Arms: Argent, a Bull passant Sable, armed and unguled Gules, within a Bordure Sable, charged with eight Bezants, on a sinister Canton per pale Gules, and Azure, a Harp Or, stringed Argent. Crest: A Demi-Dragon wings inverted Vert, langued Gules, holding in the dexter claw an Escutcheon per pale Gules and Azure, charged with a Harp Or, stringed Argent. Supporters: On either side a Dragon reguardant Vert, holding in the interior forepaw a Dart Or..[1]
Earl of Enniskillen is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for William Cole, 1st Viscount Enniskillen.[3] He had already been created Viscount Enniskillen in the Peerage of Ireland in 1776[4] and had inherited the title Baron Mountflorence, of Florence Court in the County of Fermanagh,[5] which had been created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1760 for his father John Cole, who had earlier represented Enniskillen in the Irish House of Commons. The family are descended from the Ulster planter, Sir William Cole.
His son, the third earl, was a palaeontologist and also sat as ConservativeMember of Parliament for Fermanagh. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth earl, who represented Enniskillen in Parliament as a Conservative. His son, the fifth earl, was Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh.
The 5th Earl was succeeded by his nephew, Captain David Lowry Cole, M.B.E., M.L.C., who became the 6th Earl. He was the son of The Hon. Galbraith Lowry Egerton Cole, third son of the 4th Earl. David was also a nephew of The Hon. Berkeley Cole and a nephew-in-law to The 3rd Baron Delamere, as well as being a first-cousin of The 4th Baron Delamere. The Cholmondeley family, Barons Delamere, owned (and, in 2012, still own) the vast Soysambu Ranch in Kenya. David Enniskillen (as he was usually known to his family and friends) had been born and raised in the Colony of Kenya.
The 6th Lord Enniskillen had only two children, both by his first wife, Sonia Mary Syers, whom he married on 31 July 1940. They were divorced early in 1955. The two children were Andrew Cole (born 28 April 1942) and Linda Mar Cole (born 26 March 1944). From 1963-89, Andrew held the courtesy titleViscount Cole. Since the death of his father in 1989, Andrew has been The 7th Earl of Enniskillen (usually known to his family and friends as Andrew Enniskillen). Since February 1963, Linda has been known as Lady Linda Mar Cole. She married Richard Muir (possibly 'Sir' Richard), the presumed 4th Bt., in August 1975. Thus she is also known as Lady Linda Muir. The 7th Lord Enniskillen lives on his 40,000 acre estate near Lake Naivasha in the former 'White Highlands' in southern Kenya.
The ancestral seat, certainly from the late 1750s, of the Cole family was Florence Court in south-west County Fermanagh. The house has been in the care of the National Trust since 1953. The last Earl to live in the country house was David, 6th Earl of Enniskillen (1918–1989), who left in 1972. Michael Cole, ancestor of the Earls of Enniskillen, was the brother of Sir John Cole, 1st Baronet (see Baron Ranelagh).
John Henry Michael Cole, 5th Earl of Enniskillen (1876–1963), who married, firstly, to Irene Frances Mundy, by whom he had issue, and secondly to Mary Cicely Syers (née Nevill; died 1963) whose daughter Sonia Mary Cole married his nephew and heir presumptive in 1940. The 5th Earl gave Florence Court to the National Trust in 1953.
Michael Galbraith Lowry Cole, Viscount Cole (1921–1956), died unmarried, aged 35.
David Lowry Cole, 6th Earl of Enniskillen (1918–1989), formerly Captain David Lowry Cole, M.B.E., had spent much of his life in the Colony of Kenya, having been elected a member of the Legislative Council of Kenya in the early 1960s, just before independence. In 1955, he was divorced from his first wife Sonia (née Syers), stepdaughter of his uncle the 5th Earl, and daughter of Lady Enniskillen by her first marriage. By her, he had issue one son and one daughter.[7] On 7 May 1955, he married secondly Nancy Henderson MacLennan. She was Washington, D.C. and U.N. correspondent for The New York Times. Then she was an assistant attaché and Vice-Consul with the U.S. Foreign Service.
The heir presumptive is the present holder's first cousin Berkeley Arthur Cole (born 1949). He is the eldest son of The Hon. Arthur Gerald Cole (1920–2005), younger brother of the 6th Earl. Berkeley Arthur Cole is married to Hon Cecilia Ridley, 1st daughter of Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley, by his wife Lady Anne Katherine Gabrielle Lumley, 3rd daughter of Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough, and has issue, two sons. He also has two younger brothers.
^Patrick Cracroft-Brennan. Enniskillen, Earl of (Ireland, 1789)Archived 2012-05-19 at the Wayback Machine, cracroftspeerage.co.uk; retrieved 5 January 2013. The Enniskillen entry is somewhat outdated, in showing Arthur Gerald Cole still alive in 2013; he died in 2005, and his son Berkeley is the present heir presumptive.
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