Duke of Leeds

Dukedom of Leeds
Quarterly, 1st & 4th: quarterly ermine and azure, over all a cross or (for Osborne); 2nd, gules, an eagle with two heads display, between three fleur-de-lis argent (for Godolphin); 3rd, azure, semé of cross-crosslets and three cinquefoils argent (for D'Arcy)
Creation date4 May 1694
Created byWilliam III and Mary II
PeeragePeerage of England
First holderThomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds
Last holderD'Arcy Osborne, 12th Duke of Leeds
Remainder tothe first Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles
  • Marquess of Carmarthen
  • Earl of Danby
  • Viscount Osborne
  • Viscount Latimer
  • Viscount Dunblane
  • Baron Godolphin
Extinction date20 March 1964
SeatHornby Castle
Former seatKiveton Hall
Kiveton Hall

Duke of Leeds was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1694 for the prominent statesman Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, who had been one of the Immortal Seven in the Revolution of 1688. He had already succeeded as 2nd Baronet, of Kiveton (1647) and been created Viscount Osborne, of Dunblane (1673), Baron Osborne, of Kiveton in the County of York (also 1673) and Viscount Latimer, of Danby in the County of York (also 1673), Earl of Danby, in the County of York (1674), and Marquess of Carmarthen (1689). All these titles were in the Peerage of England, except for the viscountcy of Osborne, which was in the Peerage of Scotland. He resigned the latter title in favour of his son in 1673. The Earldom of Danby was a revival of the title held by his great-uncle, Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby (see Earl of Danby).

History

The Dukedom was named for Leeds in Yorkshire, and did not (as is sometimes claimed) refer to Leeds Castle in Kent.

The 4th Duke married Mary Godolphin, daughter of Henrietta Churchill Godolphin, suo jure Duchess of Marlborough, and The 2nd Earl of Godolphin, and assumed the arms of Godolphin and Churchill.

On 8 August 1849, The 7th Duke of Leeds assumed by royal licence the additional surname and arms of D'Arcy, for the separate baronies of D'Arcy (1322) and Conyers that he inherited through his grandmother.

Upon the death of the 7th Duke in 1859, the dukedom passed to his cousin, The 2nd Baron Godolphin, whose father (the second son of The 5th Duke of Leeds) had been created Baron Godolphin, of Farnham Royal in the County of Buckingham, in 1832.

The 11th Duke was married three times; he had a daughter, Lady Camilla Osborne, but no son. Upon his death in 1963, the dukedom passed to his cousin, Sir D'Arcy Osborne, a diplomat. Eight months later, the 12th Duke died in Rome, unmarried, at which point the dukedom and the Barony of Godolphin became extinct.

The heir apparent to the Duke of Leeds was styled Marquess of Carmarthen; Lord Carmarthen's heir apparent was styled Earl of Danby; and Lord Danby's heir apparent was styled Viscount Latimer.

Estates and residences

The principal ducal seat was Kiveton Hall. After Kiveton Hall was demolished in 1811, Hornby Castle became the main seat of the Dukes of Leeds.

In the 1883 edition of John Bateman's The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland, George Osborne, 9th Duke of Leeds's estates were recorded as spanning 24,237 acres across England, including 14,772 acres in the North Riding and West Riding of Yorkshire, 5,911 acres in Cornwall, 3,117 acres in Buckinghamshire, 436 acres in Cambridgeshire, and 1 acre in Middlesex, which produced a combined annual income of £33,381.

George Osborne, 10th Duke of Leeds Duke died in 1927, and approximately £300,000 in death duties were levied on his £730,000 estate. The combination of estate tax and the 10th Duke's significant gambling debts resulted in his son John Osborne, 11th Duke of Leeds selling the Hornby Castle estate for £250,000 in early 1930. A demolition sale of much of the house's contents was held in June 1930 and realised £15,000.

The traditional burial place of the Dukes of Leeds was All Hallows Church, Harthill, South Yorkshire.

London residences

George Osborne, 8th Duke of Leeds maintained a London home in Portman Square prior to his death in 1872. His son George Osborne, 9th Duke of Leeds leased No. 14 South Audley Street, Mayfair from 1874 until early 1877. By May 1877 the 9th Duke had taken a lease of No. 11 Grosvenor Crescent in Belgravia, which continued to be the London residences of the Dukes of Leeds until George Osborne, 10th Duke of Leeds died there in May 1927, although an unsuccessful attempt was made to sell the remaining lease of the house at auction in September 1919. The 10th Duke's widow Katherine, Duchess of Leeds sold much of the house's contents in early 1928, and by 1930 the house was being used as accommodation for members of the Duke of York's household.

Osborne Baronets, of Kiveton (1620)

Dukes of Leeds (1694)

Other titles (6th & 7th Dukes): Baron Darcy de Knayth (1322) and Baron Conyers (1509)
Other titles (8th Duke onwards): Baron Godolphin (1832)

Family tree

Notes

  1. ↑ Some sources indicate that Osborne held two Scottish viscountcies – "of Osborne" and "of Dunblane", although this may be a confusion of the full form "Osborne of Dunblane".

References

  1. ↑ George Edward Cokayne (1900), Complete Baronetage, Volume 1
  2. 1 2 3 Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. Burke's Peerage. 1914. pp. 1181–1183. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  3. ↑ Courthope, William (1839). Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: With Additions to the Present Time and a New Set of Coats of Arms from Drawings by Harvey. J. G. & F. Rivington. p. 14. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Foster, Joseph (1888–1891). "Osborne, Francis Godolphin D'Arcy D'Arcy, Marquis of Carmarthen" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: James Parker – via Wikisource.
  5. ↑ Burke, Sir Bernard (1866). A Genealogical History of the Dormant: Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. Harrison. p. 156. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "The Duke of Leeds". The Times. 29 July 1963. p. 19.
  7. ↑ "The Duke of Leeds – Former Minister to the Holy See". The Times. 21 March 1964. p. 12.
  8. ↑ www.rotherhamweb.co.uk: Harthill Archived 24 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 December 2015
  9. ↑ "Osborne family, Dukes of Leeds". The National Archives. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  10. ↑ Bateman, John (1883). The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Harrison. p. 262. Retrieved 21 September 2026 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ Evening Express. (11 August 1927). Page 5. Duke's £730,000 Will.. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 19 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-express-dukes-730000-will/195854188/
  12. ↑ "Two British Estates Sold: Duke of Leeds and Lord Barnard Dispose of Properties". The New York Times. 10 January 1930. p. 5. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  13. ↑ Historic England. "Hornby Castle Park (1420079)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  14. ↑ The Guardian. (24 June 1930). Page 8. Ancestral Properties Auctioned. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 19 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-ancestral-properties-auctio/195854107/
  15. ↑ The Observer. (29 December 1872). Page 5. Fashionable Memoranda. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 19 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-observer-fashionable-memoranda/195853681/
  16. ↑ The Morning Post. (10 June 1874). Page 5. Fashionable Word. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 19 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-post-fashionable-word/195853716/
  17. ↑ The Morning Post. (13 February 1877). Page 5. Duke and Duchess of Leeds arrive at 14 South Audley Street. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 19 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-post-duke-and-duchess-of-lee/195853776/
  18. ↑ The Daily Telegraph. (11 May 1897). Page 7. Duke and Duchess of Leeds arrived at 11 Grosvenor Crescent. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 19 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-duke-and-duchess-of/195853667/
  19. ↑ "Recent Wills: The Duke of Leeds's Estate". The Guardian. Newspapers.com. 12 August 1927. p. 13. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  20. ↑ The Times. (29 September 1919). Page 15. Auction - 11 Grosvenor Crescent S.W.. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 19 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-auction-11-grosvenor-crescen/195853879/
  21. ↑ The Daily Telegraph. (20 February 1928). Page 18. Auction - Property of Duchess of Leeds removed from 11 Grosvenor Crescent. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 19 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-auction-property-o/195853938/
  22. ↑ "The Duke's Changes – Making Room for the Baby: Secretariat to be moved". Evening Standard. Newspapers.com. 22 September 1930. p. 12. Retrieved 19 April 2026.

Source