Jocelyn Sidney, 7th Earl of Leicester


Jocelyn Sidney, 7th Earl of Leicester was a British peer, known as Hon. Jocelyn Sidney until 1737.
He was the son of Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester and Lady Elizabeth Egerton. He was educated at University College, Oxford University. In 1734, he was appointed Chief Porter of the Tower of London by his older brother John Sidney, 6th Earl of Leicester, then Constable of the Tower. He succeeded his brother in that year, but died without legitimate issue in 1743, when the titles of Earl of Leicester and Viscount Lisle became extinct.
A marriage is recorded in the parish register of Llansamlet, Glamorgan on 18 December 1716 of The Honble Joslin Sidney Esq. and Miss Elizabeth Thomas. The Peerage website quoting Burke's peerage 2003 edition records this marriage as being in February 1717, and that Elizabeth was the daughter of Lewis Thomas of Gwernllwynwith, Glamorgan and died 14 November 1747.. The parish register is kept at West Glamorgan Archives, Swansea and digital image of the page is available from Findmypast.co.uk where the groom has been indexed as John Sidney. Lewis Thomas of Gwernllwynchwyth was portreeve of Swansea in 1703. In the Llansamlet parish register for the baptism and burial of his daughter Catherine on 16 and 17 November 1705 he was described as Lewis Thomas Esq., and his burial at Llansamlet 23 May 1711 he was also described as Lewis Thomas Esq. Burke's peerage records Lady Anne Sidney as daughter of Jocelyn Sidney and Elizabeth Thomas.
Jocelyn's "illegitimate" daughter Lady Anne Sidney married Henry Streatfeild of Chiddingstone, Kent on 25 September 1752. On Sir Jocelyn's death, Henry could potentially have inherited the Penshurst Estate, but after much legal wrangling Henry and Anne only received the income from the Sidneys' Welsh properties - but these were still fairly significant.