Marquess of Exeter is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1525 for Henry Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon. For more information on this creation, which was forfeited in 1538, see the Earl of Devon.

History

The title is chiefly associated with the Cecil family, descended from the courtier Richard Cecil of the parish of Stamford Baron St Martin in Northamptonshire. His only son, Sir William Cecil, was a prominent statesman and served as Secretary of State, Lord High Treasurer and Lord Privy Seal. In 1571 he was created Baron Burghley, in the County of Northampton, in the Peerage of England. His son from his second marriage to Mildred Cooke, Sir Robert Cecil, was created Earl of Salisbury in 1605 and is the ancestor of the Marquesses of Salisbury. Lord Burghley was succeeded by his son from his first marriage to Mary Cheke, Thomas, the second Baron. He represented Stamford, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire in the House of Commons, served as Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire and as President of the Council of the North and was also a distinguished soldier. In 1605 Thomas Cecil was created Earl of Exeter in the Peerage of England (on the same day his half-brother was created Earl of Salisbury).

Brownlow Cecil may refer to:

Brownlow Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Exeter KG PC (2 July 1795 – 16 January 1867), styled Lord Burghley until 1804, was a British peer, courtier and Tory politician. He held office under the Earl of Derby as Lord Chamberlain of the Household in 1852 and as Lord Steward of the Household between 1858 and 1859.

Background

Exeter was the eldest son of Henry Cecil, 1st Marquess of Exeter, and Sarah, daughter of Thomas Hoggins. His mother died shortly before his second birthday and in 1804 he succeeded to the marquessate, aged eight, on the death of his father.

A keen cricketer who was associated with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), prior to his political career he appeared in a first-class match in 1817 for W Ward's XI against EH Budd's XI at Lord's. He made scores of 1 and 4 not out in the match.

Political career

Exeter held office in the first two Tory administrations of the Earl of Derby, first as Lord Chamberlain of the Household between February and December 1852, and later as Lord Steward of the Household from 1858 to 1859. Apart from his political career, he was also Lord Lieutenant of Rutland between 1826 and 1867 and of Northamptonshire between 1842 and 1867, and Groom of the Stole to the Prince Consort between 1841 and 1846. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1827 and admitted to the Privy Council in 1841.

Exeter (ⁱ/ˈɛksᵻtər/) is a cathedral city in Devon, England with a population of 124,328 (mid-2014 est.). It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently, the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district and is therefore under the administration of the County Council (there was a plan to grant the city unitary authority status, although this was scrapped under the 2010 coalition government). The city is on the River Exe about 37 miles (60 km) northeast of Plymouth and 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Bristol.

Exeter was the most south-westerly Roman fortified settlement in Britain, although there is evidence a Cornish tribe existed in Exeter before the Roman invasion. Exeter became a religious centre during the Middle Ages and into the Tudor times: Exeter Cathedral, founded in the mid 11th century, became Anglican during the 16th-century English Reformation. During the late 19th century, Exeter became an affluent centre for the wool trade, although by the First World War the city was in decline. After the Second World War, much of the city centre was rebuilt and is now considered to be a centre for modern business and tourism in Devon and Cornwall.

Exeter was a late 18th century Georgian house near Leesburg, Virginia, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places from 1973 to August 1980, when it was destroyed by fire and subsequently de-listed from the National Register. The house and its dependencies were unusually elaborate for northern Virginia.

History

The house was built about 1790 by Dr. Wilson Cary Selden on a property that he had inherited from his first wife, Mary Mason Selden, who was a niece of George Mason. Selden and his second wife, Eleanor Love Selden, expanded the property as the centerpiece of a plantation. In 1835 Selden's son Wilson Cary Selden, Jr. inherited the property, but sold it in 1846 to General George Rust, who expanded the house to the rear. The property played a role in the American Civil War when the Battle of Ball's Bluff was fought on the plantation's lands, with Confederate General Jubal Early using the house as a headquarters. The house had fallen into disrepair by the 1970s, and was destroyed by fire in August 1980.

Exeter was a three-decker East Indiaman built by Perry and launched in 1792. She made eight voyages to the East Indies for the East India Company (EIC). More unusually, on separate voyages she captured a French frigate and participated in the Battle of Pulo Aura. She was sold for breaking up in 1811.

Career

East Indiamen traveled in convoys as much as they could. Frequently these convoys had as escorts vessels of the British Royal Navy, though generally not past India, or before on the return leg. Even so, the Indiamen were heavily armed so that they could dissuade Malay pirates and even large privateers. They were not designed, however, to fight naval ships as their ports were small and so the guns could only fire directly out. Furthermore, even the largest guns were smaller than those that naval vessels commonly carried. Still, from their appearance in the distance, or in the dark, it was possible to mistake them for ships of the line, as Exeter's own history proved. Like many other East Indiamen during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Exeter sailed under letters of marque. This gave her the right to capture enemy vessels, civilian and military, even when not engaging in self-defense. For her first six voyages her principal managing owner was Richard Lewin, who was a former commander for the EIC and a member of the United Company of merchants of England trading to the East-Indies. For her last two it was Andrew Timbrell. He too was a former commander for the EIC.