| Stepney baronets | |
| Creation Date: | 1621[1] |
| Status: | extinct |
| Extinction Date: | 1825 |
The Stepney Baronetcy, of Prendergast in the County of Pembroke, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 24 November 1621 for John Stepney. His son, Sir John, the third Baronet represented Pembroke and Haverfordwest in Parliament. The latter's nephew, the fourth Baronet, married Justina, daughter of Sir Anthony van Dyck. Their only son, Sir Thomas, the fifth Baronet, sat as Member of Parliament for Carmarthenshire. Sir Thomas's great-grandson, Sir John, the eighth Baronet, represented Monmouth in Parliament and served as Envoy to Dresden and Berlin. The eighth Baronet never married and was succeeded by his younger brother, Sir Thomas, the ninth Baronet, on whose death in 1825 the baronetcy became extinct.[2] Catherine, Lady Stepney was the wife of the ninth and last Baronet. She was an author of works of fiction.[3] The Victoria & Albert Museum has a bust of the London society hostess, Catherine, Lady Stepney, posing as Cleopatra.[4]
Maria Justina Stepney, sister of the eighth and ninth Baronets, married Andrew Cowell. Their son John Cowell succeeded to the Stepney estates, assumed the additional surname of Stepney and was created a baronet in 1871 (see Cowell-Stepney baronets).