Earl of Ducie

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Coat of arms of the Earl of Ducie
Tortworth Court, the former ancestral home of the Moreton family

Earl of Ducie is a hereditary British title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom . The title was created on January 28, 1837 for Thomas Reynolds-Moreton, 4th Baron Ducie .

History of the title

The family descended from Edward Moreton, who was married to Elizabeth Ducie, a daughter of Robert Ducie. Their son Matthew Ducie Moreton represented the constituency of Gloucestershire as a member of the House of Commons . On June 9, 1720 he was raised as Baron Ducie of Moreton, in the County of Stafford in the hereditary nobility of the Peerage of Great Britain and thereby a member of the House of Lords . His successor as 2nd Baron Ducie of Moreton was his son, who was previously also a member of the House of Commons and later Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire . On April 27, 1763 he was also raised to Baron Ducie, of Tortworth in the County of Gloucester in the Peerage of Great Britain, with the succession being determined by a special remainder in favor of the sons of his sister Elizabeth Reynolds.

After his death in 1770, the title of Baron Ducie of Moreton, conferred in 1720, expired due to the lack of his own male descendants. The title of Baron Ducie, of Tortworth in the County of Gloucester, awarded in 1763, fell to his nephew due to the specially regulated succession, who thereby became 2nd Baron Ducie, of Tortworth in the County of Gloucester. By an Act of Parliament of 1771, he also took the name Moreton. Since he died childless, his younger brother inherited the title of 3rd Baron Ducie, of Tortworth in the County of Gloucester. This was previously also a member of the House of Commons for the constituency of Lancaster . Like his older brother, he also took the name Moreton through a parliamentary act of 1786. The island of Ducie , part of the Pitcairn Islands, was named in his honor.

After his death, his son inherited the title of 4th Baron Ducie, of Tortworth in the County of Gloucester. In 1837 he was made Earl of Ducie and Baron Moreton, of Tortworth in the County of Gloucester in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. His successor as 2nd Earl of Ducie was his son, who had previously represented the constituency of Gloucestershire East as a member of the House of Commons. After his death, his eldest son inherited the title of 3rd Earl of Ducie. This was previously as a representative of the Liberal Party also a member of the House of Commons and during the term of office of Prime Minister Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston and John Russell, 1st Earl Russell between 1859 and 1866 Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard .

The only son of 3rd Earl Henry Reynolds-Moreton was also a member of the House of Commons, in which he represented the constituency of West Gloucestershire . However, he died before his father, so that the younger brother of the 3rd Earl inherited the title of 4th Earl of Ducie. He had established himself as a sheep and cattle farmer in Queensland and was a member of both the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and the Queensland Legislative Council . His son, the 5th Earl of Ducie, also lived as a dairy and fruit farmer in Australia . However, since he died without male descendants, his nephew inherited the title of 6th Earl of Ducie. This was a son of Algernon Howard Moreton, the second son of the 4th Earl. The current title holder has been the 7th Earl since 1991, the eldest son of the 6th Earl of Ducie.

Another well-known family member was the writer and politician Augustus Macdonald , a son of the 1st Earl of Ducie, who was also a member of the House of Commons between 1832 and 1841, but took the family name Macdonald instead of Moreton.

The original headquarters of the family was in Gloucestershire location Tortworth Court . Another family seat was Spring Park in Gloucestershire, which was destroyed and replaced by the unfinished Woodchester Mansion .

List of Barons and Earls of Ducie

Barone Ducie, first award (1720)

Barone Ducie, second award (1763)

Earls of Ducie (1837)

Estimated heir ( Heir apparent ) is the eldest son of the current Earl, James Berkeley Moreton, Lord Moreton (* 1981).

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