The Lighton Baronetcy, of Merville in Dublin, is a title in the Baronetage of Ireland. It was created on 1 March 1791 for the Dublin-based banker and politician Thomas Lighton.

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Thomas was an

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

man, being a native of Strabane in the west of

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...

. After falling on hard times, he sought work as a private and interpreter in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In the early 1790s he had No. 22 St. Stephen's Green North built as his

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

residence. This house is now The Cliff Townhouse, an upmarket boutique hotel, bar and restaurant. He sat as a Member of the Irish Parliament for

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

from 1790 to 1797 and Carlingford from 1798 to 1800. His partner in the banking firm of Lighton, Needham & Shaw, Robert Shaw, was created a

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 ...

in 1821 (see Shaw baronets). The 7th and 8th baronets are buried together in

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

Cemetery in East Lothian, Scotland. The graves lie in the extreme south-east corner.

Lighton baronets, of Merville (1791)

Sir Thomas Lighton, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Lighton, 1st Baronet (died 27 April 1805) was an Ulster Scots banker and politician. Born in Strabane, County Tyrone, Lighton was the son of a tenant-farmer, John Lighton, and Elizabeth Walker. After working as a trader in Strabane, h ...

(died 1805) * Sir Thomas Lighton, 2nd Baronet (1787–1816) * Sir Thomas Lighton, 3rd Baronet (1814–1817) * Sir John Lees Lighton, 4th Baronet (1792–1827) * Sir John Hamilton Lighton, 5th Baronet (1818–1844) * Sir Christopher Robert Lighton, 6th Baronet (1819–1875) * Sir Christopher Robert Lighton, 7th Baronet (1848–1929) * Sir Christopher Robert Lighton, 8th Baronet (1897–1993) * Sir Thomas Hamilton Lighton, 9th Baronet (born 1954) The heir apparent is the present holder's eldest son James Christopher Hamilton Lighton (born 1992).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baronets, Lighton Lighton 1791 establishments in Ireland