Lord Aston of Forfar

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Lord Aston of Forfar
File:Coronet of a British Baron.svg
File:Aston of Forfar.png

Lord Aston of Forfar was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The barony was created on 28 November 1627 for Sir Walter Aston, Bt, who had previously been created Baronet of Tixall Hall, Staffordshire (in the Baronetage of England) on 22 May 1611.<ref name=GEC>Template:Cite book</ref>

On the death of the 5th Lord, on 24 August 1751, the Tixall Baronetcy became extinct.<ref name=BURKE>Template:Cite book</ref> However, the title fate of the Aston of Forfar barony is unclear.

Sir John Bernard Burke believed the original letters patent stated that on the failure of the 1st Lord's line, the title should pass to his brother and his heirs.<ref name=BURKE/> The barony is thought to have passed to a distant relative: Philip Aston, the great-great-grandson of the 1st Lord's brother, who was styled as the 6th Lord during his lifetime.<ref name=BURKE/> Later research, however, has shown there may have been a more senior descendant, meaning the 6th and 7th Lords were probably not entitled to the title, despite being styled as "Lord Aston of Forfar" during their lifetimes.<ref name=Pe/>

George Cokayne, however, acknowledges the assumption of the title by the 8th and 9th Lords as "possibly lawful";<ref name=GEC/> with the 8th Lord receiving recognition by King George III.<ref name=PEER/>

History

File:Tixall Hall and Gatehouse (1686).jpg
Tixall House and Gatehouse (c. 1686) by R. Plot.

The early Lords Aston were devoutly Roman Catholic and used their wealth and influence to make Tixall a safe haven for Catholics. They were also staunch Royalists, which meant that the Crown was usually prepared to tolerate their religious beliefs. The 2nd Lord Aston was accused of recusancy, but the charges were quickly dropped. During the Popish Plot, the 3rd Lord Aston was sent to the Tower of London, but in due course was released without standing trial.<ref>Kenyon, J.P. The Popish Plot Phoenix Press reissue 2000 p.256</ref>

Walter Aston, 1st Lord Aston of Forfar, had a sister, Anne, who married Ambrose Elton, Esq., of The Hazle, Ledbury, Herefordshire. Elton served as Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1618, and was a graduate of Brasenose College, Oxford, which his ancestors had founded.<ref>A Topographical and Historical Description of the Parish of Tixall, Sir Thomas Clifford, Bart., Arthur Clifford, Esq., M. Nouzou, Paris, 1817</ref>

After the 5th Lord

With the death of the 5th Lord, the main line of the family, and the Baronet title, became extinct.<ref name=BURKE/> The fate of the barony of "Aston of Forfar" is unclear.

Burke states the title passed to Philip Aston, the great-great-grandson of the 1st Lord's brother.<ref name=BURKE/> Philip died unmarried and without issue; the title would thus pass to his younger brother Walter.<ref name=BURKE/>
Philip and Walter's right to use the title was, however, later disputed. Both were styled as "6th and 7th Lord Aston of Forfar" but, probably unbeknownst to them, there was a male descendant on a more senior line, William Aston of Beaulieu, County Louth, Ireland who outlived them, and was thus the legitimate (but at the time unrecognised) 6th Lord.<ref name=Pe>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="CPV1">Template:Cite book</ref>

Philip, Walter, and the legitimate senior claimant, all died without male issue. The two claims to the title were then reunited in a single person: Walter Aston; Philip and Walter's first cousin.<ref name=BURKE/>

Walter was styled at the time as the 8th Lord, but his uncertain status caused problems in his career. Scottish Peers were entitled to vote to elect 16 Scottish representative peers to the House of Lords. In 1768 Walter's right to vote in these elections raised objections as he was not listed on the Union Roll.<ref name=PEER/>
Walter's right to the title seems to have been confirmed, however, when in 1769 King George III referred to him as "Walter, Lord Aston, Baron of Forfar", and granted him an annual pension of £300.<ref name=PEER>G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, page 289.</ref>

Following Walter's death, the title passed to his only son, the clergyman Walter Aston.<ref name=BURKE/> He attempted to get official recognition for the barony, but died before the matter was settled.Template:Citation needed His claim as 9th Lord Aston of Forfar is called "possibly lawful" by Cokayne; who states the title became "dormant" with his death.<ref name=GEC/>

Modern Claimants

The title is currently considered extinct. It is, however, still claimed by descendants of the Aston family.Template:Citation needed The current claimant's right to use the title is disputed and unrecognised.

Aston baronets, of Tixall (1611)

Lords Aston of Forfar (1627)

Notes

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References

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Sources

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