Earl of Sefton was a title 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 ...

created in 1771 for the 8th Viscount Molyneux. The Earls of Sefton held the subsidiary titles Viscount Molyneux, of Maryborough (modern day

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. Portlaoise was the fastest growing of the top 20 largest town ...

) in the Queen's County (created 1628), in the Peerage of Ireland, and (from the 2nd Earl onwards) Baron Sefton, of Croxteth in the

County Palatine of Lancaster Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

(created 1831), 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 ...

. All three titles became extinct upon the death of the 7th Earl in 1972. The Molyneux family's powerful allegiances led to an acquisition of lands and wealth throughout the period 1100–1700, when members of the family were lords of the manor at Sefton. The seat of the Earls of Sefton was

Croxteth Hall Croxteth Hall is a country estate and Grade II* listed building in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool, England. It is the former country estate and ancestral home of the Molyneux (surname), Molyneux family, the Earl of Sefton, Earls of Sefton. ...

near (now in) Liverpool. It was bequeathed to the City of Liverpool by the 7th and last Earl of Sefton and his wife, the former Josephine Gwynne Armstrong (1903–1980), who was the final member of the Molyneux family to live at Croxteth. The American-born Countess of Sefton, nicknamed "Foxy" and formerly a fashion model of great beauty, was a lifelong friend of the

Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Spencer and then Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986) was an American socialite and the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (former King Edward VIII). Their intenti ...

. Another seat of the Earls of Sefton was the Abbeystead estate in Lancashire, later owned by the

Dukes of Westminster Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

. Abbeystead was mainly used as a hunting and recreational estate by the Earls of Sefton. Despite being part of the Peerage of Ireland, the earldom referred to Sefton in Lancashire.

Molyneux family history

The ancestors of the Molyneaux family who arrived in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

around 1100 bore the name "de Molines". They came from Moulins, France, in the region of

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

. Other sources claim the family came from Molineaux-sur-Seine, in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. Wherever their origin, Robert de Moulins' son, William, settled in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. They were granted lands in

. They can be shown to have held a large moated manor and St. Helen's Church at Sefton without interruption from about 1100 to 1700 before they moved to

. Of the Molyneux family, Sir Richard (d.1290) and Sir William Molyneux (d.1320), knights of the Crusades, are entombed within the church, and are its oldest inhabitants. Their effigies now lie beneath an arch moulding set into the wall in the Molyneux chapel, which is outside of the 14th-century church walls. The family were hereditary constables of

Liverpool Castle Liverpool Castle was a castle in Liverpool, Liverpool, England, that stood from the early 13th century to the early 18th century (1237–1726). Construction The castle was probably erected in the 1230s, between 1232 and 1235, under the orders o ...

. The senior branch of the family had been staunch Catholics and Royalists (notably in the 17th and 18th centuries) through the worst times until Charles Molyneux, 8th Viscount Molyneux, was rewarded for converting to the Protestant faith. The relatively youthful second and third Viscounts fought on the Royalist side both politically and militarily. Although Liverpool Castle had been partly dismantled in 1660-1678, Caryll Molyneux, the 3rd Viscount, had used it for storing arms. During the reign of King James II, he was outlawed by Parliament for supporting the deposed king from 1688 to 1689. Control of the Castle finally passed out of Molyneux's hands after Caryll had again been suspected of participation in a Jacobite plot. William, the 7th Viscount, was a Jesuit, and there were in his time not less than seven Molyneux in the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. The loss of Liverpool Castle led to a protracted legal case over its ownership and ultimately its demolition. On 5 March 1704 the city's burgesses obtained a lease for the castle and its site from

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

for fifty years. But William Molyneux, 4th Viscount Molyneux, disputed this as he still claimed to be the castle's hereditary constables. This delayed the settlement of the lease until 1726, when the final ruins of the castle were demolished. Over the centuries, several deviations of the name Molyneaux have emerged. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelt names as they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name include Molyneaux, Molinex, Mullinix, Mullenneix, Mullineaux, Molinieux, Molinaux, Molineaux, Mollineaux, Molineux, and several others. Later, many variations were due to misspellings in

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

or other country's immigration services. Although Anglo-Norman surnames like Molyneaux are characterized by many spelling variations, the form ''Molyneux'' has prevailed with the modern trend towards standardisation.

Molyneux baronets, of Sefton (1611)

Sir Richard Molyneux, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Molyneux, 1st Baronet (1560–1622) was a member of parliament for Lancashire, Mayor of Liverpool and Receiver-General of the Duchy of Lancaster. Life Molyneux was the son of William Molyneux and his wife Bridget Caryll. His grandfa ...

(1560–1622) Member of Parliament for

Sir Richard Molyneux, 2nd Baronet Richard Molyneux, 1st Viscount Molyneux (1594–1636) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1629. Biography Molyneux was the son of Sir Richard Molyneux, 1st Baro ...

(1594–1636) (created Viscount Molyneux in 1628)

Viscounts Molyneux (1628)

Richard Molyneux, 1st Viscount Molyneux Richard Molyneux, 1st Viscount Molyneux (1594–1636) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1629. Biography Molyneux was the son of Sir Richard Molyneux, 1st Baronet of Sefton and his wife ...

(1594–1636) *

Richard Molyneux, 2nd Viscount Molyneux Richard Molyneux, 2nd Viscount Molyneux of Maryborough, (about 1617–1654) was a Royalist officer in the English Civil War Biography Richard Molyneux was the son of Richard Molyneux, 1st Viscount Molyneux and Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Caryll o ...

(1620?–1654) *

Caryll Molyneux, 3rd Viscount Molyneux Caryll Molyneux, 3rd Viscount Molyneux (1623/24 – 1700) was an English peer. Life He was the younger son of Richard Molyneux, 1st Viscount Molyneux and Mary Caryll, daughter of Sir Thomas Caryll of Bentone in Sussex. He inherited the title ...

(1622–1699) *William Molyneux, 4th Viscount Molyneux (1655–1717) *Richard Molyneux, 5th Viscount Molyneux (1679–1738)Record for ''Richard Molyneux, 5th Viscount Molyneux'' on ''thepeerage.com''
/ref> *Caryll Molyneux, 6th Viscount Molyneux (1683–1745) * William Molyneux, 7th Viscount Molyneux (1685–1759) * Charles William Molyneux, 8th Viscount Molyneux (1748–1794) (created Earl of Sefton on 30 November 1771)

Earls of Sefton (1771)

Charles William Molyneux, 1st Earl of Sefton Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning wa ...

(1748–1794) * William Philip Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton (1772–1838) (created Baron Sefton on 20 June 1831) * Charles William Molyneux, 3rd Earl of Sefton (1796–1855) * William Philip Molyneux, 4th Earl of Sefton (1835–1897) * Charles William Hylton Molyneux, 5th Earl of Sefton (1867–1901) * Osbert Cecil Molyneux, 6th Earl of Sefton (1871–1930) *

Hugh William Osbert Molyneux, 7th Earl of Sefton Hugh William Osbert Molyneux, 7th Earl of Sefton (22 December 1898 – 13 April 1972) was the last Earl of Sefton. His family seats were Croxteth Hall and Abbeystead House in Lancashire; he also held the Wyresdale Forest, an estate in the Forest ...

(1898–1972)

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