Earldom of Rosse | |
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Creation date | 3 February 1806 |
Creation | Second |
Created by | George III |
Peerage | Peerage of Ireland |
First holder | Laurence Parsons, 1st Viscount Oxmantown |
Present holder | Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse |
Heir apparent | Lawrence Parsons, Lord Oxmantown |
Subsidiary titles | Baron Oxmantown |
Status | Extant |
Seat(s) | Birr Castle |
Motto | PRO DEO ET PATRIA AD ASTRA ("For god and country to the stars") |
Earldom of Rosse | |
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Image of arms unavailable | |
Creation date | 16 June 1718 |
Creation | First |
Created by | George I |
Peerage | Peerage of Ireland |
First holder | Laurence Parsons, 2nd Viscount Rosse |
Last holder | Richard Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse |
Subsidiary titles | Viscount Rosse Baron Oxmantown |
Status | Extinct |
Extinction date | 17 August 1764 |
Motto | PRO DEO ET REGE ("For God and the King") |
Earl of Rosse is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, both times for the Parsons family. "Rosse" refers to New Ross in County Wexford.
The Parsons were originally an English family from Dishworth (Diseworth) Grange in Leicestershire; there having been five brothers who settled in Ireland during the late 16th century. One of the brothers, William Parsons, was created a Baronet in the Baronetage of Ireland of Bellamont in the County of Dublin in 1620 by James VI & I. [1] The third Baronet was created Viscount Rosse in the Peerage of Ireland in 1681, and the second Viscount was created Earl of Rosse in the Peerage of Ireland in 1718; these titles of the first creation became extinct on the death of the second Earl in 1764.[ citation needed ]
Sir Lawrence Parsons, the younger brother of Sir William Parsons, 1st Baronet, settled in Birr, King's County, later known as Parsonstown, and was the ancestor of the younger (Birr) branch of the family. His grandson Laurence Parsons was created a Baronet, of Birr Castle in King's County, in the Baronetage of Ireland in 1677, but was attainted by King James II's Parliament in 1689 and sentenced to death. The sentence was never carried out, however. His great-grandson, the third Baronet, and great-great-grandson, the fourth Baronet, both represented King's County in the Irish House of Commons. The latter's half-brother Laurence Harman Parsons was in 1792 raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Oxmantown, with remainder to his nephew Sir Lawrence Parsons, 5th Baronet, [2] who had succeeded his father the fourth Baronet in 1791.[ citation needed ]
In 1795 he was made Viscount Oxmantown in the Peerage of Ireland, with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body, [3] and in 1806 he was even further honoured when he was created Earl of Rosse in the Peerage of Ireland, with similar remainder as for the barony. [4] Lord Rosse sat from 1800 to 1807 as one of the original Irish representative peer in the British House of Lords. On his death in 1807 the viscountcy became extinct while he was succeeded in the barony and earldom according to the special remainders by his aforementioned nephew, the 5th Baronet. The latter represented King's County in the British House of Commons and sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer between 1809 and 1841.[ citation needed ]
The 2nd Earl's son, the 3rd Earl, was a well-known astronomer and famous for his construction of the giant telescope the Leviathan of Parsonstown at his seat Birr Castle. [5] Lord Rosse also sat as Member of Parliament for King's County, was an Irish Representative Peer from 1845 to 1867 – years during which millions of the Irish population died from starvation or emigrated. He was one of the very few who foresaw the consequences of the potato blight and tried to alert the British authorities. He was Lord Lieutenant of King's County from 1831 to 1867 and President of the Royal Society from 1849 to 1854. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Earl. He was an Irish Representative Peer between 1868 and 1908 and Lord Lieutenant of King's County between 1892 and 1908. His son, the fifth Earl, was an Irish Representative Peer from 1911 to 1918 and Lord-Lieutenant of King's County from 1908 to 1918. Lord Rosse fought in the First World War and died from wounds received in action in 1918. As of 2014 [update] the titles are held by his grandson, the seventh Earl, who succeeded his father in 1979.[ citation needed ]
When the present Earl worked for the United Nations Development Programme, he did not use his title, preferring to be known by his family surname of Parsons.[ citation needed ]
The family seat is Birr Castle, near Birr, County Offaly.
The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Lawrence Patrick Parsons, Lord Oxmantown (born 1969).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son, the Hon. William Charles Yufan Parsons (born 2008).
Earls of Rosse Line of Succession |
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Earl Ferrers is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1711 for Robert Shirley, 14th Baron Ferrers of Chartley. The Shirley family descends from George Shirley of Astwell Castle, Northamptonshire. In 1611 he was created a Baronet, of Staunton Harold in the County of Leicester, in the Baronetage of England. He was succeeded by his son Henry, the second Baronet, who married Lady Dorothy Devereux, daughter of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. On the death of her brother Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, she became the youngest co-heir to the baronies of Ferrers of Chartley and the barony of Bourchier, which had fallen into abeyance on the death of the third Earl. Shirley was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Baronet. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fourth Baronet. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Oliver Cromwell and died there in 1656. On his death the title passed to his eldest son, the fifth Baronet. He died at an early age and was succeeded at birth by his posthumous son, the sixth Baronet.
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William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, was an Irish astronomer, naturalist, and engineer. He was president of the Royal Society (UK), the most important association of naturalists in the world in the nineteenth century. He built several giant telescopes. His 72-inch telescope, built in 1845 and colloquially known as the "Leviathan of Parsonstown", was the world's largest telescope, in terms of aperture size, until the early 20th century. From April 1807 until February 1841, he was styled as Baron Oxmantown.
William Parsons may refer to:
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William Clere Leonard Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse, is an Anglo-Irish peer. He is also 10th Baronet Parsons, of Birr Castle.
William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse was an Irish peer and British Army officer. He was known as Lord Oxmantown until 1908.
Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse, known as Sir Lawrence Parsons, Bt, from 1791 to 1807, was an Irish peer.
Richard Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse, Freemason and a founder-member of the Hell-Fire Club, 2nd Viscount Rosse of Bellamont co. Dublin, Baron Oxmantown, 3rd baronet.
There have been four baronetcies created for people with the surname Parsons, two in the Baronetage of Ireland, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. One creation is still extant as of 2008.
Lawrence Harman Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse, known as The Lord Oxmantown between 1792 and 1795 and as The Viscount Oxmantown between 1795 and 1806, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician.
Sir William Parsons, 1st Baronet of Bellamont, PC (Ire), was known as a "land-hunter" expropriating land from owners whose titles were deemed defective. He also served as Surveyor General of Ireland and was an undertaker in several plantations. He governed Ireland as joint Lord Justice of Ireland from February 1640 to April 1643 during the Irish rebellion of 1641 and the beginning of the Irish Confederate War.
Events from the year 1677 in Ireland.
Sir Lawrence Parsons was an English-born barrister, judge and politician in seventeenth-century Ireland, who enjoyed a highly successful career, despite frequent accusations of corruption and neglect of official duty. His success owed much to the patronage of his uncle Sir Geoffrey Fenton, of his cousin by marriage Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, and of the prime Royal favourite, the Duke of Buckingham. He was the ancestor of the Earl of Rosse of the second creation. He rebuilt Birr Castle, which is still the Parsons family home.