Eden baronets

The Eden Baronetcy, of West Auckland in the County of Durham, and the Eden Baronetcy, of Maryland in North America, are two titles in the Baronetage of England and Baronetage of Great Britain respectively that have been united under a single holder since 1844.

The family traces its ancestry to Robert de Eden (d. 1413) but probably lived in the Durham area since the twelfth century. They managed to keep their lands despite joining the Revolt of the Northern Earls in 1569 and being Royalists in the Civil War of the 1640s.^[1]

The Eden Baronetcy of West Auckland was created in the Baronetage of England on 13 November 1672 for Robert Eden, subsequently Member of Parliament for County Durham. He was the son of Colonel John Eden, a supporter of the Royalist cause in the Civil War. The second and fourth Baronets also represented County Durham in the House of Commons. The fifth Baronet assumed the additional surname of Johnson. On his death in 1844, unmarried, the title was inherited by Sir William Eden, 4th Baronet, of Maryland (see below), who became the sixth Baronet of West Auckland as well. He served as High Sheriff of Durham in 1848. The ninth/seventh Baronet is a Conservative politician. On 3 October 1983 he was created a life peer as Baron Eden of Winton, of Rushyford in the County of Durham, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Windlestone Hall was the family seat from the 17th to the 20th century.

The Eden Baronetcy of Maryland in North America, was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain on 19 October 1776 for Robert Eden, the last Governor of Maryland under British rule. He was the second son of the third Baronet of West Auckland. The third Baronet was killed at the Battle of New Orleans in 1814. His cousin, the aforementioned fourth Baronet, succeeded as sixth Baronet of West Auckland in 1844. See above for further history of the titles.^[2]

Eden baronets, of West Auckland (1672)

• Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet (died 1720)
• Sir John Eden, 2nd Baronet (died 1728)
• Sir Robert Eden, 3rd Baronet (died 1755)
• Sir John Eden, 4th Baronet (1740–1812)
• Sir Robert Johnson-Eden, 5th Baronet (1774–1844)
• Sir William Eden, 6th and 4th Baronet (1803–1873) (had previously succeeded as fourth baronet of Maryland)
• Sir William Eden, 7th and 5th Baronet (1849–1915)
• Sir Timothy Calvert Eden, 8th and 6th Baronet (1893–1963)
• Sir John Benedict Eden, 9th and 7th Baronet (1925–2020) (created Baron Eden of Winton in 1983)
• The Hon. Sir Robert Frederick Calvert Eden, 10th and 8th Baronet (born 1964)

The heir presumptive is the present holder's brother Hon. John Edward Morton Eden (born 1966).
The heir presumptive's heir apparent is his son Nicholas Cazenac Eden (b. 1997).

Eden baronets, of Maryland (1776)

• Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet (1741–1784)
• Sir Frederick Morton Eden, 2nd Baronet (died 1809)
• Sir Frederick Eden, 3rd Baronet (died 1814)
• Sir William Eden, 6th and 4th Baronet (1803–1873) (succeeded as 6th Baronet of West Auckland in 1844)

See above for further succession

Other notable members of the family

Several other members of the Eden family have also gained distinction:-

• William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, was the third son and Morton Eden, 1st Baron Henley, the fifth son of the third Baronet, of West Auckland (see Baron Auckland and Baron Henley for more information on these branches of the family).
• Robert Eden, third son of the second Baronet of Maryland, was Primus of Scotland and Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness.
• George Morton Eden, fourth son of the second Baronet of Maryland, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army.
• Charles Eden (1808–1878), fifth son of the second Baronet of Maryland, was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy.
• George Wilfrid Eden (1903–1986), son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Eden, eldest son of Reverend John Patrick Eden, son of Thomas Eden (b. 1787), eldest son of Thomas Eden, fourth son of the third Baronet of West Auckland, was a brigadier in the British Army.
• William Hassell Eden, a General in the British Army and Colonel of the 90th Regiment of Foot.
• Archibald James Fergusson Eden, an officer of the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and Brigadier General in the British Army during WWI.
• William Rushbrooke Eden, a Royal Artillery officer and Brigadier General in the British Army during WWI.
• Robert Eden (1836–1907), a grandson of Morton Eden, 1st Baron Henley, fought in the American Civil War with the 37th Wisconsin Volunteers, was editor of the Northwestern newspaper, and became senior engineer with the Edison Light Co.
• Rodney Eden (1853–1940), third son of the aforementioned John Patrick, was Bishop of Wakefield from 1897 to 1928.
• Henry Charles Hamilton Eden CBE MC* (1883–1963), son of Charles Hamilton Eden, fourth son of the aforementioned John Patrick, was a brigadier in the British Army.
• Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was the third son of Sir William Eden, 7th and 5th Baronet (see the Earl of Avon for more information on this branch of the family).^[3]

Eden family tree

Line of succession

Arms

Coat of arms of Eden baronets

Crest A dexter arm embowed in armour couped at the shoulder proper and grasping a garb fesswise as in the Arms banded Vert Escutcheon Gules on a chevron Argent between three garbs Or banded Vert as many escallops Sable Motto Si Sit Prudentia ("If there be but prudence")

See also

• Baron Auckland
• Baron Henley
• Earl of Avon

References

External links

• Leigh Rayment's list of baronets
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.^{[unreliable source]}
• www.edendiaries.co.uk