Baron Hesketh, of Hesketh in the County Palatine of Lancaster, 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 1935 for Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, who had previously briefly represented Enfield 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 ...

as a

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 ...

. 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 Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

and

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

. However, he lost his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

after the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

removed the automatic right of

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 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 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 ...

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 for Preston. 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 is situated in south Northamptonshire, England. Though the village of Easton Neston which was inhabited until around 1500 is now gone, the parish retains the name. At the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish remained le ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. The house was previously the seat of the Fermor family (

Earls of Pomfret Earl of Pomfret (alias Pontefract) was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1721 for Thomas Fermor, 1st Earl of Pomfret, Thomas Fermor, 2nd Baron Leominster. The title became extinct upon the death of the fifth earl in 1867. Ance ...

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 and all contents were sold by the current Baron in 2005. The original seat of the Hesketh family was

Rufford Old Hall Rufford Old Hall is a National Trust property in Rufford, Lancashire, in north-west England. Built in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth centuries for the Hesketh family, only the great hall survives from the original structure. A brick-built ...

in the village of Rufford in Lancashire. This house was sold to the National Trust by the first Baron Hesketh in 1936.

Former houses and estates

Holmeswood Hall Holmeswood is a small agricultural village in West Lancashire, in the north-west of England. It lies just north of the Martin Mere Wetland Centre and to the south of North Meols about six miles east of the Irish Sea coast at Southport. The vi ...

Meols Hall Meols Hall is a historical manor house in Churchtown, Merseyside, dating from the 12th century with a 16th-century tithe barn restored for wedding receptions and ceremonies. History Meols Hall dates back to the late 12th century when the manor ...

* Rufford New Hall

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 Baronet Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 5th Baronet (11 January 1825 – 20 August 1872) was an English Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons from 1862 to 1872. Early ...

(1825–1872) *Sir Thomas Henry Fermor-Hesketh, 6th Baronet (1847–1876) * Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Baronet (9 May 1849 – 19 April 1924) * Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet (1881–1944) (created Baron Hesketh in 1935)

Baron Hesketh (1935)

Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh (17 November 1881 – 20 July 1944), known as Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, Bt, from 1924 to 1935, was a British peer, soldier and Conservative Member of Parliament. Early life Hesketh was the son of Sir ...

(1881–1944) * Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh (1916–1955) * Thomas Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh (b. 1950) The

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 the present holder's son the Hon. Frederick Hatton Fermor-Hesketh (b. 1988)
The heir apparent’s heir apparent is his son, Alexander Frederick Fermor-Hesketh (b. 2021)

Line of succession

(1881–1944)'' **''

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Hon. Thomas Sharon Fermor-Hesketh (1910–1937)'' ** Coronet of a British Baron

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh (1916–1955)'' *** Coronet of a British Baron

'' Thomas Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh (b. 1950)'' ****(1) ''Hon. Frederick Hatton Fermor-Hesketh (b. 1988)'' *****(2) ''Alexander Frederick Fermor-Hesketh (b. 2021)'' **** ''Hon. Robert Fermor-Hesketh (1957-1991)'' *****(3) ''Blaise Isambard Robert Fermor-Hesketh (b. 1987)'' **** ''Hon. John Fermor-Hesketh (1957-1991)'' ** ''

Hon. John Breckinridge Fermor-Hesketh (1917–1961)''

Coat of Arms

References