Earl of Sefton

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Croxteth Hall, former country estate and ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. After the death of the last Earl in 1972 the estate was given to Liverpool City Council, who now manage the estate. The hall stands in the grounds of Croxteth Park, which was at one time the hunting grounds of the Molyneux family.
Croxteth Hall, former country estate and ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. After the death of the last Earl in 1972 the estate was given to Liverpool City Council, who now manage the estate. The hall stands in the grounds of Croxteth Park, which was at one time the hunting grounds of the Molyneux family.

The title Earl of Sefton was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1771 for the 8th Viscount Molyneux, and the once Aristocratic Molyneux family. The Earls of Sefton held the subsidiary titles Viscount Molyneux, of Maryborough in the Queen's County (created 1628), in the Peerage of Ireland, and (from the 2nd Earl onwards) Baron Sefton, of Croxteth in the County Palatine of Lancaster (created 1831), in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Guilliam Desmolines the first British ancestor of the Molyneux family, is reputed to have been a nobleman in the army of William, Duke of Normandy who invaded in 1066, and the family claims their Ancestry from him.

The Molyneux's powerful allegiances led to an acquisition of lands and wealth throughout the period 1100 - 1700 when the family were Lords of the manor at Sefton.

All three titles became extinct upon the death of the 7th Earl in 1972. The seat of the Earls of Sefton was Croxteth Hall in Liverpool. It was bequeathed to the City of Liverpool by the 7th and last Earl of Sefton and his wife, neé Josephine Gwynne (1903-1980), who was the last member of the Molyneux family to live at Croxteth. The American-born Countess of Sefton, nick-named "Foxy", was a life-long friend of the Duchess of Windsor.

Another seat of the Earls of Sefton was the Abbeystead estate in Lancashire, which is currently owned by the Duke of Westminster. Abbeystead was mainly used as a hunting and recreational estate by the Earls of Sefton.

Despite being in the Peerage of Ireland, the Earldom referred to Sefton in Lancashire.

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[edit] Molyneux Family History

The ancestors of the Molyneaux family brought their name to England in the wave of migration after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Lancashire. The name however, is a reference to the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Molineaux-Sur-Seine, near Rouen, in Normandy.

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Molyneaux are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Molyneaux include Molinieux, Molinaux, Molineaux, Molineux, Molinex, Mullinix and many more.

First found in Lancashire where they were seated from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Molyneaux, or a variant listed above: Jonathon Molineaux settled in Maryland in 1726; Samuel Molineaux settled in Philadelphia in 1846; Edmund Molineux settled in New York in 1820; Edward Molineux settled in Virginia in 1719; William Molyneux, first settler in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania 1794.

[edit] Molyneux Baronets of Sefton (1611)

  • Sir Richard Molyneux, 1st Baronet (1560-1622) Member of Parliament for Lancashire
  • Sir Richard Molyneux, 2nd Baronet (1594-1636) (Created Viscount Molyneux 1628)

[edit] Viscounts Molyneux (22 December 1628)

[edit] Earls of Sefton (30 November 1771)

[edit] See also

[edit] Prominent Molyneux descendants

[edit] External links

International Molyneux Family Association Stephen Molyneux.Engineer

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