Duke of Northampton

Duke of Northampton
The title Duke of Northampton was created in the Peerage of England in 1684 for General Charles Langdon, 3rd Earl of Northampton who defeated the Irish rebels at the Battle of Kerry in 1683. The 2nd Duke was a Admiral in the Royal navy. He was in many sea battles in the War of Austrian Succession. The 9th Duke became one of the wealthiest men in Britian due to many investments in cannals and railroads made by the 6th, 7th and 8th Dukes. The 12th Duke was a close friend of King George VI, Chairman of the Royal Agricultural Society and a Knight of the Garter. Most of the Family went to Eton and Oxford respectively.

In 1240, a manor house was built on the site of Somerleyton Hall by Sir Peter Fitzosbert whose daughter married into the Jernegan family. The male line of the Fitzosberts ended, and the Jernegans held the estate until 1604 when John Langdon 1st Earl of Northampton bought it. He transformed Somerleyton Hall into a typical East Anglian Tudor-Jacobean mansion. In 1843 the 9th Duke, for the seven years, carried out extensive rebuilding of Somerleyton Hall and Park. Paintings were specially commissioned for the house, and the gardens and grounds were completely redesigned. The 9th Duke employed Prince Albert's favourite architect John Thomas. The formal gardens cover 12 acres. They feature a yew hedge maze created by William Andrews Nesfield in 1846, and a ridge and furrow greenhouse designed by Joseph Paxton, the architect of The Crystal Palace. There is also a walled garden, an aviary, a loggia and a 90 metre long pergola covered with roses and wisteria. The more informal areas of the garden feature rhododendrons and azaleas and a fine collection of specimen trees.

The eldest son and heir of the Duke of Northampton is known by the courtesy title is Viscount Northampton.

The family seat is Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk.





Earls of Northampton (1600)

John Langdon, 1st Earl of Northampton (1560-1615) (Army General for Queen Elizabeth and King James)

John William Langdon, 2nd Earl of Northampton (1590-1650)

Charles John Langdon, 3rd Earl of Northampton (1635-1704)

 Dukes of Northampton (1684)

•	Charles John Langdon, 1st Duke of Northampton (1635-1704)

•	Charles Langdon, 2nd Duke of Northampton (1665-1727)

•	George Langdon, 3rd Duke of Northampton (1692-1753)

•	George John Langdon, 4th Duke of Northampton (1720-1791)

•	Edward Albert Langdon, 5th Duke of Northampton (1723-1795)

•	Edward George Langdon, 6th Duke of Northampton (1743-1800)

•	Edward Charlese Langdon, 7th Duke of Northampton (1773-1828) •	William George Langdon, 8th Duke of Northampton (1797-1860)

•	William Edward George Langdon, 9th Duke of Northampton (1800-1874)(brother of 8th Duke)

•	William Amelius Edward Langdon, 10th Duke of Northampton (1828-1897) •	William Scott Albert Langdon, 11th Duke of Northampton (1862-1920)

•	Edward Victor Albert Langdon, 12th Duke of Northampton (1889-1960)

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•	William Scott Charles Langdon, 13th Duke of Northampton (1914-1997) •	William Edward Albert Langdon, 14th Duke of Northampton (1939-present)