Viscount Stansgate

Viscount Stansgate, of Stansgate in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1942 for the Labour politician, former Secretary of State for India and future Secretary of State for Air, William Wedgwood Benn. He was the second son of Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet, of The Old Knoll. Lord Stansgate's eldest son and heir apparent, the Hon. Michael Benn, was later killed in the Second World War; consequently, he was succeeded in the title by his second son, the second Viscount, better known as the Labour politician Tony Benn. The latter disclaimed the peerage on 31 July 1963, the day the Peerage Act 1963 passed into law and made it possible for him to do so. , the title is held by Tony Benn's eldest son Stephen as third Viscount. As a descendant of the first Benn Baronet of The Old Knoll, he is also in remainder to this title.

Stansgate is a hamlet near the village of Steeple, Essex, on the southern side of the River Blackwater estuary. The village has been home to several generations of the Benn family since about 1900. They live in Stansgate Abbey, described by Chris Mullin as "an ungainly, rambling 1920s house in a stunning location".

Viscounts Stansgate (1942)

William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate (1877–1960)
Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn, 2nd Viscount Stansgate (1925–2014) (disclaimed 1963)
Stephen Michael Wedgwood Benn, 3rd Viscount Stansgate (b. 1951)

The heir apparent is the present holder's only son, the Hon. Daniel John Wedgwood Benn (b. 1991).

Line of succession
  Honourable Daniel Benn (born 10 December 1991)
  Right Honourable Hilary James Wedgwood Benn MP (born 26 November 1953)
  Jonathan Benn
  Michael Benn
  James Benn
  Honourable Joshua William Wedgwood Benn (born  9 May 1958)
  William Benn (born 1985)
  Zachary Benn (born 1995)
  Piers Michael Wedgwood Benn (born 1962)
(The line of succession to Viscountcy of Stansgate in the County of Essex is not updated with issue of Daniel Benn, Jonathan Benn, Michael Benn, James Benn, William Benn, Zachary Benn and Piers Benn)

See also
Benn baronets, of The Old Knoll

References

Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

Category:Viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Category:Benn family
Category:Tony Benn