Earl of Longford

Earl of Longford is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first bestowed upon Francis Aungier, 3rd Baron Aungier of Longford, in 1677, with remainder to his younger brother Ambrose. He had previously represented Surrey in the House of Commons and had already been created Viscount Longford in the Peerage of Ireland in 1675, with similar remainder. He was succeeded according to the special remainder (and normally in the barony) by his brother Ambrose, the second Earl. On his death in 1706 all the titles became extinct. The title of Baron Aungier of Longford was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1621 for Francis Aungier.

Elizabeth Cuffe, niece and heiress of the first and second Earl of Longford, married Thomas Pakenham, of Pakenham Hall, County Westmeath, in 1739. Thomas represented Longford Borough in the Irish House of Commons. In 1756 the Longford title was revived when he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Longford, in the County of Longford. In 1785 the earldom was also revived when Elizabeth was created Countess of Longford in the Peerage of Ireland. Lord Longford was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. He represented County Longford in the Irish Parliament. He died aged only 49 and was succeeded by his son, the third Baron. In 1794 he also succeeded his grandmother as second Earl of Longford. Lord Longford sat in the British House of Lords as one of the 28 original Irish Representative Peers. In 1821 he was created Baron Silchester, of Silchester in the County of Southampton, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Earl. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fourth Earl. He was a Conservative politician and served under the Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli as Under-Secretary of State for War from 1866 to 1868. His son, the fifth Earl, was Lord-Lieutenant of County Longford from 1887 to 1915. Lord Longford was killed in action at Gallipoli in 1915. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the sixth Earl. He was a minor play-writer and poet and also sat as a member of the Republic of Ireland Senate between 1946 and 1948.

He died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the seventh Earl. He was a prominent Labour politician and social activist. In 1945, sixteen years before he succeeded his elder brother, he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in his own right as Baron Pakenham, of Cowley in the City of Oxford. Lord Longford served in the Labour administrations of Clement Attlee and Harold Wilson as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Privy Seal, Leader of the House of Lords and Secretary of State for the Colonies. In 1999, at the age of 94 and after the House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, Lord Longford was created a life peer as Baron Pakenham of Cowley, of Cowley in the County of Oxfordshire. He was therefore able to remain a member of the House of Lords until his death in 2001. As of 2007 the titles are held by his eldest son, the eighth Earl. He does not use his title and did not use his courtesy title of Lord Silchester which he was entitled to from 1961 to 2001. Known simply as Thomas Pakenham, he is a writer and historian.

Several other members of the Pakenham family have also gained distinction. The Hon. Sir Thomas Pakenham, third son of the first Baron and the Countess of Longford, was an Admiral in the Royal Navy. His fourth son John Pakenham was also an Admiral in the Royal Navy while his fifth son Sir Richard Pakenham was a noted diplomat and served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States from 1843 to 1847. The Hon. Sir Edward Pakenham, second son of the second Baron, was a Major-General in the Army and was killed at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. The Hon. Sir Hercules Pakenham (1781-1850), third son of the second Baron, was a Lieutenant-General in the Army. His son Thomas Henry Pakenham was also a Lieutenant-General. Lady Violet Pakenham, daughter of the sixth Earl, was a writer and critic and the wife of the author Anthony Powell. Elizabeth Pakenham (née Harman), Countess of Longford, wife of the seventh Earl, was a writer and social activist. Lady Antonia Fraser and Rachel Billington, daughters of the seventh Earl, are both prominent authors.

The ancestral seat of the Pakenham family is Tullynally Castle, County Westmeath. Previously known as Pakenham Hall, it was renamed by the current owner, Thomas Pakenham.

Barons Aungier of Longford (1621)

*Francis Aungier, 1st Baron Aungier of Longford (c.1562-1632)
*Gerald Aungier, 2nd Baron Aungier of Longford (d. 1655)
*Francis Aungier, 3rd Baron Aungier of Longford (d.1700) (created Earl of Longford in 1677)

Earls of Longford, First Creation (1677)

*Francis Aungier, 1st Earl of Longford (d. 1700)
*Ambrose Aungier, 2nd Earl of Longford (d. 1706)

Barons Longford (1756)

*Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford (1713-1776)
*Edward Michael Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford (1743-1792)
*Thomas Pakenham, 3rd Baron Longford (1774-1835) (succeeded his grandmother as Earl of Longford in 1794)

Earls of Longford, Second Creation (1785)

*Elizabeth Pakenham, 1st Countess of Longford (d. 1794)
*Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford (1774-1835)
*Edward Michael Pakenham, 3rd Earl of Longford (1817-1860)
*William Lygon Pakenham, 4th Earl of Longford (1819-1887)
*Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford (1864-1915)
*Edward Arthur Henry Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford (1902-1961)
*Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford (1905-2001)
*Thomas Francis Dermot Pakenham, 8th Earl of Longford (b. 1933) The Heir Apparent is the present holder's eldest son Edward Melchior Pakenham, Lord Silchester (b. 1970)

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]