and was killed in action at the Battle of Magersfontein in 1899 during the Second Boer War. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixteenth Marquess. He was Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire and Chairman of the Hampshire County Council. On his death in 1962 at the age of 99 the line of the fourteenth Marquess failed.

He was succeeded by his first cousin twice removed, the seventeenth Marquess. He was the great-grandson of the Reverend Lord Charles Paulet, second son of the thirteenth Marquess. On the seventeenth Marquess's death in 1968 this line of the family also failed and the title passed to the late Marquess's first cousin once removed, the eighteenth and (as of 2013) present holder of the titles. He is the grandson of Cecil Henry Paulet, uncle of the seventeenth Marquess. Lord Winchester lives in South Africa.

The surname of the later Dukes of Bolton is usually spelled "Powlett" rather than "Paulet".

The Marquessate of Winchester is the oldest English (and British) Marquessate still in existence, and as a result, the holder of the title is considered the Premier Marquess of England. The Marquess of Winchester, incidentally, is the only Marquess in the Peerage of England without a higher title; all other Marquesses in that Peerage are also Dukes. This makes the holder of the Marquessate paradoxically the Marquess with the highest precedence in theory yet the lowest in reality.

Earl of Wiltshire is used as the courtesy title of Lord Winchester's eldest son and heir. Lord Wiltshire's son and heir uses the courtesy title Lord St John. One of the main family seats was Basing House.

Marquesses of Winchester (1551)

Dukes of Bolton (1689)

Marquesses of Winchester (1551; Reverted)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Christopher John Hilton Paulet, Earl of Wiltshire (b. 1969).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son Michael John Paulet, Lord St John of Basing (b. 1999).

Family Tree

William Paulet
1st Marquess of
Winchester
died 1572
 
 
 
 
John Paulet
2nd Marquess of
Winchester
c. 1517–1576
 
 
 
 
William Paulet
3rd Marquess of
Winchester
c. 1535–1598
 
 
 
 
William Paulet
4th Marquess of
Winchester
c. 1560–1628
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
William Paulet
Earl of Wiltshire
c 1587/8 – 1621
 
John Paulet
5th Marquess of
Winchester
c. 1598–1674
 
 
 
 
Lord Henry Paulet
died 1672
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Charles Paulet
6th Marquess of
Winchester
later
1st Duke of
Bolton
died 1699
 
 
 
 
Francis Paulet
c. 1645-1695/6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Charles Paulet
2nd Duke of
Bolton
7th Marquess of
Winchester
1661–1722
 
 
 
 
Norton Paulet
c1679-1741
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Charles Powlett
3rd Duke of
Bolton
8th Marquess of
Winchester
1685–1754
 
Harry Powlett
4th Duke of
Bolton
9th Marquess of
Winchester
1691–1759
 
 
 
 
George Paulet
12th Marquess of
Winchester
1722–1800
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Charles Powlett
5th Duke of Bolton
10th Marquess of
Winchester
died 1765
 
Harry Powlett
6th Duke of
Bolton
11th Marquess of
Winchester
1720–1794
Dukedom of Bolton Extinct
 
 
Charles Ingoldsby
Paulet
13th Marquess of
Winchester
1765–1843
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
John Paulet
14th Marquess of
Winchester
1801–1887
 
 
 
Lord Charles Paulet
1802–1870
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Augustus John
Henry Beaumont
Paulet
15th Marquess of
Winchester
1858–1899
 
Henry William
Montague Paulet
16th Marquess of
Winchester
1862–1962
 
Charles William Paulet
1832–1897
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Charles Standish Paulet
1873–1953
 
Cecil Henry Paulet
1875–1916
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Richard Charles Paulet
17th Marquess of
Winchester
1905–1968
 
George Cecil Paulet
1905–1961
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nigel George Paulet
18th Marquess of
Winchester
born 1941
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Christopher John Hilton Paulet
Earl of Wiltshire
born 1969
Heir Apparent to the Marquessate
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Michael John Paulet
Lord St John of Basing
born 1999
Heir Apparent to the Earl of Wiltshire


See also

The Stables and Two Famous Running Horses belonging to His Grace, the Duke of Bolton, by James Seymour, 1747

Notes

  1. ↑ George Edward Cokayne. Complete Peerage. 5. pp. 172–175.
  2. ↑ Doyle, James William Edmund (1886). The Official Baronage of England, v. 1. London: Longmans, Green. p. 200.

References

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