Viscount Hampden is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of Great Britain when the diplomat and politician Robert Hampden, 4th Baron Trevor, was created Viscount Hampden, of Great and Little Hampden in the County of Bedford on 14 June 1776.[1] The title of Baron Trevor, of Bromham, had been created in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1712 for his father, the lawyer Sir Thomas Trevor. Both titles became extinct in 1824 on the death of the first Viscount's second son, the third Viscount.
The viscountcy was revived in the Peerage of the United Kingdom when the Liberal politician and former Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Henry Brand, was created Viscount Hampden, of Glynde in the County of Sussex on 4 March 1884.[2] Brand was the second son of Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre and in 1890 he succeeded his elder brother as the twenty-third Baron Dacre. His son, the second Viscount, represented Hertfordshire and Stroud in Parliament and served as Governor of New South Wales. On the death in 1965 of his grandson, the fourth Viscount, the barony of Dacre fell into abeyance between the late Viscount's daughters Rachel Leila Brand and Tessa Mary Brand (the abeyance was terminated in 1970 in favour of Rachel Leila Brand; see the Baron Dacre for more information). The viscountcy passed to the Viscount's younger brother, the fifth Viscount. As of 2014[update] the title is held by the latter's son, the sixth Viscount.
Several other members of the Brand family have also gained distinction. Thomas Seymour Brand (1847–1916), second son of the first Viscount, was a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy. Arthur Brand, third son of the first Viscount, was a Liberal politician. Sir Hubert George Brand (1870–1955), second son of the second Viscount, was an admiral in the Royal Navy. Robert Brand, fourth son of the second Viscount, was a civil servant and was created Baron Brand in 1946. Roger Brand (1880–1945), fifth son of the second Viscount, was a brigadier-general in the Army. And also the 3rd Viscount gained rank and title in a similar fashion and was involved in the sport polo.[3]
