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Earl of Kilmorey (pronounced "Kil- murry") is a title in the Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later
British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the
19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
. It was created in 1822 for Francis Needham, 12th Viscount Kilmorey
Francis Needham, 1st Earl of Kilmorey , known as Francis Needham until 1818 and as The Viscount Kilmorey from 1818 to
1822, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Member of Parliament....
, a General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the
air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent
title given....
in the British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United
Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain
in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and former
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term
applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also
have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
for Newry
Newry was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original
constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.-Members
of Parliament:...
. He was made Viscount Newry and Mourne, in the County of Down, at the same time,
also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He also represented Newry in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which
also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons
is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as "Members...
. His grandson,
the third Earl, was briefly Member of Parliament for Newry and sat in the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature.
Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
as an Irish Representative Peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of
the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...
from 1881
to 1915. His eldest son, the fourth Earl, served as Lord Lieutenant of County Down and as Vice-Admiral of Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island.Ulster
is composed of nine counties: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, and Tyrone comprise Northern Ireland, while Cavan,
Donegal, and Monaghan are part of the Republic of Ireland.-Terminology:The first...
. Lord Kilmorey was also
an Irish Representative Peer from 1916 to 1961, becoming the last surviving Irish Representative Peer to sit in the House
of Lords. He was succeeded by his nephew, the fifth Earl. He was the son of Major the Hon. Francis Edward Needham, second
son of the third Earl. the titles are held by the fifth Earl's eldest son, the sixth Earl, who succeeded in 1977. He does
not use his titles and did not use his courtesy title of Viscount Newry and Mourne which he was entitled to from 1969 to 1977,
and is known as Sir Richard Needham. He is a former Conservative
The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservative Party, is
a political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to a centre-right philosophy of conservatism and British unionism...
government
minister. The title of Viscount Kilmorey was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1625 for Sir Robert Needham.,
Member of Parliament for Shropshire
Shropshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House
of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Knights...
, and High Sheriff of Shropshire
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal
law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been
transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
in 1606. His son, the second Viscount,
represented Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
in
Parliament and supported King Charles I
Charles I was the second son of James VI of Scots and I of England. He was King of England,
King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649...
during the Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between
Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters
of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
. His younger son, the fourth
Viscount (who succeeded his elder half-brother), also fought as a Royalist in the Civil War. His great-great-grandson was
the twelfth Viscount, who was created Earl of Kilmorey in 1822. The ancestral family seat of the Earls of Kilmorey
was Mourne Park, near Kilkeel, in Co Down, Northern Ireland. After the death of the 4th Earl in 1961 the Earldom was inherited
by a kinsman, while the Mourne Park Estate was passed on in the female line. It is still (2008) owned by the descendants of
the 4th Earl. The Kilmorey Mausoleum is to be found at St Margarets near Twickenham to the West of London, England.
Many photographs and some history can be found and visiting times at: http://environmenttrust.co.uk/.
Viscounts Kilmorey (1625)
- Robert Needham, 1st Viscount Kilmorey (d. 1631)
- Robert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey
Robert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey was an English Royalist and supporter of Charles I during the English
Civil War....
(d. 1653)
- Robert Needham, 3rd Viscount Kilmorey (d. 1657)
- Charles Needham, 4th Viscount Kilmorey (d. 1660)
- Robert Needham, 5th Viscount Kilmorey (1655–1668)
- Thomas Needham, 6th Viscount Kilmorey (c. 1660–1687)
- Robert Needham, 7th Viscount Kilmorey (1683–1710)
- Robert Needham, 8th Viscount Kilmorey (1702–1717)
- Thomas Needham, 9th Viscount Kilmorey (1703–1768)
- John Needham, 10th Viscount Kilmorey (1711–1791)
- Robert Needham, 11th Viscount Kilmorey (1746–1818)
- Francis Needham, 12th Viscount Kilmorey
Francis Needham, 1st Earl of Kilmorey , known as Francis Needham until 1818 and as The
Viscount Kilmorey from 1818 to 1822, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Member of Parliament....
(1748–1832)
(created Earl of Kilmorey in 1822)
Earls of Kilmorey (1822)
- Francis Needham, 1st Earl of Kilmorey
Francis Needham, 1st Earl of Kilmorey , known as Francis Needham until 1818 and as The Viscount Kilmorey from 1818 to
1822, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Member of Parliament....
(1748–1832)
- Francis Jack Needham, 2nd Earl of Kilmorey
Francis Jack Needham, 2nd Earl of Kilmorey , known as Viscount Newry from 1822 to 1832, was an Anglo-Irish
peer and Member of Parliament....
(1787–1880)
- Francis Charles Needham, 3rd Earl of Kilmorey
Francis Charles Needham, 3rd Earl of Kilmorey KP , known as Viscount Newry from 1851 to 1880, was an
Anglo-Irish peer and Conservative Member of Parliament....
(1842–1915)
- Francis Charles Adelbert Henry Needham, 4th Earl of Kilmorey
Francis Charles Adelbert Henry Needham, 4th Earl of Kilmorey PC OBE , known as Viscount Newry from 1883
to 1915, was an Anglo-Irish peer....
(1883–1961)
- Francis Jack Richard Patrick Needham, 5th Earl of Kilmorey
Francis Jack Richard Patrick Needham, 5th Earl of Kilmorey was an Irish peer.The son of Major Hon. Francis
Edward Needham, in turn a younger son of the 3rd Earl of Kilmorey, and Blanche Esther Combe, he succeeded to his uncle's titles
in 1961...
(1915–1977)
- Richard Francis Needham, 6th Earl of Kilmorey
Richard Francis Needham, 6th Earl of Kilmorey, Kt, PC usually known as Sir Richard Needham is a former
Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom...
(b. 1942) The heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is an heir who, short of a fundamental change in the situation,
cannot be displaced from inheriting....
is the present holder's son Robert Needham, Viscount Newry (b. 1966)
Earl of Kilmorey pronounced "Kil-murry" is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1822 for Francis Needham, 12th Viscount Kilmorey, a General in the British Army and former Member of Parliament for Newry. He was made Viscount Newry and Mourne, in the County of Down, at
the same time, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He also represented Newry in the House of Commons. His grandson, the third Earl, was briefly Member of Parliament for Newry and sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer from 1881 to 1915.
His eldest son, the fourth Earl, served as Lord Lieutenant of County Down and as Vice-Admiral of Ulster. Lord Kilmorey was also an Irish Representative
Peer from 1916 to 1961, becoming the last
surviving Irish Representative Peer to sit in the House of
Lords. He was succeeded by his nephew, the fifth Earl. He was the son of Major the Hon. Francis Edward Needham,
second son of the third Earl. the titles are held by the fifth Earl's eldest son, the sixth Earl, who succeeded in 1977. He
does not use his titles and did not use his courtesy title of Viscount Newry and Mourne which he was entitled to from 1969
to 1977, and is known as Sir Richard Needham. He is a former Conservative government minister.
The title of Viscount Kilmorey was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1625 for Sir Robert Needham, Member of Parliament
for Shropshire, and High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1606. His son, the second Viscount, represented Newcastle-under-Lyme in Parliament and supported King Charles I during the Civil War. His younger son, the fourth Viscount who succeeded his elder half-brother, also fought as a Royalist in the Civil War. His
great-great-grandson was the twelfth Viscount, who was created Earl of Kilmorey in 1822.
The ancestral family seat of the Earls of Kilmorey was Mourne Park, near Kilkeel, in Co Down, Northern Ireland.
After the death of the 4th Earl in 1961 the Earldom was inherited by a kinsman, while the Mourne Park Estate was passed
on in the female line. It is still 2008 owned by the descendants of the 4th Earl.
The Kilmorey Mausoleum is to be found at St Margarets near Twickenham to the West of London, England.
The Kilmorey Mausoleum
Internal detail of the mausoleum. A private cemetery of historical interest in St Margarets/ Isleworth. A full history
and description is included in the set. This mausoleum which is now a grade II* listed building, was originally commissioned
by the notorious eccentric of his day, the 2nd Earl of Kilmorey (also nicknamed as 'Black Jack’ Needham due to his dark
complexion at times), whose portrait is shown on the left.
The monument was built in 1854 for his mistress, Priscilla Hoste, who had originally been his ward of court.
They suddenly eloped abroad and then eventually returned to Twickenham, where she had a son called Charles in 1844. Unfortunately,
Priscilla then became seriously ill in 1851 with a terminal heart condition, with the Earl deciding to set about constructing
a suitable memorial for her in 1853.
She eventually died in October 1854, and was interred in secret, with no-one knowing about it for years afterwards.
A noted Victorian architect of his time, Henry Edward Kendall was employed to design the mausoleum, which he did in the
popular and fashionable Egyptian revival style. This Egyptian design is believed to have been derived from a plate in a French
book ‘Description de I'Eqypte ’ published in 1809. The shape of the building relates to the shrines at the heart
of Egyptian Temples - the place where a treasured image of a god was installed.
Inside the Mausoleum is a fine white marble carved relief of the death bed scene of Priscilla, with the young son Charles
and the Earl in attendance. It was carved in Rome by portrait sculptor Lawrence Macdonald, using more than one artistic style.
It is thought that the pink and grey granite Egyptian style mausoleum cost around £30,000? (a very large sum of money in
the 1850’s!) not including the subsequent moving costs.
The Mausoleum was originally erected on a plot that the Earl had secured at the Brompton Cemetery in London, then subsequently
dismantled, moved and re-built twice.
First when the Earl moved to Woburn Park Chertsey in 1862, and being of unconventional nature and restless as well; six
years later he was on the move again. The next time, it was moved to its present site at Twickenham in 1868, where he lived
in Gordon House; eventually to be part of the Brunel University complex which has subsequently been re-developed.
In his day, Lord Kilmorey owned all the land between the mausoleum site and Gordon House. According to some rumours and
fact, and being the true Victorian eccentric; some tunnels were built, the main one apparently having a tramway between Gordon
House and the Mausoleum. This ensured his privacy could be maintained, and would not have to leave his own property when the
time came for him to join Priscilla in the Mausoleum. It is said that ‘when in the mood’ he would summon his servants,
and in secret, dress in ‘white garb’ and proceed through the tunnel to the mausoleum, where he would lie in his
coffin. He lived to the grand age of 92, and in 1880 on his death, his final wishes were carried out.
Since then the mausoleum has had a chequered history, and the site passed eventually to Hounslow Borough Council on condition
that access would be maintained, although it was not for some time that anyone entered this hidden burial site.
In an extremely neglected condition, responsibility for the site was passed to Richmond Council, and the maintenance of
the grounds to The Environment Trust for Richmond upon Thames, where volunteers have worked exceptionally hard over several
years, to get the gardens into the condition you see them today.
Photo credit: Maxwell Hamilton-Flickr
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