Several

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

ies created by error exist or have existed in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

and the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. The usual type of error was perpetrated in the Committee on Privileges of the British

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 ...

, whether by the Committee itself or by a clerk, in mistaking the origins of a dormant, abeyant, or extinct

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

, and in awarding that title to a person who was not the

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

to that

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

. Such mistakes are rare. One such error was made when the barony of Wharton was conferred upon a claimant, believing that the barony had been created by writ of summons; however, the original barony had been created by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

to the heirs male of the original grantee. In this case, the original documentation had been lost. As a result, a new barony in the peerage of the United Kingdom was created by writ. Similar errors were made for the Percy barony when the 7th Duke of Somerset was summoned to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

erroneously in 1722 as Baron Percy (in the belief that the 1299 barony had descended to his mother), and the Strange barony created in 1628 for the 7th

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

by error. Another example is the barony of Clifford created by the writ of summons to Henry Clifford in 1628: this was intended as a

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his fathe ...

in the belief that the

Baron de Clifford Baron de Clifford is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1299 for Robert de Clifford (''c.''1274–1314), feudal baron of Clifford in Herefordshire, feudal baron of Skipton in Yorkshire and feudal baron of Appleby in Westmo ...

title created in 1299 was held by his father

Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland (15594 January 1641) was a member of the Clifford family which held the seat of Skipton from 1310 to 1676. He was the second son of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland and Anne Dacre and inherited h ...

George Edward Cokayne George Edward Cokayne (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standard ...

, ed. Vicary Gibbs and H. Arthur Doubleday, ''

The Complete Peerage ''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''); first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition re ...

'', new edition, volume III (London, 1913) page
301
an
569
Since the early 20th century, the Committee on Privileges has been reluctant to revive older English baronies on various grounds, and thus opportunities for new baronies to be created by clerical error or failure in research are rare.

Other errors

The most famous error made by the House of Lords in awarding a title was not in the case of a barony, but for the Scottish earldom of Mar which was awarded to a distant collateral heir male of a previous earl, and not to the heir general, as customary under Scottish peerage law. This 1875 Committee finding declared that a separate Scottish earldom with remainder to heirs male had been created in 1565, and in 1885 an Act of Parliament revived the ancient title for the heir general. As a result, there are two peers holding the Mar title today; the Countess of Mar (holder of the oldest surviving Scottish peerage) and the Earl of Mar and Kellie. The most common errors are made in the spelling of a title as granted in letters patent. This category does not include baronies such as the very old English Barony de Ros or the Barony of Hastings that were awarded to persons who were not the senior heir (or co-heir) general. Nor does it include baronies that were not awarded at all to the claimant, for various other reasons.

Notes

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Error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...