| PEERAGE RECORDS | |||||||||||
| Last updated 26/03/2013 | |||||||||||
| Longest lived peers and peeresses | |||||||||||
| The British peerage is possibly the best documented group of lives in history. | |||||||||||
| It is somewhat surprising therefore that it was not until 1965 that a member of | |||||||||||
| the peerage achieved their 100th birthday. Since that time, a further 8 peers and | |||||||||||
| 1 peeress in her own right have reached their centenaries, as shown below:- | |||||||||||
| Frank Douglas-Pennant, 5th Baron Penrhyn | born 21 Nov 1865, died 3 Feb 1967 | ||||||||||
| Ethel Sydney,Countess of Kintore (11th in line) | born 20 Sep 1874, died 21 Sep 1974 | ||||||||||
| Emanuel Shinwell,Baron Shinwell | born 18 Oct 1884, died 8 May 1986 | ||||||||||
| Edgar Louis Granville,Baron Granville of Eye | born 12 Feb 1898, died 14 Feb 1998 | ||||||||||
| Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning | born 23 Jan 1899, died 5 Mar 1999 | ||||||||||
| Dominick Geoffrey Edward Browne, | |||||||||||
| 4th Baron Oranmore & Browne | born 21 Oct 1901, died 7 Aug 2002 | ||||||||||
| Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross | born 4 Feb 1902, died 10 Jul 2003 | ||||||||||
| Ronald George James Jervis, 7th Viscount | born 3 May 1905, died 4 Sep 2006 | ||||||||||
| St. Vincent | |||||||||||
| Geoffrey Alexander Rowley-Conwy, 9th | |||||||||||
| Baron Langford | born 8 Mar 1912 | ||||||||||
| Francis Edward Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, | |||||||||||
| 8th Baron Thurlow | born 9 Mar 1912, died 24 Mar 2013 | ||||||||||
| Peers who enjoyed their peerages for the greatest amount of time | |||||||||||
| George John Patrick Dominic Townshend, 7th Marquess Townshend, succeeded to | |||||||||||
| his peerage on 17 Nov 1921. On 2 March 2009, he became the longest ever holder of | |||||||||||
| a peerage, surpassing the 13th Lord Sinclair (see below). He died on 23 April 2010, | |||||||||||
| having held the peerage for 88 years, 157 days. | |||||||||||
| Charles St.Clair, 13th Lord Sinclair, succeeded to the title on 16 Dec 1775 and | |||||||||||
| died on 30 Mar 1863, having held the peerage for 87 years and 104 days. | |||||||||||
| George William Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry, succeeded to the title on 15 May 1843 | |||||||||||
| and died 13 Mar 1930, having held the peerage for 86 years and 302 days. | |||||||||||
| Charles Henry Fitzroy, 4th Baron Southampton, succeeded to the title on 16 Jul 1872 | |||||||||||
| and died on 7 Dec 1958, having held the peerage for 86 years and 144 days. | |||||||||||
| Charles Cokayne, 5th Viscount Cullen, succeeded to the title on 6 Apr 1716 and | |||||||||||
| died on 7 Jun 1802, having held the peerage for 86 years and 62 days. | |||||||||||
| Peers who enjoyed their peerages for the shortest amount of time | |||||||||||
| Wilfred Carlyle Stamp, 2nd Baron Stamp, was killed in a German air-raid on | |||||||||||
| London on 16 Apr 1941. His father, the 1st Baron, was killed by the same | |||||||||||
| bomb. However, it was assumed that the son had died after the father, even | |||||||||||
| by a split-second, and on that basis the 2nd Baron was held to have succeeded | |||||||||||
| to the title. | |||||||||||
| Apart from this legal "fiction", the shortest period of enjoyment of a title | |||||||||||
| was that of Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk [creation of 1514] who | |||||||||||
| succeeded to the title on the death of his brother on 14 Jul 1551 and died | |||||||||||
| half an hour later, when the peerage became extinct. | |||||||||||
| Shortest-lived peerages | |||||||||||
| Frederic Leighton (the famous Victorian painter) was created Baron Leighton | |||||||||||
| of Stretton on 24 Jan 1896. He died the following day when the peerage became | |||||||||||
| extinct after a life of only one day. | |||||||||||
| Sir Thomas Erskine May, author of the standard work on British parliamentary | |||||||||||
| procedure, was created Baron Farnborough on 11 May 1886. This title became | |||||||||||
| extinct on his death on 17 May 1886, 6 days after its creation. | |||||||||||
| David Robertson was created Baron Marjoribanks on 12 Jun 1873. The title | |||||||||||
| became extinct on his death on 19 Jun 1873, 7 days after creation. | |||||||||||
| The shortest lived life peerage is that of Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, who | |||||||||||
| was created Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick on 7 Feb 1977 and who died 24 days | |||||||||||
| later on 3 Mar 1977. | |||||||||||
| At least three life peerages were announced where the intended recipients died | |||||||||||
| before the creation could be completed. It was announced on 26 Jun 1979 that | |||||||||||
| John Emerson Harding Davies was to be made a life peer but he died on 4 Jul 1979 | |||||||||||
| before the peerage was gazetted. Similarly, Dame Shelagh Marjorie Roberts' | |||||||||||
| life peerage was announced on 31 Dec 1991, but she died on 16 Jan 1992. Also, | |||||||||||
| Sir David English's appointment as a peer was announced in June 1998 but he died on 10 Jun. | |||||||||||
| On 29 Mar 1962, it was announced that Sir Ian MacDonald Horobin would be granted | |||||||||||
| a life peerage. He withdrew his acceptance of the peerage on 13 Apr 1962. He was | |||||||||||
| subsequently arrested on charges of indecency in May 1962 and in July 1962 was | |||||||||||
| sentenced to 4 years imprisonment. | |||||||||||
| Oldest peers upon creation | |||||||||||
| The oldest person to have created an hereditary peer was William Francis | |||||||||||
| Kyffin-Taylor, who was created Baron Maenan on 29 Jun 1948. He was born | |||||||||||
| on 9 Jul 1854 and was therefore 93 years and 356 days old when he was | |||||||||||
| made a peer. He died on 22 Sep 1951 when the peerage became extinct. | |||||||||||
| Only 10 days younger was Francis Aungier Pakenham, Earl of Longford who | |||||||||||
| was granted a life peerage as Baron Pakenham of Cowley on 16 Nov 1999,at | |||||||||||
| the age of 93 years and 346 days. | |||||||||||