 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2019) |
| 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's heirs male of 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 the Peerage 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.