Duke of Taunton

## Dukedom of Taunton

Arms of the Dukes of Taunton

Quarterly: 1st grand quarter, the Royal Arms of James II (viz. quarterly: 1st and 4th, France and England quarterly; 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland), the whole within a Bordure compony Azure charged with Roses Argent barbed and seeded proper and the last; 2nd grand quarter, quarterly, 1st and 4th, Ermine, a chief indented (alt., pily; alt., dancetty) Sable (Holles of Lacethwaite); 2nd and 3rd, Azure, a fesse argent, three pelicans (two and one) vulning themselves proper (Pelham of Tidnock); 3rd grand quarter, party per pale Or and Gules, three chevronels Gules and Or countercharged of the field, on a chief Azure three mullets of five points Or, voided Gules (Clare of Welsheverney); 4th grand quarter, quarterly, 1st and 4th, Sable, a fess Argent, three buckles (two and one) Or, 2nd and 3rd, Azure, a fess Or, three buckles (two and one) Argent (Malet of Wolfdown).

### Creation date

1685 (dukedom); Earldom of Fitzwarren, 1658, 1660; Barony of Malet, 1212, recr. 1328

### Monarch

James 2d (dukedom; earldom of Dilton); Charles 2d (earldom); John (Malet barony, writ of summons; but this was a recognition of the extant barony dating to the Conquest); Edward 3rd (recreation or restoration of Malet barony)

### Peerage

Peerage of England (dukedom and all titles save earldom of Dilton); of Scotland (earldom of Dilton)

### First holder

James Edward Charles Henry Fitzjames, 1st Earl Fitzwarren

### Present holder

Charles Arthur Donald Ivor Waldemar Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet KG GCB GCVO KBE MiD TD PC JP DL FRHistS

### Heir apparent or presumptive

Rupert Charles Edward Donald Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, Master of Dilton (heir presumptive)

### Remainder to

Heirs of entail, male or female, descended from the body of the 1st Earl Fitzwarren

### Subsidiary titles

Marquess of TemplecombeEarl Fitzwarren

Earl of Dilton

Viscount and Baron Malet

Baron Daubeny

Baron Chard

Baron Beechbourne

Baron Marden and Widham

### Seat(s)

Wolfdown House, Wilts; Camserney Castle, Perthshire; Tidnock Hall, Cheshire; Melverley Court, Salop

From Aristopaedia, the free encyclopaedia of the gentry, knightage, baronetage, and peerage, sponsored by *Cokayne’s* & *Black’s*

**Duke of Taunton** is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1685 by James II of England and Ireland and VII of Scotland for James Edward Charles Henry Fitzjames, his illegitimate son by Frances Malet, Lady Holles.[1] The first duke had been created Earl Fitzwarren
and had been ‘restored’ as Baron Malet by Charles II during the
Interregnum, and confirmed in those titles in 1660, upon the
Restoration. On the accession of James II & VII, he was
additionally created Duke of Taunton, Marquess of Templecombe,
Viscount Malet, Baron Daubeny, and Baron Chard, all in the peerage of
England, and Earl of Dilton (‘*alias* Dull’) in the peerage
of Scotland.

The elevation of the
first Earl Fitzwarren to a dukedom was only to be expected on the
accession of his father to the throne; that he was created Duke of
*Taunton* and Baron *Chard* was a political statement (see
below).

Further subsidiary
titles have been acquired by marriage and descent, such that the
current duke is Duke of Taunton, Marquess of Templecombe, Earl
Fitzwarren, Earl of Dilton, Viscount Malet, Baron Daubeny, Baron
Chard, Baron Beechbourne, and Baron Marden and Widham; as well as
being also the Hereditary Keeper & Constable of S Aldhelm’s
Castle and Hereditary Ranger of Yarncombe Forest.

Of the Duke of
Taunton’s subsidiary titles, the Barony of Malet, created in 1212
and recreated in 1328, is the oldest; as it had fallen into abeyance
in the first duke’s mother’s family, it was called out in his favour by the
exercise of the Royal prerogative. The most significant of the
subsidiary titles of the dukedom is the Fitzwarren Earldom, for
succession to that title governs, by the terms of the letters patent
of their creations, succession to the dukedom and to the subsidiary
titles in the English peerage. In this the dukedom shares a quirk
akin to that which obtains as regards the dukedom of Roxburghe, with
the difference that, under Scots peerage law, the latter could become
only dormant. The dukedom of Taunton, like the subsidiary earldom of
Fitzwarren, both being creations in the peerage of England, can
become abeyant as well as dormant: and the titles were abeyant, from
the death of the ninth duke in 1916 to the succession to the dukedom,
in 1975, of the present Duke’s father, Brigadier James Rupert Gilbert Henry Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet KT KCB CBE CVO DSO MC.

The title of the
dukedom refers to the county town of Somerset, Taunton; and the title
of the barony of Chard derives from that Somerset town. Notably, in
1685, Monmouth’s Rebellion, led by James Scott, 1st Duke of
Monmouth and 1st Duke of Buccleuch, a natural son of Charles II and
thus nephew to James II and VII and cousin to the soon-to-be 1st Duke
of Taunton, saw King James denounced at Chard, and Monmouth acclaimed
king and crowned by his followers at Taunton: incidents which clearly
influenced the choices of title for the elevation of the King’s
loyal natural son to a dukedom.

The primary family seat
of the Dukes of Taunton is Wolfdown House in Wiltshire. Their
traditional burial place is the graveyard of the parish church of SS
Mary and Leonard, Woolfont Abbas, Wiltshire. Both have been Malet
possessions and indeed the Malet caput since the Conquest.

The Duke’s eldest son
is styled by courtesy Marquess of Templecombe, and the eldest son of
the Marquess is styled by courtesy Earl Fitzwarren. The heir to the
dukedom may also be referred to by the Scots courtesy style of the
Master of Dilton, from the Earldom of Dilton which is one of the
subsidiary titles of the dukedom; this is commonly used only of heirs
presumptive, as heirs apparent, being either the son or grandson of a
duke then holding the title, will commonly be granted the courtesy
styles of the subsidiary peerage titles.

The title is currently held by Charles, 11th Duke of Taunton.

### **Contents**

1 Dukes of Taunton
(1685)

2 Family tree

3 See also

4 References

5 Further reading

### **Dukes of Taunton**

*Other titles (all): Baron Malet (1212; 1328; 1658); Duke of Taunton, Marquess of Templecombe, Viscount Malet, Baron Daubeny, and Baron Chard (1685, peerage of England); Earl of Dilton (1685, peerage of Scotland); Baron Beechbourne (created 1641, obtained by a marriage of 1690), Baron Marden and Widham (created 1321, obtained by marriage of 1711) (both peerage of England)*

* James Edward Charles Henry Fitzjames, 1st Duke of Taunton
	+ Charles Walter Alan Matthew Fitzjames, Marquess of Templecombe (predeceased his father)
* Henry Charles William George, ‘The Trimmer’, 2nd Duke of Taunton, grandson of James Edward Charles Henry Fitzjames, the 1st Duke, son of Charles Walter Alan Matthew Fitzjames, Marquess of Templecombe
* Gilbert James Henry Edward, 3rd Duke of Taunton
* Charles Edward James Richard, 4th Duke of Taunton
* William George Charles Edward, 5th Duke of Taunton
* Edward Henry Charles James, 6th Duke of Taunton
* Denzil Frederick Gerald Thomas, 7th Duke of Taunton
	+ Lord Henry Charles Rupert James David Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, second son
		- The Rt Revd Robert James Edward Charles David Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet DD, Bishop of Omagh, transl. Bishop of Solway & Cockermouth
			* Frances Elizabeth Anne Cicely, married Col. Sir Edward Vivian James Alexander de Clifforde Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet KB DSO, descendant of the younger brother of the 2nd Duke
				+ Brigadier James Rupert Gilbert Henry Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, 10th Duke of Taunton
* Gilbert Edmund Charles Robert Alan, 8th Duke of Taunton
* James Charles Valentine Donald Gerald, 9th Duke of Taunton, *d.s.p.* 1916
* Brigadier James Rupert Gilbert Henry Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, 10th Duke of Taunton, as above
* Charles Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, 11th and present Duke of Taunton

The heir presumptive is
the present duke’s nephew, the eldest son of his brother Lord
Crispin
Rupert Charles Edward Donald Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, Master of
Dilton. The Master of Dilton is also the heir apparent to Hugo, Baron
Mallerstang and Swarthfell, and with his siblings James and Henrietta
Maria is in remainder to the dukedom of Trowbridge and Warminster.

### **Line of succession**

1. James Edward Charles Henry Fitzjames, 1st Duke of Taunton
	1. Charles Walter Alan Matthew Fitzjames, Marquess of Templecombe (predeceased his father) (see No. 24, above)
		1. Lord John Matthew Walter Alexander Fitzjames KP PC (Ire) DL, of Calverstown House, Co. Kildare, yr. br. of Henry Charles William George Fitzjames, ‘The Trimmer’, 2nd Duke of Taunton (see No. 25 et sequitur, above)
2. Henry Charles William George, ‘The Trimmer’, 2nd Duke of Taunton, grandson of James Edward Charles Henry Fitzjames, the 1st Duke
3. Gilbert James Henry Edward, 3rd Duke of Taunton
4. Charles Edward James Richard, 4th Duke of Taunton
5. William George Charles Edward, 5th Duke of Taunton
6. Edward Henry Charles James, 6th Duke of Taunton
7. Denzil Frederick Gerald Thomas, 7th Duke of Taunton
	1. Lord Henry Charles Rupert James David Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, second son
		1. The Rt Revd Robert James Edward Charles David Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet DD, Bishop of Omagh, transl. Bishop of Solway & Cockermouth
			1. 1. Frances Elizabeth Anne Cicely, married Col. Sir Edward Vivian James Alexander de Clifforde Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet KB DSO (No. 32, above)
				1. 1. Brigadier James Rupert Gilbert Henry Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, 10th Duke of Taunton
8. Gilbert Edmund Charles Robert Alan, 8th Duke of Taunton
9. James Charles Valentine Donald Gerald, 9th Duke of Taunton, *d.s.p.* 1916
10. Brigadier James Rupert Gilbert Henry Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, 10th Duke of Taunton, as above
11. Charles Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, 11th and present Duke of Taunton
12. (Heir presumptive)  Rupert Charles Edward Donald Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, Master of Dilton (b. 1996), nephew of the preceding by the present Duke’s late brother, Lord Crispin Leonard George Valentine Gilbert Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, Master of Dilton.
	1. (Heir apparent to the heir presumptive) James Denzil Valentine Gilbert Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet (b. 1997), younger brother of preceding.

Should neither Rupert, Master of Dilton, nor his brother, produce legitimate sons, the succession should become somewhat complicated were circumstances unchanged from their present state in 2017. An abeyance in the underlying Fitzwarren Earldom might easily occur, resulting in an abeyance of the dukedom. (Henrietta Maria Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet, by contrast, could under certain circumstances succeed to the dukedoms of Trowbridge and Warminster, which were created so as to allow for *suo jure* female holders: indeed, the first Duchess of Warminster was the other Frances Malet, mother of the first Duke of Trowbridge and cousin to Lady Holles the mother of the first Duke of Taunton.)

### **Arms of the Duke of Taunton**

**Notes**

**The coat of arms of the Duke of Taunton**

**Coronet**

The coronet of a Duke

**Crest**

Issuant from a ducal coronet Or, a lion’s gamb Gules, armed Azure

**Escutcheon**

Quarterly: 1st grand quarter, the Royal Arms of James II (*viz.* quarterly: 1st and 4th, France and England quarterly; 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland), the whole within a Bordure compony Azure charged with Roses Argent barbed and seeded proper and the last; 2nd grand quarter, quarterly, 1st and 4th, Ermine, a chief indented (*alt.,* pily; *alt.,* dancetty) Sable (Holles of Lacethwaite); 2nd and 3rd, Azure, a fess argent, three pelicans (two and one) vulning themselves proper (Pelham of Tidnock); 3rd grand quarter, party per pale Or and Gules, three chevronels Gules and Or countercharged of the field, on a chief Azure three mullets of five points Or, voided Gules (Clare of Welsheverney); 4th grand quarter, quarterly, 1st and 4th, Sable, a fess Argent, three buckles (two and one) Or, 2nd and 3rd, Azure, a fess Or, three buckles (two and one) Argent (Malet of Wolfdown).

**Supporters**

*Dexter:* A boar Azure, langued and pizzled Gules, armed and tufted Or

*Sinister:* A stag proper, attired and armed Or, gorged with a collar Sable bordered Or bezanty of the last

**Motto**

*Deus vult* (Latin for ‘God wills it so’)

### **See also**

* Duke of Trowbridge and Warminster
* Millicent Lacy, The Baroness Lacy, Duchess of Taunton
* Duchess of Taunton Scholarship Trust
* Childe Lacy Prize in Military History
* Marquess of Badenoch
* Earl of Maynooth
* Kilrush / Calverstown Distillery, Co. Kildare
* Nawab of Hubli
* Baron Builth
* Prothero-Fane family
* Crown Colony of Malta
* Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Malta (1801 – 1964)
* Bishop of Omagh (Church of Ireland)
* Bishop of Solway and Cockermouth
* Dean of Ardcath (Church of Ireland)
* Archdeacon of Gibraltar (Church of England)
* Baron Mallerstang and Swarthfell
* Malet family
* Earls & Marquesses of Breckland and Swaffham
* Methwold family
* Fenton family
* Earl of Wigan
* De Clare
* Holles
* Pelham
* House of Stuart
* Stuart of Camserney
* Illegitimate branches of the House of Stuart
* de Clifforde
* Daubeny family
* Penruddocke-Rivers family
* Scudamore-Vaux
* Chattan-Stewart-Gunn family
* Clan Ay
* The McCammond
* Wolfdown House
* Agincourt Estates, Woolfont Abbas, Wilts
* The Woolfonts, Wilts
* SS Mary and Leonard (parish church), Woolfont Abbas
* S Margaret of Antioch (parish church), Woolfont Magna
* S Aldhelm (parish church), Woolfont Crucis
* The Woolfont Brewery
* Woolfonts & Chickmarsh Railway (steam railway)
* Tidnock Hall, Cheshire
* Taunton House, W1
* Malet House, Salisbury
* Templecombe House (‘Number One, Bath’)
* Clentwood House, Worcs
* Melverley Court, Salop
* Camserney Castle, Perth & Kinross
* Balhomais Distillery, Perthshire
* Luineag Lodge, Highland
* Calverstown House, Co. Kildare, Ireland
* Castle Clonmore, Co. Carlow, Ireland
* Avard / Eilean a’ bhàird / Scalday, island, Hebrides
* Wodewough Wood
* Wodewough Man
* All Souls College, Oxford
* Tauntonian Professor of Ancient British History and Antiquities (University of Oxford)
* Woolfonts Combined Cricket Club
* The Great Vale Dig (archæological project)