The Earldom of Castlemaine was a title created in 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 ...
. It was created for
Roger Palmer, the son of
Sir James Palmer, a Gentleman of the Bedchamber under
King Charles I, and Catherine Herbert, daughter of
William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis
William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis KB (George Edward Cokayne. ''Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, Or Dormant'', Volume 6. G. Bell & sons, 1895. pg 295. – 7 March 1655Bernard ...
. Roger Palmer was also the husband of
Barbara Palmer (née Villiers), mistress to
King Charles II.
The Earl was also given the title Baron Limerick. The earldom was named after
Castle Maine
Castle Maine, also recorded as Castle Magne and Castlemaine, was a medieval castle located at what is now Castlemaine, County Kerry. The castle, built in 1215, stood on a bridge over the River Maine (County Kerry), River Maine. A defensive struc ...
in
County Kerry
County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
.
The title was limited to his male heirs by Barbara (i.e. as opposed, that is, to any later wife he might have), making it clear that the earldom was for his wife's services to the King, and not his own. As the only child officially fathered by the 1st Earl (which probably was not actually his) was female, the title became extinct on his death.
The seat of the Palmer family is
Dorney Court
Dorney Court is a listed building, Grade I listed early Tudor style architecture, Tudor manor house, dating from around 1440, located in the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, England. It is owned and lived in by the Palmer family.
Early hist ...
,
Dorney
Dorney is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It borders the River Thames to the west and south, and is bisected by the Jubilee River. In 2011 it had a population of 752. It is west of neighbouring Eton, which is a slight ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
.
Earls of Castlemaine, First Creation (1661)
*
Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine
Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, (3 September 1634 – 21 July 1705) was an English courtier, diplomat, and briefly a member of parliament, sitting in the House of Commons of England for part of 1660. He was also a noted Roman Catholic wr ...
(1634–1705)
Full arms of Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine
See also
*
List of earldoms
This page lists all earldoms, extant, extinct, dormant, abeyant, or forfeit, in the peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
The Norman conquest of England introduced the continental Frankish title of "count ...
*
Viscount Castlemaine
*
Baron Castlemaine
Baron Castlemaine, of Moydrum in the County of Westmeath, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1812 for William Handcock, with remainder to his younger brother Richard Handcock. Handcock represented Athlone in Parliament an ...
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castlemaine
Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland
Peerages created with special remainders
Noble titles created in 1661
County Kerry