Baron Dudley

Baron Dudley is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in circa 1440 for John Sutton, a soldier who served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. According to "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" he was actually summoned to Parliament as "Johanni de Sutton de Duddeley militi", whereby he is held to have become Baron Dudley. The title is sometime referred to as "Baron Sutton of Dudley". The peerage was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines.

Lord Dudley's great grandson, the third Baron, managed to get himself severely into debt and lost the family seat of Dudley Castle to his cousin John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. He became known as "Lord Quondam" ("Lord Has-been" or "Lord Formerly"). However, Dudley Castle and the other family estates were restored to his son, the fourth Baron. He was succeeded by his son, the fifth Baron, who like his grandfather came heavily into debt. To clear his debts he married off his granddaughter and heir, Frances, to Sir Humble Ward, the son of a wealthy jeweller. Frances succeeded him and became the sixth holder of the title. In 1644 her husband Humble Ward was created Baron Ward, of Birmingham in the County of Warwick, by letters patent.

They were both succeeded by their son, the seventh and second Baron respectively. On the death in 1740 of the latter's grandson, the tenth Baron Dudley and fifth Baron Ward, the two titles separated. The barony of Ward, which could only be inherited by males, was passed on to the late Baron's kinsman, the sixth Baron (see the Earl of Dudley for later history of this title). The barony of Dudley was inherited by the Baron's nephew Ferdinando Dudley Lea, the eleventh Baron. He was the son of Frances, sister of the tenth Baron, and her husband William Lea.

However, on Ferdinando's death in 1757 the peerage fell into abeyance between his sisters. It remained in abeyance for 159 years, but in 1916 the abeyance was terminated in favour of Ferdinando Dudley William Lea Smith, who became the twelfth Baron. He was the great-great-grandson of Anne, sister of the eleventh Baron, and her husband William Smith. As of 2007 the title is held by his grandson, the fifteenth Baron, who succeeded his mother in 2002 (who in her turn had succeeded her elder brother).

The holders of the title (until 1740) were the owners of Dudley Castle and an extensive estate around it, including the manors of Dudley, Sedgley, Kingswinford and Rowley Somery in Rowley Regis. By the 16th century, their main home was Himley Hall. On the death of the tenth Baron in 1740, the barony of Dudley passed to a female-line heir (see above), whereas the main estates were entailed to follow the barony of Ward and passed to a cousin. However, certain estates that had recently been purchased passed with the title Lord Dudley to the aforementioned Ferdinando Dudley Lea, the eleventh Baron Dudley.

The family surname of the first five barons was formally 'Sutton', but in practice they seem always to have been called 'Dudley'. In title deeds and other formal documents, the surname often appears as 'Sutton otherwise Dudley'.

Barons Dudley (1440)

*John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley (1400-1487)
*Edward Sutton, 2nd Baron Dudley (1459-1532)
*John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley (c. 1495-1553)
*Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley (d. 1586)
*Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (1567-1643)
*Frances Ward, 6th Baroness Dudley (1611-1697)
*Edward Ward, 7th Baron Dudley, 2nd Baron Ward (d. 1701)
*Edward Ward, 8th Baron Dudley, 3rd Baron Ward (1683-1704)
*Edward Ward, 9th Baron Dudley, 4th Baron Ward (1704-1731)
*William Ward, 10th Baron Dudley, 5th Baron Ward (d. 1740)
*Ferdinando Dudley Lea, 11th Baron Dudley (1710-1757) (abeyant 1757)
*Ferdinando Dudley William Lea Smith, 12th Baron Dudley (1872-1936) (abeyance terminated 1916)
*Ferdinando Dudley Henry Lea Smith, 13th Baron Dudley (1910-1972)
*Barbara Amy Felicity Hamilton, 14th Baroness Dudley (1907-2002)
*Jim Anthony Hill Wallace, 15th Baron Dudley (b. 1930)

The Heir Apparent is the present holder's son Hon. Jeremy William Guilford Wallace (b. 12 September 1964)

ee also

*Earl of Dudley
*Duke of Northumberland (1551 creation)

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/ www.thepeerage.com]

Further reading

*Wilson, Derek A. "The Uncrowned Kings of England: The Black History of the Dudleys and the Tudor Throne". Carroll & Graf, 2005.
*Grazebrooke, H. S. 'The Barons of Dudley' "Staffs. Hist. Coll." IX(2).