View source for Earl Nelson

{{short description|Earldom in the Peerage of the United Kingdom}}

{{Other people|Earl Nelson}}
{{redirect|Baron Nelson|the title in Stafford|Baron Nelson of Stafford}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox nobility title
| name              = Earldom of Nelson
| image             = [[File:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|150px|centre]][[File:Arms of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1798).svg|180px|Arms of the Earl Nelson]]
| image_size        =  
| alt               =  
| caption           = <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
'''[[Blazon]]'''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
'''Arms''': ''Or, a cross flory sable surmounted by a bend gules thereon another bend engrailed of the field charged with three hand-grenades of the second fired proper a chief of augmentation wavy argent thereon waves of the sea from which issuant in the centre a palm tree between a disabled ship on the dexter and a battery in ruins on the sinister all proper''.<ref name="Montague-Smith 1968 p822">Montague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), ''Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage'', Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p. 822 (Earl Nelson).</ref> <br /> '''Crests:''' 1st: ''On a naval crown or the Chelenk or Diamond Plume of Triumph, presented to Admiral Horatio, Viscount Nelson by the Grand Signor, [[Sultan Selim III]]''. 2nd: ''Upon Waves of the sea the stern of a Spanish man-of-war, all proper, thereon inscribed SAN JOSEF''. <br /> '''Supporters:''' Dexter: ''A sailor habited and armed with a cutlass, with a pair of pistols in his belt proper, his right hand supporting a pike proper, thereon hoisted a commodore’s flag gules, and his left holding a palm branch proper''. Sinister: ''A lion reguardant, in his mouth two broken flagstaffs proper, flowing from the one the Spanish flag or and gules and from the other a French flag gules argent and azure in his dexter paw a palm branch proper.''
</div>
</div>
| creation_date     = 20 November 1805 
| creation          =  
| monarch           = [[George III|King George III]] 
| peerage           = [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]] 
| first_holder      = [[William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson|William Nelson, 2nd Baron Nelson]] 
| last_holder       =  
| present_holder    = [[Simon Nelson, 10th Earl Nelson]]
| heir_apparent     = Thomas Nelson, Viscount Merton 
| heir_presumptive  =  
| remainder_to      = Special remainder (see main text) 
| subsidiary_titles = Viscount Merton <br /> Baron Nelson 
| status            = 
| extinction_date   =  
| family_seat       =  
| former_seat       = [[Trafalgar Park, Wiltshire|Trafalgar House]] 
| motto             = Over the 2nd crest: '''FAITH AND WORKS''' <br /> Below the shield: '''PALMAM QUI MERUIT FERAT''' ''(Let him bear the palm who has deserved it)'' 
| footnotes         =  
}}
[[Image:HoratioNelson1.jpg|thumb|[[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson]], 1st Viscount Nelson "of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe" (1801), 1st Baron Nelson "of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe" (1798),  1st Baron Nelson "of the Nile and of Hillborough" (1801, with [[special remainder]]), 1st [[Dukedom of Bronte|Duke of Bronte]] (1799, Peerage of the Kingdom of Sicily and Naples)]]

'''Earl Nelson''', ''of [[Trafalgar Park, Wiltshire|Trafalgar]] and of [[Merton, Surrey|Merton]] in the [[County of Surrey]]'', is a title in the [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]]. It was created on 20 November 1805 for the Rev. [[William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson|William Nelson, 2nd Baron Nelson]], one month after the death of his younger brother [[Vice-admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]] [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson]], the famous naval hero of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and victor of the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] of 21 October 1805 (during which he was killed in action). The title is extant, the present holder being [[Simon Nelson, 10th Earl Nelson]], who has an [[heir apparent]]. The family seat of [[Trafalgar Park, Wiltshire|Trafalgar House]] in Wiltshire (also known as Standlynch Park) was sold in 1948 by [[Edward Nelson, 5th Earl Nelson]].

==History==
The title was created on 20 November 1805 for [[the Reverend]] William Nelson, 2nd Baron Nelson, who was a son of the Reverend [[Edmund Nelson (priest)|Edmund Nelson]] (1722–1802) and an elder brother of Horatio Nelson. The Nelson family had been settled in [[Norfolk]] for many generations, and the Reverend Edmund Nelson was Rector of Hillborough and of [[Burnham Thorpe]] in that county. He married [[Catherine Suckling]], whose maternal grandmother Mary was the sister of both [[Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford|the 1st Earl of Orford]] and [[Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton|the 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton]]. Their fifth but third-surviving son was the renowned naval commander Horatio Nelson.

After defeating the French at the [[Battle of the Nile]] in 1798, Horatio Nelson was raised to the [[Peerage of Great Britain]] on 6 November 1798 as '''Baron Nelson''', of the [[Battle of the Nile|Nile]], and of [[Burnham Thorpe]] in the [[County of Norfolk]], with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=15067 |date=6 October 1798 |page=931}}</ref> In 1799, he was created [[Dukedom of Bronte|Duke of Bronte]] (Italian: ''Duca di [[Bronte, Sicily|Bronte]]''), of the [[Kingdom of Sicily]], by King [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand III of Sicily]], which title he was given royal sanction to use in Britain.

After defeating the Danish fleet at the [[Battle of Copenhagen (1801)|Battle of Copenhagen]] in April 1801, Nelson was further honoured when he was made '''Viscount Nelson''', of the Nile, and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk, with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body, on 22 May 1801.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=15366 |date=19 May 1801 |page=549}}</ref> On 18 August of the same year, he was created '''Baron Nelson''', of the Nile, and of [[Hilborough]] in the County of Norfolk, with remainder, in default of male issue of his own, to his father and the heirs male of his body, and failing them to the heirs male of the body severally and successively of his sisters Susannah Bolton and Catherine Matcham.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=15393 |date=1 August 1801 |page=948}}</ref> Both titles were in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Nelson was killed at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] on 21 October 1805. Since he had no legitimate children, the barony of 1798 and the viscountcy became extinct upon his death.

He was succeeded in the barony of 1801 according to the special remainder (and also in the dukedom of Bronte) by his elder brother the Reverend William Nelson, who became the second Baron. On 20 November 1805, the second Baron was created '''Viscount Merton''', of Trafalgar and of [[London Borough of Merton|Merton]] in the [[County of Surrey]], and '''Earl Nelson''', of Trafalgar and of Merton in the County of Surrey, in honour of his late brother and with similar remainder to the barony of 1801.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=15859 |date=5 November 1805 |page=1376}}</ref> Both titles are in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first Earl died without surviving male issue and was succeeded in the dukedom of Bronte by his daughter [[Charlotte Hood, Baroness Bridport|Charlotte]], wife of [[Samuel Hood, 2nd Baron Bridport|the 2nd Baron Bridport]].

The first Earl was succeeded in the British titles (according to the special remainders) by his nephew [[Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson|Thomas Bolton]], the second Earl. He was the eldest son of the aforementioned Susannah Bolton, a sister of the first Earl and the wife of Thomas Bolton of Wells in Norfolk. The second Earl assumed the surname of Nelson upon succeeding to the peerages. He only held the titles for eight months and on his early death, the titles passed to his eldest son, the third Earl. He was succeeded by his third but eldest surviving son, the fourth Earl. He never married and on his death in 1947, the titles passed to his eighty-seven-year-old younger brother, the fifth Earl. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the sixth Earl, who was a lecturer in [[astronomy]] and [[anthropology]]. Two of his younger brothers, the seventh and eighth Earls, both succeeded in the titles.

{{As of|2017}}, the peerages are held by Simon John Horatio Nelson, 10th Earl Nelson (born 1971), a great-grandson of the fifth Earl. He succeeded in 2009 and is the eldest son of Peter John Horatio Nelson, the ninth Earl.

Two other members of the family also had distinguished naval careers. The Hon. Maurice Horatio Nelson (1832–1914), third son of the second Earl, was a [[rear-admiral]] in the Royal Navy. His eldest son, Maurice Henry Horatio Nelson (1864–1942), was a [[Captain (naval)|captain]] in the Royal Navy.

==Coat of arms==
[[File:Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson Coat of Arms.gif|thumb|Contemporary drawing of the [[heraldic achievement]] of Horatio Nelson before Trafalgar<ref name="The Heraldry Society">{{cite web
| author = The Heraldry Society
| title = Horatio Viscount Nelson
| publisher = The Heraldry Society
| date = 2 April 2015
| url = http://www.theheraldrysociety.com/articles/famous_men_women/horatio_viscount_nelson.htm
| access-date = 2 April 2015}}</ref>]]
[[File:Arms of William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson.svg|thumb|Arms of [[William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson]], displaying the additional [[Augmentation of honour|augmentation]] that he was granted]]
[[Coat of arms|Arms]] were granted to Admiral Horatio Nelson and confirmed on 20 October 1797. Nelson's [[Horatio Nelson#Armorial bearings|paternal arms]] (''Or, a [[cross flory]] sable over all a bendlet gules'') were [[Augmentation of honour|augmented]] to honour his naval victories. After the Battle of Cape St Vincent (14 February 1797), Nelson was created a [[Knight of the Bath]] and was granted [[Supporters (heraldry)|heraldic supporters]] (appropriate for peers) of a [[sailor]] and a [[lion]].<ref name="Adkin550">Adkin 2007, p. 550</ref>

In honour of the Battle of the Nile in 1798, the Crown granted him an augmentation of honour [[blazon]]ed ''On a chief wavy argent a palm tree between a disabled ship and a ruinous battery all issuant from waves of the sea all proper'', the [[Latin]] motto ''Palmam qui meruit ferat'' ("let him who has earned it bear the palm"), and added to his supporters a palm branch in the hand of the sailor and in the paw of the lion, and a "tri-colored flag and staff in the mouth of the latter".<ref>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=James |date=2007 |orig-year=1806 |title=The Life of the Right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson |volume=1 |publisher=BiblioBazaar, LLC |isbn=978-1-4346-0663-1 |page=266}}</ref>

After Nelson's death, his elder brother and heir William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson, was granted a further augmentation: ''On a fess wavy overall azure the word [[Battle of Trafalgar|TRAFALGAR]] or''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foster |first=Joseph |year=1882 |title=The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, of the British Empire for 1882; with the Orders of Knighthood |url=https://archive.org/details/peeragebaronetag02fost |publisher=Nichols and Sons |place=Westminster |page=[https://archive.org/details/peeragebaronetag02fost/page/494 494]}}</ref> This additional augmentation was not used by those who succeeded him in the earldom, including the present Earl Nelson.<ref name="Montague-Smith 1968 p822"/>

==Baron Nelson, First creation (1798)==
*[[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Baron Nelson]] (1758–1805) (extinct on his death; created '''Viscount Nelson''' in 1801)

==Viscount Nelson (1801)==
*[[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Baron Nelson]] (1758–1805) (extinct on his death)

==Baron Nelson, Second creation (1801)==
*[[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Baron Nelson]] (1758–1805)
*[[William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson|William Nelson, 2nd Baron Nelson]] (1757–1835) (created '''Earl Nelson''' in 1805), elder brother of the aforementioned Horatio Nelson

==Earls Nelson (1805)==
*[[William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson]] (1757–1835)
*[[Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson]] (1786–1835), nephew of the 1st Earl Nelson<ref>Born as Thomas Bolton, then changed his surname to Nelson upon inheriting the earldom.</ref>
*[[Horatio Nelson, 3rd Earl Nelson]] (1823–1913), eldest son of the 2nd Earl
*[[Thomas Nelson, 4th Earl Nelson|Thomas Horatio Nelson, 4th Earl Nelson]] (1857–1947) eldest son of the 3rd Earl
*[[Edward Nelson, 5th Earl Nelson|Edward Agar Horatio Nelson, 5th Earl Nelson]] (1860–1951) younger brother of the 4th Earl
*[[Albert Nelson, 6th Earl Nelson|Albert Francis Joseph Horatio Nelson, 6th Earl Nelson]] (1890–1957) eldest son of the 5th Earl
*[[Henry Nelson, 7th Earl Nelson|Henry Edward Joseph Horatio Nelson, 7th Earl Nelson]] (1894–1972) younger brother of the 6th Earl
*[[George Nelson, 8th Earl Nelson|George Joseph Horatio Nelson, 8th Earl Nelson]] (1905–1981) younger brother of the 6th and 7th Earls
*[[Peter Nelson, 9th Earl Nelson|Peter John Horatio Nelson, 9th Earl Nelson]] (1941–2009) grandson of the 5th Earl, nephew of the 8th Earl
*[[Simon Nelson, 10th Earl Nelson|Simon John Horatio Nelson, 10th Earl Nelson]] ({{Born in|1971}}) eldest son of the 9th Earl

The [[heir apparent]] is the present holder's only son, Thomas John Horatio Nelson, Viscount Merton ({{Born in|2010}}).

== Family tree ==
{{Earls Nelson family tree}}

==Line of succession==

{{Collapse top|title={{small|Line of succession}}}}
{{tree list}}
* ''Rev. [[Edmund Nelson (priest)|Edmund Nelson]] (1722–1802)''
** ''Susannah Nelson (1755–1813)''
*** [[File:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|35px]] ''Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson (1786–1835)''
**** [[File:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|35px]] ''Horatio Nelson, 3rd Earl Nelson (1823–1913)''
*****[[File:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|35px]] ''Edward Nelson, 5th Earl Nelson (1860–1951)''
******''Hon. John Marie Joseph Horatio Nelson (1908–1970)''
*******[[File:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|35px]] ''Peter Nelson, 9th Earl Nelson (1941–2009)''
********[[File:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|35px]] '''Simon Nelson, 10th Earl Nelson''' (born 1971)
*********'''(1).''' Thomas John Horatio Nelson, Viscount Merton (b. 2010)
********'''(2).''' Hon. Edward James Horatio Nelson (b. 1994)
*******'''(3).''' Francis Edward Horatio Nelson (b. 1947)
********'''(4).''' William John Horatio Nelson (b. 1975)
****''Hon. Maurice Horatio Nelson (1832–1914)''
*****''Charles Burrard Nelson (1868–1931)''
******''John Charles Horatio Nelson (1905–1994)''
*******''Anthony Burrard Horatio Nelson (1935-2019)''
********'''(5).''' Thomas Antony Horatio Nelson (b. 1963)
********'''(6).''' Edward Maximilian Nelson (b. 1971)
*********'''(7).''' Alfred John Horatio Nelson (b. 2005)
** [[File:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|35px]] ''William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson (1757–1835)''
** [[File:Coronet of a British Viscount.svg|35px]] ''[[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson]] (1758–1805)''
{{tree list/end}}
<ref>{{cite book |year=2019|chapter=Nelson, Earl |editor1-last=Morris |editor1-first=Susan |editor2-last=Bosberry-Scott |editor2-first=Wendy |editor3-last=Belfield |editor3-first=Gervase |title=Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage|volume=1 |edition=150th |location=London |publisher=Debrett's Ltd. |pages=3783–3786 |arxiv= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn=978-1-999767-0-5-1}}</ref>
{{collapse bottom}}

==See also==
*[[Trafalgar Park, Wiltshire|Trafalgar House]]
*[[Viscount Bridport]]
*[[Emma, Lady Hamilton]]

==Notes==
{{more citations needed|date=February 2013}}
{{reflist}}

==References==
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, {{Page needed |date=February 2013}}
*{{Rayment|date=February 2012}}
Nash, Michael. "Earl Nelson and the Line of Succession, 1805–2005." In The Bicentennial Edition of "The Nelson Dispatch", December 2005 (Journal of The Nelson Society) edited by Eugene L. Rasor (pp.802 to 809).

==External links==
{{Commons category|position=left|Earls Nelson}}

{{Extant British earldoms}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson}}
[[Category:Earls Nelson| ]]
[[Category:Earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Horatio Nelson|Earl]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1805]]
[[Category:Peerages created with special remainders]]
[[Category:1805 establishments in the United Kingdom|Earl]]