Earl of Ilchester
Earl of Ilchester was a hereditary British title in the Peerage of Great Britain .
The Earls' family home is Melbury House in Melbury Sampford near Evershot in Dorset .
Award and subordinate titles
The title was created on June 17, 1756 by King George II for the Member of the House of Commons Stephen Fox, 1st Baron Ilchester . Already on May 11, 1741 he was Baron Ilchester , of Ilchester in the County of Somerset , and of Woodford Strangways in the County of Dorset , and on January 12, 1747, Baron Ilchester and Stavordale , of Redlynch in the County of Somerset, been raised. In 1758 he took the additional surname Strangways , the maiden name of his maternal grandmother. The titles of the awards of 1741 and 1756 were bestowed with the special note that in the absence of male heirs they could also be passed on to his younger brother Henry Fox (who later became 1st Baron Holland ).
Today his great-great-great-great-great-grandson Robin Fox-Strangways holds the title. The descendant line of Henry Fox, however, died out in 1857.
The eldest son of the incumbent Earl carries the title of courtesy Lord Stavordale as his heir apparent .
List of the Earls of Ilchester (1756)
- Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester (1704–1776)
- Henry Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester (1747-1802)
- Henry Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester (1787-1858)
- William Fox-Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester (1795-1865)
- Henry Fox-Strangways, 5th Earl of Ilchester (1847-1905)
- Giles Fox-Strangways, 6th Earl of Ilchester (1874-1959)
- Henry Fox-Strangways, 7th Earl of Ilchester (1905–1964)
- Walter Fox-Strangways, 8th Earl of Ilchester (1887–1970)
- Maurice Fox-Strangways, 9th Earl of Ilchester (1920-2006)
- Robin Fox-Strangways, 10th Earl of Ilchester (born 1942)
Heir apparent is the son of the current title holder Simon Fox-Strangways, Lord Stavordale (* 1972).