Earl of Lucan
| Earldom of Lucan | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Created by | George III |
| Peerage | Peerage of Ireland |
| Status | Extant |
| Motto | SPES MEA CHRISTUS (Christ is my hope) |
| Earldom of Lucan (Jacobite Creation) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | James II whilst in exile |
| Peerage | Jacobite Peerage |
| Status | Extinct |
| Motto | VIRTUS NON VERTITUR (Virtue does not turn) |
| Being a Jacobite creation, this peerage has never been legally recognised in Britain | |
Earl of Lucan is a title which has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland for related families.
History
Patrick Sarsfield was one of the senior commanders of James VII & II (deposed in 1688) in battles in Ireland with William of Orange which determined the latter's takeover with his co-regnant wife, Mary Stuart, of the English, Scottish and Irish thrones (the Glorious Revolution and First Jacobite Wars). In 1691, the exiled King James purportedly created him Earl of Lucan, Viscount of Tully and Baron Rosberry. Sarsfield's son James died without a pretendant heir in 1719, and the title became extinct. Since this was a Jacobite Peerage, it is recognised in the British peerage as a misconceived first creation.
In 1795, the title was re-created afresh as a clear "second creation" to avoid any association with the first creation, which was among the widely noted Jacobite peerages, for Sarsfield's similarly landowning great-nephew, Charles Bingham, 1st Baron Lucan.[1][2][3]
The subsidiary titles associated with the Earldom of Lucan are: Baron Lucan, of Castlebar in the County of Mayo (created 1776),[4] and Baron Bingham, of Melcombe Bingham in the County of Dorset (created 1934).[5] The first is in the Peerage of Ireland, whereas the second is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which allowed Earls of Lucan to sit in the House of Lords after the practice of electing representative peers from Ireland ceased. The Earl of Lucan also has a Baronetcy (of Castlebar, Co Mayo), created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia (7 June 1634).
The title became notorious when the 3rd Earl, as cavalry commander in the Crimean War, was involved in the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade.
Its notoriety was renewed after the disappearance in 1974 of the profligate 7th Earl. In June 1975, in his absence, a coroner's jury found that he had murdered his children's nanny, Sandra Rivett. There have been no confirmed sightings of the 7th Earl since his disappearance, and he was declared legally dead for purposes of probate (debts and assets) in October 1999. This was, alone, insufficient to enable his son George, Lord Bingham to succeed to the titles — a death certificate for the 7th Earl was issued in February 2016 under the Presumption of Death Act 2013,[6] and Lord Bingham's claim to the Earldom was formally accepted by the House of Lords on 7 June 2016.[7]
The family seats were Castlebar House, near Gorteendrunagh, County Mayo, and from 1803 to 1922 Laleham House in Laleham, Surrey (until 1965 in the former county of Middlesex).[8][9]
Earls of Lucan; First creation (1691) Jacobite Peerage
- Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan (c. 1660–1693)
- James Sarsfield, 2nd Earl of Lucan (1693–1719)
Bingham Baronets, of Castlebar (1634)
- Sir Henry Bingham, 1st Baronet (1573–c. 1658)
- Sir George Bingham, 2nd Baronet (c. 1625–1682)
- Sir Henry Bingham, 3rd Baronet (died c. 1714)
- Sir George Bingham, 4th Baronet (died c. 1730)
- Sir John Bingham, 5th Baronet (c. 1696–1749)
- Sir John Bingham, 6th Baronet (1730–1750)
- Sir Charles Bingham, 7th Baronet (1735–1799) (created Baron Lucan in 1776, and Earl of Lucan in 1795)
Earls of Lucan; Second creation (1795)
- Charles Bingham, 1st Earl of Lucan (1735–1799)
- Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan (1764–1839)
- George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan (1800–1888)
- Charles George Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan (1830–1914)
- George Charles Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan (1860–1949)
- George Charles Patrick Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan (1898–1964)
- Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 1934, missing since 1974, presumed dead; death certificate issued 2016)
- George Charles Bingham, 8th Earl of Lucan (born 1967)
The heir presumptive is the present holder's first cousin once removed Nicholas Bingham (born 1943).
The heir presumptive's heir apparent is his son Charles Bingham (born 1979).
See also
Notes
- ^ "No. 13821". The London Gazette. 13 October 1795. p. 1052.
- ^ Lineage online linking William Sarsfield of Lucan to Charles Bingham Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 September 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "No. 11679". The London Gazette. 2 July 1776. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 34066". The London Gazette. 3 July 1934. p. 4222.
- ^ Lucan death certificate granted, bbc.co.uk, 3 February 2016, retrieved 3 February 2016
- ^ "Minutes of Proceedings of Tuesday 7 June 2016". House of Lords.
- ^ In 1803, Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan bought Laleham manor and manor house from William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale. The family hatchment and graves at the nearby church date to the early 19th century.
- ^ "Laleham Village – Around and About". Spelthorne Borough Council.
External links
Media related to Earls of Lucan at Wikimedia Commons
