Accordingly, Dimsdale and his second son Nathaniel travelled to Russia in 1768 and carried out the procedure to the great satisfaction of the Empress, who rewarded both him and his son with annuities and a Barony of the Russian Empire, with the right for it to be inherited by the eldest lawful descendants.
The Barony awarded to his father, however, descended via his eldest son John (1747–1820) for several generations.
He was succeeded by his brother, Charles John (1801–1872), High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1843, and he in turn by his son Robert (1828–1898), banker and MP for Hertford.
His two eldest sons were killed in the First World War[3] and so the Barony was inherited by Thomas Edward (1911–1985), High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1974.
The title could be officially used in the United Kingdom from 1813[4] until the death of Thomas Edward Dimsdale in 1985.