Baron Cromwell is a title that has been created several times 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 ...

. The first creation, which was by

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

, was for John de Cromwell in 1308. On his death, the barony became extinct. The second creation came in 1375 when Ralph de Cromwell was summoned by writ to Parliament as Lord Cromwell. His grandson, the third baron, served as

Lord High Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord H ...

King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...

. However, on his death in 1455, the barony fell into

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 ...

between his nieces Maude and Joan. On Joan's death in 1490, the abeyance was terminated in favour of Maude, the fourth holder. When she died childless in 1497 the peerage once again fell into abeyance, this time between the daughters of the first baron. The title remained in abeyance for over 400 years. However, in 1922 the Committee for Privileges of 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 ...

reported in favour of the petition for the termination of the abeyancy of Selina Frances Bewicke-Copley. She was the daughter of Sir Charles Watson Copley, 3rd Baronet, and one of the co-heirs of Maud, daughter of the first baron Cromwell. Selina died in 1923 and in July of the same year, the abeyance was terminated in favour of her son Robert Godfrey Wolesley Bewicke-Copley, who became the fifth baron. He notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. the ancient barony is held by his grandson, the seventh baron, who succeeded his father in 1982. Having lost his seat in the House of Lords under 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 ...

, in April 2014 he was elected at a hereditary peers' by-election as a

Crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

. The third creation of the title came in 1461 when Sir Humphrey Bourchier was summoned by writ to Parliament as Lord Cromwell. On his death the barony became extinct. The fourth creation of the title came in 1536 for the famous statesman

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

, who served in many political offices, including

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, and

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

. In contrast to the three previous creations, this peerage was 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 ...

. In 1540, Lord Cromwell was made

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

, but later that year he was executed for treason, and all of his titles were forfeit. The final creation of the title came in 1540 for Cromwell's son, Gregory, also by letters patent. His great-grandson, the fourth baron, was made

Earl of Ardglass The title Earl of Ardglass (pronounced "Ar-''glass''") was created in the Peerage of Ireland on 15 April 1645. The Earl held the subsidiary titles of ''Baron Cromwell#Barons Cromwell of Oakham, Fifth Creation (1540), Baron Cromwell'' (Peerage of ...

in 1645.

Barons Cromwell, first creation (1308)

* John de Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell (d. c. 1335)

Barons Cromwell, second creation (1375)

* Ralph de Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell (d. 1398) * Ralph de Cromwell, 2nd Baron Cromwell (1368–1417) * Ralph Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell (1403–1455) (abeyant 1455) * Maud Stanhope, 4th Baroness Cromwell (d. 1497) (became sole heir 1490; abeyant 1497) * Robert Godfrey Wolesley Bewicke-Copley, 5th Baron Cromwell (1893–1966) (abeyance terminated 1923) * David Godfrey Bewicke-Copley, 6th Baron Cromwell (1929–1982) * Godfrey John Bewicke-Copley, 7th Baron Cromwell (b. 1960) 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 ...

is the present holder's son the Hon. David Godfrey Bewicke-Copley (b. 1998)

Barons Cromwell, third creation (1461)

* Humphrey Bourchier, 1st Baron Cromwell (d. 1471)

Barons Cromwell, fourth creation (1536)

Baron Cromwell, ''of Wimbledon in the County of Surrey'': *

Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charges for the execution. Cromwell ...

(forfeit 1540)

Barons Cromwell, fifth creation (1540)

Baron Cromwell: * Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell (c. 1520–1551) *

Henry Cromwell, 2nd Baron Cromwell Henry Cromwell, 2nd Baron Cromwell (before 1 March 1538 – 20 November 1592), the son of Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell and Elizabeth Seymour, Lady Cromwell, Elizabeth Seymour, was an English peer during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was t ...

(1538–1592) * Edward Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell (c. 1560–1607) * Thomas Cromwell, 4th Baron Cromwell (1594–1653) (''created 1st Viscount Lecale in 1624 and 1st

in 1645'') * Wingfield Cromwell, 5th Baron Cromwell (1624–1668) * Thomas Cromwell, 6th Baron Cromwell (1653–1682) * Vere Essex Cromwell, 7th Baron Cromwell (1625–1687)

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cromwell 1308 establishments in England Baronies in the Peerage of England Cromwell family Extinct baronies in the Peerage of England Noble titles created in 1308 Noble titles created in 1375 Noble titles created in 1461 Noble titles created in 1536 Noble titles created in 1540