Baron Hothfield

Baron Hothfield, of Hothfield in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1881 for Sir Henry Tufton, 2nd Baronet, who was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Westmorland the same year and who also served briefly as a government whip in the Liberal administration of 1886. His eldest son, the second Baron, notably served as Mayor of Appleby, Westmorland. On the death of his son, the third Baron, in 1961, this line of the family failed. The late Baron was succeeded by his first cousin, the fourth Baron. He was the only son of the Hon. Sackville Philip Tufton, second son of the first Baron. On his death in 1986 this line of the family also failed and the titles passed to his first cousin, the fifth Baron. He was the eldest son of the Hon. Charles Henry Tufton, third son of the first Baron. As of 2010 the titles are held by his son, the sixth Baron, who succeeded in 1991.

The Tufton Baronetcy, of Appleby Castle in the County of Westmorland, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1851 for Richard Tufton. He was the reputed natural son of Henry Tufton, 11th and last Earl of Thanet, who devised the substantial Tufton estates on him. He was succeeded by his son, the aforementioned second Baronet, who was raised to the peerage in 1881.

Hothfield

Coordinates: 51°10′12″N 0°49′08″E / 51.1701°N 0.8190°E / 51.1701; 0.8190

Hothfield is a village and civil parish in the Ashford Borough of Kent, England and is north-west of Ashford, yet south of the M20 motorway which takes a more northerly course.

Geography

In the north west is Hothfield Common, 58 hectares (143 acres) of heathland and lowland valley bogs: a nature reserve managed by Kent Wildlife Trust,

In the south is the private parkland of Hothfield Manor, which is accessible by public footpaths leading to Godinton House. A small part of the neighbourhood of Ram Lane in is in the far northern point of the civil parish. Small tributaries of the West Stour rise in the parish.

Amenities

The village has a shop and post office with internal ATM service (closed Tuesday PM and Sunday PM). Hothfield Common has a children's playground adjacent.

History

The medieval parish church is dedicated to Saint Margaret; it was rebuilt in 1598 after a fire.

Hothfield in Edward Hasted's Topography of Kent (1798) has a substantial amount of information about the history and the then layout of land and settlement.