Earl of Shaftesbury

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The title of Earl of Shaftesbury was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. Lord Shaftesbury holds the subsidiary titles of Baron Ashley, of Wimborne St Giles in the County of Dorset (1661), and Baron Cooper, of Paullet in the County of Somerset (1672), both in the Peerage of England. When there is an heir apparent he uses the former as a courtesy title.

The family seat is Ashley House, near Wimborne St Giles in Dorset. The family own Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles.