Marquess of Salisbury

This article is about the title in the Peerage of Great Britain. For the British prime minister, see Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury.

Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury.^[1] Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly the 3rd Marquess, who served three times as Prime Minister in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Marquessate of Salisbury
Arms: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Barry of ten Argent and Azure, over all six Escutcheons Sable, three two and one each charged with a Lion rampant of the First, a Crescent Gules for difference (Cecil); 2nd and 3rd, Argent, on a Pale Sable, a Conger's Head erased and erect Or, charged with an Ermine Spot (Gascoyne). Crests: 1st, Six Arrows in saltire Or, barbed and flighted Argent, bound together with a Belt Gules, buckled and garnished Gold, over the arrows a Morion Cap proper (Cecil); 2nd, A Conger's Head erased and erect Or, charged with an Ermine Spot (Gascoyne). Supporters: On either side a Lion Ermine.
Creation date	10 August 1789
Created by	King George III
Peerage	Peerage of Great Britain
First holder	James Cecil, 7th Earl of Salisbury
Present holder	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess
Heir apparent	Edward Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne
Remainder to	the 1st Marquess's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Earl of Salisbury Viscount Cranborne Baron Cecil
Status	Extant
Seat(s)	Hatfield House Cranborne Manor
Motto	SERO SED SERIO (Late but seriously)

Background

This branch of the Cecil family descends from Sir Robert Cecil, the son of the prominent statesman the 1st Baron Burghley, from his second marriage, to Mildred Cooke. His elder half-brother the 2nd Baron Burghley, was created Earl of Exeter in 1605 and is the ancestor of the Marquesses of Exeter. Cecil notably served under Queen Elizabeth I and later King James I as Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Lord Privy Seal and Lord High Treasurer. In 1603 he was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Cecil, of Essendon in the County of Rutland, and the following year he was created Viscount Cranborne. In 1605 he was further created Earl of Salisbury. The last two titles were also in the Peerage of England.

The Earl of Salisbury was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He represented Weymouth in the House of Commons and also served as Captain of the Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners and as Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire and Dorsetshire. His great-grandson, the fourth Earl, converted to Roman Catholicism and in 1689 the House of Commons decided to impeach him for high treason. However, the charges were not brought any further and he was succeeded by his son, the fifth Earl, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire.

History

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

The seventh Earl was a politician and served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household for many years. In 1789, he was created Marquess of Salisbury in the Peerage of Great Britain.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second marquess. He was a Conservative politician and held office as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council. Lord Salisbury married as his first wife Frances Mary Gascoyne, daughter of Bamber Gascoyne, in 1821. The same year he assumed by royal licence the additional surname of Gascoyne.

He was succeeded by his third but eldest surviving son, the third marquess. The third marquess was Prime Minister three times, from 1885 to 1886, 1886 to 1892 and 1895 to 1902 and also served four times as foreign secretary. His time as Prime Minister coincided with a great expansion of the British Empire. Lord Salisbury is also remembered as an adherent of the policy of "splendid isolation", the desire to keep Great Britain out of European affairs and alliances. He was also "the last Prime Minister to lead a government from the Lords".^[2][3] Salisbury was offered a dukedom by Queen Victoria in 1886 and 1892, but declined both offers, citing the prohibitive cost of the lifestyle dukes were expected to maintain.^[4]

He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fourth marquess. The fourth marquess was also an influential Conservative politician and served as Lord Privy Seal, as President of the Board of Trade, as Lord President of the Council, as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and as Leader of the House of Lords. Like his father he was regarded as a staunch Conservative and bitterly opposed the Parliament Act 1911, which sought to curtail the powers of the House of Lords.

His eldest son, the fifth marquess, was also a Conservative politician. In 1941 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Cecil. During his career Lord Salisbury notably held office as Paymaster General, Secretary of State for the Dominions, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords. He was an opponent of attempts to reform the House of Lords but was forced to see the Parliament Act 1949 even further limit the power of the House of Lords. However, Lord Salisbury was also behind the Salisbury Convention of 1945, which states that the House of Lords shall not oppose the second reading of any government legislation promised in its election manifesto.

The fifth Marquess was succeeded by his eldest son, the sixth marquess. Although he briefly represented Bournemouth West in Parliament he did not take such an active role in national politics as his predecessors.

As of 2012, the titles are held by the sixth marquess's eldest son, the seventh Marquess, who succeeded in 2003. The seventh marquess is also a Conservative politician. After representing South Dorset in the House of Commons, he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Cecil in 1992 (the last time a writ of acceleration was issued).^[5] Lord Salisbury then served under his close political ally John Major as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords from 1994 to 1997. As Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords after 1997, he played a leading role in negotiating the terms of the House of Lords Act 1999, in which the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the upper chamber of Parliament was abolished. Salisbury managed to obtain a compromise with the Labour government of Tony Blair, whereby 92 selected hereditary peers were allowed to remain on an interim basis. However, the compromise was agreed without the knowledge of Conservative leader William Hague and Salisbury was dismissed as Conservative Leader in the House of Lords. The same year, along with all former Leaders of the House of Lords, he was given a life peerage as Baron Gascoyne-Cecil, of Essendon in the County of Rutland, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom,^[6] so that he could remain a member of the House of Lords. He continued to sit under his life peerage until 8 June 2017, when he retired from the House under Section 1 of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.

Several other members of the Cecil family have gained distinction. Lord Eustace Cecil, fourth son of the second Marquess, was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army and Member of Parliament. His son Evelyn Cecil was a Conservative politician and was created Baron Rockley in 1934. The Right Reverend Lord William Gascoyne-Cecil, Bishop of Exeter; Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood; Lord Edward Cecil; and Hugh Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood; were all younger sons of the third Marquess. Lord David Cecil, Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford, was the second son of the fourth Marquess, while the journalist Lord Richard Cecil was the second son of the sixth Marquess. Also, Lady Blanche Gascoyne-Cecil, daughter of the second Marquess, was the mother of Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour.

The Salisbury Chapel in St Etheldreda Church, Hatfield, traditional burial place of the marquesses

The family seats are Hatfield House and Cranborne Manor. The traditional burial place of the marquesses is the Salisbury Chapel in St Etheldreda Church, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The 6th Marquess had holdings of 8,500 acres around Hatfield House, and 1,300 acres at Cranborne Manor, Dorset. At the time of his obituary he owned property around Leicester and Leicester Square, London, held by Gascoyne Holdings.^[7]

All the marquesses, except the 6th marquess, have been appointed as Knights Companion of the Order of the Garter.

Earls of Salisbury (1605)

• Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563–1612)
• William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury (1591–1668)
• James Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (1648–1683)
• James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1666–1694)
• James Cecil, 5th Earl of Salisbury (1691–1728)
• James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury (1713–1780)
• James Cecil, 7th Earl of Salisbury (1748–1823) (created Marquess of Salisbury in 1789)

Marquesses of Salisbury (1789)

• James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury (1748–1823)
• James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury (1791–1868)
• Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903)
• James Edward Hubert Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury (1861–1947)
• Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury (1893–1972)
• Robert Edward Peter Cecil Gascoyne-Cecil, 6th Marquess of Salisbury (1916–2003)
• Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury (b. 1946)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Robert Edward William Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (b. 1970).

Family tree

The Cecils are descended from Sir David Cecil (c. 1460 – 1540), a Welsh landowner, courtier, and Member of Parliament. He was born into a Welsh family, the third son of Richard Cecil ap Philip Seisyllt of Alt-yr-Ynys on the border of Herefordshire and Monmouthshire but settled near Stamford, Lincolnshire.^[8] The spelling of the family name as Seisyllt is still similar to how the name is pronounced, Sissill.

v t e Cecil family tree, including earls of Exeter and Salisbury (1605) and marquesses of Exeter (1801) and Salisbury

David Cecil c. 1460–c. 1540 Richard Cecil c. 1495–1553 Baron Burghley, 1571 William Cecil 1520–1598 1st Baron Burghley Mildred Cooke 1526–1589 Earl of Exeter, 1605 Baron Cecil, 1603 Viscount Cranborne, 1604 Earl of Salisbury (5th creation), 1605 Thomas Cecil 1542–1623 1st Earl of Exeter, 2nd Baron Burghley Robert Cecil 1563–1612 1st Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Viscount Wimbledon and Baron Cecil of Putney, 1625 William Cecil 1566–1600 2nd Earl of Exeter, 3rd Baron Burghley Richard Cecil 1570–1633 Edward Cecil 1572–1638 1st Viscount Wimbledon and Baron Cecil of Putney Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk 1561–1626 1st Earl of Suffolk Barony Cecil of Putney and viscounty Wimbledon extinct, 1638 David Cecil c. 1600–1643 3rd Earl of Exeter, 4th Baron Burghley William Cecil 1591–1668 2nd Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Catherine c. 1590–1673 John Cecil 1628–1678 4th Earl of Exeter, 5th Baron Burghley Charles Cecil 1619–1660 styled Viscount Cranborne John Manners 1604–1679 8th Earl of Rutland John Cecil c. 1648–1700 5th Earl of Exeter, 6th Baron Burghley James Cecil 1648–1683 3rd Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Margaret d. c. 1682 John Cecil 1674–1721 6th Earl of Exeter, 7th Baron Burghley James Cecil 1666–1694 4th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Thomas Tufton 1644–1729 6th Earl of Thanet John Cecil c. 1700–1722 7th Earl of Exeter, 8th Baron Burghley Brownlow Cecil 1701–1754 8th Earl of Exeter, 9th Baron Burghley James Cecil 1691–1728 5th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Anne 1693–1757 Brownlow Cecil 1725–1793 9th Earl of Exeter, 10th Baron Burghley James Cecil 1713–1780 6th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Wills Hill 1718–1793 1st Marquess of Downshire Marquess of Exeter (2nd creation), 1801 Marquess of Salisbury, 1789 Henry Cecil 1725–1793 1st Marquess of Exeter, 10th Earl of Exeter, 11th Baron Burghley James Cecil 1743–1823 1st Marquess of Salisbury, 7th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Emily 1750–1835 Brownlow Cecil 1795–1867 2nd Marquess of Exeter, 11th Earl of Exeter, 12th Baron Burghley James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil 1791–1868 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, 8th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon William Allen Cecil 1825–1895 3rd Marquess of Exeter, 12th Earl of Exeter, 13th Baron Burghley James Emilius William Evelyn Gascoyne-Cecil 1821–1865 styled Viscount Cranborne Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil 1830–1903 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, 9th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, 1923 Brownlow Henry George Cecil 1849–1898 4th Marquess of Exeter, 13th Earl of Exeter, 14th Baron Burghley Mary Rothes Margaret Cecil 1857–1919 2nd Baroness Amherst of Hackney William Cecil 1854–1943 James Edward Hubert Gascoyne-Cecil 1861–1947 4th Marquess of Salisbury, 10th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Edgar Algernon Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 1864–1958 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood Viscounty Cecil of Chelwood extinct, 1958 William Thomas Brownlow Cecil 1876–1956 5th Marquess of Exeter, 14th Earl of Exeter, 15th Baron Burghley William Amherst Cecil 1886–1914 Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil 1893–1972 5th Marquess of Salisbury, 11th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon David George Brownlow Cecil 1905–1981 6th Marquess of Exeter, 15th Earl of Exeter, 16th Baron Burghley William Martin Alleyne Cecil 1909–1988 7th Marquess of Exeter, 16th Earl of Exeter, 17th Baron Burghley William Alexander Evering Cecil 1912–1980 3rd Baron Amherst of Hackney Robert Edward Peter Gascoyne-Cecil 1916–2003 6th Marquess of Salisbury, 12th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon William Michael Anthony Cecil b. 1935 8th Marquess of Exeter, 17th Earl of Exeter, 18th Baron Burghley William Hugh Amherst Cecil 1940–2009 4th Baron Amherst of Hackney Robert Edward Peter Gascoyne-Cecil b. 1946 7th Marquess of Salisbury, 13th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, and Baron Cecil of Essendon Anthony Cecil b. 1970 styled Lord Burghley Exeter heir apparent Hugh William Amherst Cecil b. 1968 5th Baron Amherst of Hackney 2nd in line to Exeter Robert Edward "Ned" William Gascoyne-Cecil b. 1970 styled Viscount Cranborne Salisbury heir apparent James Richard Gascoyne-Cecil b. 1976 2nd in line to Salisbury

Cecil of Salisbury Genealogy

Line of succession (simplified)

James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury (1791–1868) Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903) James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury (1861–1947) Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury (1893–1972) Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 6th Marquess of Salisbury (1916–2003) Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury (b. 1946) (1). Robert Edward William Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (b. 1970) (2). Lord James Richard Gascoyne-Cecil (b. 1973) (3). Thomas Richard James Gascoyne-Cecil (b. 2009) (4). William Alexander David Gascoyne-Cecil (b. 2014) (5). Lord Charles Edward Vere Gascoyne-Cecil (b. 1949) (6). Lord Valentine William Gascoyne-Cecil (b. 1952) (7). Lord Michael Hugh Cecil (b. 1960) (8). Hubert George Gascoyne-Cecil (b. 1992) (9). Edward William James Gascoyne-Cecil (b. 1996) Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil (1902–1986) Hugh Peniston Cecil (1941–2020) male issue and descendants in remainder Lord Rupert Ernest William Gascoyne-Cecil (1863–1936) Victor Alexander Gascoyne-Cecil (1891–1977) Rupert Arthur Victor Cecil (1917–2004) male issue and descendants in remainder Anthony Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (1921–1998) male issue and descendants in remainder Lord Eustace Cecil (1834–1921) Barons Rockley [9]

See also

• Marquess of Exeter
• Viscount Cecil of Chelwood
• Baron Quickswood
• Baron Rockley
• Viscount Wimbledon

Notes

1. "No. 13123". The London Gazette. 18 August 1789. p. 550.
2. "Prime Ministers in the House of Lords - History of government". history.blog.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
3. The 14th Earl of Home was the last prime minister to be a peer, but he disclaimed his peerage immediately after his appointment because he felt that it was impractical to serve as prime minister from the House of Lords
4. Andrew Roberts, Salisbury: Victorian Titan (2000), p. 374-75
5. "No. 52911". The London Gazette. 5 May 1992. p. 7756.
6. "No. 55676". The London Gazette. 23 November 1999. p. 12466.
7. "Obituary: The Marquess of Salisbury". TheGuardian.com. 15 July 2003.
8. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (107th ed.). London: Burke’s Peerage. 2003. p. 4700. ISBN 978-0-9711-9662-9.
9. Morris, Susan; Bosberry-Scott, Wendy; Belfield, Gervase, eds. (2019). "Salisbury, Marquess of". Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Vol. 1 (150th ed.). London: Debrett's Ltd. pp. 3078–3082. ISBN 978-1-999767-0-5-1.

References

• Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David (1990). Marquess of Salisbury. London and New York: St Martin's Press. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, ed. Charles Mosley, 107th edn., (London 2003), vol.III.
• http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/salisbury1789.htm
• leighrayment.com^[usurped]

Further reading

• Cecil, David. The Cecils of Hatfield House: An English Ruling Family. Houghton Mifflin, 1973.

External links

• Hatfield House
• Cranborne
• Marquessate of Salisbury