Earl of Bristol

Earl of Bristol is a title that has been created twice in British history, and was attested once before.

Antiquaries Carew and Williams refer to Reginald de Dunstanville (c. 1110–1175, the illegitimate son of King Henry I) as Earl of Bristol.

[1][2] However, the first confirmed creation came in the Peerage of England in 1622 in favour of the politician and diplomat John Digby[3] who served for many years as Ambassador to Spain, and had already been created Baron Digby of Sherborne, in the County of Dorset, in 1618, also in the Peerage of England.

He was a prominent statesman and served as Secretary of State for King Charles I.

In 1641 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Digby of Sherborne.