Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by
several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in
the twelfth century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville. Upon the death
of the third earl, the title became extinct. It was created again
for Geoffrey Fitzpeter in 1199, who had married a relative of the
de Mandevilles. It passed to two of his sons before again becoming
extinct after William FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville's death.
The third creation was for Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford
in 1239, whose father Henry had married Maud, sister of William
FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville. Both the Earldom of Hereford and the
Earldom of Essex became extinct in 1373.
There were several
more creations until the famous Devereux creation in 1572, which
included Robert
Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1566–1601) a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I and his son
Robert Devereux, 3rd
Earl of Essex, the general who commanded the Parliamentary army
at the Battle of Edge
Hill
, the first major battle of the English Civil War (for further history of
the Devereux family, see the Viscount
Hereford). Upon its extinction, the present creation was
made in 1661.
Capell creation
Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of
Hadham, and his family
The Capell
(or Capel) family descends from Sir Arthur Capell of Raines Hall in
Essex and of Hadham in Hertfordshire
. His grandson
Arthur Capell
represented
Hertfordshire in
both the
Short and
Long Parliaments. In 1641 he was raised to
the
Peerage of England as
Baron Capell of Hadham, in the County of Hertford.
Capell later fought as a Royalist in the
Civil War. He was tried and condemned to
death by the Parliamentarians and beheaded in May 1649. He was
succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. In 1661 he was
created
Viscount Malden, in the County of Essex,
and
Earl of Essex, with remainder, failing heirs
male of his own, to, firstly, his brother Henry Capell (later Baron
Capell of Tewkesbury; see below), failing which to, secondly, his
brother Edward Capell. These titles are also in the Peerage of
England. Lord Essex later served as
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and as
First Lord of the
Treasury. On his death the titles passed to his son, the second
Earl. He was a
Lieutenant-General
in the Army and served as
Lord-Lieutenant of
Hertfordshire. He was succeeded by his son, the third Earl. He
served as
Captain of
the Yeomen of the Guard from 1739 to 1743 and was also
Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. When he died the titles passed to
his son, the fourth Earl. He also served as Lord-Lieutenant of
Hertfordshire.
He was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, the
fifth Earl.
He sat in the House of
Commons
for many years and was Lord-Lieutenant of
Hertfordshire from 1801 to 1817. Lord Essex assumed the
surname of Coningsby. In 1839, at the age of seventy-six, he
married the vocalist and actress
Catherine Stephens. He was succeeded by
his nephew, the sixth Earl. He was the son of the Hon. John Thomas
Capell, second son of the fourth Earl from his second marriage to
Harriet Bladen. On his death the titles passed to his grandson, the
seventh Earl. He was the eldest son of Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur de
Vere Capell, Viscount Malden, eldest son of the sixth Earl. The
line of the sixth Earl failed on the death of the seventh Earl's
grandson, the ninth Earl, in 1981. The succession was unclear and
it was not until 1989 that the late Earl's third cousin once
removed, Robert Edward de Vere Capell, managed to prove his claim,
and became the tenth Earl. He was the great-grandson of the Hon.
Algernon Henry Champagné Capell (younger brother of the sixth
Earl), son of the aforementioned the Hon. John Thomas Capell
(half-brother of the fifth Earl), son of the second marriage of the
fourth Earl. As of 2007 the titles are held by his only son, the
eleventh Earl, who succeeded in 2005.
Viscount Malden is used as the
courtesy title by the Heir Apparent to the
earldom (when one exists).
Two other members of the Capell family have also gained
distinction. The Hon.
Henry Capell,
second son of the first Baron, was a politician and was created
Baron Capell of
Tewkesbury in 1692. The Hon. Sir Thomas Bladen Capell
(1776–1853), youngest son of the second marriage of the fourth
Earl, was an
Admiral in the
Royal Navy.
Earls of Essex, first Creation (c. 1139)
Earls of Essex, second Creation (1199)
Earls of Essex, third Creation (1239)
Earls of Essex, fourth Creation (1376)
Earls of Essex, fifth Creation (1461)
Earls of Essex, sixth Creation (1540)
Earls of Essex, seventh Creation (1543)
Earls of Essex, eighth Creation (1572)
Barons Capell of Hadham (1641)
Earls of Essex, ninth Creation (1661)
- Arthur Capell, 1st
Earl of Essex (1631–1683)
- Algernon Capell,
2nd Earl of Essex (1670–1710)
- William Capell,
3rd Earl of Essex (1697–1743)
- William Anne
Capell, 4th Earl of Essex (1732–1799)
- George
Capell-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex (1757–1839)
- Arthur Algernon
Capell, 6th Earl of Essex (1803–1892)
- George Devereux de Vere Capell, 7th Earl of Essex
(1857–1916)
- Algernon George de Vere Capell, 8th Earl of Essex
(1884–1966)
- Reginald George
de Vere Capell, 9th Earl of Essex (1906–1981, dormant
1981)
- Robert Edward de
Vere Capell, 10th Earl of Essex (1920–2005, revived 1989)
- Frederick Paul de
Vere Capell, 11th Earl of Essex (b. 1944)
The
Heir Presumptive is the present
holder's fourth cousin once removed
William Jennings Capell (b. 1952).
He is great-great-great-grandson of the Hon. Adolphus Capell
(younger brother of the sixth Earl), younger son of the
aforementioned the Hon. John Capell (half-brother of the fifth
Earl), son of the second marriage of the fourth Earl.
Capells family tree
The following is the family tree of significant male male-line
descendants from the 1st Baron Capell of Hadham, with the names of
those living in bold face:
References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's
Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's
Press, 1990.
- thePeerage.com
- Stephen, Sir Leslie; Lee, Sir Sidney (editors). The
Dictionary of National Biography, From the Earliest Times to 1900:
Volume III Brown-Chaloner. Oxford University Press.
External links
(d. 1297)
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
