Dukes & Dogs

The ducal coronet as now worn features eight golden so called strawberry leaves,

There are twenty-nine non royal extant dukedoms in the Peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Duke of Norfolk, 1483, is the oldest and The Duke of Fife, 1900, the newest creation.

If you are a nerdy duke-counter – I read somewhere about a bad sleeper who counted dukes rather than sheep to assist slumber – you may dispute my tally as I have counted the Duke of Hamilton twice. He is the only non royal holder of two dukedoms; Hamilton (1643) and Brandon (1711). The Duke of Westminster is among the newer creations (1874) although the family have considerable estates and money to console themselves for being nouveau dukes.

Grosvenor House Hotel, 1920s postcard illustration.

Now that Grosvenor House has a vulgar hotel of questionable architectural merit on its site on Park Lane, Belgrave Square has become the focal point for the family. It is here that the present Duke’s father placed a fine bronze of his ancestor, Sir Robert Grosvenor KG, first Marquess of Westminster, 1767-1845. It looks as if it has been there forever but actually was unveiled in 1998. In my opinion and that’s what counts here, it is the finest doggy statue in London. The Talbot hounds steal Sir Robert’s thunder.

Robert Grosvenor, Belgrave Square, August 2017.

Talbot hounds seem not to exist anymore, at least they are not recognised by the Kennel Club. Their closest relations today are dalmatians and bloodhounds. I wonder if the sculptor (Jonathan Wylder) used retrievers as models? The milestone refers to the family’s seat at Eaton Hall near Chester. I went there many years ago and met the Duchess under slightly embarrassing circumstances – not for me, for my host who was passing himself off as being more closely connected to the Grosvenors and their money than was actually the case. Incidentally, it was Sir Robert who bought Grosvenor House in 1805 for £20,000, a bit less than my tiny flat cost in 1978, so the quote from John Ruskin on the plinth is ironic. Grosvenor House was pulled down in the 1920s and Eaton Hall has been made over several times.

Inscription and Arms on plinth of Grosvenor bronze, Belgrave Square, August 2017.

6 comments

  1. Dear Christopher

    To suggest there are 29 non royal dukedoms gives the impression that there are 29 non royal dukes when in fact there are very many fewer? How is the number reached? I guess you count as two those Dukes who have more than one dukedom like the Duke of Richmond and Gordon?

    And surely the Dukedom of Fife is a royal dukedom as the earl of Fife was elevated because he married Princess Louise and for no other reason.

    Anon

    1. Here are my 29: Norfolk, Somerset, Richmond, Grafton, Beaufort, St Albans, Bedford, Devonshire, Marlborough, Rutland, Hamilton, Buccleuch, Lennox, Queensbury, Argyll, Atholl, Montrose, Roxburgh, Brandon, Manchester, Northumberland, Leinster, Abercorn, Wellington, Sutherland, Westminster, Gordon, Argyll, Fife. You are right about Richmond and Gordon being another double dukedom as is Queensbury and Buccleuch. So if you invited all the non royal dukes to tea you’d only need 26 cups for your guests.

      1. And surely Fife is as “royal” a dukedom as Snowden was as “royal” an earldom? I do not recall other photographers being similarly elevated?

        1. Some photographers did not need to be elevated to the peerage: Derry Moore, 12th Earl of Drogheda and Patrick, 5th Earl of Lichfield come to mind. Cecil Beaton had to make do with being made a CBE.

  2. Friends in the antipodes report that the Duke of Manchester lives in Australia. He’s evidently a pleasant and accessible chap and well liked.

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