Baron Grey of Codnor - Abeyance and Termination

Abeyance and Termination

In 1496, the title became abeyant on the death of the seventh Baron between his aunts, the three daughters of the fourth Baron: Elizabeth Zouche, Eleanor Newport, and Lucy Lenthall. A termination petition was first made by Charles Walker, later Cornwall-Legh, who claimed one twelfth of the title in 1926. Later that year a select committee chaired by John Hamilton, Baron Sumner recommended that, inter alia, no abeyance should be considered which is longer in date than 100 years and that only claims where the claimant lays claim to at least one third of the dignity by considered. Cornwall-Legh died in 1934, and his son, Charles Legh Shuldham Cornwall-Legh, was permitted a relaxation of these conditions in 1936 as the original claim was begun before the committee reported. After grants for extensions of time for various reasons submitted by Cornwall-Legh, in 1989 the House of Lords Committee for Privileges, chaired by Richard Wilberforce, Baron Wilberforce, examined the claim.

It found that although the first, second and third Barons were summoned to Parliament, there was no evidence that they sat in a properly constituted Parliament. Richard Grey, fourth Baron was summoned, in 1397, and did sit, and they held that the barony should be dated from then. It was satisfied that all proper and possible inquiries had been made to trace the descendants of Lucy, Eleanor and Elizabeth, which included Richard Bridgeman, 7th Earl of Bradford (a descendant of Eleanor). The abeyance was subsequently terminated by Elizabeth II in favour of Cornwall-Legh, a descendant of Lucy, who succeeded as the fifth Baron.