Despite being the lowest of the five ranks, the title of Baron is one of the oldest in the peerage. Under the feudal system, the barons held land from the crown. The word baron comes from the Medieval Latin baro, meaning freeman, and the baronis were the king's tenants-in-chief. Barons supported the king with money, and supplied men for the king's army. They also collected taxes on his behalf.
Feudal baronies were baronies by tenure, originally tied to the land they owned, but the link between title and land was broken hundreds of years before the Regency period. Many baronies were created by writ of summons, but this was later replaced by letters patent.
A woman holding a barony in her own right, or the wife of a baron, is called a baroness.
Lords of Parliament were the Scottish equivalent of barons, prior to the union of 1707. Barons in Scotland were not considered part of the peerage and were similar to the English Baronet.
The oldest barony in Ireland was the Barony of Kingsale, created around 1223 by writ of summons, but later confirmed by letters patent at the end of the 14th century.
Although there were more baronies created than any other type of peerage, many of them became subsidiary titles of higher-ranking families. Also, because more baronies could be inherited through the female line, they were more likely to be passed through different family surnames, or fall into abeyance.
On the positive side, the ability to pass through the female line allowed some baronies to continue, when other higher titles died out through lack of a male heir.
One example of the fluctuating fortunes of a barony was the Barons Grey de Ruthyn, which was created by writ in 1324. The 1st Earl of Kent inherited the barony from his grandfather in 1440, and the barony continued as a subsidiary title of the Earls of Kent until the death of the 8th Earl. At that point, the earldom passed to a cousin and the barony went to the son of his sister, Charles Longueville. After two generations it was again passed to the Yelverton family through marriage, and the 15th Baron was made 1st Viscount Longueville. The 16th Baron (and 2nd Viscount Longueville) was then also made 1st Earl of Essex. When the 3rd Earl of Essex died in 1799 with no sons, the barony passed to his daughter's son Henry Yelverton, while the viscountcy and the earldom became extinct.
Upon Henry Yelverton's death in 1810 the barony passed to his only daughter, even though she was only seven months old at the time. She married the 2nd Marquess of Hastings, and the barony passed to their son on her death, as a subsidiary title of the 4th Marquess. When the 4th Marquess died in 1868, aged 26 years and with no children, the marquessate became extinct and the barony fell into abeyance between four sisters. After almost eighteen years the abeyance of the Barony of Grey of Ruthin was terminated in favour Lady Bertha Lelgarde Rawdon-Hastings, the second of his sisters. She married into the Clifton family, and the barony continued through the Clifton male line until it fell abeyant again in 1934.
Creating a baron
Originally, barons were part of the king's council. When a baron died, if the king wanted his son or heir to take his place at the council, he would send them a Writ of Summons, which invited the heir to take up his father's position. As the king's council evolved into parliament, there was no automatic right for sons to inherit their father's title, but by the time of Edward III it had become common for sons to automatically receive a writ of summons. Over time, the baronies created by writ of summons developed into hereditary titles.
Baronies created by writ are usually inherited by the "heirs general of the body", with decent following the rules of primogeniture, where males take precedent over females, but females can inherit when there are no male heirs. Because of this many baronies have, over time, fallen into abeyance, as more than one daughter has been entitled to inherit the title. This is also why more women peeresses hold baronies than any other kind of title.
When King Richard II made John Beauchamp de Holt Baron Kidderminster in 1387, he created the first baron by letters patent. After 1440 letters patent became the common method of creating a new barony, with many letters patent specifying descent through "heirs male of the body", although some were created specifying heirs general, which could descend through the male or female line.
A baron's title could come from a place name, a family surname, or a combination of these. The titles based on a place name are styled: "Baron...(placename)". The family did not have to live in, or have any connection to, the location, but it was often the name of a county, town or even a village where they held property. One example of this was Baron Grantley, whose family came from Grantley in Yorkshire.
Some baronies were not territorial but were family surnames. These were styled "Baron... (title)", such as the poet George Gordon Byron, known to all as Lord Byron.
A third type of barony combined surname with placename. These were slightly less common during the Regency period, but were particularly useful if a barony already existed under a common surname, or they wished to include a territorial element to their title. The Barons Sheffield of Roscommon (created 1783) might have wished to differentiate themselves from the earlier Barons Sheffield of Butterwike, whose title had become extinct in 1735.
Order of Precedence
By the Regency period, barons ranked at the bottom of the peerage, below all viscounts. They also had their own "order of precedence" within their own rank. Their place in the order was decided based on when the earliest barony was created, and what part of the country it came from. Although some of the baronies were ancient, there were no written records of those barons being summoned to Parliament, so precedent only takes into consideration the earliest recorded barons.
At the top of the list were all the earliest recorded barons created in England before the Act of Union in 1707, in order of creation. The oldest surviving barony (not including subsidiary titles of other ranks) is the Baron de Roos, who can trace his title back to 1264, and he is currently considered the Premier Baron of England.
However, during the Regency period the barony of Roos was in abeyance until 1806, after which the title was held by Charlotte Fitzgerald-de Ros, 21st Baroness de Ros until her death in 1831. Because women peers could not sit in the House of Lords, the Premiere Baron of England, sitting in the House of Lords between 1795 and 1820, was the 18th Baron Clinton.
Below them were the Lordships of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland, before the Act of Union, in order of creation. After that came those barons who had been created in England and Scotland after 1707, and then the barons of Ireland.
Beneath all those were the sixty-six barons created after the Union with Ireland in 1801-the barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
At the end of the Regency period, the most recently created barony was that given to the Baron Colchester in 1817, after fifteen years as the Speaker of the House of Commons.
In 1818 there were a total of 193 barons, not including the many baronies held as subsidiary titles by those of higher rank. Eighteen of these were held by women peeresses in their own right.
Homage Fees
Although an elevation might have been an honour granted by the king, there were fees involved for receiving or succeeding to a barony.
A newly created baron would pay £150 for the privilege of becoming a baron. When he was introduced to the House of Lords he would pay a further £9, which would have covered the cost of the ceremony and the paperwork involved. All subsequent heirs would also pay for their introduction into the House of Lords.
The new baron would also have the further expense of buying the robes appropriate for his rank.
Robes of a baron
When a king or queen is crowned, a baron will attend in his ceremonial robes, which differ very slightly for each rank. The mantle and surcoat for a baron is crimson velvet, lined with white taffeta. The mantle (a kind of elbow-length cape) is covered with ermine fur, and has two rows of spots on each side. The coronet for a baron is a gold band, set round with six pearls at equal distances.
A baron's parliamentary robes, worn on other state occasions, are of fine scarlet cloth, lined with taffeta and doubled with two bands of ermine and gold lace, set at equal distances apart. It is tied with a white ribbon. His cap is crimson velvet, lined with ermine, with a gold tassel on the top.
As a new set of robes was so expensive, they were often handed down to the heir where possible. Parliamentary robes were worn on state occasions, but the coronation robes were only used at the coronation of the monarch, which might not happen during a peer's lifetime.
In 1820, for the coronation of King George IV, a full set of coronation robes for a baron, complete with coronet case and cedar robe chest with patent lock, brass hinges, and inscription plate, cost £3,250.
Addressing a baron
[Our example here will be the 1st Baron Dorchester, Guy Carleton]
A baron and baroness would be announced as:
The Lord Dorchester.
The Lady Dorchester.
The Lord and Lady Dorchester.
If you were speaking to them face to face, you would address them as "Lord Dorchester" and "Lady Dorchester". After that, you could call them "my lord" and "my lady".
All children of a baron, both male and female, were given the style of "Honourable", as in The Honourable Mr. Carleton, or The Honourable Miss Carleton.
However, the word "honourable" was never used in speech. It was only used in written form when addressing envelopes or invitations. The eldest son would have been announced as Mr. Carleton and you would address him as "Mr. Carleton". The eldest daughter was announced as Miss Carleton, and you would address her as "Miss Carleton".
Younger brothers and sisters would be addressed the same, except with the addition of their christian name, so they might be Mr. Thomas Carleton, or Miss Frances Carleton.
Addressing a Lord of Parliament
[Our example is the 7th Lord Kinnaird, George Kinnaird]
The Scottish equivalent of the Baron had one difference in the mode of address, compared to their English counterparts. A Lord of Parliament and his wife would be announced as:
The Lord Kinnaird.
The Lady Kinnaird.
The Lord and Lady Kinnaird.
Unlike the English barons, the heir apparent or the heir presumptive of a Lord of Parliament would use the title Master of Kinnaird. He would be announced as: Master of Kinnaird. You would address him in speech as "Master" or just "Sir". The Lordship of Kinnaird was only inheritable by male heirs, but if the Lordship had allowed female heirs, then the heiress apparent or presumptive would be known as the Mistress of Kinnaird and addressed as "Mistress" or "Madam".
Below the Master or Mistress of Kinnaird, all other sons and daughters used the style "Honourable", as in the "Honourable Mr Kinnaird" or "The Honourable Miss Kinnaird", just as the children of barons. The second eldest son would have been announced as Mr. Kinnaird and you would address him as "Mr. Kinnaird". The eldest daughter was announced as Miss Kinnaird, and you would address her as "Miss Kinnaird".
Younger brothers and sisters would be addressed the same, except with the addition of their christian name, so they might be Mr. Frederick Kinnaird, or Miss Georgiana Kinnaird.
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[Image: A baron in his Parliamentary robes, taken from "A book explaining the ranks and dignities of British society", by Charles Lamb, published 1805. [Public Domain]]
Edited to add: details of the forms of address for a Lord of Parliament and his family.