Baron Ampthill, of
Ampthill
Ampthill () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies between Bedford, Bedfordshire, Bedford and Luton. At the 2021 census it had a population of 8,825.
Histor ...
in the County of Bedfordshire, 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 B ...
. It was created on 11 March 1881 for the diplomat
Lord Odo Russell. He was the third son of
Major-General Lord George Russell, second son of
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician who notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was the father ...
.
His son, the second Baron, served as
Governor of Madras from 1899 to 1906 and was interim
Viceroy of India
The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...
in 1904. His grandson, the fourth Baron, was one of the ninety elected
hereditary peer
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...
s that remained in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
after the passing of the
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...
, and sat as a cross-bencher. the title is held by the latter's son, the fifth Baron, who succeeded his father in 2011.
Coat of arms
The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the barony is: ''Argent, a lion rampant gules, on a chief sable three escallops argent, a mullet or for difference''.
Barons Ampthill (1881)
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Odo William Leopold Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill (1829–1884)
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Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill (1869–1935)
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John Hugo Russell, 3rd Baron Ampthill (1896–1973)
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Geoffrey Denis Erskine Russell, 4th Baron Ampthill (1921–2011)
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David Whitney Erskine Russell, 5th Baron Ampthill (b. 1947)
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 a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...
is the present holder's brother, Anthony John Mark Russell (b. 1952).
Family tree
The 5th Baron is 4th cousin once removed of the 15th Duke of Bedford and is currently 16th in the
line of succession to the dukedom.
Notes
See also
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Duke of Bedford
Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of Fran ...
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Earl Russell
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Earl of Orford
Earl of Orford is a title that has been created three times.
The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1697 when the naval commander Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell was made Earl of Orford, in the County of Suffolk. He was cre ...
*
Russell case
The Russell case, also called the Ampthill baby case, was a series of proceedings related to the conception of Geoffrey Russell. It covered two divorce cases and the claim to the British peerage title Baron Ampthill, and the possibility of ...
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ampthill
Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Noble titles created in 1881
Ampthill
Russell family