Baron Northbrook, of Stratton in the County of Southampton, is a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

. It was created in 1866 for the Liberal politician and former

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

, Sir Francis Baring, 3rd Baronet. The holders of the barony represent the genealogically senior branch of the prominent Baring family. The name Northbrook is derived from a

tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...

of the local parish.

History

The holders of the barony descend from Francis Baring, whose father had emigrated to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Francis was the founder of the family firm that grew into

Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London. It was one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...

. The firm increased in wealth and influence to the point that, on 29 May 1793, Francis was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Larkbeer in the County of Devon, in the

Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

. His eldest son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

became the second Baronet, also representing Chipping Wycombe and

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. Sir Thomas was succeeded by his eldest son

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

, third Baronet. Sir Francis held office as

and

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

. In 1866 he was raised to the

as Baron Northbrook, of Stratton in the County of Southampton. Lord Northbrook's eldest son Thomas, the second Baron, was

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

from 1872 to 1876. In that year he was created Viscount Baring, of Lee in the County of Kent, and Earl of Northbrook, in the County of Southampton. Both titles were in the

. On his death, the titles passed to his eldest son Francis George, second Earl. He sat as a Member of Parliament for

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, This figur ...

. The second Earl was childless, and on his death in 1929, the viscountcy and earldom became extinct. He was succeeded in the baronetcy and barony by his first cousin Francis Arthur, who became the fourth Baron Northbrook. Francis Arthur was the son of the Hon. Francis Baring (1850–1915), third son of the first Baron and a partner in

. the titles are held by the fourth Baron's grandson, the sixth Baron, who succeeded his father in 1990. Lord Northbrook is one of the ninety elected

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

s who remain in the

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after the passing of the

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, and sits on the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

benches. The Baring family is one of the most ennobled in the

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and numerous other members of the family have gained distinction. The first Baron Northbrook's uncle (his father's next youngest brother) was Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton, two of his first cousins (both sons of Henry Baring, his father's next youngest brother after Lord Ashburton) were Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke, and

Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, (; 26 February 1841 – 29 January 1917) was a British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as the British controller-general in Egypt during 1879, part of the international control whic ...

, and one of his first cousins once removed (third son of Lord Cromer) was

Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale (29 September 1903 – 10 March 1973), was Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 1942 to 1944, High Commissioner for Southern Africa from 1944 to 1951, and Governor of Kenya from 1952 to 1959. Baring play ...

. Also, the Right Reverend Charles Baring,

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

, was his younger brother. The Bishop's son

was a banker and Conservative politician.

Titleholders

Baring baronets, of Larkbeer (1793)

Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet (18 April 1740 – 11 September 1810) was an English merchant banker, a member of the Baring family, later becoming the first of the Baring baronets. Early life He was born at Larkbeare House near Exeter, son ...

(1740–1810) *

Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet (12 June 1772 – 3 April 1848), was a British banker and Member of Parliament. Early life Baring was born on 12 June 1772. A member of the Baring family, he was the eldest son of Harriet (née Herring) Baring ...

(1772–1848) * Sir Francis Thornhill Baring, 3rd Baronet (1796–1866) (created Baron Northbrook in 1866)

Barons Northbrook (1866)

* Francis Thornhill Baring, 1st Baron Northbrook (1796–1866) * Thomas George Baring, 2nd Baron Northbrook (1826–1904) (created Earl of Northbrook in 1876)

Earls of Northbrook (1876)

Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook, (22 January 182615 November 1904) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal statesman. Gladstone appointed him Governor-General of India 1872–1876. His major accomplishments came as an energetic r ...

(1826–1904) * Francis George Baring, 2nd Earl of Northbrook (1850–1929)

Barons Northbrook (1866; reverted)

* Francis Arthur Baring, 4th Baron Northbrook (1882–1947) * Francis John Baring, 5th Baron Northbrook (1915–1990) * Francis Thomas Baring, 6th Baron Northbrook (born 1954) There is no heir to the barony.
The

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the baronetcy is the present holder's fourth cousin, Peter Baring (born 1939). He is a great-great-grandson of the Right Reverend Charles Baring, younger son of the second Baronet.
The heir presumptive's

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

is his son, Samuel Nigel Baring (born 1987).

Title succession chart

;Wider family tree:

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northbrook Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom *Northbrook Noble titles created in 1866 Peerages created for UK MPs