Baron Vaux of Harrowden

Baron Vaux of Harrowden is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1523 for Sir Nicholas Vaux. The barony was created by writ, which means that it can pass through both male and female lines. Vaux was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He was a poet and member of the courts of Henry VIII and Edward VI. On the death in 1663 of his great-grandson, the fifth Baron, the title fell into abeyance between the late Baron's surviving sister Joyce, and the heirs of his deceased sisters Mary, Lady Symeon, and Catherine, Baroness Abergavenny. The barony remained in abeyance for 175 years, until the abeyance was terminated in 1838 in favour of George Charles Mostyn, who became the sixth Baron. He was the son of Mary Lucinda Browne-Mostyn, a descendant of Mary, the eldest sister of the fifth Baron, by her marriage to Charles Mostyn, grandson of Sir Edward Mostyn, 5th Baronet (see Mostyn Baronets, of Talacre). He was succeeded by his grandson, the seventh Baron. He was in the Diplomatic Service. On his death in 1935 the title fell into abeyance between his three daughters, the Hon. Grace Mary Eleanor Gilby, the Hon. Gladys Flora Charleton and the Hon. Dorothy Alice Mostyn.

The abeyance was terminated in 1938 in favour of the eldest daughter, Grace, the eighth Baroness and so far the only woman to hold the barony. She was the wife of William Gordon Gilbey, the owner of a wine and spirits group. Grace was succeeded by her eldest son, Father Gabriel Gilbey, the ninth Baron. He was a monk at Ampleforth Abbey. Lord Vaux of Harrowden took his seat in the House of Lords in 1962 and thereby became the first Benedictine monk to do so since 1559. On his death the title passed to his younger brother, the tenth Baron. As of 2010 the title is held by the latter's eldest son, the eleventh Baron, who succeeded in 2002. He resides at Rusko, Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway, and is a farmer and a councillor for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.

The Vaux family owned Great Harrowden Hall until 1695 when they sold it to Thomas Watson Wentworth, a son of Baron Rockingham, of Rockingham Castle. Two centuries later, the seventh Baron Vaux was able to buy back the Hall. However, the house is now the home of the Wellingborough Golf Club.