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Barony of Monson
Or two chevronels gules
Creation date	25 May 1728
Created by	King George II
Peerage	Peerage of Great Britain
First holder	Sir John Monson, 5th Baronet
Present holder	Nicholas Monson, 12th Baron Monson
Heir presumptive	Hon. Andrew Monson
Motto	Prest pour mon pais ("Ready for my country")

Baron Monson (pronounced Munson), of Burton in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 18th century for Sir John Monson, 5th Baronet. The Monson family descends from Thomas Monson, of Carleton, Lincolnshire. He sat as Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire, Castle Rising and Cricklade. On 29 June 1611 he was created a Baronet, of Carleton in the County of Lincoln, in the Baronetage of England. His eldest son, the second Baronet, fought as a Royalist during the Civil War and also represented Lincoln in the House of Commons.

He married Ursula Oxenbridge, daughter of Sir Robert Oxenbridge of Hurstbourne in Hampshire, through which marriage the manor of Broxbourne came into the Monson family. This was to be the seat of the family for many years. His eldest son, the third Baronet, also represented Lincoln in Parliament. He died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fourth Baronet. He sat as a Member of Parliament for Lincoln, Heytesbury, Hertford and for Aldborough.

His son, the fifth Baronet, represented Lincoln in Parliament. In 1728 he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Baron Monson, of Burton in the County of Lincoln. He later served as President of the Board of Trade. Lord Monson married Lady Margaret, youngest daughter of Lewis Watson, 1st Earl of Rockingham. Their second son the Hon. Lewis Monson succeeded to the Watson estates on the death of his cousin Thomas Watson, 3rd Earl of Rockingham, assumed the surname of Watson in lieu of Monson and was created Baron Sondes in 1760 (his great-grandson was created Earl Sondes in 1880; see this title for more information on this branch of the family). Lord Monson was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. He declined the offer of an earldom in 1766.

His great-great-grandson, the seventh Baron, was a Liberal politician. In 1886, he was created Viscount Oxenbridge, of Burton in the County of Lincoln, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. However, this title became extinct on his death in 1889, while the barony and baronetcy passed to his brother, the eighth Baron. He held several court positions. His great-grandson, the eleventh Baron, was a civil liberties campaigner and president of the Society for Individual Freedom who sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher. He was one of the 90 elected hereditary peers who remained in the House after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. Since 2011, the titles are held by his son.

Several other members of the Monson family have gained distinction. Sir William Monson, younger brother of the first Baronet, was an admiral in the Royal Navy. Sir William Monson, second son of the first Baronet, was created Viscount Monson in the Peerage of Ireland in 1628. However, he was a member of the court which tried King Charles I and was deprived of his honours and sentenced to imprisonment for life in 1661. Also, Sir Edmund Monson, younger brother of the first Viscount Oxenbridge and the eighth Baron, was a noted diplomat and served as British Ambassador to France from 1896 to 1904. In 1905 he was created a Baronet in his own right (see Monson baronets for more information).

Monson baronets, of Carleton (1611)

• Sir Thomas Monson, 1st Baronet (1565–1641)
• Sir John Monson, 2nd Baronet (1599–1683)
• Sir Henry Monson, 3rd Baronet (1653–1718)
• Sir William Monson, 4th Baronet (c. 1654 – 1727)
• Sir John Monson, 5th Baronet (c. 1693 – 1748) (created Baron Monson in 1728)

Baron Monson (1728)

• John Monson, 1st Baron Monson (c. 1693 – 1748)
• John Monson, 2nd Baron Monson (1727–1774)
• John Monson, 3rd Baron Monson (1753–1806)
• John George Monson, 4th Baron Monson (1785–1809)
• Frederick John Monson, 5th Baron Monson (1809–1841); married and separated from the women's rights campaigner Theodosia Monson.
• William John Monson, 6th Baron Monson (1796–1862); son of the former Ann Debonnaire and Colonel William Monson of Lincolnshire, was married to Eliza Larken. Educated at Oxford University, he was deputy-lieutenant of Lincolnshire in 1846. Their nine children include the heir to the title of Baron Monson, William John Monson, and Rt. Hon. Sir Edmund Monson, 1st Baronet.
• William John Monson, 7th Baron Monson (1829–1898) (created Viscount Oxenbridge in 1886)

Viscount Oxenbridge (1886)

• William Monson, 1st Viscount Oxenbridge (1829–1898)

Barons Monson (1728; reverted)

• Debonnaire John Monson, 8th Baron Monson (1830–1900)
• Augustus Debonnaire John Monson, 9th Baron Monson (1868–1940)
• John Roseberry Monson, 10th Baron Monson (1907–1958)
• John Monson, 11th Baron Monson (1932–2011)
• Nicholas John Monson, 12th Baron Monson (born 1955)
  • Hon. Alexander John Runan Monson (1984-2012), son and heir of the 12th Baron, was found dead whilst in police custody (pending charges of cannabis use) in Kenya. An inquest determined he was killed by police (an independent pathologist determined cause of death was a fatal blow to the back of the head), and a toxicology report found no drugs in his system at the time of his death.
  • Rupert Green (died 2017), illegitimate younger son of the 12th Baron; died aged 21 in hospital after an attempted suicide related to psychosis (presumably triggered by cannabis).

The heir presumptive is the present holder's younger brother, Hon. Andrew Anthony John Monson (born 1959).

Male-line family tree

See also

• Earl Sondes
• Earl of Rockingham
• Monson baronets

References

1. ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 2739–2741. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
2. "Monson" is in this case pronounced like "Munson"<--BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names 2nd ed.; ed. & transc. by G. E. Pointon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983; p. 174.
3. George Edward Cokayne Complete Baronetage 1900
4. "Monson, Theodosia, Lady Monson (1803–1891), dilettante and promoter of women's rights". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/59337. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
5. "Wedding dress". V&A Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
6. Charles Roger Dod (1856). The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland. Whittaker and Company. p. 397.
7. Edward Walford (1891). The Windsor Peerage for 1890-1894. p. 393.
8. Henry Robert Addison; Charles Henry Oakes; William John Lawson; Douglas Brooke Wheelton Sladen (1900). Who's who. A. & C. Black. pp. 723–724.
9. "Telegraph Announcements". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
10. Walker, Tim (24 May 2012). "Lord Monson flies to Africa after his 'golden boy' is found dead aged 28". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
11. "Lord Monson threatens to sue Kenyan government over death of son in custody". The Daily Telegraph. London. 28 May 2012.
12. "Kenyan police 'killed aristocrat Alexander Monson'". BBC. 28 June 2018.
13. "Lord Monson: If Theresa May joins my war on skunk, we can end scourge that killed my son". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 28 June 2018.

v t e Extant baronies in the Peerage of Great Britain
Queen Anne	Middleton
King George I	Walpole
King George II	Monson Walpole
King George III	Boston Vernon Digby^• Brownlow Foley Hawke Southampton Bagot Dynevor Walsingham Grantley Rodney Somers Suffield Kenyon Braybrooke Thurlow Auckland^• Bolton Carrington^• Lilford
Italics: This title is held by a peer who holds another of higher precedence.  ^• Also a Baron in the Peerage of Ireland

• Baronies in the Peerage of Great Britain
• 1728 establishments in Great Britain
• Noble titles created in 1728
• Barons Monson