Viscount Portman, in the
County of Somerset, is a title in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 28 March 1873, for the former
Lord Lieutenant of Somerset and
Liberal Member of Parliament
Edward Portman, 1st Baron Portman. He had already been created Baron Portman, of
Orchard Portman, on 27 January 1837, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. His son, the second Viscount, represented
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury and north-northeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hi ...
and
Dorset
Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
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 ...
as a Liberal. , the titles have been held by one of the latter's great-great-grandsons, the tenth Viscount, since 1999.
The family post-1728 is descended in the male line from a junior line of Berkeley of
Stoke Gifford, one of whom married the daughter of Joan Portman, the great-granddaughter of
Sir William Portman,
Lord Chief Justice of England, between 1555 and 1557. He acquired land in
Marylebone, London, which developed under
Henry William Portman into the
Portman Estate Portman may refer to:
* Portman (surname)
* Viscount Portman
Places
* Portmán, a town near Cartagena, Spain
* Orchard Portman, a village and civil parish in Somerset, England
* Portman Estate, 110 acres in Marylebone in London’s West End
* Por ...
, a cornerstone of the family's wealth. The judge's grandson was created a baronet in 1612 (see
Portman Baronets). In its third generation, when
Sir William Portman, 6th Baronet, died in 1690 without progeny, the bulk of the estates passed to a husband of the family: Henry Seymour (d.1728), MP, 5th son of
Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet of
Berry Pomeroy, Devon (by
coverture applying to his wife Anne Portman, second daughter of
Sir John Portman, 1st Baronet). Seymour took the surname Portman in lieu of his patronymic, but left no issue. The property then devolved to another cousin, William Berkeley (d.1737) of
Pylle, Somerset, who likewise took the surname Portman. His great-grandson was
Edward Berkeley Portman (1771–1823),
MP for
Dorset
Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
and father of
Edward Portman, 1st Viscount Portman.
The family seat was
Bryanston House, near
Bryanston, Dorset, which has been a large private school since 1928.
Viscounts Portman (1873)
*
Edward Berkeley Portman, 1st Viscount Portman (1799–1888)
*
Henry Berkeley Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman (1829–1919)
*
Henry Berkeley Portman, 3rd Viscount Portman (1860–1923)
*
Claud Berkeley Portman, 4th Viscount Portman (1864–1929)
*
Edward Claud Berkeley Portman, 5th Viscount Portman (1898–1942)
*
Seymour Berkeley Portman, 6th Viscount Portman (1868–1946)
*
Gerald Berkeley Portman, 7th Viscount Portman (1875–1948)
*
Gerald William Berkeley Portman, 8th Viscount Portman (1903–1967)
*
Edward Henry Berkeley Portman, 9th Viscount Portman (1934–1999)
*
Christopher Edward Berkeley Portman, 10th Viscount Portman (b. 1958)
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. Luke Henry Oliver Richard Berkeley Portman (b. 1984).
The young elite 1–10
/ref>
Wealth
See also
* Portman Baronets
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
*
External links
Portman Estate
London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portman
Viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Noble titles created in 1873
Peerages created for UK MPs
*