Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 1 Vol 3.djvu/335

 FERRERS. 333 the abeyance thereof was terminated in his favour and he received a writ of summons, as LonD Ferrers, 14 Dec. 1677, and was placed in the precedency of a creation of 1299, viz., as 6th Baron, next below Lord Morley. Ho was Master of the Horse to the Queen Consort, 168 1, to whose household (as Dowager) he was, in 1685, Steward ; P.O. to James II., Will. III., and Anne ; Cupbearer at the coronation of James II. (23 April 16S5), and of Queeu Anne (23 April 1702) ; Col. of the " Princess Anne's " Keg. of Foot, 1685-86; Lord Lieut, co. Stafford, 1687 ; was one of the nobility in arms, in 16SS, for the Prince of 0range.( 3 ) Being one of the " Lords of the Council " to Queen Anno he was by her ci: 3 Sep. 1711, VISCOUNT TAMWORTH, of co. Stafford, and EARL FERREHS.(>') He m. Brstly (he being 20 and she 15) 28 Dec. 1671, Elizabeth, only da. and h. of Lawrence Washington, of Garesden, Wilts, by Eleanor, da. of William Guise, of Elmore, co. Gloucester. She d. 2 Oct. 1693, and was bur. 3d at Staunton Harold, aged 37. Ho m. secondly, Aug. 1699, Selina, da. of George Finch, of London, merchant, and Mary, his wife. He d. at Bath 25 Dec. 1717, aged 67, and was bur. 13 Jan. 171 S, at Staunton Harold.( c ) Mon. at Lower Ettington, co. Warwick, it having been refused admission at Staunton Harold. ( J ) Will pr. Jan. 171S. On his death the two titles of " Ferrers " separated, the Earldom going to his surv. son and heir male (see " Ferrers " Earldom, cr. 1711) and the Barony to his heir gcncral[°) as under. His widow, who was bap. 7 April 1CS1, at St. Helens, Bishops- gate, London, d. at Twickenham, Midx., 20 March 1762, in her SOth year and was bur. there the 25th. M.I. Will pr. 1762. Barony by J£, Elizabeth, suo jure Baroness de Ferrers, only Writ. a, "l of l ' ie ^ on - Robert Shirlev, by Anne, da. and h. of Sir Humphrey Ferrers of Tamworth Castle, co. Warwick, which XIV. 1717 Robert was 1st s. and h. an, of the last Lord, but d. v.p. 25 Feb. to 1698, aged 25, before his father's elevation to an Earldom. She 1741. was 6. i9 Aug. 1694, at Staunton Harold, and, on the death of her brother Robert Shirley, styled Viscount Tamworth, 5 July 1714, inherited Tamworth Castle and other the estates( r ) of her maternal ancestor. She la. 3 March 1715/6, at St. Anne's Soho, Midx., James (Compton), Lord, Compton (so sum. by writ 28 Dec. 1711) who, 13 April 1727, sue. his father as Eari become as much a part of the constitution of the Peerage as the descendible nature of the Peerages themselves." [Courthnpe, p. xxxiv.) See also Coll. Top. ct Gen., vol. ii, p. 11, in Dugdale's MSS. additions to his Baronage, ;is to this writ of 1677. (a) See a list of these vol. i, p. 2S, note " b," sub "Abingdon," where a spec, notice is given of this Lord Ferrers. ( b ) Earl Ferrers, not Earl of Ferrers. See vol. ii, p. 102 as to Earldoms so con- stituted. It had been conjectured that he would have been made Earl op Tamwohtii and Lord Chamberlain, by William HI. With respect to the title of Tamworth, see p. 336, note " b." ( c ) Macky in liis " Characters " thus describes him " Is a very honest man ; a lover of his country ; a great improver of gardening and parking ; a keen sportsman ; never was yet in business, but is very capable ; ft tall fair man towards 60 years old." His signature as "'It Ferrers" is given in Doyle's " Official Baronage " and in the " Stem. Shirleiana" (p. 172) where it is remarked that he " is said to have been the last English Peer, who signed with the initial of his christian name before that of his title, a custom nearly universal in the Elizabethan age ; he sometimes however signed only Ferrers." He had no less than 27 children, viz. 15 sons and 12 daughters of whom 1 7 were by his first wife and 1 0 by his second. ( d ) The inscription, which- states that by writ, 14 Dec. 1677, he was sum. as Baron Ferrers of CliartUy," states also that he was "by the same right Baron Bourohier and Baron Louvain," which, undoubtedly, he was not. See, also, p. 335, note "c." ( c ) It should be observed how inexpedient it is to confer a title of similar name, but with different limitation on a person who is already a Peer by the same designation ; thus oil (he death of this Peer his heir general was entitled to the Barony of Farcrs, while his heir male iuherited the Earldom of Ferrers. (f) These estates situated at Tamworth and Walton on Trent wcro ui 1688, valued . at about £2,000 a year.