Baron Leconfield

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Baron Leconfield, of Leconfield, in the East Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1859 for Col. George Wyndham (1787–1869). He was the eldest illegitimate son and adopted heir of George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751–1837), by Elizabeth Ilive, his future wife (see Earl of Egremont for earlier history of the family), from whom he inherited Petworth House in Sussex, Egremont Castle and Cockermouth Castle in Cumbria and Leconfield Castle in Yorkshire, all formerly lands of Josceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland (1644–1670), inherited by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (1662–1748), on his marriage to the Percy heiress Elizabeth Percy (1667–1722) and inherited as one of the co-heirs of his son Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Egremont (1684–1750), by the latter's nephew Sir Charles Wyndham, 4th Baronet (1710–1763), of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, who inherited by special remainder the earldom of Egremont. The 1st Baron's eldest son, the second Baron, represented West Sussex in the House of Commons as a Conservative. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Baron, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Sussex from 1917 to 1949. The latter's nephew, the sixth Baron, served as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan from 1957 to 1963. In 1963, four years before he succeeded his father in the barony of Leconfield, the Egremont title held by his ancestors was revived when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Egremont, of Petworth in the County of Sussex. As of 2017^[update] the titles are held by his son, the seventh Baron. Known as Max Egremont, he is a biographer and novelist.

The Hon. Percy Wyndham, younger son of the first Baron, was a Conservative politician and member of The Souls. He was the father of the Conservative politician and man of letters George Wyndham and of the soldier Guy Wyndham.

The family seat is Petworth House in Petworth, West Sussex.