Dudley was first used for a peerage on 25 March 1341/42, when John Sutton became the first Lord Dudley of Dudley Castle. The male line failed at the 10th Baron, Sir
Ferdinando Dudley, and Dudley Castle passed to his daughter,
Frances Dudley, Baroness Dudley (1611–1697). She married Sir
Humble Ward, the son of a wealthy goldsmith and jeweller to King
Charles I (see
Baron Dudley for more history of the Sutton family). Frances was given away in marriage by her grandfather Lord Dudley in order for him to be able to redeem the heavily mortgaged estates around Dudley, whose mineral resources were the foundation of the family's great wealth. In 1644, Frances's husband Sir Humble Ward was raised to the
Peerage of England in his own right as
Baron Ward, of
Birmingham in the
County of Warwick. He was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, the second Viscount. He sat as
Member of Parliament for
Marlborough and for
Worcestershire. He was childless and on his death the titles passed to his half-brother, the third Viscount. He was also Member of Parliament for Worcestershire. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Viscount. He was a politician and served as
Foreign Secretary from 1827 to 1828. In 1827 he was honoured when he was created
Viscount Ednam, of
Ednam in the
County of Roxburgh, and
Earl of Dudley, of
Dudley Castle in the
County of Stafford. Both titles were in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Both titles are in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. On his death the titles passed to his eldest son, the
second Earl. He was a
Conservative politician and served as
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland from 1902 to 1905 during the
Irish Reform Association's plan for
devolution in Ireland, and as
Governor-General of Australia from 1908 to 1911. He is commemorated by a Dudley Street in the Queen's Quarter of Belfast. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Earl of Dudley, who represented
Hornsey and
Wednesbury in the House of Commons as a Conservative. The Third Earl died in Paris on 26 December 1969. the titles are held by his grandson, the sixth Earl, who succeeded his half-brother in 2026. On 16 November 2013 he succeeded to the peerages.
Family seat in
Worcester Cathedral The family seat of the Earls of Dudley was
Himley Hall until the 1830s, after which
Witley Court served as the main residence along with
Dudley House. Witley Court was sold in 1920 and became derelict after a fire in 1937. The
1st Earl of Dudley of the 1860 creation was originally buried in the crypt of Saint Michael and All Angels Church in
Great Witley, but was later moved to
Worcester Cathedral where he is commemorated with a large
funerary monument. His more recent successors – including the
4th Earl and
his wife – rest in a private burial ground at
Himley. Located at the rear of Himley's parish church, it is laid out as a memorial garden and normally closed to the public. ==Barons Ward (1644) of Birmingham==