1st Baron Altham

This family derives its surname from the lordship of Annesley, Nottinghamshire, where its patriarch, RICHARD DE ANNESLEY, was seated at the time of the general survey in 1079.

From this Richard descended

SIR JOHN ANNESLEY, Knight, of Headington, Oxfordshire, MP for Nottinghamshire, 1377-88, who married Isabel, sister and co-heir of Sir John Chandos, one of the Knights of the Garter at the institution of that noble order, Viscount of Saint Sauveur in the Cotentin, Normandy, Seneschal of Poitou, Constable of Aquitaine, etc.

Sir John died in 1410, and was succeeded by his son,

THOMAS ANNESLEY, of Annesley, MP for Nottinghamshire, whose great-grandson,

WILLIAM ANNESLEY, of Rodington, had, with other children,

ROBERT ANNESLEY, of Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire; who died in 1553, and was succeeded by his son,

GEORGE ANNESLEY, of Newport Pagnell, whose eldest son,

ROBERT ANNESLEY, was a naval officer in the reign of ELIZABETH I, and also a captain in Her Majesty's army raised to suppress the Earl of Desmond's rebellion; after which he became an undertaker in the plantation of Munster.

Captain Annesley wedded Beatrice, daughter of John Cornwall, of Moor Park, Herefordshire, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR FRANCIS ANNESLEY (c1585-1660), Knight, who filled for forty years several of the highest situations in Ireland.

In 1612, he was constituted constable of Mountnorris Castle; and in 1614, Sir Francis represented County Armagh in parliament.

Sir Francis was a protagonist in the plantation of Ulster.

Upon the institution of the Order of Baronets of Ireland, Sir Francis was the second person upon whom that dignity was conferred, in 1620, designated of Mountnorris, County Armagh.

In 1621, he obtained a reversionary grant of the viscountcy of VALENTIA, at the decease of the then Viscount (first creation), Sir Henry Power.

He was put, however, into the more immediate possession of a peerage in the dignity of Baron Mountnorris, of Mountnorris, County Armagh.

His lordship married firstly, Dorothea, daughter of Sir John Philipps Bt, of Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire, by whom he had ARTHUR, his successor, and other children.

He wedded secondly, Jane, daughter of Sir John Stanhope, by whom he had several children, the eldest of whom, FRANCIS, espoused Deborah, daughter of the Most Rev Henry Jones, Lord Bishop of Meath, and was father of FRANCIS, of Thorganby, Yorkshire, who married and had issue,

FRANCIS, ancestor of the Annesleys of Bletchingdon;
Martin, in holy orders;
William, ancestor of the EARLS ANNESLEY.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR, 2nd Viscount (1614-86); who was enrolled amongst the peers of England, in 1661, as Baron Annesley, of Newport Pagnell, and EARL OF ANGLESEY.

His lordship, Treasurer of the Royal Navy, 1667, and Lord Privy Seal, 1673, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Sir James Altham, of Oxhey, Hertfordshire, and had issue,

James, his successor;
ALTHAM, of whom hereafter;
RICHARD, 3rd Baron;
Arthur;
Charles;
Dorothy; Elizabeth; Frances; Philippa; Anne.

His lordship's second son,

THE HON ALTHAM ANNESLEY (1650-99), espoused firstly, in 1678, Alicia, daughter of the Hon Charles Leigh; and secondly, in 1697, Ursula, daughter of Sir Robert Markham Bt, by whom he had issue, an only child,

JAMES GEORGE.

Mr Annesley was elevated to the peerage in, 1681, in the dignity of BARON ALTHAM, of Altham, County Cork, with remainder to the issue male of his younger brothers (after his own).

He was succeeded by his only son,

JAMES GEORGE, 2nd Baron (1697-1700), who was succeeded by his uncle,

THE HON AND VERY REV DR RICHARD ANNESLEY (1655-1701), Dean of Exeter, as 3rd Baron, who married Dorothy, daughter of John Davy, and had issue,

ARTHUR, his successor;
Richard (1689-90);
RICHARD, 6th Earl of Anglesey, 5th Baron;
Elizabeth.

His lordship died in 1701, the year he inherited the peerage, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR, 4th Baron (1689-1727), who wedded firstly, in 1703, Phillips, daughter of John, 1st Baron Haversham; and secondly, in 1707, Mary Sheffield, natural daughter of John, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, by whom he had issue, an only child,

THE HON JAMES ANNESLEY (1715-60),

Who was kidnapped and transported by his uncle Richard, in 1728, to make room for his own accession to the honours and estates of the family. 

The historian and television presenter, Dan Cruickshank, told the story of the unfortunate James Annesley in the BBC Four programme Kidnapped: A Georgian Adventure.

As a consequence of this action, the title reverted to the 4th Baron's uncle,

RICHARD (1694-1761), 6th Earl of Anglesey, as 5th Baron.

Richard Annesley, 6th Earl of Anglesey, 5th Baron Altham (1694–1761)
Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Mountnorris, 6th Baron Altham (1744–1816)
George Annesley, 2nd Earl of Mountnorris, 7th Baron Altham (1769–1844).

First published in August, 2018.  Altham arms courtesy of European Heraldry.