Viscount Gort is the title of two

peerages A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Bel ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

history.

Gort Gort ( or ) is a town of around 3,000 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, wh ...

is a small town in County Galway in the West of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The original title was in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

and is extant. A viscountcy with the same title as the Irish peerage was then conferred in the Peerage of the United Kingdom to a later Lord Gort. This gave the distinguished descendant a subtle personal change of status, whilst preserving the heritage of the older title. The United Kingdom title, however, became extinct on the death of the original recipient, who remains perhaps the most illustrious bearer of the older title to date. A post-World War II unqualified reference to "Lord Gort" will almost always be to the sixth viscount.

Viscount Gort, Peerage of Ireland

The title was created in 1816 as an advancement or 'step' for an existing peer. John Prendergast Smyth had already been created Baron Kiltarton of

, in the County of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

, also in the

, in 1810. John Prendergast-Smyth, Viscount Gort and Lord Kiltarton, was the nephew of

Sir Thomas Prendergast, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Prendergast, 2nd Baronet (1702-died 23 September 1760) was an Irish politician. His career was helped by influential family connections, but apparently hampered by his own lack of ability. To Jonathan Swift, who detested him, he was "N ...

, and had succeeded to the Prendergast estates on the death of this uncle in 1760 (see Prendergast Baronets, of Gort). He was ineligible to inherit the title of his uncle, but the bequest enabled him to develop the status to merit a title of his own, of a higher degree, and subsequently to advance himself higher in the peerage system. Lord Gort had no sons to inherit his two titles but, unusually, he had been able to secure a special remainder both in 1816 and in 1810, the remainder being in favour of his nephew Charles Vereker, the son of his sister Juliana by her marriage with Thomas Vereker. On the death of John Prendergast-Smyth in the following year, the Gort viscountcy, plus the barony, passed to the Vereker family according to the special remainder. Charles Vereker, the second Viscount, represented

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

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 ...

and sat 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 Westminste ...

as an

Irish Representative Peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords after the Kingdom of Ireland was brought into union with the Kingdom of Great Britain. No new members were added to the House after ...

from 1824 until his death, in 1842. John Vereker succeeded his father, both as the third Viscount and 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 Limerick. He was also an Irish Representative Peer in 1865, the year in which he died.

Viscount Gort, Peerage of the United Kingdom

John Vereker, the sixth Viscount, was the great-grandson of his namesake. Following the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

in 1922 the family chose to emigrate and settle in County Durham. This Lord Gort was a distinguished soldier whose personal courage in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was recognised with the highest decoration of the British Empire, the Victoria Cross, plus three further gallantry decorations, before achieving the most senior post in the British Army,

Chief of the Imperial General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial G ...

. It was Lord Gort who commanded the BEF in 1939 and his leadership during the disastrous withdrawal from France preserved his reputation at an unhappy time for the nation. He then had another tough appointment, as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in its darkest days, before becoming High Commissioner of British Mandate for Palestine and the Transjordan, itself hardly a rest-cure at this time. His promotion to Field Marshal and the creation of the new Viscountcy at the end of the war was an indicator of his standing as a soldier and imperial administrator. The 1946 title was Viscount Gort, of Hamsterley Hall in the County of Durham, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. He kept his style modest, avoiding, for example, the self-conscious possibility of ''Lord Gort and Gort''. Field Marshal Lord Gort had no living sons and, unlike his own ancestor, did not have a special remainder, so on his death just one month after the creation of the new title, the new viscountcy became extinct, whilst the Irish titles passed to his brother, Standish Vereker.

The Gort Viscountcy in the modern era

Standish Vereker inherited the title from his brother of the Field Marshal, the Lord Gort mentioned above. He inherited the Irish viscountcy and barony in 1946. The seventh Viscount had been awarded the temporary office of High Sheriff of Durham in 1934, before he gained the peerage. On his death in 1975, the titles passed to his first cousin once removed downwards, becoming the eighth Viscount : Colin Vereker was the grandson of Hon. Foley Charles Prendergast Vereker, second son of the fourth Viscount. The eighth Lord Gort lived on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, where he preserved the family tradition of public service as a member of the House of Keys, the lower house of the Parliament of the Isle of Man. In 1995, the titles passed to his son Foley Vereker, the ninth Viscount, who also lives on the

. The family seat is The Coach House, near Castletown,

In the Peerage of Ireland

Viscounts Gort, of Gort (1816)

John Prendergast-Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort John Prendergast-Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort (1742 – 23 May 1817) was an Ireland, Irish politician. Born John Smyth, Gort was the son of Charles Smyth (politician), Charles Smyth, Member of the Irish Parliament for Limerick City, and Elizabeth Pre ...

(1742–1817) * Charles Vereker, 2nd Viscount Gort (1768–1842) * John Prendergast Vereker, 3rd Viscount Gort (1790–1865) *Standish Prendergast Vereker, 4th Viscount Gort (1819–1900) * John Gage Prendergast Vereker, 5th Viscount Gort (1849–1902) * John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort (1886–1946) without male issue * Standish Robert Gage Prendergast Vereker, 7th Viscount Gort (1888–1975) without male issue * Colin Leopold Prendergast Vereker, 8th Viscount Gort (1916–1995) *Foley Robert Standish Prendergast Vereker, 9th Viscount Gort (b. 1951) 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. Robert Foley Prendergast Vereker (b. 1993)

In the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Viscount Gort, of Hamberley Castle (1946)

*John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort (1886–1946)

Line of Succession

''John Prendergast Vereker, 3rd Viscount Gort (1790–1865)'' ** Coronet of a British Viscount

''Standish Prendergast Vereker, 4th Viscount Gort (1819–1900)'' *** ''Captain Hon. Foley Charles Prendergast Vereker (1850–1900)'' **** ''Leopold George Prendergast Vereker (1881–1937)'' ***** Coronet of a British Viscount

''Colin Leopold Prendergast Vereker, 8th Viscount Gort (1916–1995)'' ****** Coronet of a British Viscount

Foley Robert Standish Prendergast Vereker, 9th Viscount Gort (born 1951) ******* (1) ''Hon.'' Robert Foley Prendergast Vereker (b. 1993) ****** (2) ''Hon.'' Nicholas Leopold Prendergast Vereker (b. 1954) **** ''Maurice Charles Prendergast Vereker (1884–1963)'' ***** (3) Charles John Prendergast Vereker (b. 1935) ****** (4) Richard John Prendergast Vereker (b. 1978) ****** (5) Nicholas Charles Prendergast Vereker (b. 1982) ******* (6) Rupert Edward Prendergast Vereker (b. 2016) ***** (7) Jeffrey Maurice Prendergast Vereker (b. 1940) ****** (8) Edward Foley Prendergast Vereker (b. 1973) ** ''Hon. John Prendergast Vereker (1822–1891)'' *** ''Major John Medlicott Vereker (1863–1940)'' **** ''Captain Stanley Lloyd Medlicott Vereker (1899–1967)'' ***** (9) John Stanley Herbert Medlicott Vereker (b. 1927) ****** (10) Rupert David Peregrine Medlicott Vereker (b. 1957) ******* (11) Frederick James Herbert Medlicott Vereker (b. 1990) ******* (12) Jack Rupert William Medlicott Vereker (b. 1992) ****** (13) Hugo Dominic Charles Medlicott Vereker (b. 1961) ***** (14) David William Leslie Medlicott Vereker (b. 1930) ****** (15) William David Lloyd Medlicott Vereker (b. 1966) ****** (16) Henry Alan Charles Medlicott Vereker (b. 1969) **** ''Commander Charles William Medlicott Vereker (1903–1995)'' ***** ''Peter William Medlicott Vereker (1939–2001)'' ****** (17) Connel Charles Medlicott Vereker (b. 1971) ****** (18) Toby John Medlicott Vereker (b. 1973) ****** (19) Rory James Medlicott Vereker (b. 1981) ***** (20) Sir John Michael Medlicott Vereker (b. 1944) ** ''Hon. Henry Prendergast Vereker (1824–1904)'' *** ''Major Charles Granville Vereker (1869–1947)'' **** (21) Neville Henry Prendergast Vereker (b. 1934) ***** (22) John Charles Prendergast Vereker (b. 1975) ***** (23) Richard Neville Forester Vereker (b. 1977)

Notes

References

Sources

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gort Viscountcies in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1816 Extinct viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1946 Peerages created with special remainders