Loyaulté n'a honte ("There is no shame in loyalty")[1]
Edward Clinton (1512—1585) 1st Earl of Lincoln (eighth creation of the title)
Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The title was borne by the Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne from 1768 to 1988, until the dukedom became extinct.
The Earldom was created for the second time by King Stephen sometime after 1143 for William de Roumare. However, in 1149 or 1150, as William had gone over to the side of Empress Matilda, King Stephen took the earldom from him and elevated Gilbert de Gant as Earl of Lincoln.
The Earldom was created for the third time by King Stephen in 1149 or 1150 for Gilbert de Gant, but on his death in 1156 it reverted to the Crown.
Earls of Lincoln, fourth creation (1217)
The Earldom was created for the fourth time in 1217 during the reign of Henry III (1207-1272) for Ranulph de Blondeville. He had no issue. In April 1231, with the consent of the King, before his death, he passed the Earldom to his sister Hawise of Chester, and she was formally invested by King Henry III in October 1232. Royal consent was needed for this because the Earldom would otherwise have reverted to the crown in the absence of a legitimate male heir. She in turn passed the Earldom, again with the consent of the King, jointly to her daughter Margaret de Quincy (d.1266), who thereby became suo jure 2nd Countess of Lincoln, and to the latter's husband (Hawise's son-in-law) John de Lacy (c. 1192-1240) 8th Baron of Halton, 8th Hereditary Constable of Chester and feudal baron of Pontefract. They were formally invested by Henry III in November 1232. There is doubt as to whether their son Edmund de Lacy (1230-1258) became Earl of Lincoln, as he predeceased his mother, but not his father. The Complete Peerage gives him as the 3rd Earl,[dubious – discuss] but notes that "he does not appear to have been formally invested with the earldom, presumably because his mother outlived him".[2][verification needed] Edmund's son Henry de Lacy, 4th Earl of Lincoln, married Margaret Longespée. Their daughter Alice de Lacy, 5th Countess inherited the earldom and married Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster. She had no children, and thus, on Alice's death in 1348 the earldom became extinct.[3]
The above list does not contain the men who became Earl of Lincoln by right of their wives who were Countess of Lincoln suo jure, except for John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln. He is included in the above list because he was created Earl of Lincoln by Royal Charter (together with his wife Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln). The other men who became Earl of Lincoln by right of their wives were:
The Earldom was created for the fifth time in the following year, 1349, when it was revived for Alice's nephew-in-law Henry of Grosmont, who was later created Duke of Lancaster.[6] It became extinct on his death in 1361.
Arms of John de La Pole, Earl of Lincoln (sixth creation). The label argent (white) distinguishes his arms from those of his father, the Duke of Suffolk.
His great-grandson, the fifth Earl, died without surviving issue in 1692 thus the earldom and barony separated. The barony fell into abeyance between his aunts (see Baron Clinton for further history of this title). He was succeeded in the earldom by his second cousin once removed, the sixth Earl. He was the grandson of Sir Edward Clinton, the second son of the second Earl. His son, the seventh Earl, served as Paymaster of the Forces, as Constable of the Tower and as Cofferer of the Household. Lord Lincoln married Lucy Sydney (died 1736), daughter of Robert Sydney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (see the Earl of Chichester for earlier history of the Pelham family).
His eldest son, the eighth Earl, died as a child and was succeeded by his younger brother, the ninth Earl. He was Cofferer of the Household and Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire and Cambridgeshire. He married his first cousin Catherine Pelham (died 1760), daughter and heiress of Henry Pelham. In 1756, his uncle the Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was created Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, with remainder to his nephew Lord Lincoln, and on the Duke's death in 1768 Lincoln succeeded as second Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne according to the special remainder. He assumed by Royal Licence the additional surname of Pelham the same year.
He was succeeded by his eldest son, the seventh Duke, who died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother. In 1881, the eighth Duke assumed by Royal Licence the additional surname of Hope on inheriting the substantial Hope estates through his paternal grandmother. On his death, the titles passed to his only son, the ninth Duke. He had two daughters but no sons, and was succeeded by his third cousin, the tenth Duke. He was the great-grandson of Lord Charles Pelham-Clinton, second son of the fourth Duke. He died unmarried in December 1988, having held the titles for only a month. On his death the dukedom became extinct, while he was succeeded in the earldom by his distant relative, the eighteenth Earl, a descendant in the tenth generation of the Hon. Sir Henry Fynes-Clinton, third son of the second Earl. Lord Lincoln lived all his life in Australia, and reportedly learned of his succession from a British newspaper. He wrote a book: Memoirs of an Embryo Earl. As of 2017[update] the title is held by his grandson, the nineteenth Earl, whose father had died in 1999. He is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, and still lives in Australia.[citation needed]
The seat of the Dukes of Newcastle was Clumber House near Worksop, Nottinghamshire. However, the house was demolished in 1938. The surrounding estate was sold to the National Trust in 1946 and is now a country park featuring a walled kitchen garden, open to the public.
Robert Edward Fiennes-Clinton, 19th Earl of Lincoln (born 19 June 1972) is the son of Hon. Edward Gordon Fiennes-Clinton and his wife Julia Eleanor Howson. He is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. On 7 July 2001 he succeeded his grandfather as Earl of Lincoln (E., 1572). In 2003 he was living at Warnbro, Western Australia.[7] By 2008 he was reported to be living in Perth[8] and in 2019 in Parmelia.[9]
The heir presumptive is his younger brother the Hon. William Roy Howson (born 1980), who in 1996 assumed by Government Licence the surname of Howson in lieu of Fiennes-Clinton. His heir apparent is his son Jordan Ryder Howson (born 2004).[1]
