Earl Stanhope ()Debrett's Correct Form, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1976, pg 408 was a title in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

. The

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

dom was created in 1718 for Major General James Stanhope,Edward Hasted, 'Parishes: Chevening', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 3 (Canterbury, 1797), pp. 105-126. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp105-126 a principal minister of King George I, with remainder to the heirs male of his body. He was the son of the Hon. Alexander Stanhope, fifth and youngest son of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield. In 1717, James Stanhope had been raised to the peerage as Viscount Stanhope, of

Mahón Mahón (), officially Maó (, ; formerly spelled ''Mahó''), and also written as Mahon or Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the ar ...

in the Island of Minorca, and Baron Stanhope, of Elvaston in the County of Derby, with special remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to his second cousin John Stanhope of Elvaston (who was the father of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington) and the heirs male of his body. These titles were also in the Peerage of Great Britain. The

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

of the Earls Stanhope used Viscount Mahon as a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

Subsequent history

The first Earl's grandson, the third Earl, was a politician and scientist, known as "Citizen Stanhope" because of his sympathy for the French Revolution. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Earl. He represented several constituencies in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

but is chiefly remembered for his involvement in the

Kaspar Hauser Kaspar Hauser (30 April 1812 – 17 December 1833) was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. His claims, and his subsequent death from a stab wound, sparked much debate and controversy both in Nur ...

case. His son, the fifth Earl, was a

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

politician and historian. He served as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was a junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. T ...

and also published a biography on

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...

. Upon his death, the titles passed to his son, the sixth Earl. He was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician and served briefly as a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second L ...

from 1874 to 1875 in

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

's second administration. In addition, the sixth Earl was Lord Lieutenant of Kent. His son, the seventh Earl, was also a Conservative politician and notably served as

President of the Board of Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

, as

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the governing party in the House of Lords who acts ...

and as

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

. In 1952, the seventh Earl succeeded his distant relative Edward Scudamore-Stanhope, 12th Earl of Chesterfield, as thirteenth

Earl of Chesterfield Earl of Chesterfield, in the Derbyshire, County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield, Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had been created Baron Stanhope, of S ...

and 13th Baron Stanhope. However, he never applied for a

writ of summons A writ of summons is a formal document issued by the monarch that enables someone to sit in a Parliament under the United Kingdom's Westminster system. At the beginning of each new Parliament, each person who has established their right to attend ...

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 ...

in these titles and continued to be known as the Earl Stanhope. On his death in 1967, the earldoms of Stanhope and Chesterfield and the barony of Stanhope became extinct. However, he was succeeded in the viscountcy of Stanhope of Mahon and the barony of Stanhope of Elvaston according to the special remainder by his distant kinsman,

William Stanhope, 11th Earl of Harrington William Henry Leicester Stanhope, 11th Earl of Harrington (24 August 1922 – 12 April 2009), was a British army captain and peer. Early life and education Stanhope was the son of Charles Stanhope, 10th Earl of Harrington, and Margaret Trelawney ...

Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Weardale Philip James Stanhope, 1st Baron Weardale (8 December 1847 – 1 March 1923), was a British Liberal Party politician and philanthropist. Background and early life Stanhope was born in Marylebone, London. A member of an important political famil ...

, was a younger son of the fifth Earl.

Viscounts Stanhope, of Mahon (1717)

* James Stanhope, 1st Viscount Stanhope (1673–1721) (created Earl Stanhope in 1718)

Earls Stanhope (1718)

James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope (1673 – 5 February 1721) was a British army officer and Whig politician who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He was also the last Chancellor of the Exchequer to sit in the House o ...

(1673–1721) * Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope (1714–1786) **Philip Stanhope, Viscount Mahon (1746–1763) * Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope (1753–1816) *

Philip Henry Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope Philip Henry Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (7 December 1781 – 2 March 1855), was an English aristocracy, aristocrat, chiefly remembered for his role in the Kaspar Hauser case during the 1830s. Origins He was the ...

(1781–1855) * Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope (1805–1875) * Arthur Philip Stanhope, 6th Earl Stanhope (1838–1905) * James Richard Stanhope, 13th Earl of Chesterfield, 7th Earl Stanhope (1880–1967)

Viscount Stanhope, of Mahon (1717; reverted)

Following the death of the 7th Earl Stanhope and the extinction of that earldom, the titles Viscount Stanhope of Mahon and Baron Stanhope of Elvaston passed by a special remainder to his distant relative,

. * William Henry Leicester Stanhope, 11th Earl of Harrington, 8th Viscount Stanhope (1922–2009) * Charles Henry Leicester Stanhope, 12th Earl of Harrington, 9th Viscount Stanhope (born 1945), son of the 11th Earl The

is the present holder's son, William Henry Leicester Stanhope, Viscount Petersham (born 1967).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son, the Hon. Augustus Stanhope (born 2005).

Title succession chart

Seats

Properties owned and occupied by the earls ('noble seats') included: * Elvaston Castle, Derbyshire *

Chevening Chevening House () is a large country house in the parish of Chevening in Kent, England. Built between 1617 and 1630 to a design reputedly by Inigo Jones and greatly extended after 1717, it is a Grade I listed building. The surrounding gardens, ...

, Kent (in early years known as Chevening Place; bought by the first Earl in 1717 and left to public ministerial/recent Royal benefit by the last Earl tabling the Chevening Estate Bill 1959) The traditional burial place of the Earls Stanhope was the Stanhope Chapel in the parish church of St Botolph,

Chevening, Kent Chevening () is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It was the location for the world's earliest known organised cricket match. The parish is located to the north west of Sevenoaks on the southern slopes o ...

Notes

References

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanhope 1718 establishments in Great Britain 1967 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Great Britain Noble titles created in 1718

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...