Viscount de Vesci, of Abbeyleix in the Queen's County, now called

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a med ...

(pronounced "leash"), is a title 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 ...

. It was created in 1776 for Thomas Vesey, 2nd Baron Knapton and 3rd Baronet. The title Baron Knapton was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1750 for the first Viscount's father, John Vesey, 2nd Baronet, who had earlier represented

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the civil parish of Newtownards and the historic baron ...

in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

. The baronetcy, of Abbeyleix in the Queen's County, was created in the

Baronetage of Ireland 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) James I of E ...

on 28 September 1698 for the first Baron's father, Reverend Thomas Vesey,

Bishop of Killaloe The Bishop of Killaloe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Killaloe in County Clare, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bish ...

(1713–1714) and

Bishop of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has ...

(1714–1730). The first Viscount's son, the second Viscount, was a Member of the

for Maryborough. He 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 Westminst ...

as an Irish

representative peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right t ...

from 1839 to 1855, and served as

Lord Lieutenant of Queen's County This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Queen's County, Ireland, Queen's County. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II of England, James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of ...

between 1831 and 1855. The third Viscount represented Queen's County 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 ...

as a

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 ...

and was an Irish representative peer from 1857 to 1875. The fourth Viscount served as Lord Lieutenant of Queen's County from 1883 to 1903. In 1884, the fourth Viscount was created Baron de Vesci, of Abbey Leix in the Queen's County, 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 ...

, which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords. However, this title became extinct on his death while he was succeeded in the Irish titles by his nephew, the fifth Viscount. He was an Irish representative peer from 1909 to 1958. On his death the titles passed to his nephew, the sixth Viscount. they are held by the latter's son, the seventh Viscount, who succeeded in 1983. The family title of Vesci is pronounced "Vessee" and the family surname of Vesey is pronounced "Veezey". The family seat was

Abbeyleix House Abbeyleix House, sometimes called Abbeyleix Castle, is an Irish country house that was the residence of the Viscounts de Vesci in County Laois, Ireland. It was designed by architect James Wyatt and built by Sir William Chambers in 1773. The d ...

, near Abbeyleix,

Vesey baronets, of Abbeyleix (1698)

* Sir Thomas Vesey, 1st Baronet (died 1730) * Sir John Denny Vesey, 2nd Baronet (died 1761) (created Baron Knapton in 1750)

Baron Knapton (1750)

* John Denny Vesey, 1st Baron Knapton (died 1761) * Thomas Vesey, 2nd Baron Knapton (1735–1804) (created Viscount de Vesci in 1776)

Viscount de Vesci (1776)

Thomas Vesey, 1st Viscount de Vesci The Rt Hon. Thomas Vesey, 1st Viscount de Vesci and 2nd Baron Knapton ( 1735 – 13 October 1804), was an Anglo-Irish peer. Lord de Vesci was the son of the 1st Baron Knapton and Elizabeth Brownlow. He succeeded to his father's peerage on 25 J ...

(1735–1804) *

John Vesey, 2nd Viscount de Vesci The Rt Hon. John Vesey, 2nd Viscount de Vesci and 3rd Baron Knapton (16 February 1771 – 19 October 1855), was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Around 1790, Vesey planned and developed the new town of Abbeyleix because the original settleme ...

(1771–1855) * Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci (1803–1875) * John Robert William Vesey, 4th Viscount de Vesci (1844–1903) (created Baron de Vesci Kin 1884) * Yvo Richard Vesey, 5th Viscount de Vesci (1881–1958) * John Eustace Vesey, 6th Viscount de Vesci (1919–1983) * Thomas Eustace Vesey, 7th Viscount de Vesci (born 1955) 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 second son, Hon. Oliver Ivo Vesey (born 1991).

Male-line family tree

Notes and references

Notes

References

Links

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:De Vesci Viscountcies in the Peerage of Ireland 1698 establishments in Ireland Noble titles created in 1776 De Vesci family