Baron Hesketh
Encyclopedia
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. It was created in 1935 for Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet
Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh
Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh , known as Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, from 1924 to 1935, was a British peer, soldier and Conservative Member of Parliament....
, who had previously briefly represented Enfield
Enfield (UK Parliament constituency)
Enfield was a parliamentary constituency of Middlesex centred on the town of Enfield. The area formed part of the London conurbation. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.-History:The...
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
as a Conservative
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. the titles are held by his grandson, the third Baron, who succeeded his father in 1955. Lord Hesketh held junior ministerial positions in the Conservative administrations of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
. However, he lost his seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
after the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
removed the automatic right of hereditary peer
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
s to sit in the upper chamber of Parliament.
The Hesketh Baronetcy, of Rufford in the County Palatine of Lancaster, was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1761 for Thomas Hesketh, with special remainder to his brother Robert, who succeeded him as second Baronet. The latter's great-great-grandson, the fifth Baronet, sat as a Conservative Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Preston
Preston (UK Parliament constituency)
Preston is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
. His grandson, the eighth Baronet, was elevated to the peerage as Baron Hesketh in 1935.
The former seat of the Barons Hesketh was Easton Neston
Easton Neston
Easton Neston is a country house near Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, and is part of the Easton Neston Parish. It was designed in the Baroque style by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. Easton Neston is thought to be the only mansion which was solely the work of Hawksmoor...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. The house was previously the seat of the Fermor family (Earls of Pomfret
Earl of Pomfret
Earl of Pomfret , in the County of York, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1721 for Thomas Fermor, 2nd Baron Leominster. The Fermor family descended from Richard Fermor who acquired great wealth as a merchant. However, he fell out with Henry VIII after remaining an...
since 1721), and came into the Hesketh family through the marriage in 1846 of Sir Thomas George Hesketh, 5th Baronet, to Lady Anna Maria Isabella Fermor, sister and heiress of George Richard William Fermor, 5th and last Earl of Pomfret. However, the house was sold by the current Baron in 2005.
The original seat of the Hesketh family was Rufford Old Hall
Rufford Old Hall
Rufford Old Hall, a National Trust property and Grade I listed building, was built in the 15th century for Sir Thomas Hesketh in Rufford, Lancashire, England...
in the village of Rufford
Rufford, Lancashire
-Population :-Economy:The village is largely rural with little or no industry. The farmland is grade one agricultural land. In the early 20th century the village was described as "one of the prettiest in South Lancashire" and was a destination for day trips from neighbouring towns...
in Lancashire. This house was sold to the National Trust by the first Baron Hesketh in 1936.
Former Houses & Estates
- Bank HallBank HallBank Hall is a Jacobean mansion south of the village of Bretherton in Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* Listed Building. The hall was built on the site of a previous building in 1608 during the reign of James I by the Banastre family who were Lords of the Manor. It was extended during the 18th...
- Easton NestonEaston NestonEaston Neston is a country house near Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, and is part of the Easton Neston Parish. It was designed in the Baroque style by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. Easton Neston is thought to be the only mansion which was solely the work of Hawksmoor...
- Homeswood Hall
- Meols HallMeols HallMeols Hall is a historical manor house in Churchtown, Merseyside, dating from the 12th century but largely rebuilt in by Roger Fleetwood-Hesketh in the 1960s.- History :...
- Rufford Old HallRufford Old HallRufford Old Hall, a National Trust property and Grade I listed building, was built in the 15th century for Sir Thomas Hesketh in Rufford, Lancashire, England...
- Rufford New HallRufford New HallRufford New Hall is a former country house which belonged to the Heskeths who were lords of the manor and replaced Rufford Old Hall as their residence in Rufford, Lancashire, England. It has been designated a Grade II Listed building since 1986.-History:...
Baronets of Rufford (1761)
- Sir Thomas Hesketh, 1st Baronet (1727–1778)
- Sir Robert Hesketh, 2nd Baronet (1728–1798)
- Sir Thomas Dalrymple Hesketh, 3rd Baronet (1777–1842)
- Sir Thomas Henry Hesketh, 4th Baronet (1799–1843)
- Sir Thomas George Hesketh, 5th BaronetSir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 5th BaronetSir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 5th baronet was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1862 to 1872....
(1825–1872) - Sir Thomas Henry Fermor-Hesketh, 6th Baronet (1847–1876)
- Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th BaronetSir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th BaronetSir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Baronet was a British baronet and soldier.Born Thomas George Hesketh, he was the second son of Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 5th Baronet, and Lady Anna Maria Isabella Fermor, daughter of William Fermor, 4th Earl of Pomfret...
(9 May 1849 – 19 April 1924). - Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th BaronetThomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron HeskethThomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh , known as Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, from 1924 to 1935, was a British peer, soldier and Conservative Member of Parliament....
(1881–1944) (created Baron Hesketh in 1935)
Barons Hesketh (1935)
- Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron HeskethThomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron HeskethThomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh , known as Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, from 1924 to 1935, was a British peer, soldier and Conservative Member of Parliament....
(1881–1944) - Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron HeskethFrederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron HeskethFrederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh was a British peer and soldier.-Early life:Hesketh was the son of Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh, and Florence Louise Breckinridge, of Kentucky, daughter of John Witherspoon Breckinridge, and granddaughter of General John C Breckinridge,...
(1916–1955) - Thomas Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh (b. 1950)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's son the Hon. Frederick Hatton Fermor-Hesketh (b. 1988)