Baron Methuen, of

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the southwestern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 road (England), A4 national route. It is southwest of Swindon, east of ...

in the County of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, 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 in 1838 for the former Member of Parliament for

and Wiltshire North, Paul Methuen. His grandson, the third Baron (who succeeded his father), was a distinguished soldier who became

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. His son, the fourth Baron, was a professional artist and Royal Academician. On his death, the title passed to his younger brother, the fifth Baron. The seventh Baron, who succeeded his elder brother in 1994, was one of the ninety

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 elected to 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 passage 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 on the Liberal Democrat benches. , the title is held by his first cousin once removed, the eighth baron, who succeeded to the title in that year. The first Baron's grandfather, Paul Methuen, was the cousin and heir of the wealthy Sir Paul Methuen, a well-known politician, courtier, diplomat and patron of art and literature, who was the son of John Methuen (c. 1650 – 1706),

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...

between 1697 and 1703 and ambassador to Portugal. It was the last-named who in 1703 negotiated the famous Methuen Treaty, which, in return for the admission of English woollens into

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, granted differential duty favouring the importation of Portuguese wines into England to the disadvantage of French wines, and thus contributed to the replacement of the drinking of burgundy by that of

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

. The family seat is

Corsham Court Corsham Court is an English country house in a park designed by Capability Brown. It is in the town of Corsham, 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and is notable for its fine art collection, based on the nucleus of painting ...

, in

Barons Methuen (1838)

* Paul Methuen, 1st Baron Methuen (1779–1849) * Frederick Henry Paul Methuen, 2nd Baron Methuen (1818–1891) *

Paul Sanford Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Paul Sanford Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen, (1 September 1845 – 30 October 1932), was a British Army officer. He served in the Anglo-Ashanti wars#Third Anglo-Ashanti War, Third Anglo-Ashanti War in ...

(1845–1932) * Paul Ayshford Methuen, 4th Baron Methuen (1886–1974) * Anthony Paul Methuen, 5th Baron Methuen (1891–1975) * (Anthony) John Methuen, 6th Baron Methuen (1925–1994) * Robert Alexander Holt Methuen, 7th Baron Methuen (1931–2014) *James Paul Archibald Methuen-Campbell, 8th Baron Methuen (born 1952). 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 half-brother, Thomas Rice Mansel Methuen-Campbell (born 1977).

Title succession chart

Arms

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Methuen Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1838 Peerages created for UK MPs 1838 establishments in the United Kingdom People from Corsham