There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Croft, one in the

Baronetage of England Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James ...

and two in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James ...

. All three creations are extant as of 2008. The Croft Baronetcy, of

Croft Castle Croft Castle is a country house in the village of Croft, Herefordshire, England. Owned by the Croft family since 1085, the castle and estate passed out of their hands in the 18th century, before being repurchased by the family in 1923. In 195 ...

in the County of Hereford, was created in the

on 18 November 1671 for Herbert Croft, who later represented

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

in Parliament. He was a member of a prominent

family of Norman descent. The second Baronet sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The ...

and Bere Alston. The fifth Baronet was an author. The ninth Baronet represented Herefordshire in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

. The former seat of the family was

. The Croft Baronetcy, of Cowling Hall in the County of York, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 17 December 1818 for John Croft, in honour of his services during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

. He shared a common ancestry with the Croft Baronets of Croft Castle. The Croft Baronetcy, of Bournemouth in the County of Southampton was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 28 February 1924 for

Henry Croft Henry Croft (January 15, 1856 — July 28, 1917) was an Australian-born lumber and mining magnate on Vancouver Island from the 1880s to 1900s. Born in Australia, Croft moved to England at a young age and was educated there. He moved to Canada ...

. He was the grandson of Reverend Richard Croft, third son of the sixth Baronet of the 1671 creation. In 1940 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Croft. For more information on this creation, see this title.

Croft baronets, of Croft Castle (1671)

Sir Herbert Croft, 1st Baronet Sir Herbert Croft, 1st Baronet ( – 3 November 1720) was a British politician. Family Croft was the only son of the Right Reverend Herbert Croft, Bishop of Hereford and Anne Browne, the only daughter of the Very Rev. Dr. Jonathan Browne and ...

(–1720) * Sir Archer Croft, 2nd Baronet (1684–1753) *Sir Archer Croft, 3rd Baronet (1731–1792) *Sir John Croft, 4th Baronet (c. 1735–1797) * Sir Herbert Croft, 5th Baronet (1751–1816) * Dr. Sir Richard Croft, 6th Baronet (1762–1818) *Sir Thomas Elmsley Croft, 7th Baronet (1798–1835) *Sir Archer Denman Croft, 8th Baronet (1801–1865) * Sir Herbert George Denman Croft, 9th Baronet (1838–1902) *Sir Herbert Archer Croft, 10th Baronet (1868–1915) *Sir James Herbert Croft, 11th Baronet (1907–1941) *Sir Hugh Matthew Fiennes Croft, 12th Baronet (1874–1954) *Sir Bernard Hugh Denman Croft, 13th Baronet (1903–1984) *Sir Owen Glendower Croft, 14th Baronet (born 1932) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the baronetcy is Thomas Jasper Croft (born 1962), only son of the 14th Baronet.

Croft baronets, of Cowling Hall (1818)

Sir John Croft, 1st Baronet Sir John Croft, 1st Baronet, DL, FRS (1778–1862) was an English diplomat, and spy for Wellington against Napoleon. Life He was born in Porto, Portugal, the son of John Croft, merchant, and Henrietta Maria, daughter of James Tunstall. He was e ...

(died 1862) *Sir John Frederick Croft, 2nd Baronet (1828–1904) *Sir Frederick Leigh Croft, 3rd Baronet (1860–1930) *Sir John William Graham Croft, 4th Baronet (1910–1979) *Sir John Archibald Radcliffe Croft, 5th Baronet (1910–1990) *Sir Thomas Stephen Hutton Croft, 6th Baronet (born 1959)

Croft baronets, of Bournemouth (1924)

*see the Baron Croft

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *{{Rayment-bt, date=March 2012

Citations

Croft 1671 establishments in England 1818 establishments in the United Kingdom Croft