Baron Decies
title in the Peerage of Ireland
Baron Decies ( DEE-sheez), of Decies in the County of Waterford, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1812 for the Right Reverend William Beresford, Archbishop of Tuam from 1794 to 1819. He was the third son of Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone, and the younger brother of George Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford. His son, the second Baron, married Charlotta Philadelphia Horsley, the only daughter and heiress of Robert Horsley of Bolam Hall in Northumberland, which he built (using stone from the ruined ancient castle on the site) on the estate purchased in 1727 by his father John Horsley. In accordance with the terms of his wife's inheritance he assumed the additional surname of Horsley in 1810. However, none of the subsequent barons have held this surname. His grandson, the fifth Baron, was a Major in the Army and also sat in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer from 1912 to 1944. As of 2013 the title is held by his grandson, the seventh Baron, who succeeded his father in 1992.
The family seat is Straffan Lodge, near Straffan, County Kildare.
Barons Decies (1812)
William Beresford, 1st Baron Decies (1743–1819)
John Horsley-Beresford, 2nd Baron Decies (1773–1855)
William Robert John Horsley-Beresford, 3rd Baron Decies (1811–1893)
William Marcus de la Poer Beresford, 4th Baron Decies (1865–1910)
John Graham Hope de la Poer Beresford, 5th Baron Decies (1866–1944)
Arthur George Marcus Douglas de la Poer Beresford, 6th Baron Decies (1915–1992)
Marcus Hugh Tristram de la Poer Beresford, 7th Baron Decies (born 1948)
The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Hon.
“Baron Decies” enters the record as title in the Peerage of Ireland. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Baron, Decies and title can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Baron Decies” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Baron, Decies and title provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4862308. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1812, 1794, 1819 and 1727.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Baron Decies”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Baron Decies primary sources, Baron Decies archive and Baron research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Baron Decies”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Baron Decies” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.