BERKELEY 143 tfc, (as well as other his estates) on his ist s., William Fitz Hardinge Berkeley, who from 1796, though not previously, was styled Viscount Dursley.(*) Will dat. 12 Apr., pr. 31 Aug. iSiof") by his widow and by "William, Viscount Dursley.'" His widow d. 30 Oct. 1844, at Cranford afsd., aged 77, and was hur. there. Will pr. May 1845. After the Earl's death in 18 10, in consequence of the non-proof of the legitimacy of William, his above-mentioned ist s. and devisee (whose claim to his father's honours was disallowed, without a dissentient voice, by the House of Lords, on i July 181 1, on the ground that the alleged marriage of 1785 (°) had not been proved), the Peerage dignities held by this Earl became dormant^ not being assumed for 72 years, and not established till 81 years, after his death. C^) The right to them, however, devolved as under. EARLDOM VI. BARONY XIV. 6 and 14. Thomas Moreton Fitzhardinge Berkeley, de jure Earl of Berkeley [1679], n Viscount Dursley [1679], and Lord Berkeley [142 i], who, however, never assumed such titles, nor bore (since infancy) any style other than "the Hon." He was the 5th, but ist legit, s. and h. of his parents, being born five months after the date (16 May 1796) of their marriage. He was b. at Cranford afsd., 19 Oct., and bap. 19 Nov. 1796, as ' Lord Dursley," at St. Martin's- in-the-Fields,(^) but ceased, at an early age, to be so styled, his eldest N.&Q., loth Ser., vol. iv, pp. 241-2, and Appendix B in the last vol. of this work. In Gents Mag.^ June 1798, is the following reference to him and Mary Cole : — "A noble Earl some years ago formed a tender connexion with a yoimg woman, the daughter of a tradesman of the name of Tudor in Gloucestershire ; and by this lady his Lordship has a numerous family. It was thought till very lately that the parties had lived together in an unmarried state, but that turns out not to be the fact ; his Lordship has publicly declared his marriage, and his eldest son now assumes the title of Viscount." V.G. {f) See FitzHardinge, Earldom of, cr. 1841. C') In this will is a clause, making null all benefits to be derived thereunder to any who may "call into question or dispute the right of the said William, Viscount Dursley, or any of my said sons, or their or any of their issue male to the Earldom of Berkeley, or his or their right and title to the benefit of the devises on the ground of the invalidity of the marriage solemnized by me in the year 1785." ("^) See note " d " on previous page. ('^) As to the claim made to the Barony of Berkeley 1 823-1 830, and again 1858-1861 as a Barony by tenure, see observations {cirta finem) at the head of this article, pp. 120, 121, and for some of the results if it were possible to conceive of a Barony by tenure in modern times, see vol. i, p. 31, note "g." (') His mother is described in that entry as Countess of Berkeley, though the baptism there recorded of the previous child (18 Mar. 1795) is as child "of the Earl ot Berkeley, by Mary Cole." The entry in the Berkeley parish register of Thomas's
