Baron Acton, of

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, north-east of Watford and southwest of Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of Hertsmere's 14 conservation areas. The village has eight pre-19th-century listed buil ...

in the County of Shropshire, is a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great ...

. It was created on 11 December 1869 for Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Baronet, a prominent historian and Liberal

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 ...

. His son, the second Baron, was a diplomat and also held minor office in the Liberal administrations of

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 19 ...

and

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

. In 1919, he assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Lyon, which was that of his father-in-law. His son, the third Baron, sold the family home in 1947 and settled in Rhodesia. The fourth Baron, who succeeded his father in 1989, lost his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

. However, on 17 April 2000, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Acton of Bridgnorth, of Aldenham in the County of Shropshire. Consequently, Lord Acton was able to return to the House of Lords, where he sat on the Labour benches. As of 2014, the titles are held by his son, the fifth Baron, who succeeded in 2010. The Acton Baronetcy, of Aldenham in the County of Shropshire, was created in the

Baronetage of England 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 ...

on 17 January 1644 for Edward Acton. He represented

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...

in both the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Af ...

and the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septe ...

, and he was a supporter of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. His son, the second Baronet, grandson, the third Baronet, and great-grandson, the fourth Baronet, all sat as Members of Parliament for Bridgnorth. On the death of the latter's son, the fifth Baronet, the line of the eldest son of the second Baronet failed. The title was inherited by the fifth Baronet's second cousin once removed, the sixth Baronet. He was the son of Edward Acton, who had settled in Besançon in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as a physician; Edward (of Besançon) was the son of another Edward, son of Walter, second son of Sir Walter Acton (the second Baronet). The sixth Baronet served as Prime Minister of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

and married his niece, Mary Anne Acton. He was created ''Duke of

Modica Modica (; scn, Muòrica) is a city and '' comune'' of 54,456 inhabitants in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The city is situated in the Hyblaean Mountains. Modica has neolithic origins and it represents the historical capit ...

'' by King Ferdinand III of Sicily but later renounced the title. Their second son, Charles Januarius Edward Acton, known as Cardinal Acton, was a prominent clergyman in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. Upon the sixth Baronet's death in 1811, he was succeeded by his eldest son, the seventh Baronet. In 1832, he married Marie Louise Pelline von Dalberg, only child and heiress of

Emmerich Joseph von Dalberg Emmerich Joseph Wolfgang Heribert de Dalberg, 1st Duke of Dalberg (31 May 1773 – 27 April 1833) was a German diplomat who was elevated to the French nobility in the Napoleonic era and who held senior government positions during the Bourbon ...

, Duke of Dalberg, a member of an ancient German aristocratic family. The Actons became heirs to the Marquess of Groppoli in Tuscany through the Duke's wife Pellina Brignole-Sale. In 1833, the seventh Baronet assumed by Royal Licence the surname of Dalberg-Acton. He was succeeded by his son, the eighth Baronet, who in 1869 was elevated to the peerage as Baron Acton. In 1919, the second Baron assumed by Royal Licence the surname of Lyon-Dalberg-Acton. In 2010, upon the death of the fourth Baron, the Acton titles of baronet and baron passed to John Lyon-Dalberg-Acton. As of 31 December 2013, he has not formally proven his succession to the baronetcy and is therefore not on the Official Roll of the Baronetage, with the baronetcy formally considered dormant. The family seat was Aldenham Park near

, Shropshire, which was sold in 1959.

Coat of arms

The heraldic

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...

for the coat of arms of the Lyon-Dalberg-Acton family is: Quarterly: 1st and 4th: ''Gules, semée of cross crosslets fitchée or two lions passant guardant in pale argent'' (for Acton); 2nd, quarterly: 1st and 4th: ''Azure, six fleurs-de-lis three two and one argent a chief dancetty of the last''; 2nd and 3rd: ''Or, a cross patonce gules over all an escutcheon gules thereon a tower argent a chief dancetty of the last'' (for Dalberg); 3rd: ''Azure, a lion passant or between three plates each charged with a griffin's head erased sable'' (for Lyon). File:Arms of Acton.svg, Acton File:COA fam uk Acton-Dalberg.svg, Acton quartering Dalberg File:Arms of Baron Acton.svg, Quarterly of 4: 1&4: Acton; 2: Dalberg; 3: Lyon

Acton baronets, of Aldenham (1644)

Sir Edward Acton, 1st Baronet Sir Edward Acton, 1st Baronet (baptised 20 July 1600 – buried 29 June 1659) was an English MP for Bridgnorth and High Sheriff of Shropshire, who supported Royalist cause during the English Civil War. Biography He was born the son of Sir Walt ...

(1600–1659) * Sir Walter Acton, 2nd Baronet (1623–1665) * Sir Edward Acton, 3rd Baronet (c. 1650–1716) * Sir Whitmore Acton, 4th Baronet (1678–1732) *

Sir Richard Acton, 5th Baronet Sir Richard Acton, 5th Baronet (1 January 1712 – 20 November 1791) was an English baronet. Life The son of Sir Whitmore Acton, 4th Baronet, he succeeded to the baronetcy and Aldenham Park on the death of his father. He held the office of Hig ...

(1712–1791) * Sir John Francis Edward Acton, 6th Baronet (1736–1811) * Sir Ferdinand Richard Edward Dalberg-Acton, 7th Baronet (1801–1837) * Sir John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 8th Baronet (1834–1902) (created Baron Acton in 1869)

Barons Acton (1869)

* John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) * Richard Maximilian Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron Acton (1870–1924) * John Emerich Henry Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron Acton (1907–1989) * Richard Gerald Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 4th Baron Acton (1941–2010) * John Charles Ferdinand Harold Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 5th Baron Acton (b. 1966) The

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

is the present holder's uncle, Robert Peter Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 1946).
The heir presumptive's

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is his son, Christopher Richard Henri Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 1977). He is a partner at Macfarlanes.
The heir presumptive's heir apparent's heir apparent is his son, John Edward Roger Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 2010).

Princes of Leporano (1624)

* Alfredo Acton, 1st Barone Acton (1867-1934) *Ferdinando Amedeo Maria Acton, 12th Prince of Leporano, 2nd Barone Acton (1908-1979) *Giovanni Alfredo Maria Acton, 13th Prince of Leporano, 3rd Barone Acton (1948-2022) *Maria Eleonora Carlotta Acton, 14th Princess of Leporano (b. 1949) The

is the present holder's son, Francesco Taccone, ''nobile dei marchesi'' of Stizzano (b. 1977).

Alfredo Acton Alfredo Acton, 1st barone Acton (12 September 1867 – 26 March 1934) was an Italian admiral, politician and Chief of Staff of the ''Regia Marina'' (Italy's Royal Navy). He was born in Castellammare di Stabia, a descendant of the Acton fami ...

was awarded the title of baron in the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

by ''motu proprio'' of

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

in February 1925. From the marriage of Alfredo Acton with Livia Giudice Caracciolo, ''nobile dei principi'' of Villa and Cellammare (1878-1963), the Acton family received the title of Prince of Leporano and Neapolitan patrician. The title of the

was created on 1 January 1626 for Don Sergio Muscettola (d. 1646) passed to the

Caracciolo Caracciolo () is an Italian surname most associated with the noble House of Carácciolo from the Kingdom of Naples. Other people with the name include: * Alberto Caracciolo, Argentinian musician * Andrea Caracciolo, Italian footballer * Battistel ...

family in the 19th century and then went to the Acton family. In 1979, 30 June, Don Ferdinando obtained from Royal Letters Patent of

Umberto II en, Albert Nicholas Thomas John Maria of Savoy , house = Savoy , father = Victor Emmanuel III of Italy , mother = Princess Elena of Montenegro , birth_date = , birth_place = Racconigi, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy , de ...

the renewal of the title of Duke of Spezzano and Count of Picerno with the confirmation of transmissibility of the titles to his daughter Maria Eleonora.

Notes

:A.The title was hereditary but was later renounced by Acton. See Archivio Storico per le Province Napoletane, Terza serie Anno XIX - XCVIII (1980), p. 437

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acton Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1869 Noble titles created for UK MPs Acton family