Earl Harcourt

For the French Earl of Harcourt, brother of Sir Geoffrey (or Godfrey) de Harcourt, see House of Harcourt.

Earldom of Harcourt
Gules, two bars and a chief indented or[1]
Creation date1 December 1749[2]
Created byGeorge II
PeeragePeerage of Great Britain
First holderSimon Harcourt, 2nd Viscount Harcourt
Last holderWilliam Harcourt, 3rd Earl Harcourt
Subsidiary titlesViscount Nuneham
Viscount Harcourt
Baron Harcourt of Stanton Harcourt
Extinction date17 June 1830
Former seat(s)Nuneham House
Stanton Harcourt
Cokethorpe House
MottoGesta Verbis Prævenient ("Deeds before Words")[3]

Earl Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt in the County of Oxford, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749 for Simon Harcourt, 2nd Viscount Harcourt. He was made Viscount Nuneham at the same time, also in the Peerage of Great Britain. Harcourt was the son of the Honourable Simon Harcourt and the grandson of Simon Harcourt, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, who had been created Baron Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt in the County of Oxford, on 3 September 1711, and Viscount Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt in the County of Oxford, on 24 July 1721. Both these titles were also in the Peerage of Great Britain.

William Harcourt, 3rd Earl Harcourt; George Harcourt, 2nd Earl Harcourt; and Elizabeth (Vernon), Countess of Harcourt, by Sir Joshua Reynolds

The first earl fulfilled various diplomatic duties for King George II and George III as Prince of Wales and then King. In 1772, Harcourt was appointed Viceroy of Ireland. Five years later, he died at his own estate at Nuneham by falling into a well. He was succeeded by his eldest son, George, who was in turn succeeded by his younger brother, William. The titles became extinct on the latter's death in 1830 as neither brother left legitimate surviving sons of their own.[2]

The viscountcy was revived in 1917 in favour of Lewis Vernon Harcourt. He was a descendant of the Right Reverend Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt, the son of George Venables-Vernon, 1st Baron Vernon, by his third wife Martha Harcourt, daughter of the aforementioned Simon Harcourt, son of Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt. See Viscount Harcourt for further history of this branch of the family.

The ancient family of Harcourt held Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire from the 12th century and other later Oxfordshire seats included Cokethorpe House and Nuneham House. In addition, they held estates in Staffordshire at Ellenhall Hall and Abbey House, Ranton Priory.

Barons Harcourt (1711)

Viscounts Harcourt (1721)

Earls Harcourt (1749)

See also

References

  1. ^ Burke, Sir Bernard, ed. (1883). A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (3 ed.). London: Harrison. pp. 261–263. ISBN 0-8063-0789-7.
  2. ^ a b Burke 1883, p. 263.
  3. ^ Robson, Thomas (1830). The British Herald; Or, Cabinet of Armorial Bearings of the Nobility & Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. Published by the author. p. 17. Retrieved 14 December 2018. harcourt.