Ancestral titles and achievements
The Fermor family descended from Richard Fermor (d. 1552), who acquired great wealth as a wool merchant. However, he fell out with Henry VIII after remaining an adherent of Catholicism and had his estates confiscated. Some of the estates, including Easton Neston in South Northamptonshire, were restored after the accession of Edward VI. [2]
In 1603, his grandson Sir George Fermor entertained James I and Anne of Denmark at Easton Neston. In 1615, he was confirmed by the Crown following his marriage as lord of the manor of Westoning, Bedfordshire. [3]
Sir George's grandson William Fermor was created a Baronet, of Easton Neston in the County of Northampton, in the Baronetage of England in 1641, aged nineteen and succeeded by his son. The latter was raised in 1692 to the Peerage of England as Baron Leominster [n 2] , in the County of Hereford. His eldest son was elevated to become Earl of Pomfret in 1721. The latter was succeeded by his son, who became a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to George III and sold the manor of Westoning in 1767 to John Everitt. [3] Two sons, the third and fourth Earls, succeeded. [1] The titles became extinct upon the death of the fourth Earl's son in 1867. [4]
The seat of the Fermor family was Easton Neston in Northamptonshire. [1] The house came into the Hesketh family (who were later created Barons Hesketh) through the marriage in 1846 of Sir Thomas George Hesketh, 5th Baronet, of Rufford, to Lady Anna Maria Arabella Fermor, sister and heiress of the 5th Earl of Pomfret. The main blocks and much of the gothick village of Hulcote were sold by the 3rd Baron Hesketh in 2005 to Leon Max.
Marquess of Exeter is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1525 for Henry Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon. For more information on this creation, which was forfeited in 1538, see Earl of Devon.
Earl of Limerick is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, associated first with the Dongan family, then with the Pery family.
Baron Hesketh, of Hesketh in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, who had previously briefly represented Enfield in the House of Commons as a Conservative. As of 2010 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 and John Major. However, he lost his seat in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the upper chamber of Parliament.
Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel were often also called Earls of Sussex.
Easton Neston is a large grade I listed country house in the parish of Easton Neston near Towcester in Northamptonshire, England. It was built by William Fermor, 1st Baron Leominster (1648–1711), in the Baroque style to the design of the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor.
There have been two baronetcies created for people with the surname Heathcote, both in the Baronetage of Great Britain and both created in 1733. The holders of the first creation were later elevated to the peerage as Baron Aveland and Earl of Ancaster, which titles are now extinct. However, both baronetcies are extant as of 2008.
Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh, known as Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, Bt, from 1924 to 1935, was a British peer, soldier and Conservative Member of Parliament.
Sir John Wodehouse, 4th Baronet, was a British Tory Member of Parliament.
Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Baronet was a British baronet and soldier.
Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 5th Baronet was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1862 to 1872.
Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh DL, was a British peer and soldier.
Henrietta Louisa Fermor, Countess of Pomfret, was an English letter writer.
Sir William Fermor, 1st Baronet, was an officer in the Royalist army during the English Civil War. He stood for election as a Member of Parliament after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, but died before a decision could be reached on whether he or another candidate had been elected.
William Fermor, 1st Baron Leominster, styled Sir William Fermor, 2nd Baronet from 1661 to 1692, was an English politician and peer.
Thomas Fermor, 1st Earl of Pomfret was an English peer and courtier. He was the only son of William Fermor, 1st Baron Leominster by his third wife Lady Sophia Osborne. He succeeded to his father's barony on his death in 1711 as 2nd Baron Leominster. The Earldom of Pomfret was created for him on 27 December 1721, named after Pontefract in Yorkshire.
George Fermor, 2nd Earl of Pomfret (1722–1785), styled Viscount Leominster or Lempster until 1753, of Easton Neston house, Northamptonshire was Earl of Pomfret in the Peerage of Great Britain.
George Fermor, 3rd Earl of Pomfret was the third holder of the title of Earl of Pomfret in the Peerage of Great Britain.
George William Richard Fermor, 5th Earl of Pomfret was an English peer.
Peter Denys was a British drawing master, later patron of the arts and landowner.
Sir George Fermor of Easton Neston was an English soldier and landowner.
