Earl of Lytton, in the County of Derby, is a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

. It was created in 1880 for the diplomat and poet Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton. He was

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

from 1876 to 1880 and British Ambassador to France from 1887 to 1891. He was made Viscount Knebworth, of

Knebworth Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Wald ...

in the County of Hertford, at the same time he was given the earldom, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

History

Robert Bulwer-Lytton was the son of the poet, novelist and politician Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, and his wife, the novelist Rosina Doyle Wheeler. Edward was the author of numerous popular novels, poems and dramas and also served as

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

under the

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 ...

between 1858 and 1859. Born Edward Bulwer, he was the third and youngest son of General William Earle Bulwer and his wife Elizabeth Barbara Lytton, daughter of Richard Warburton Lytton of

Knebworth House Knebworth House is an English country house in the parish of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England. It is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade II* listed building. Its gardens are also listed Register of Historic Parks and Gar ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

(through which marriage the Knebworth estate came into the Bulwer family). He was created a Baronet, of Knebworth House in the County of Hertford, in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

, in 1838, and in 1866, he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Lytton, of Knebworth in the County of Hertford. In 1844, he also assumed by Royal licence the additional surname and arms of Lytton. The first Earl of Lytton was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He was also a politician and served as Under-Secretary of State for India from 1920 to 1922 and as

Governor of Bengal In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hooghly district, Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, Governors and presidents were appointed to look after co ...

from 1922 to 1927. Lord Lytton married Pamela Plowden, remembered as the first great love of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. Their two sons, Antony Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth, and Alexander Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth, both predeceased them, Antony killed in a plane crash in 1933 and Alexander killed in action in World War II. Their daughter, Lady Hermione Lytton, married Cameron Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold, and through this marriage Knebworth House passed to the Cobbold family (see the Baron Cobbold). Lord Lytton was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Earl. He was a portrait and landscape painter. In 1899 he married Judith Blunt, 16th Baroness Wentworth, the renowned horse breeder who devoted her life to the Crabbet Arabian Stud. The stud had been created by her parents, the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and his wife Anne Blunt, 15th Baroness Wentworth, granddaughter of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

through his daughter

Ada Lovelace Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (''née'' Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-pur ...

(see the

Baron Wentworth Baron Wentworth is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1529 for Thomas Wentworth, who was also ''de jure'' sixth Baron le Despencer of the 1387 creation. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend via female ...

for earlier history of this title). They were divorced in 1923. Lord Lytton and Lady Wentworth were succeeded, respectively, in 1951 and 1957 by their son Noel Lytton, 4th Earl of Lytton; as a consequence the title

, 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 ...

, became subsidiary to the Earldom of Lytton. He assumed by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract, because it binds only one party. Etymology Th ...

the additional surname of Milbanke in 1925, but discontinued by deed poll the use of this surname in 1951. the titles are held by his eldest son, the fifth Earl, who succeeded in 1985. Another member of the family was the Liberal politician, diplomat and writer

Henry Bulwer, 1st Baron Dalling and Bulwer William Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer, 1st Baron Dalling and Bulwer, (13 February 180123 May 1872) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician, diplomat and writer. Background and education Bulwer was the second son of General William Bul ...

. He was the elder brother of the first Baron Lytton. The

family seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families t ...

is Newbuildings Place, near Shipley, West Sussex.

Lytton baronets, of Knebworth House (1838)

* Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baronet (1803–1873) (created Baron Lytton in 1866)

Baron Lytton (1866)

* Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–1873) * (Edward) Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton (1831–1891) (created Earl of Lytton in 1880)

Earl of Lytton (1880)

* (Edward) Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton (1831–1891) **Edward Roland John Bulwer-Lytton (1865–1871) **Hon. Henry Meredith Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1872–1874) * Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton (1876–1947) ** (Edward) Antony James Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth (1903–1933) **Alexander Edward John Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth (1910–1942) * Neville Stephen Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton (1879–1951) * Noel Anthony Scawen Lytton, 4th Earl of Lytton (1900–1985) * John Peter Michael Scawen Lytton, 5th Earl of Lytton (born 1950) 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, Philip Anthony Scawen Lytton, Viscount Knebworth (born 1989)

Title succession chart

References

Additional source

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lytton 1880 establishments in the United Kingdom Earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1880