The Fermor, later Eversfield Baronetcy, of Welches in the

County of Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and of Sevenoak in the

County of Kent Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

, was a title 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 ...

. It was created on 4 May 1725 for Henry Fermor, of Castwisell House,

Biddenden Biddenden is a large, mostly agricultural and wooded village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The village lies on the Weald of Kent, north of Tenterden. It was a centre for the Wealden iron industry and clothmaking. ...

. Sir Henry died without a direct heir in 1734. He left funds to endow a local school that still bears his name. The title was remaindered to Charles Eversfield, of Denne Park, near

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. He was succeeded according to the special remainder by the aforementioned Charles Eversfield, the second Baronet. He was the son of

Charles Eversfield Charles Eversfield (15 September 1683 – 1749) of Denne Place, near Horsham, Sussex, was a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1705 and 1747. Early life Eversfield was the only son. of Nicholas Eversfield of Charlt ...

, Member of Parliament for

. The title became extinct on his death in 1784. On the landing in

Horsham Museum Horsham Museum is a museum at Horsham, West Sussex, in South East England. It was founded in August 1893 by volunteers of the Free Christian (now Unitarian) Church and became part of Horsham District Council in 1974. It is a fully accredited m ...

hang works of art from the museum's extensive painting collection, featuring a large eighteenth-century portrait of Charles Eversfield and his wife of Denne Park House. In the painting Eversfield is giving his wife some violets which signifies fidelity, love and honesty. It is likely that the picture was cut down at some time as it was unusual to stop just below the knee. The picture remained at Denne House until the last of the Eversfields died out and the house was sold off for flats just after World War II. The picture was bought following a fund raising campaign in 1948. It may have been painted by more than one person: someone who specialised in clothing, another in drapes, and so on, with perhaps the great court painter

Sir Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) was a German-born British painter. The leading portraitist in England during the late Stuart and early Georgian eras, he served as court painter to s ...

painting the heads, for it was the portraits that gave the sitters their identity, everything else is rather formulaic. There is nothing in the background to identify it as Denne House, so the picture was probably painted in a London studio rather than the artist travelling to Horsham. The Eversfield family made their money through the Wealden iron industry and had moved to Denne Park, on the outskirts of Horsham, in 1604, paying £5,500 for the old property and rebuilding the house which still stands today. While very wealthy, they don't seem to have involved themselves in town life until the early eighteenth century when Charles Eversfield decided to stand as MP for Horsham. Thanks to political corruption, then the standard practice, he became MP aged 21 in 1705, and remained as one of two MPs for the town for the next 36 years. The corruption gave the town its new market house, built out of Portland stone, in 1723.

Fermor, later Eversfield baronets, of Welches and Sevenoak (1725)

*Sir Henry Fermor, 1st Baronet (died 1734) *Sir Charles Eversfield, 2nd Baronet (–1784)

References

Horsham Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eversfield Extinct baronetcies in the Baronetage of Great Britain Baronetcies created with special remainders