Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, with the title Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull being a title in the Peerage of England. The Earldom was created on 25 July 1628 for Robert Pierrepont, 1st Viscount Newark. The Dukedom was created on 10 August 1715 for his great-grandson, Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Marquess of Dorchester, who had succeeded as the fifth Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull in 1690. The Dukedom became extinct on the death of the second Duke in 1773. These titles are often informally shortened to the Duke (or Earl) of Kingston, and should not be confused with the separate Irish title, Earl of Kingston.
From the 13th century, the seat of the Pierrepont family had been Holme Pierrepont Hall, Nottinghamshire. This was to move during the sixteenth century to Thoresby Hall, also in Nottinghamshire. Several members of the family had served in the 15th and 16th centuries as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The direct forebear of the Dukes and Earls of Kingson-upon-Hull was Sir Henry Pierrepont who represented Nottinghamshire in Parliament. He had married Frances Cavendish, daughter and eldest child of Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick.
Sir Henry Pierrepont's son, Sir Robert Pierrepont, was created Viscount Newark and Baron Pierrepont in the Peerage of England on 29 June 1627. In 1628 he was further honoured when he was made Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull with a remainder to heirs general, also in the Peerage of England. Robert Pierrepont had married Gertrude Talbot in 1601. She was a granddaughter of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, and through him, all their descendents are able to claim descent from Edward III, through Edward's younger son, .