Viscount Torrington is a title in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself re ...

. It was created in 1721 for the statesman Sir George Byng, 1st Baronet, along with the subsidiary title Baron Byng, of Southill in the County of Bedford, also in the Peerage of Great Britain. He had already been 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 ...

, of Wrotham in the County of Kent, 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 ...

in 1715. His eldest son, the second Viscount, represented

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

and

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

in the House of Commons and later served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard from 1746 to 1747. His younger brother, the third Viscount, was a

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the Army. His grandson, the sixth Viscount, was a vice-admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

. His son, the seventh Viscount, served as

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of Portuguese ...

between 1847 and 1850. On his death the titles passed to his nephew, the eighth Viscount, the son of Honourable Robert Barlow Palmer Byng, third son of the sixth Viscount. He was succeeded by his son, the ninth Viscount. However, this line of the family failed on his death in 1944 and the titles passed to the late Viscount's first cousin, the tenth Viscount. As of 2013 the titles are held by the latter's grandson, the eleventh Viscount, who succeeded on his grandfather's death in 1961. Several other members of the Byng family have also gained distinction. The Hon. Robert Byng, third son of the first Viscount, was

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 Plymouth. He was the father of George Byng, radical Member of Parliament for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. He was the father of George Byng, Father of the House of Commons, and John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford. The soldier Julian Hedworth George Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, was the youngest son of the second Earl of Strafford. Admiral the Hon. John Byng, who was controversially court-martialled and shot in 1757, was the fourth son of the first Viscount Torrington. He was the only British admiral ever executed after a court-martial. The family seat is Great Hunts Place, near

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

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. The traditional burial place of the Viscounts Torrington is the Byng Vault at the Church of All Saints, Southill, Bedfordshire.Byng Vault
/ref> Another notable member of the family was Captain Launcelot Alfred Cranmer-Byng (23 Nov. 1872 - 15 Jan. 1945) whose translations of Tang Dynasty poets provided the texts for most of 25 ''Songs from the Chinese Poets'' by Granville Bantock.

Viscounts Torrington (1721)

George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, (27 January 1663 – 17 January 1733), of Southill Park in Bedfordshire, was a Royal Navy officer and statesman. While still a lieutenant, he delivered a letter from various captains ...

(1663–1733) *

Pattee Byng, 2nd Viscount Torrington Pattee Byng, 2nd Viscount Torrington, (25 May 169923 January 1747), was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1723 to 1733 when he succeeded to the peerage as Viscount Torrington. His career included servic ...

(1699–1747) *

George Byng, 3rd Viscount Torrington Major General George Byng, 3rd Viscount Torrington (21 September 1701 – 7 April 1750) (styled ''The Honourable George Byng'' from 1721 to 1747), of Southill Park in Bedfordshire, was a British Army officer and peer. Origins He was the 2nd sur ...

(1701–1750) *

George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington (11 October 1740 – 14 December 1812) was an English peer. Origins He was the eldest son and heir of George Byng, 3rd Viscount Torrington (1701-1750) by his wife Elizabeth Daniel. Career He inherited the ...

(1740–1812) *

John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington (18 February 1743 – 8 January 1813), styled for most of his lifetime ''The Hon. John Byng'' (before 1812), was a notable English diarist. His fifteen extant diaries, covering the years 1781–1794, describe ...

(1743–1813) * George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington (1768–1831) *

George Byng, 7th Viscount Torrington George Byng, 7th Viscount Torrington (9 September 1812 – 27 April 1884), was a British colonial administrator and courtier. Family Torrington was the son of Vice-Admiral George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington (1768-1831).''Burke's Peerage, Baron ...

(1812–1884) * George Stanley Byng, 8th Viscount Torrington (1841–1889) * George Master Byng, 9th Viscount Torrington (1886–1944) * Arthur Stanley Byng, 10th Viscount Torrington (1876–1961) * Timothy Howard St George Byng, 11th Viscount Torrington (born 1943) 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 fifth cousin Colin Hugh Cranmer-Byng (born 1960).
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 eldest John Nicholas Cranmer-Byng (born 1990).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrington Viscountcies in the Peerage of Great Britain Noble titles created in 1721 Byng family

Viscounts Torrington (1721)

See also

References

External links