Jennifer Jane Forwood, 11th Baroness Arlington (born 7 May 1939 in London, ''née'' Nelson), is the daughter of General Sir John Nelson (died 1993) and Lady Margaret Jane Fitzroy (died 1995), sister of the 9th Duke of Grafton.

Life

Educated at

Downham School Downham School was a private boarding school for girls based at Down Hall, a Victorian country house near Hatfield Heath, Essex. The school was established in 1932. Eleanor Louisa Houison-Craufurd was the first principal from 1932 to 1950. The sc ...

Hatfield Broad Oak Hatfield Broad Oak (also known as Hatfield Regis) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is approximately south-east of Bishop's Stortford. Near the church of St Mary the Virgin is former Benedi ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

(now

Down Hall Down Hall is a Victorian country house and estate near Hatfield Heath in the English county of Essex, close to its border with Hertfordshire. It is surrounded by of woodland, parkland and landscaped gardens, some of which is protected by the E ...

), on 8 December 1965, she married Capt. Rodney Simon Dudley Forwood (died 1999), a younger son of Sir Dudley Forwood, 3rd Baronet. They have two sons: *Hon. Patrick John Dudley Forwood (b. 23 April 1967),

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 ...

to the title; *Hon. James Roland Nelson Forwood (b. 16 March 1969)

Peerage title claim

In May 1999, she succeeded as Baroness Arlington when the abeyance of the Arlington barony was terminated. Under the provisions of the

Peerage Act 1963 The Peerage Act 1963 (c. 48) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits female hereditary peers and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed. ...

, she took her seat 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 ...

on 27 May 1999, and remained in the House until 11 November 1999 when 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 ...

took effect. She made her only speech the week after the death of her husband, who had helped her to prepare it, on 18 October 1999 in a series of questions to the Transport Minister in the Lords, on the subject of speeding. Lady Arlington, after having succeeded in claiming her ancestral title out of abeyance in her favour, was reminded with tongue-in-cheek by the Labour

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 ...

, Lord Berkeley (also ''cr.'' Lord Gueterbock in 2000), that she was now well prepared to petition for the restoration of the ancient titles of

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

and/or

Viscount Thetford A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is so ...

in her favour, being one of the four co-heirs to those titles. Hers was the last

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 ...

y created by

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 be brought out of

abeyance Abeyance (from the Old French ' meaning "gaping") describes a state of temporary dormancy or suspension. In law, it can refer to a situation where the ownership of property, titles, or office is not currently Vesting, vested in any specific perso ...

while hereditary peers had an automatic right to attend the House of Lords. Arms of the Duke of Grafton

References

External links

www.hereditarypeers.com

www.parliament.uk
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Arlington, Jennifer Forwood, 11th Baroness Barons Arlington English baronesses 1939 births Living people Hereditary women peers People from Essex Crossbench hereditary peers

Jennifer Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer *Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and televisi ...

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

Female hereditary members of the House of Lords

Life

Peerage title claim

See also

References

External links