Marquess of Winchester is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1551 for the prominent statesman William Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. He had already been created Baron St John in 1539 and Earl of Wiltshire in 1550, also in the Peerage of England. The first Marquess was one of the most noted statesmen of his time, serving in high positions under Henry VIII and all his children, and served as Lord High Treasurer of England from 1550 to 1572. He was succeeded by his son, the second Marquess, who had been summoned to the House of Lords in his father's lifetime through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron St John. His son, the third Marquess, was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration as Lord St John in 1572. His grandson, the fift