I think it would be fascinating to be surrounded by centuries of family history. What is the oldest aristocratic family in England?
That’s difficult to answer, but certainly many have had to sell their houses or make money by opening them to the public in order to afford death duties. The Marquess of Bath, for example, has opened a safari park at Longleat House and the house is open to the public – he lives in only a small part of it. Similarly, the Duke of Devonshire has opened part of Chatsworth House to the public and the estate has a popular farm shop (interestingly the house is nowhere near Devon – it’s in Derbyshire, and there is a theory that a mistranslation of the Latin on the original letters patent creating the title is the reason for this – it should have been "Duke of Derbyshire").
The oldest title in the peerage of England that is still extant is the Barony of de Ros, created in 1264. The current holder of the title is the 28th Baron, and he lives on the family estate in Northern Ireland.
The oldest peerage title in England with a holder still living in the style you might expect is the Duke of Norfolk, created in 1483, and the current 18th Duke still lives at Arundel Castle in Sussex. He is the hereditary Earl Marshal of England, and this gives him responsibility (whether he wants it or not) of arranging coronations and the annual State Opening of Parliament.
February 9th, 2010 at 1:08 am
Nearly one hundred % if you include the homes the have been handed over to the like of English Heritage to do the up-keeping whilst the stately lords sit pretty.
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February 9th, 2010 at 1:27 am
70% especially Scotland.
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February 9th, 2010 at 2:08 am
I think most of them keep some family quarters in their ancestral homes while also having flats in other places. There are very few that are not partially open to the public. In many cases the handful that are not open to the public have been sold to foreigners.
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I think that the Earl of Arundel, who is also the Duke of Norfolk is the oldest aristocratic family in England. The family has been closely related to the monarch since the conquest. Arundel castle is a stone replacement for a motte and bailey castle that was built after the conquest. The family tree shows the Dukes of Norfolk beginning in the 14th century, but they were closely related to the king long before that time.
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Despite their position, they are by no means one of the wealthiest of the aristocratic families. The Duke of Westminster (Grosvener family) and Earl Cadogan and family combined are probably worth more than the rest of the peerage combined. Their families locked up control of huge sections of prime land in London after the Great Fire and the plagues of the 17th century.
References :
http://www.arundelcastle.org/_pages/03_visitor_info.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukes_of_Norfolk_family_tree
http://www.grosvenor.com/
http://www.cadogan.co.uk/
February 9th, 2010 at 2:41 am
That’s difficult to answer, but certainly many have had to sell their houses or make money by opening them to the public in order to afford death duties. The Marquess of Bath, for example, has opened a safari park at Longleat House and the house is open to the public – he lives in only a small part of it. Similarly, the Duke of Devonshire has opened part of Chatsworth House to the public and the estate has a popular farm shop (interestingly the house is nowhere near Devon – it’s in Derbyshire, and there is a theory that a mistranslation of the Latin on the original letters patent creating the title is the reason for this – it should have been "Duke of Derbyshire").
The oldest title in the peerage of England that is still extant is the Barony of de Ros, created in 1264. The current holder of the title is the 28th Baron, and he lives on the family estate in Northern Ireland.
The oldest peerage title in England with a holder still living in the style you might expect is the Duke of Norfolk, created in 1483, and the current 18th Duke still lives at Arundel Castle in Sussex. He is the hereditary Earl Marshal of England, and this gives him responsibility (whether he wants it or not) of arranging coronations and the annual State Opening of Parliament.
References :