View source for Baron Raglan

{{short description|Barony in the Peerage of the United Kingdom}}

{{redirect|Lord Raglan|the person styled Lord Herbert of Raglan from 1628–1644|Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox nobility title
| name              = Baron Raglan 
| image             = [[Image:Coat of arms of the Barons Raglan.png|240px|Arms of the Baron Raglan]] 
| image_size        =  
| alt               =  
| caption           = 
| creation_date     = 11 October 1852<ref name="burke">{{cite book |title= [[Burke's Peerage|Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood]]|publisher=Burke's Peerage & Gentry |editor= Mosley, Charles |editor-link= Charles Mosley (genealogist) |edition=107 |year= 2003 |page=3254|ref=Burke |isbn=0-9711966-2-1}}</ref> 
| creation          =  
| monarch           = [[Queen Victoria]] 
| peerage           = [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]] 
| baronetage        =  
| first_holder      = [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|Lord FitzRoy Somerset]] 
| last_holder       =  
| present_holder    = [[Geoffrey Somerset, 6th Baron Raglan]] (b. 1932) 
| heir_apparent     = Iñigo Arthur Fitzroy Somerset (b. 2004) 
| heir_presumptive  =  
| remainder_to      = the 1st Baron's [[heirs male]] [[heirs of the body|of the body]] lawfully begotten 
| subsidiary_titles = none 
| status            =  
| extinction_date   =  
| family_seat       =  
| former_seat       =  
| motto             = ''Mutare vel timere sperno'' ("I scorn to change or fear")<ref name="burke"/> 
| footnotes         =  
}}
[[Image:Raglan.jpg|225px|thumb|right|FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan]]
[[File:Portrait of Emily Harriet Wellesley-Pole (Lady Raglan).jpg|thumb|[[Emily, Lady Raglan]], portrait by [[Thomas Lawrence]].]]
'''Baron Raglan''', of [[Raglan, Monmouthshire|Raglan]] in the [[Monmouthshire (historic)|County of Monmouth]], is a title in the [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=21366 |date=12 October 1852||page=2663}}</ref> It was created on 20 October 1852 for the military commander [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|Lord FitzRoy Somerset]], chiefly remembered as commander of the [[United Kingdom|British]] troops during the [[Crimean War]].

==History==
The title was created for Lord FitzRoy Somerset, the youngest son of [[Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort]] (see [[Duke of Beaufort]] for earlier history of the family). His second but eldest surviving son, the second Baron, served as a [[Lord-in-waiting]] (government whip in the [[House of Lords]]) from 1866 to 1868 in the [[Conservative Government 1866-1868|Conservative administrations]] of the [[Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby|Earl of Derby]] and [[Benjamin Disraeli]]. He was succeeded by his son, the third Baron. He held office as [[Under-Secretary of State for War]] between 1900 and 1902 in the [[Conservative Government 1895-1905|Conservative government]] of [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]]. His eldest son, the fourth Baron, was a soldier and also served as [[Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire]]. The fifth Baron was active in the [[House of Lords]] but lost his seat in the upper chamber of parliament after the passing of the [[House of Lords Act 1999]]. {{As of|2012}} the title is held by the fourth Baron's third but second surviving son, the sixth Baron, who succeeded in 2010.

Like their Beaufort relatives, the Barons of Raglan can boast an unbroken line of male (but illegitimate) descent from [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] and the earliest [[Plantagenets]].
 
The family seat was [[Cefntilla Court]], [[Llandenny]] in Monmouthshire.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/apr/18/lord-raglan-obituary| title = Guardian- Lord Raglan Obituary| access-date = 18 April 2010 | location=London| work=The Guardian| first=Andrew| last=Roth| date=18 April 2010}}</ref> An inscription over the porch dated 1858 reads: "This house with 238 acres of land was purchased by 1623 of the friends, admirers and comrades in arms of the late Field Marshal [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|Lord Raglan]] GCB and presented by them to his son and his heirs for ever in a lasting memorial of affectionate regard and respect". Memorials to a number of members of the Raglan branch of the Somerset family can be seen in [[Church of St John, Llandenny|St John's Church]], the parish church of Llandenny.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mary in Monmouth |url=http://maryinmonmouth.blogspot.com/2010/03/llandenny-church-with-mystery-saint.html |title=Mary in Monmouth: LLANDENNY - The Church with the Mystery Saint |publisher=Maryinmonmouth.blogspot.com |date=2010-03-08 |access-date=2012-02-12}}</ref>

The fifth baron willed Cefntilla to a nephew, the son of his sister, and not to the heirs of the barony, a decision which was contested. During the legal dispute, the Honourable Arthur Somerset, son and heir of the new Baron, died suddenly on 25 July 2012.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/monmouth/2011/02/08/the-disinheritance-of-lord-raglan-s-nephew-and-future-title-holder-causes-split-in-family-91466-28131059/| title = Walesonline - The disinheritance of Lord Raglan's nephew and future title holder causes split in family without resolve.| access-date = February 8, 2011| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120403190638/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/monmouth/2011/02/08/the-disinheritance-of-lord-raglan-s-nephew-and-future-title-holder-causes-split-in-family-91466-28131059/| archive-date = April 3, 2012}}</ref> The dispute was subsequently settled and Cefntilla sold.

==Barons Raglan (1852)==
*[[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan]] (1788–1855)
*[[Richard Somerset, 2nd Baron Raglan|Richard Henry FitzRoy Somerset, 2nd Baron Raglan]] (1817–1884)
*[[George Somerset, 3rd Baron Raglan|George FitzRoy Henry Somerset, 3rd Baron Raglan]] (1857–1921)
*[[FitzRoy Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan|FitzRoy Richard Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan]] (1885–1964)
*[[FitzRoy Somerset, 5th Baron Raglan|FitzRoy John Somerset, 5th Baron Raglan]] (1927–2010)
*[[Geoffrey Somerset, 6th Baron Raglan]] (born 1932)
**Hon. Arthur Geoffrey Somerset (1960–2012)

The [[heir apparent]] is the present holder's grandson Iñigo Arthur Fitzroy Somerset (born 2004).

==Family Tree ==
{{Dukes of Beaufort, Lancaster, and Somerset family tree}}

==See also==
*[[Duke of Beaufort]]
*[[Viscount Somerset]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/event-industry-pays-tribute-arthur-somerset/{Subject}/article/1142934 A Tribute to the Honourable Arthur Somerset: The King of the Events Industry]
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/artsales/9168992/Battle-to-save-Wellington-legacy.html Battle to save Wellington legacy: A unique and important collection of military memorabilia with a fascinating history is in danger of being broken up]
*[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/family-of-military-hero-locked-in-battle-over-sale-of-treasures-7609026.html Family of military hero locked in battle over sale of treasures]
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/9447392/Duke-of-Wellingtons-treasures-in-jeopardy.html Duke of Wellington's treasures in jeopardy]
*{{cite book| title=Debrett's peerage, baronetage, knightage, and companionage| editor-first=Charles| editor-last=Kidd| url=https://archive.org/details/b24883797/mode/2up?ref=ol| page=720| date=1903| publisher=London: Dean and son}}
{{Extant Barons of the United Kingdom}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raglan}}
[[Category:Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Somerset family|*]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1852]]
[[Category:Peerages created for UK MPs]]