Steve Schwartz responded to me concerning knighthood:

>>Vaughan Williams but not Britten, who died something like Lord Britten
>>of Aldeburgh.
>
>Ah yes, but I think he turned down a *knighthood*. You don't have to
>have one of those to become a peer.

I'll add a little more. A peerage (you get to be "Lord something of
somewhere") also used to allow you to sit in the House of Lords, the
unelected second chamber of the UK parliament.  I think Blair's made
some changes since I left, so I shan't go into more detail.

A knighthood (and there are various flavours) simply entitles one to be
called "Sir soandso".

Inconsistently, the wife of a knight is known as "Lady X" ("Sir Fred and
Lady Bassett"), but there is no such handle AFAIK for the husband of a
Dame, which is the female equivalent of a knighthood (Judy Dench, Diana
Rigg).

Deryk Barker
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