The present holder of these titles is Frederick Hervey (born 19 October 1979), the 8th Marquess and 12th Earl of Bristol.

It has been read as a reference to the second Lord Hervey's noted originality and eccentricity, but has been applied to the family throughout the centuries.

According to the Dictionary of National Biography,[2] the Hervey family have been described as "active and brave, but reckless and overconfident ... greatly addicted to intrigue ...".

"[3] The early Herveys were of French origins in particular the Duke of Orleans and a son named Robert Fitz-Hervey who accompanied William the conqueror in the Norman invasion of 1066.

[1] The 2nd Earl held political office as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and Lord Privy Seal and died unmarried.

He was succeeded as 3rd Earl[1] by his younger brother, who was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and also served as Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1766 to 1767.

He had a reputation for high living, and hostelries in various countries took to calling themselves the ‘Hotel Bristol’, implying that they were the best in town.

Before succeeding as 3rd Marquess, he had represented the traditional family seat in parliament and also served as Lord-Lieutenant of Suffolk.

The 4th Marquess was a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy and also sat, as his uncle had done, as Conservative Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds.

His eldest son, The Very Reverend Frederick Alfred John Canon Hervey (1846–1910), was Chaplain-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria from 1886 to 1901, and Domestic Chaplain to King Edward VII from 1878 to 1910.

Lord Augustus Hervey, second son of the second Marquess, sat as Member of Parliament for the Western Division of Suffolk.

Lord Francis Hervey, fourth son of the second Marquess, represented the most often held local seat in Parliament and served as First Civil Service Commissioner from 1907 to 1909.

The heir apparent is the 8th Marquess' son, Frederick William Herbert Morley Hervey, Earl Jermyn (born 2022).

The family, through whoever is Marquess of Bristol, was given a 99-year lease to occupy the East Wing of Ickworth, upon paying yearly expenses and below market rent.

His heir, the Frederick Hervey, 8th Marquess of Bristol, spoke in 2001 of his anger at not being granted a new lease as it went against the original Letter of Wishes when the house was handed over to the National Trust.

In 2009 Sir Simon Jenkins, the National Trust's new chairman, stated, "I think it is in our interest for the Marquesses of Bristol to be living there."