Baron Clitheroe of Downham in the County of Lancaster 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 in the

1955 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1955 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

for the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician Ralph Assheton, who had previously served as

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Excheq ...

. He was the son of Ralph Cockayne Assheton, for many years a member of the

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 L ...

, who had been created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

of Downham in the County of Lancaster, on 4 September 1945. Three months after being raised to the peerage, Lord Clitheroe succeeded his father in the baronetcy. , the titles are held by the first Baron's son, the second Baron, who succeeded in 1984. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Ralph Assheton also acquired title to the manorial and mineral rights as well as land holdings within the former

Honour of Clitheroe The Honour of Clitheroe is an ancient grouping of manors and royal forests centred on Clitheroe Castle in Lancashire, England; an honour traditionally being the grant of a large landholding complex, not all of whose parts are contiguous. In th ...

. These were purchased out of the Clitheroe Estate Company following its administration in 1945. They included the Lordship of the

Forest of Pendle The Forest of Pendle is the name given to an area of hilly landscape to the east of Pendle Hill in eastern Lancashire, roughly defining the watershed between the River Ribble and its tributary the River Calder. The forest is not identical to t ...

. The Assheton family, also spelled Ashton, derive from

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

. The military commander Sir John de Assheton (or de Ashton) was among their ancestors. The family seat is Downham Hall, near Downham,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

Assheton baronets of Downham (1945)

* Sir Ralph Cockayne Assheton, 1st Baronet (1860–1955) *

Sir Ralph Assheton, 2nd Baronet Sir Ralph Assheton, 2nd Baronet (11 February 1651 – 3 May 1716) of Middleton Hall and Whalley Abbey, Lancashire, was an English landowner and politician who represented Liverpool (1677–79) and Lancashire (1694–98) as a Memb ...

(1901–1984) (created Baron Clitheroe in 1955)

Barons Clitheroe (1955)

* Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe (1901–1984) * Ralph John Assheton, 2nd Baron Clitheroe (b. 1929) The

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 the present holder's son Hon. Ralph Christopher Assheton (b. 1962).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son Ralph Anthony Assheton (b. 1998).

Line of Succession

''Sir Ralph Cockayne Assheton of Downham, 1st Baronet (1860—1955)'' ** Coronet of a British Baron

''Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe (1901—1984)'' *** Coronet of a British Baron

Ralph John Assheton, 2nd Baron Clitheroe (b. 1929) **** (1) ''Hon.'' Ralph Christopher Assheton (b. 1962) ***** (2) Ralph Anthony Assheton (b. 1998) **** (3) ''Hon.'' John Hotham Assheton (b. 1964) ***** (4) William Hotham Assheton (b. 1992) ***** (5) James Charles Assheton (b. 1999) *** ''Hon. Nicholas Assheton (1934—2012)'' **** (6) Thomas Assheton (b. 1963) ***** (7) Noah Frederick Assheton (b. 1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clitheroe Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1955 Ashton family 1955 establishments in the United Kingdom Noble titles created for UK MPs