Baron Heytesbury, of

Heytesbury Heytesbury is a village (formerly considered to be a town) and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the north bank of the Wylye, about southeast of the town of Warminster. The civil parish includes most of the small neig ...

in the County of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1828 for the prominent politician and diplomat Sir William à Court, 2nd Baronet, who later served as Ambassador to Russia and as

Viceroy of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingd ...

. His son, the second Baron, sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. On his marriage in 1837 to Elizabeth Holmes, daughter of Sir Leonard Worsley Holmes, Lord Heytesbury assumed the additional surname of Holmes. His son the 4th baron commanded a battalion in the

Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. The ...

and was for a time in command of

62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot The 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, which was raised in 1756 and saw service through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 99th (Lanarkshire) ...

. , the titles are held by his great-great-great-grandson, the seventh Baron, who succeeded his father in 2004. The baronetcy, of Heytesbury House in the County of Wiltshire, was created in the

Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

on 4 July 1795 for the first Baron's father, William à Court. He was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the army and represented

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. His father, William Ashe-à Court, was a

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

in the army and also sat as a Member of Parliament for Heytesbury. A junior line of the family has attained fortune and fame in Australia, thanks to the business empire of Robert Holmes à Court, who was of South African birth, and his Western Australian wife

Janet Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...

, now one of Australia's richest women. Their vast business interests are managed through

Heytesbury Pty Ltd Heytesbury Pty. Ltd. is the privately owned company of the Holmes à Court family in Western Australia. Originally called Heytesbury Holdings, the company was formed by Robert Holmes à Court in the 1970s as the holding company of his rapidly e ...

, a company named after the family peerage.

à Court baronets of Heytesbury (1795)

* Sir William Pierce Ashe à Court, 1st Baronet (c. 1747–1817) * Sir William à Court, 2nd Baronet (1779–1860) (created Baron Heytesbury in 1828)

Baron Heytesbury (1828)

William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury GCB PC (11 July 1779 – 31 May 1860), known as Sir William à Court, 2nd Baronet, from 1817 to 1828, was an English diplomat and Conservative politician. Background and education Heytesbury was the elde ...

(1779–1860) * William Henry Ashe à Court-Holmes, 2nd Baron Heytesbury (1809–1891) * William Frederick Holmes à Court, 3rd Baron Heytesbury (1862–1903) * Leonard Holmes à Court, 4th Baron Heytesbury (1863–1949) * William Leonard Frank Holmes à Court, 5th Baron Heytesbury (1906–1971) * Francis William Holmes à Court, 6th Baron Heytesbury (1931–2004) * James William Holmes à Court, 7th Baron Heytesbury (born 1967)

References

Books cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heytesbury Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 1795 establishments in Great Britain 1828 establishments in the United Kingdom Extinct baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1828 Noble titles created for UK MPs

à Court baronets of Heytesbury (1795)

Baron Heytesbury (1828)

See also

References

Books cited