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| Marquessate of Abergavenny | |
|---|---|
  Arms : Gules, a saltire argent charged with a rose of the field barbed and seeded proper. Crest: Out of a Ducal Coronet Or, a Bull's Head proper, charged with a Rose Gules. Supporters: On either side a Bull Argent, pied Sable, armed unguled collared and chained Or, the latter terminating in a Staple Or | |
| Creation date | 14 January 1876 |
| Created by | Queen Victoria |
| Peerage | Peerage of the United Kingdom |
| First holder | William Nevill, 5th Earl of Abergavenny |
| Present holder | Christopher Nevill, 6th Marquess of Abergavenny |
| Heir apparent | None |
| Remainder to | the 1st Marquess's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten. |
| Subsidiary titles | Earl of Abergavenny Earl of Lewes Viscount Nevill Baron Bergavenny (until 1938) |
| Status | Extant |
| Seat(s) | Eridge Park |
| Former seat(s) | Kidbrooke Park Birling Manor |
| Motto | NE VILE VELIS (Wish not wickedly) |
Marquess of Abergavenny (pronounced Abergenny) in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom created on 14 January 1876, along with the title Earl of Lewes (pronounced "Lewis"), in the County of Sussex,[1] for the 5th Earl of Abergavenny, a member of the Nevill family.
The 6th and present Marquess is Christopher George Charles Nevill (b. 23 April 1955), son of Lord Rupert Nevill and Lady Anne Camilla Evelyn Wallop. He succeeded to the title in 2000 on the death of his uncle the 5th Marquess, who had no surviving sons.
The family seat is Eridge Park, near Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
History
Medieval origins
The incumbent Marquess of Abergavenny is the current head of the House of Neville, a noble house of early medieval origins, notable for its central role in the Wars of the Roses.[2] Lord Abergavenny's ancestor, Edward Neville, 3rd Baron Bergavenny, was a younger son of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Lady Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. Abergavenny in the Marquess's title derives from the market town in Wales in which this branch of the Nevill family inherited Abergavenny Castle, much of the family's ancestral lands and title of Baron Bergavenny by virtue of the marriage between the suo jure peeress Elizabeth de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny, and Edward Neville in 1424.[citation needed]
Subsidiary titles
Subsequent Nevill Barons Bergavenny have been raised to higher ranks within the peerage. The 1st Marquess's ancestor, the de facto 17th (de jure 2nd) Baron Bergavenny, was created Earl of Abergavenny, in the County of Monmouth, and Viscount Nevill, of Birling in the County of Kent, in the Peerage of Great Britain on 17 May 1784.[3] The Barony of Bergavenny was held by his successors, the Earls and Marquesses of Abergavenny, until 1938, when it passed into abeyance between the two daughters of the 3rd Marquess. The 5th Earl of Abergavenny was elevated to the title of Marquess of Abergavenny along with the subsidiary title of Earl of Lewes on 14 January 1876, following his role in the foundation of the modern day Conservative Party with Disraeli and Lord Salisbury.[4][5]
Coat of arms
The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the Marquesses of Abergavenny is: Gules, a saltire argent charged with a rose of the field (barbed and seeded proper).[6] These are the ancient arms of Neville differenced by a rose, the symbol of a 7th son, in reference to Sir Edward Neville, 1st Baron Bergavenny (d.1476), 7th son of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland. The blazon can be translated as "On a red background, a white saltire with a red rose, naturally coloured, upon it."
Earl of Abergavenny (1784)
- Other titles (1st Earl onwards): Viscount Nevill (GB 1784), Baron Bergavenny (GB 1724)
- George Nevill, 1st Earl of Abergavenny (1727–1785)
- Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny (1755–1843)
- Henry George Nevill, Viscount Nevill, (1785–1806)
- Ralph Nevill, Viscount Nevill (1786–1826)
- John Nevill, 3rd Earl of Abergavenny (1789–1845)
- William Nevill, 4th Earl of Abergavenny (1792–1868)
- William Nevill, 5th Earl of Abergavenny (1826–1915) (created Marquess of Abergavenny in 1876)
Marquess of Abergavenny (1876)
- Other titles (1st Marquess onwards): Viscount Nevill (GB 1784), Earl of Lewes (UK 1876)
- Other titles (1st–3rd Marquesses): Baron Bergavenny (GB 1724, abeyant 1938)
- William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny (1826–1915)
- Reginald William Bransby Nevill, 2nd Marquess of Abergavenny (1853–1927)
- Henry Gilbert Ralph Nevill, 3rd Marquess of Abergavenny (1854–1938)
- Gilbert Reginald Nevill (1879–1891)
- Guy Temple Montacute Larnach-Nevill, 4th Marquess of Abergavenny (1883–1954)
- Lord Rupert Nevill (1923-1982)
- John Henry Guy Nevill, 5th Marquess of Abergavenny (1914–2000)
- Henry John Montague Nevill, Earl of Lewes (1948–1965)
- Christopher Nevill, 6th Marquess of Abergavenny (born 1955)
There are no heirs to the marquessate; the heir presumptive to the earldom is the present marquess's third cousin, David Michael Ralph Nevill (b. 1941)[7]
Family tree and line of succession
See also
References
- ^ "No. 24283". The London Gazette. 11 January 1876. p. 99.
- ^ Hicks. The Wars of the Roses: 1455-1485. Osprey Publishing Limited. pp. 105–112.
- ^ "No. 12541". The London Gazette. 11 May 1784. p. 1.
- ^ Harris. The Conservatives: A History. Random House, 2013. pp. 131–132.
- ^ "Abergavenny Chronicle And Monmouthshire Chronicle Advertiser". 17 December 1915.
- ^ Blazon per Debrett's Peerage, 1968, which gives no tinctures for rose, which are however given as stated in brackets for Neville Barons Braybrooke
- ^ a b Morris, Susan; Bosberry-Scott, Wendy; Belfield, Gervase, eds. (2019). "Abergavenny". Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Vol. 1 (150th ed.). London: Debrett's Ltd. pp. 270–274. ISBN 978-1-9997-6705-1.
- ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (1999). "Abergavenny". Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Vol. 1 (106th ed.). Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. pp. 11–20. ISBN 2-9400-8502-1.
Sources
- Kidd, Charles (1903). Debrett's peerage, baronetage, knightage, and companionage. London, UK: Dean & son, limited. p. 64. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Alt URL
- Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. London, UK: Dean & son, limited. p. 21.