Earl of Chichester

Earl of Chichester is a title that has been created three times in British history.

It was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1644 when Francis Leigh, 1st Baron Dunsmore, was made Earl of Chichester, in the County of Sussex, with remainder to his son-in-law Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton (the husband of his daughter Elizabeth). He had already been created a baronet, of Newnham in the County of Warwick, in 1618 (in the Baronetage of England), with remainder to the male heirs of his body, and Baron Dunsmore, in the County of Warwick, in 1628 (in the Peerage of England), with remainder to his stepson John Anderson (the son of his second wife the Hon. Audrey Boteler by her first husband Sir Francis Anderson). Lord Chichester had no sons and on his death in 1653 the baronetcy became extinct. The barony of Dunsmore also became extinct as his stepson John (who had been created a baronet in 1629) had died childless in 1630. The earldom was passed on according to the special remainder to his son-in-law Lord Southampton (see the Earl of Southampton for earlier history of this title). However, he had no male issue and on his death in 1667 both earldoms became extinct. Francis Leigh, 1st Earl of Chichester, was the grandson of Sir William Leigh, third son of Sir Thomas Leigh (c. 1504–1571), Lord Mayor of London in 1558. Sir Thomas's eldest son Rowland Leigh was the ancestor of the Barons Leigh of the 1838 creation while his second son Sir Thomas Leigh, 1st Baronet, of Stoneleigh, was the ancestor of the Barons Leigh of the 1643 creation.

The title was created for the second time in the Peerage of England in 1675 as a subsidiary title of the dukedom of Southampton created in that year for Charles II's illegitimate son Charles Fitzroy. See the Duke of Southampton for more information on this creation of the earldom.

The title was created for the third time in 1801 in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in favour of Thomas Pelham, 2nd Baron Pelham of Stanmer. The Pelham family descends from Thomas Pelham of Laughton, Sussex, who represented Lewes and Sussex in the House of Commons. In 1611 he was created a baronet, of Laughton in the County of Sussex, in the Baronetage of England. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baronet. He sat as Member of Parliament for East Grinstead and Sussex. His son, the third Baronet, represented Hastings and Sussex in Parliament for many years. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Baronet. He was Member of Parliament for East Grinstead, Lewes and Sussex and served as a Commissioner of Customs and as a Lord of the Treasury. In 1706 he was raised to the Peerage of England as Lord Pelham, Baron of Pelham, of Laughton in the County of Sussex. He married as his second wife Lady Grace Holles, daughter of Gilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare (see the Earl of Clare for more information on this family). Their second son was the prominent statesman the Hon. Henry Pelham, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 to 1754.

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