First creation, 1074 The first creation occurred in 1074 for
Roger de Montgomerie, one of
William the Conqueror's principal counsellors. He was one of the
Marcher Lords, with the
Earl of Hereford and the
Earl of Chester, a bulwark against the Welsh; he was granted great powers, and his territory, which extended from
Shropshire (of which
Shrewsbury is the county town) into Mid-Wales (the county of
Montgomeryshire being named after him), was outside the ordinary administration; he was also granted lands across England. Roger was succeeded in 1094 by his younger son
Hugh, his elder son
Robert of Bellême succeeding to his lands in
Normandy. On Hugh's death in 1098 the earldom passed to his brother Robert. The title was forfeit in 1102 after the 3rd Earl,
Robert, rebelled against
Henry I and joined
Robert Curthose's invasion of England in 1101.
Second creation, 1442 The title was created for a second time in 1442 when
John Talbot, 7th Baron Talbot, an English general in the
Hundred Years' War, was made
Earl of Shrewsbury in the
Peerage of England. He was also made hereditary
Lord High Steward of Ireland and, in 1446,
Earl of Waterford in the
Peerage of Ireland (thus, the two titles have always descended together). John Talbot, the first Earl, was succeeded by his son John, the second Earl, who had already succeeded as seventh
Baron Furnivall on his mother's death in 1433. Lord Shrewsbury served as both
Lord Chancellor of Ireland and
Lord High Treasurer of England. He was killed at the
Battle of Northampton in 1460 during the
Wars of the Roses. His grandson, the fourth Earl, was
Lord Steward of the Household between 1509 and 1538. His son, the fifth Earl, was summoned to the
House of Lords through a
writ of acceleration as Lord Talbot in 1533, five years before he succeeded his father. On his death the titles passed to his son, the sixth Earl. Lord Shrewsbury was entrusted with the custody of
Mary, Queen of Scots, and also served as
Earl Marshal from 1572 to 1590. He married as his second wife the famous
Bess of Hardwick. Shrewsbury was succeeded by his son from his first marriage to Lady Gertrude Manners, the seventh Earl. He represented
Derbyshire in the
House of Commons and served as
Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. He had no sons and on his death in 1616 the baronies of Talbot,
Strange of Blackmere and
Furnivall fell into
abeyance between his three daughters. He was succeeded in the earldoms by his younger brother, the eighth Earl. He was
Member of Parliament for
Northumberland. He did not have a male heir either and was succeeded by his distant relative, the ninth Earl. He was the great-great-grandson of Sir Gilbert Talbot (died 1518), third son of the second Earl of Shrewsbury. The family bought
Barlow Woodseats Hall in 1593 as part of the estate. He was succeeded by his nephew, George, the tenth Earl and Lord of
Grafton. He was the son of
John Talbot of Grafton. On his death the titles passed to his son, the eleventh Earl. He was killed in a duel with
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. His son, the twelfth Earl, was a prominent statesman. He was one of the
Immortal Seven who in 1688 invited
William of Orange to invade England and depose his father-in-law
James II and later served under William and Mary as
Secretary of State for the Southern Department and
Secretary of State for the Northern Department. In 1694 he was created
Marquess of Alton and
Duke of Shrewsbury in the Peerage of England. The Duke was childless and on his death in 1718 the marquessate and dukedom became extinct. He was succeeded in his other titles by his first cousin, the thirteenth Earl. He was the son of the Hon. Gilbert Talbot, second son of the tenth Earl. Lord Shrewsbury was in the
Holy Orders of the
Church of Rome. On his death the titles passed to his nephew George, the fourteenth Earl (who was the son of the Hon. George Talbot). He was childless and was succeeded by his nephew Charles, the fifteenth Earl (who was the son of Charles Talbot). He began in 1812 the creation of the extensive gardens at Alveton Lodge, Staffordshire (later renamed
Alton Towers) which estate had been in the family since the 15th century. When he died the titles were inherited by his nephew John, the sixteenth Earl who was the son of the Hon. John Joseph Talbot. When in 1831 the principal home of the family at Heythrop, Oxfordshire was destroyed by fire he moved the family seat to Alton Towers. The sixteenth Earl was also a noted patron of
A W N Pugin. He was succeeded by Bertram, his second cousin once removed, the seventeenth Earl who was the great-grandson of the Hon. George Talbot, younger son of the aforementioned Gilbert Talbot (died 1711), second son of the tenth Earl. Bertram died unmarried at an early age in 1856. By his will he left his estates to
Lord Edmund Howard (by Royal Licence from 1876-1922: Talbot), son of the
Duke of Norfolk, a will contested by three distant relatives and after a long and expensive legal case the House of Lords ruled in 1860 in favour of
Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 3rd
Earl Talbot, who thus became the eighteenth Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford. He was a descendant of the aforementioned the Hon. Sir Gilbert Talbot (died 1518), third son of the second Earl of Shrewsbury (see the
Earl Talbot for earlier history of this branch). He also held the titles of
Baron Talbot, of Hensol in the County of Glamorgan, and
Viscount of Ingestre, of
Ingestre Hall in the County of Stafford. Lord Shrewsbury was an
admiral in the
Royal Navy and also served in the second
Conservative administration of the
Earl of Derby as
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (chief whip in the House of Lords) from 1858 to 1859. , former seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury, is now part of a theme park. His eldest son, the nineteenth Earl, also served as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, an office he held from 1874 to 1877 under
Benjamin Disraeli. He was succeeded by his son, the twentieth Earl. He caused a scandal in Victorian England by eloping with a married woman, Ellen Miller-Mundy. They were later married. On his death the titles passed to his grandson, the twenty-first Earl. He was the son of Charles John Alton Chetwynd-Talbot, Viscount Ingestre. the peerages are held by the twenty-first Earl's eldest son, the twenty-second Earl, who succeeded in 1980. He is one of the
ninety elected hereditary peers that remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the
House of Lords Act 1999, and sits on the Conservative benches. He is also hereditary
Lord High Steward of Ireland and as the holder of this office is allowed to bear a white staff at the
Coronation of the British Monarch. Lord Shrewsbury is the senior
earl on the Roll in the
Peerage of England (the more senior
earldom of Arundel being held by the
Duke of Norfolk). The earldom of Waterford is sometimes called the "Premier Earldom of Ireland
on the Roll", as the oldest Irish earldom, that of
Kildare, has been a subsidiary title of the
Duke of Leinster for centuries and the Earl held the oldest Irish earldom held by anyone ranked as an Earl. If the
Viscount Mountgarret proves his presumed claim to the 1328
earldom of Ormonde, the Earls of Shrewsbury would lose this distinction, but they derive higher
precedence from their English earldom in any event. Despite holding three differently named earldoms Lord Shrewsbury is always styled simply "The Earl of Shrewsbury". The seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury was once
Alton Towers until it was sold in 1924 by the infant 21st Earl's Trustees. The family seat is still in Staffordshire, near Ashbourne and Uttoxeter. The family crypt is the Shrewsbury Chapel in
Sheffield Cathedral. In 2013, it was discovered that the majority of the Shrewsbury coffins had gone missing from the burial chamber. The current Earl has been appointed High Steward of Sheffield Cathedral. The other family crypt – that of the Chetwynd-Talbot Earls of Shrewsbury – is at the Church of St Mary The Virgin,
Ingestre, Stafford. Three other members of the Talbot family may also be mentioned. The Hon.
John Talbot, son of the first Earl of Shrewsbury by his second wife Margaret Beauchamp, was created
Viscount Lisle in 1451. Admiral the Hon.
Walter Carpenter (who assumed the surname of Carpenter in lieu of his patronymic Chetwynd-Talbot), second son of the eighteenth Earl, was a naval commander and
Member of Parliament.
Major-General the Hon.
Sir Reginald Talbot, third son of the eighteenth Earl, was a soldier, politician and colonial governor. ==Titleholders==