Crests: 1st: a Dexter Arm embowed in armour proper, garnished Or, entwined with a Branch of Oak Vert, charged with two Catherine Wheels Gules, one above and one below the elbow, the hand grasping a Dragon’s Head erased proper (Hardy); 2nd: in front of a Wolf’s Head erased Argent, a Staff raguly fesswise Or (Gathorne).

It was created in 1892 for the prominent Conservative politician Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Viscount Cranbrook, son of John Hardy.

Lord Cranbrook's eldest son, the second Earl, represented Rye, Mid Kent and Medway in the House of Commons as a Conservative.

He is a zoologist and environmental biologist formerly active in Malaya, who was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's Founder's Medal in 1995.

Lady Margaret Evelyn Gathorne-Hardy, daughter of the first Earl, was the wife of the 2nd Viscount Goschen, Viceroy of India.