Father of the House (United Kingdom)

Honorary position in the British parliament

Father of the House

Incumbent
Sir Edward Leigh

since 5 July 2024

House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Member of| House of Commons
Seat| Westminster
First holder| William Wither Bramston Beach
c. 1899

The Father of the House is a title that is bestowed on the male member of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom who has the longest continuous service.[1] If two or more members have the same length of current uninterrupted service, then whoever was sworn in earliest, as listed in Hansard, is named as Father of the House.[2]

The only formal duty of the father of the House is to preside over the election of the speaker of the House of Commons. However, the relevant Standing Order does not refer to this member by the title of "Father of the House", but instead to the longest-serving member of the House present who is not a minister of the Crown. Until 1971, the clerk of the House of Commons presided over the election of the Speaker. As the clerk is never a member, and therefore is not permitted to speak, he would silently stand and point at the Member who was to speak. However, this procedure broke down at the election of a new Speaker in 1971 and was changed upon the recommendation of a select committee.[3][failed verification]

Since the 2024 general election, Sir Edward Leigh has been Father of the House, having been an MP continuously for Gainsborough (previously Gainsborough and Horncastle) since 1983.[4] While other MPs (namely Jeremy Corbyn and Roger Gale) have also served continuously since 1983, Leigh was sworn in first.[5]

The previous Father was Sir Peter Bottomley,[6] who was an MP continuously from 1975 until he lost his seat to Labour's Beccy Cooper in the 2024 general election. Bottomley was the first Father to be unseated rather than retire or die in office.

## History

[edit]

Sir Peter Bottomley presiding over the chamber in 2019

Historically, the father of the House was not a clearly defined term, and it is not clear by what process it was used for individual Members. The first recorded usage of the term dates to 1788, in an obituary of Thomas Noel; it is also attested in an engraved portrait of Whitshed Keene by Charles Picart, from 1816. It may have been interpreted at various times as the oldest member, the member with the longest total service, the member with the longest unbroken service (the modern definition), or the member who entered the House longest ago. There is also some evidence that in the late 19th century, the position may have been elected. The modern definition was not settled upon until the late 1890s.[7]

After the Second World War, a convention arose that the father would normally be a member of the Select Committee on Privileges, but this lapsed following the establishment of the modern Standards and Privileges Committee in the 1990s.[7]

Among the twentieth-century fathers, there were several very prominent figures; four former Prime Ministers became Father of the House, and a fifth, Henry Campbell-Bannerman was simultaneously Father of the House and Prime Minister from May 1907 until soon before his death during April 1908. Almost all have been Privy Councillors.[7]

There has been criticism of the term Father of the House being used instead of Elder of the House as a relic of the "legacy of women’s historic under-representation in the House" and the way in which gendered language affected representation.[8][9]

To date, all holders of the position have been men.[7] In 2015 Harriet Harman described herself as the 'Mother of the House' as she was the longest continuously serving woman MP.[10] David Cameron referred to her as the Mother the week after,[11] and Theresa May referred to Harriet Harman as the Mother of the House in 2017.[12] Harman had in fact been the longest serving female MP since at least 2010. Following the 2024 general election and Harman's retirement, Diane Abbott became Mother of the House.[13] During speeches at the re-opening of Parliament after the 2024 general election, Diane Abbott was described as the "Mother of the House" by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and then Leader of the Opposition Rishi Sunak.[citation needed]

## List of Fathers of the House since 1899

[edit]

This list covers all Fathers of the House since W.W. Beach, the first to become Father after the modern approach (longest period of continuous service) was agreed in 1898.[7] Those who died as Father are indicated by a †. Those who were unseated are indicated by a U.

Name  | Entered Parliament  | Father (Standing Order No 1)  | Left House  | Party  | Constituency

|
|
|
|
|

William Wither Bramston Beach | 1857 | 1899 | 1901† |  | Conservative | North Hampshire (1857–85)
Andover (1885–1901)
Michael Hicks Beach | 1864 | 1901 | 1906  |  | Conservative | Gloucestershire East (1864–85)
Bristol West (1885–1906)
George Finch | 1867 | 1906 | 1907† |  | Conservative | Rutland
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 1868 | 1907 | 1908† |  | Liberal | Stirling Burghs
Sir John Kennaway | 1870 | 1908 | 1910  |  | Conservative | East Devon (1870–85)
Honiton (1885–1910)
Thomas Burt | 1874 | 1910 | 1918  |  | Lib-Lab | Morpeth
T. P. O'Connor | 1880 | 1918 | 1929† |  | Irish Nationalist | Galway Borough (1880–85)
Liverpool Scotland (1885–1929)
David Lloyd George | 1890 | 1929 | 1945  |  | Liberal | Caernarvon Boroughs
The Earl Winterton | 1904 | 1945 | 1951  |  | Conservative | Horsham (1904–18, 1945–51)
Horsham and Worthing (1918–45)
Sir Hugh O'Neill | 1915 | 1951 | 1952  |  | UUP | Mid Antrim (1915–22)
Antrim (1922–50)
North Antrim (1950–52)
David Grenfell | 1922 | 1952 | 1959  |  | Labour | Gower
Sir Winston Churchill | 1900
continuous from 1924  | 1959  | 1964  |  | Conservative | Oldham (1900–04)
| Liberal | Oldham (1904–06)
Manchester North West (1906–08)
Dundee (1908–22)
| Conservative | Epping (1924–45)
Woodford (1945–64)
R. A. Butler | 1929 | 1964 | 1965  |  | Conservative | Saffron Walden
Sir Robin Turton | 1929 | 1965 | 1974  |  | Conservative | Thirsk and Malton
George Strauss | 1929
continuous from 1934 | 1974 | 1979  |  | Labour | Lambeth North (1929–31, 1934–50)
Vauxhall (1950–79)
John Parker | 1935 | 1979 | 1983  |  | Labour | Romford (1935–45)
Dagenham (1945–83)
James Callaghan | 1945 | 1983 | 1987  |  | Labour | Cardiff South (1945–50)
Cardiff South East (1950–83)
Cardiff South and Penarth (1983–87)
Sir Bernard Braine | 1950 | 1987 | 1992  |  | Conservative | Billericay (1950–55)
South East Essex (1955–83)
Castle Point (1983–92)
Sir Edward Heath | 1950 | 1992 | 2001  |  | Conservative | Bexley (1950–74)
Sidcup (1974–83)
Old Bexley and Sidcup (1983–2001)
Sir Tam Dalyell | 1962 | 2001 | 2005  |  | Labour | West Lothian (1962–83)
Linlithgow (1983–2005)
Alan Williams | 1964 | 2005 | 2010  |  | Labour | Swansea West
Sir Peter Tapsell | 1959
continuous from 1966 | 2010 | 2015  |  | Conservative | Nottingham West (1959–64)
Horncastle (1966–83)
East Lindsey (1983–97)
Louth and Horncastle (1997–2015)
Sir Gerald Kaufman | 1970 | 2015 | 2017† |  | Labour | Manchester Ardwick (1970–83)
Manchester Gorton (1983–2017)
Kenneth Clarke | 1970 | 2017 | 2019  |  | Conservative (1970–2019) | Rushcliffe
| Independent (2019)
Sir Peter Bottomley | 1975 | 2019 | 2024U |  | Conservative | Woolwich West (1975–83)
Eltham (1983–97)
Worthing West (1997–2024)
Sir Edward Leigh | 1983 | 2024 | present  |  | Conservative | Gainsborough and Horncastle (1983–97)
Gainsborough (1997–present)

## Earlier "fathers"

[edit]

This list covers all those who would have been considered Father of the House, by the modern definition, since an arbitrary date of 1701. Many of these will not have been considered "Father of the House" by contemporaries, and some men who were described as such are not listed here. These men served in the Parliament of England until the 1707 Acts of Union and from thereafter until the end of 1800 in the Parliament of Great Britain.

Name  | Entered Parliament  | Father (Standing Order No 1)  | Left House  | Party  | Constituency

|
|
|
|
|

Sir John Fagg | 1645
continuous from 1653 | 1701 | 1701† |  |  | Steyning
Thomas Turgis | 1659 | 1701 | 1704† |  |  | Gatton
Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th Baronet | 1661 | 1704 | 1704† |  |  | Westmorland
Thomas Strangways | 1673 | 1704 | 1713 |  |  | Dorset
Sir Richard Onslow | 1679 | 1713 | 1715  |  | Whig | Guildford (1713–14)
Surrey (1714–15)
Thomas Erle | 1679 | 1715 | 1718  |  | Whig | Wareham
Edward Vaughan | 1679 | 1718 | 1718† |  | Whig | Cardiganshire
Richard Vaughan | 1685
continuous from 1689 | 1718 | 1724† |  | Whig | Carmarthen
Lord William Powlett | 1689 | 1724 | 1729† |  | Tory | Winchester (1689–1710, 1715–29)
Lymington (1710–15)
Sir Justinian Isham, 4th Baronet | 1685
continuous from 1694 | 1729 | 1730† |  | Tory | Northampton (1685–90, 1694–98)
Northamptonshire (1698–30)
Sir Charles Turner, 1st Baronet | 1695 | 1730 | 1738† |  | Tory | King's Lynn
Sir Roger Bradshaigh | 1695 | 1738 | 1747† |  | Tory | Wigan
Sir Edward Ashe | 1695 | 1747 | 1747  |  | Tory | Heytesbury
Sir Thomas Cartwright | 1695
continuous from 1701 | 1747 | 1748† |  | Tory | Northamptonshire
Sir Richard Shuttleworth | 1705 | 1748 | 1749† |  | Tory | Lancashire
Phillips Gybbon | 1707 | 1749 | 1762† |  | Whig | Rye
Sir John Rushout, 4th Baronet | 1713 | 1762 | 1768  |  | Tory | Malmesbury (1713–22)
Evesham (1722–68)
William Aislabie | 1721 | 1768 | 1781† |  | Whig | Ripon
Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore | 1733 | 1781 | 1782† |  | Whig | Thetford (1733–54, 1774–82)
Hereford (1754–68)
Heytesbury (1768–74)
The Earl Nugent | 1741 | 1782 | 1784  |  | Tory | St Mawes (1741–54, 1774–84)
Bristol (1754–74)
Sir Charles Frederick | 1741 | 1784 | 1784  |  | Tory | New Shoreham (1741–54)
Queenborough (1754–84)
The Lord Mendip | 1741 | 1784 | 1790  |  | Tory | Cricklade (1741–47)
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (1747–61, 1774–90)
Aylesbury (1761–68)
Petersfield (1768–74, 1791–95)
William Drake | 1746 | 1790 | 1796† |  |  | Amersham
Sir Philip Stephens, 1st Baronet | 1759 | 1796 | 1806  |  | Tory | Liskeard (1759–68)
Sandwich (1768–1801)
Clement Tudway | 1761 | 1806 | 1815† |  | Tory | Wells
Sir John Aubrey, 6th Baronet | 1768 | 1815 | 1826† |  | Tory | Wallingford (1768–74, 1780–84)
Aylesbury (1774–1780)
Buckinghamshire (1780–90)
Clitheroe (1790–96)
Aldeburgh (1796–1812)
Steyning (1812–20)
Horsham (1820–26)
Sir Samuel Smith | 1788 | 1826 | 1832  |  | Tory | St Germans (1788–90)
Leicester (1790–1818)
Midhurst (1818–20)
Wendover (1820–32)
George Byng | 1790 | 1832 | 1847† |  | Whig | Middlesex
Charles Williams-Wynn | 1797 | 1847 | 1850† |  | Tory (1797–1834) | Old Sarum (1797–99)
Montgomeryshire (1797–1850)
| Conservative (1834–50)
George Harcourt | 1806 | 1850 | 1861† |  | Whig (1806–35) | Lichfield (1806–31)
Oxfordshire (1831–61)
| Conservative (1835–57)
| Peelite (1857–59)
| Liberal (1859–61)
Sir Charles Burrell, 3rd Baronet | 1806 | 1861 | 1862† |  | Tory (1806–34) | New Shoreham
| Conservative (1834–62)
Henry Cecil Lowther | 1812 | 1862 | 1867† |  | Tory (1812–34) | Westmorland
| Conservative (1834–67)
Thomas Peers Williams | 1820 | 1867 | 1868  |  | Tory (1820–34) | Marlow
| Conservative (1834–68)
Henry Lowry-Corry | 1825 | 1868 | 1873† |  | Tory (1825–34) | Tyrone
| Irish Conservative
(1834–73)
George Weld-Forester | 1828 | 1873 | 1874  |  | Tory (1828–34) | Wenlock
| Conservative (1834–74)
Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot | 1830 | 1874 | 1890† |  | Whig (1830–59) | Glamorganshire (1830–85)
Mid Glamorganshire (1885–90)
| Liberal (1859–90)
Charles Pelham Villiers | 1835 | 1890 | 1898† |  | Liberal (1835–86) | Wolverhampton (1835–85)
Wolverhampton South (1885–98)
| Liberal Unionist (1886–98)
Sir John Mowbray, 1st Baronet | 1853 | 1898 | 1899† |  | Conservative | Durham City (1853–85)
Oxford University (1885–99)

## Longest-serving member of the House of Lords

[edit]

The title "Father of the House" is not used in the House of Lords:[7] its longest-serving member is recorded on the House website, though no duties or special distinctions are associated with the position.[14]

As of 2025[update], the longest-serving member is the Lord Trefgarne (Conservative), who first took his seat on 3 July 1962[15] (having succeeded his father in the peerage in 1960 while still a minor). The House of Lords Act 1999 repealed the automatic right of hereditary peers to be members of the House of Lords; Trefgarne was one of those elected to continue sitting in parliament under Section 2 of the Act. As of 2025[update], the longest-serving Life Peer is the Baroness Cox (Crossbencher), who is also the longest-serving female member of the House of Lords; she first took her seat on 2 March 1983.[16]

The below table lists the longest continuously-serving members of the House of Lords since the Acts of Union 1707, in the order they achieved that status. Prior to 1707, all members of the Lords were members of the parliament of England.

Until 1898, the longest continuously-serving member of the Lords, as with his counterpart in the Commons, was not necessarily considered the senior-most member of that chamber.

Peer  | Most senior title
in the peerage of  | Entitled to seat in Lords as
(if with a different peerage or as an elected peer) | Party affiliation  | Time served
(from when first taking seat) | Tenure  | Became
longest-serving
member  | Tenure as
longest-serving
member

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Thomas Leigh, 2nd Baron Leigh | England | \-  | \-  | 26 January 1673 –
12 November 1710[17] | 37 years, 290 days  | 23 October 1707
(1st Parliament of Great Britain)  | 3 years, 20 days
Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds | England | 1st Viscount Latimer
(England, from 1673)

1st Earl of Danby
(England, from 1674)

1st Marquess of Carmarthen
(England, from 1689)

1st Duke of Leeds
(England, from 1694)

| Tory | 20 October 1673 –
26 July 1712[17] | 38 years, 280 days  | 12 November 1710  | 1 year, 257 days
Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford | England |  | Whig | 13 April 1675 –
31 January 1720[17] | 44 years, 293 days  | 26 July 1712  | 7 years, 189 days
Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough and 1st Earl of Monmouth | England | 2nd Viscount Mordaunt
(England, from 1675)

1st Earl of Monmouth
(England, from 1689)

3rd Earl of Peterborough
(England, from 1697)

| Whig | 21 December 1680 –
25 October 1735[18][17] | 54 years, 308 days  | 31 January 1720  | 15 years, 267 days
Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury and 3rd Earl of Elgin | England | \-  | \-  | 9 November 1685 –
16 December 1741[19][17] | 56 years, 37 days  | 25 October 1735  | 6 years, 52 days
Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran | Ireland | 1st Baron Butler of Weston
(England, from 1694)  | \-  | 16 February 1694 –
17 December 1758[20][17] | 64 years, 304 days  | 16 December 1741  | 17 years, 1 day
Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset | Great Britain | 7th Earl of Dorset and 2nd Earl of Middlesex
(England, from 1706)

1st Duke of Dorset
(Great Britain, from 1720)

| \-  | 19 January 1708 –
10 October 1765[21][17] | 57 years, 264 days  | 17 December 1758  | 6 years, 297 days
Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst | Great Britain | 1st Baron Bathurst
(Great Britain, from 1712)

1st Earl Bathurst
(Great Britain, from 1772)

| Tory | 2 January 1712 –
16 September 1775[22][17] | 63 years, 257 days  | 10 October 1765  | 9 years, 341 days
John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland | England | \-  | Whig | 22 March 1721 –
29 May 1779[23][17] | 58 years, 68 days  | 16 September 1775  | 3 years, 255 days
Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford | Great Britain | 3rd Baron Guilford
(England, from 1729)

1st Earl of Guilford
(Great Britain, from 1752)

| Whig | 13 January 1730 –
4 August 1790[24][17] | 60 years, 203 days  | 29 May 1779  | 11 years, 67 days
Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney | Great Britain | \-  | \-  | 17 January 1733 –
16 November 1793[25][17] | 60 years, 303 days  | 4 August 1790  | 3 years, 104 days
Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford | Great Britain | 2nd Baron Conway of Ragley
(England, from 1732)

1st Earl of Hertford
(Great Britain, from 1750)

1st Marquess of Hertford
(Great Britain, from 1793)

| \-  | 15 November 1739 –
14 June 1794[26][17] | 54 years, 211 days  | 16 November 1793  | 210 days
William Byron, 5th Baron Byron | England |  | \-  | 1 December 1743 –
19 May 1798[27][17] | 54 years, 169 days  | 14 June 1794  | 3 years, 339 days
John Ashburnham, 2nd Earl of Ashburnham | Great Britain |  | \-  | 18 November 1746 –
8 April 1812[28][17] | 65 years, 142 days  | 19 May 1798  | 13 years, 325 days
Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury | Great Britain | 2nd Baron Bruce
(Great Britain, from 1747)

1st Earl of Ailesbury
(Great Britain, from 1776)

| \-  | 28 November 1754 –
19 April 1814[29][17] | 59 years, 142 days  | 8 April 1812  | 2 years, 11 days
John Peyto-Verney, 14th Baron Willoughby de Broke | England | \-  | \-  | 3 December 1759 –
15 February 1816[30][17] | 56 years, 74 days  | 19 April 1814  | 1 year, 302 days
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough | England | \-  | \-  | 8 February 1760 –
29 January 1817[31][17] | 56 years, 356 days  | 15 February 1816  | 349 days
Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville | Great Britain | \-  | \-  | 24 November 1767 –
10 December 1822[32][17] | 55 years, 16 days  | 29 January 1817  | 5 years, 315 days
Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon | Scotland | Scottish representative peer (1768–1784)[a]

1st Earl of Norwich
(Great Britain, from 1784)

| Tory | 20 January 1768 –
17 June 1827[33][17] | 59 years, 148 days  | 10 December 1822  | 4 years, 189 days
William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam | Great Britain | \-  | Whig | 9 January 1770 –
8 February 1833[34][17] | 63 years, 30 days  | 17 June 1827  | 5 years, 236 days
George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont | Great Britain | \-  | Whig | 15 February 1773 –
11 November 1837[35][17] | 64 years, 269 days  | 8 February 1833  | 4 years, 276 days
John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland | England | \-  | Tory | 8 February 1780 –
15 December 1841[36][17] | 61 years, 310 days  | 11 November 1837  | 4 years, 34 days
Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny | Great Britain | \-  | Whig | 23 January 1787 –
27 March 1843[37][17] | 56 years, 63 days  | 15 December 1841  | 1 year, 102 days
William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart | Scotland | Scottish representative peer (1788–1812)[a]

1st Viscount Cathcart
(United Kingdom, from 1807)

1st Earl Cathcart
(United Kingdom, from 1814)

| \-  | 1 February 1788 –
16 June 1843[38][17] | 55 years, 135 days  | 27 March 1843  | 81 days
George Boyle, 4th Earl of Glasgow | Scotland | Scottish representative peer (1790–1818)[a]

1st Baron Ross
(United Kingdom, from 1815)

| Tory | 25 November 1790 –
6 July 1843[39][17] | 52 years, 223 days  | 16 June 1843  | 20 days
George Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor | Great Britain | \-  | Tory | 17 April 1793 –
9 April 1852[40][17] | 58 years, 358 days  | 6 July 1843  | 8 years, 278 days
Edward Digby, 2nd Earl Digby | Great Britain | \-  | \-  | 14 May 1794 –
12 May 1856[41][17] | 61 years, 364 days  | 9 April 1852  | 4 years, 33 days
William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst | United Kingdom | 2nd Baron Amherst
(Great Britain, from 1797)

1st Earl Amherst
(United Kingdom, from 1826)

| \-  | 8 November 1797 –
13 March 1857[42][17] | 59 years, 125 days  | 12 May 1856  | 305 days
John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick | Great Britain | \-  | \-  | 17 April 1801 –
20 January 1859[43][17] | 57 years, 278 days  | 13 March 1857  | 1 year, 313 days
Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey | United Kingdom | 3rd Baron Grantham
(Great Britain, from 1803)

2nd Earl de Grey
(United Kingdom, from 1833)

| Tory | 23 May 1803 –
14 November 1859[44][17] | 56 years, 175 days  | 20 January 1859  | 298 days
Robert Haldane-Duncan, 1st Earl of Camperdown | United Kingdom | 2nd Viscount Duncan
(Great Britain, from 1806)

1st Earl of Camperdown
(United Kingdom, from 1831)

| \-  | 15 April 1806 –
22 December 1859[45][17] | 53 years, 251 days  | 14 November 1859  | 38 days
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen | Scotland | Scottish representative peer (1806–1818)[a]

1st Viscount Gordon
(United Kingdom, from 1814)

| Tory
(1806–1834)

Conservative (1834–1846; Peelite: 1846–1859)

Liberal (1859-1860)

| 17 December 1806 –
14 December 1860[46] | 53 years, 363 days  | 22 December 1859  | 358 days
Thomas Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull | Scotland | 4th Baron Hay of Pedwardine
(Great Britain)[a] | Conservative | 11 March 1807 –
18 February 1866[47] | 58 years, 344 days  | 14 December 1860  | 5 years, 66 days
Augustus FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster | Ireland | 3rd Viscount Leinster
(Great Britain)  | \-  | 3 February 1813 –
10 October 1874[48][49] | 61 years, 249 days  | 18 February 1866  | 8 years, 234 days
Henry Gage, 4th Viscount Gage | Ireland | 3rd Baron Gage
(Great Britain)  | \-  | 18 February 1813 –
20 January 1877[50] | 63 years, 337 days  | 10 October 1874  | 2 years, 102 days
Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton | United Kingdom |  | Conservative | 22 June 1821 –
7 March 1882[51][49] | 60 years, 258 days  | 20 January 1877  | 5 years, 46 days
Stephen Moore, 3rd Earl Mount Cashell | Ireland | Irish representative peer | \-  | 19 February 1827 –
10 October 1883[52] | 56 years, 233 days  | 7 March 1882  | 1 year, 217 days
Henry Pelham, 3rd Earl of Chichester | United Kingdom |  | \-  | 26 February 1827 –
15 March 1886[53] | 59 years, 17 days  | 10 October 1883  | 2 years, 156 days
John Freeman-Mitford, 1st Earl of Redesdale | United Kingdom | 2nd Baron Redesdale
(United Kingdom, from 1830)

1st Earl of Redesdale
(United Kingdom, from 1877)

| \-  | 22 February 1830 –
2 May 1886[54] | 56 years, 69 days  | 15 March 1886  | 48 days
John Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney | United Kingdom | 3rd Viscount Sydney
(Great Britain, from 1831)

1st Earl Sydney
(United Kingdom, from 1874)

| Liberal | 25 February 1831 –
14 February 1890[55] | 58 years, 354 days  | 2 May 1886  | 3 years, 288 days
William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelace | United Kingdom | 8th Baron King
(Great Britain, from 1833)

1st Earl of Lovelace
(United Kingdom, from 1838)

| \-  | 26 July 1833 –
29 December 1893[55] | 60 years, 156 days  | 14 February 1890  | 3 years, 318 days
Hungerford Crewe, 3rd Baron Crewe | United Kingdom | \-  | \-  | 15 February 1836 –
3 January 1894[55] | 57 years, 322 days  | 29 December 1893  | 5 days
William Murray, 4th and 3rd Earl of Mansfield | Great Britain | \-  | Conservative | 12 May 1840 –
1 August 1898[55] | 58 years, 81 days  | 3 January 1894  | 4 years, 210 days
Harry Chichester, 2nd Baron Templemore | United Kingdom | \-  | \-  | 15 June 1842 –
10 June 1906[55] | 63 years, 360 days  | 1 August 1898  | 7 years, 313 days
Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester | United Kingdom | \-  | \-  | 29 April 1844 –
24 January 1909[55] | 64 years, 270 days  | 10 June 1906  | 2 years, 228 days
Horatio Nelson, 3rd Earl Nelson | United Kingdom | \-  | Conservative | 4 February 1845 –
25 February 1913[56] | 68 years, 21 days  | 24 January 1909  | 4 years, 32 days
Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie | United Kingdom | \-  | Liberal | 22 July 1853 –
28 October 1921[55] | 68 years, 98 days  | 25 February 1913  | 8 years, 245 days
George Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry | England | \-  | Conservative | 6 June 1859 –
13 March 1930[57] | 70 years, 280 days  | 28 October 1921  | 8 years, 136 days
Robert Devereux, 16th Viscount Hereford | England | \-  | \-  | 13 June 1864 –
27 March 1930[58] | 65 years, 287 days  | 13 March 1930  | 14 days
Charles Gordon, 11th Marquess of Huntly | Scotland | 3rd Baron Meldrum
(United Kingdom)[a] | Liberal | 3 May 1869 –
20 February 1937[59] | 67 years, 293 days  | 27 March 1930  | 6 years, 330 days
Archibald Kennedy, 3rd Marquess of Ailsa | United Kingdom | \-  | \-  | 4 June 1872 –
9 April 1938[60] | 65 years, 309 days  | 20 February 1937  | 1 year, 48 days
Prince Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn | United Kingdom | \-  | \-  | 8 June 1874 –
16 January 1942[61] | 67 years, 222 days  | 9 April 1938  | 3 years, 282 days
John Norton, 5th Baron Grantley | Great Britain | \-  | \-  | 24 May 1878 –
5 August 1943[62] | 65 years, 73 days  | 16 January 1942  | 1 year, 201 days
Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale | United Kingdom | \-  | \-  | 31 May 1883 –
13 April 1944[63] | 60 years, 318 days  | 5 August 1943  | 252 days
Aldred Lumley, 10th Earl of Scarbrough | England | \-  | \-  | 19 February 1885 –
4 March 1945[64] | 60 years, 13 days  | 13 April 1944  | 325 days
Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe | United Kingdom | 2nd Baron Houghton
(United Kingdom, from 1885)

1st Earl of Crewe
(United Kingdom, from 1895)

1st Marquess of Crewe
(United Kingdom, from 1911)

| Liberal | 28 January 1886 –
20 June 1945[65] | 59 years, 143 days  | 4 March 1945  | 108 days
George Rous, 3rd Earl of Stradbroke | United Kingdom | \-  | Conservative | 4 March 1886 –
20 December 1947[66] | 61 years, 291 days  | 20 June 1945  | 2 years, 183 days
Charles FitzRoy, 4th Baron Southampton | Great Britain | \-  | \-  | 23 January 1891 –
7 December 1958[67] | 67 years, 287 days  | 20 December 1947  | 10 years, 352 days
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury | England | \-  | \-  | 4 June 1891 –
25 March 1961[68] | 69 years, 294 days  | 7 December 1958  | 2 years, 108 days
Henry Paulet, 16th Marquess of Winchester | England | \-  | \-  | 18 June 1900 –
28 June 1962[69] | 62 years, 10 days  | 25 March 1961  | 1 year, 95 days
Bertram Gurdon, 2nd Baron Cranworth | United Kingdom | \-  | \-  | 12 June 1903 –
4 January 1964[70] | 60 years, 206 days  | 28 June 1962  | 1 year, 190 days
Ralph Stonor, 5th Baron Camoys | England | \-  | \-  | 13 February 1906 –
3 August 1968[71] | 62 years, 172 days  | 4 January 1964  | 4 years, 212 days
George Parker, 7th Earl of Macclesfield | Great Britain | \-  | \-  | 28 February 1910 –
20 September 1975[72] | 65 years, 204 days  | 3 August 1968  | 7 years, 48 days
Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford | England | \-  | \-  | 15 January 1918 –
18 August 1976[73] | 58 years, 216 days  | 20 September 1975  | 333 days
William Compton, 6th Marquess of Northampton | United Kingdom | \-  | Liberal | 11 March 1919 –
30 January 1978[74] | 58 years, 325 days  | 18 August 1976  | 1 year, 165 days
Randolph Stewart, 12th Earl of Galloway | Scotland | 6th Baron Stewart of Garlies
(Great Britain, from 1920)

12th Earl of Galloway
(Scotland, from 1963)[a]

| \-  | 28 April 1920 –
13 June 1978[75] | 58 years, 46 days  | 30 January 1978  | 134 days
Arthur Hill, 7th Marquess of Downshire | Ireland | 7th Earl of Hillsborough
(Great Britain)  | \-  | 18 May 1920 –
28 March 1989[76] | 68 years, 314 days  | 13 June 1978  | 10 years, 288 days
Jeffery Amherst, 5th Earl Amherst | United Kingdom | \-  | Liberal Democrat | 17 May 1927 –
4 March 1993[77][78] | 65 years, 291 days  | 28 March 1989  | 3 years, 341 days
Dominick Browne, 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne | Ireland | 2nd Baron Mereworth
(United Kingdom)  | \-  | 26 July 1927 –
11 November 1999[b][79][80] | 72 years, 108 days  | 4 March 1993  | 6 years, 252 days
Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu | United Kingdom | Elected to remain in October 1999.  | Conservative | 7 November 1947 –
31 August 2015[81] | 67 years, 297 days  | 11 November 1999[c] | 15 years, 293 days
Bertram Bowyer, 2nd Baron Denham | United Kingdom | Elected to remain in October 1999.  | Conservative | 13 December 1949 –
26 April 2021[d][84] | 71 years, 134 days  | 31 August 2015  | 5 years, 238 days
David Trefgarne, 2nd Baron Trefgarne | United Kingdom | Elected to remain in October 1999.  | Conservative | 3 July 1962[85] | 63 years, 43 days | 26 April 2021  | 4 years, 111 days

## See also

[edit]

* Baby of the House, the equivalent position for the youngest Member of Parliament
* Mother of the House (United Kingdom)
* Father of the House
* Dean of the House (Canada)
* Dean of the United States House of Representatives

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g Until 31 July 1963, when the Peerage Act 1963 came into effect, peers in the Peerage of Scotland did not have the automatic right to sit in the House of Lords unless they were also peers in the peerages of England, Great Britain or the United Kingdom.
2. ^ Removed by the House of Lords Act 1999.
3. ^ Though at their deaths (in 2007 and in 2018, respectively) the Earl Jellicoe and the Lord Carrington were the longest-serving peers, neither had had an unbroken tenure as both had automatically lost their seats on 11 November 1999, and had returned to the Lords the following week as life peers.[82][83]
4. ^ Retired under the provisions of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.

## References

[edit]

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