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| Earldom of Bathurst | |
|---|---|
  Sable, two bars ermine, in chief three crosses pattée or. | |
| Creation date | August 1772 |
| Created by | George III |
| Peerage | Peerage of Great Britain |
| First holder | Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl |
| Present holder | Allen Bathurst, 9th Earl |
| Heir apparent | Benjamin Bathurst, Lord Apsley |
| Remainder to | the 1st Earl'sheirs maleof the body lawfully begotten |
| Subsidiary titles | Baron Bathurst Baron Apsley |
| Seat(s) | Cirencester House |
| Motto | Tien Ta Foy ("Keep thy faith") |
Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in thePeerage of Great Britain.
The medieval English word was Botehurst, thought to date at least from the 13th century. Bote is the origination of Battle, although the family may have settled there post-dating the Conquest. This translated as 'a wood in a wood' which may in contradistinction have meant a clearing. The name of Apsley adopted by the family derived from Thakenham, near Pulborough in east Sussex, which may have referred to apse - lea or a 'church in a meadow'. The Bathurst estates were at Cirencester Park and Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, which Bathursts inherited before the park was laid out in the Cotswolds.
The title Earl Bathurst was created in 1772 forAllen Bathurst, 1st Baron Bathurst, a politician and an opponent ofSir Robert Walpole. Bathurst was known for his wit and learning, for his connections with poets and scholars of his time, and for the famouslandscape garden he created at his seat,Cirencester House, inGloucestershire. He was the son ofSir Benjamin Bathurst,Cofferer of the Household and Governor of theBritish East India Company, by his wife Frances, daughter ofSir Allen Apsley. He had previously been elevated to the Peerage of Great Britain sixty years before in 1712 asBaron Bathurst, ofBattlesden in the County of Bedford. He married his cousin Catherine Apsley, daughter of his maternal uncle Sir Peter Apsley, in 1704.
He was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son, the second Earl. He was a prominent lawyer and politician. In 1771, four years before the death of his father, he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain in his own right asBaron Apsley, in the County of Sussex. He then served asLord High Chancellor of Great Britain until 1778 and later held office asLord President of the Council. Bathurst constructedApsley House inLondon, which later became the seat of theDukes of Wellington. His eldest son Henry, the third Earl, was a noted politician. He served asPresident of the Board of Trade, asForeign Secretary, asSecretary of State for War and the Colonies and as Lord President of the Council. He gave his name to Bathurst, the capital of TheGambia, now calledBanjul; to the Australian town ofBathurst, the first inland city in the country; and toBathurst Street, a major street in Toronto in Canada.
His eldest son, the fourth Earl, representedWeobley andCirencester in theHouse of Commons as aTory. He never married and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth Earl. He sat asMember of Parliament for Weobly. He also died unmarried and was succeeded by his nephew, the sixth Earl. He was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. Thomas Seymour Bathurst, third and youngest son of the third Earl. Lord Bathurst represented Cirencester in Parliament as aConservative.
On his death, the titles passed to his eldest son, the seventh Earl. He was for some years the owner of theMorning Post. Lord Bathurst's eldest son and heir apparentAllen Bathurst, Lord Apsley, was Member of Parliament forSouthampton andBristol Central. In 1942 he was killed in theSecond World War, predeceasing his father by one year. His wifeViola Bathurst, Lady Apsley, succeeded him as Member of Parliament for Bristol Central. Lord Bathurst was succeeded by his grandson, the eighth Earl, who held political office underHarold Macmillan as aLord-in-waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) from 1957 to 1961 and as JointUnder-Secretary of State for the Home Department from 1961 to 1962. As of 2014[update] the titles are held by his son, the ninth Earl, who succeeded in 2011.
Several other members of the family have also gained distinction.Admiral of the FleetSir Benjamin Bathurst,First Sea Lord between 1993 and 1995, is the grandson of the HonourableBenjamin Bathurst, Member of Parliament forCirencester, third son of the sixth Earl.Benjamin Bathurst, younger son of the second Earl, was a diplomat best known for his sudden disappearance in 1809. The politicianCharles Bathurst (who was born Charles Bragge and assumed the surname of Bathurst in 1804), was the son of Anne Bathurst, granddaughter of Sir Benjamin Bathurst, younger brother of the first Earl Bathurst. He was the great-grandfather ofCharles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe.
The family seat isCirencester House, nearCirencester,Gloucestershire.
Theheir apparent is the present holder's earl's son Benjamin George Henry Bathurst, Lord Apsley (b. 1990)
The heir apparent’s heir apparent is his son, Hon. Theodore George Eugene Bathurst (b. 2023)
