Blake Baronets

Blake Baronets

There have been four baronetcies for persons with the surname Blake, one in the Baronetage of Ireland, two in the Baronetage of Great Britain and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Two of the creations are extant as of 2010.

The Blake Baronetcy, of Menlough in the County of Galway, was created in the Baronetage of Ireland on 10 July 1622 for Valentine Blake, Mayor of Galway in 1611 and 1630 and a member of the Irish House of Commons for Galway. His grandfather Thomas Blake (d. 1574) had preceded him as Mayor. The second Baronet was a member of the Irish Parliament for Galway Borough. The third Baronet represented both County Galway and Galway Borough in Parliament. The sixth Baronet was a member of the Irish House of Commons for County Galway. He was the first Catholic gentlemen of distinction to join William of Orange. The twelfth Baronet represented Galway Borough in the British House of Commons. The fourteenth Baronet was High Sheriff of County Galway in 1872. See also the Blake Baronetcy of Twizell Castle below.

The Blake Baronetcy, of Langham in the County of Suffolk, was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain on 8 October 1772 for Patrick Blake, Member of Parliament for Sudbury. The title became extinct on the death of the sixth Baronet in 1975.

The Blake Baronetcy, of Twizell Castle in the County of Durham, was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain on 25 May 1774 for Francis Blake. He was the great-grandson of Robert Blake, Mayor of Galway in 1547, brother of the first Baronet of Menlough (see above). Sir Francis's mother was Sarah, eldest daughter of Sir Francis Blake, of Cogges, Oxfordshire, who married Elizabeth (née Carr) of Ford Castle, Northumberland, and purchased Twizell Castle, also in Northumberland, in 1685. Sir Francis was a distant relative of the Blake baronets of Menlough. The first Baronet's grandson, the third Baronet, sat as Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed. The title became extinct on the latter's death in 1860.

The Blake Baronetcy, of Tillmouth Park in Cornhill in the County of Northumberland, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 22 July 1907 for Francis Blake, subsequently Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed. He was the son of Francis Blake, who had inherited Twizell and Tillmouth estates on the death of his relative, Sir Francis Blake, 3rd Baronet (see the 1774 creation above). As of 2010 the title is held by the first Baronet's grandson, the third Baronet, who succeeded his father in 1950.