(died 1580) The Thynne family descends from the soldier and courtier
Sir John Thynne (died 1580), who constructed
Longleat House between 1567 and 1579. In 1641 his great-grandson Henry Frederick Thynne was created a Baronet, of
Caus Castle, in the
Baronetage of England (some sources claim that the
territorial designation is "Kempsford in the County of Gloucester"). He was succeeded by his son, the second Baronet. He represented
Oxford University and
Tamworth in the
House of Commons and also served as Envoy to Sweden. In 1682 he was raised to the
Peerage of England as
Baron Thynne, of
Warminster in the
County of Wilts, and
Viscount Weymouth, in the
County of Dorset, with remainder to his younger brothers James Thynne (who died unmarried) and Henry Frederick Thynne and the heirs male of their bodies. Lord Weymouth died without surviving male issue in 1714 (one of his three sons, the Honourable
Henry Thynne, represented
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis and
Tamworth in Parliament but had died in 1708, leaving only daughters) and was succeeded in the peerages (according to the special remainders) by his great-nephew, the second Viscount. He was the grandson of the aforementioned Henry Frederick Thynne, brother of the first Viscount. He married as his second wife Lady Louisa Carteret, daughter of
John, Earl Granville, a female-line grandson of
John, 1st Earl of Bath of the second creation (a title which had become extinct in 1711). Lord Weymouth was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Viscount. He was a prominent statesman and served as
Secretary of State for the Northern Department and as
Secretary of State for the Southern Department. In 1789 the Bath title held by his ancestors was revived when he was created
Marquess of Bath. Unusually, the
Earldom of Bath was revived during the Marquess's lifetime for
Laura Pulteney, the heiress of the Earl of Bath of the fourth creation. Place names used by existing peerages are normally avoided when new ones are created. This earldom went extinct on her death in 1808.
Family history 1800–present The 1st Marquess's son
Thomas, the 2nd Marquess, sat as
Tory Member of Parliament for
Weobley and
Bath and served as
Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset. His eldest son
Thomas, represented
Weobley in Parliament but predeceased his father by two months. Lord Bath was therefore succeeded by his second son
Henry, the 3rd Marquess, who died three months later. He was a
captain in the
Royal Navy and also sat as Member of Parliament for Weobley. His son
John, the 4th Marquess, succeeded at age six; he was Chairman of the
Wiltshire County Council and
Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was succeeded by his eldest son
Thomas, the 5th Marquess. He was a
Conservative politician and served briefly as
Under-Secretary of State for India in 1895. His second but eldest surviving son
Henry, the 6th Marquess, represented
Frome in the House of Commons as a Conservative. The 6th Marquess's second son,
Alexander, the 7th Marquess, succeeded in 1992. He was a well-known politician, author and artist. In 2015 the Times described him as "a steaming pile of ancient kaftans and one of our wuffliest and weirdest mad-hatter aristocrats. He is best known for swanning around Longleat, his enormous Elizabethan pad in Wiltshire, entertaining his 75 concubines, or as he called them, "wifelets". The wifelets have included former
Bond girls and Sri Lankan teenagers, as well as housewives and, according to some, prostitutes. The deal is simple: the wifelets get to hang out with Lord Bath in a jewel of a palace and in return he gets unlimited sex." The titles are currently held by
Ceawlin Thynn, the son of the 7th Marquess. ==Other family members==