View source for Thomas de Grey (1680–1765)

{{Short description|English landowner and Whig politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
'''Thomas de Grey''' (1680 – 1765) of Merton, Norfolk, was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the [[House of Commons of Great Britain|House of Commons]] between 1708 and 1727.
==Early life==
[[File:Merton Hall (geograph 2418018).jpg|thumb|Merton Hall, Norfolk]]
De Grey was baptised on 13 August 1680, the eldest surviving son of [[William de Grey]] and his wife Elizabeth Bedingfield, daughter of [[Thomas Bedingfield (judge)|Thomas Bedingfield]] of [[Darsham]].<ref name=HOP/> He was educated at Bury St Edmunds Grammar School and was admitted at [[St John's College, Cambridge]] on 18 May 1697, aged17.<ref name=CU>{{acad|id=  GRY697T|name=de Grey, Thomas}}</ref> Through a marriage settlement dated 10 September 1706, he  married Elizabeth Windham, daughter of [[William Windham Sr.|William Windham]] of [[Felbrigg]], Norfolk with £4,500. His marriage brought him into connection with many Norfolk Whig families, although his father was a Tory.<ref name=HOP/>
==Career==
De Grey was returned as [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Thetford (UK Parliament constituency)|Thetford]] at the [[1708 British general election]]. He supported the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709, and voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710.  He did not stand at the [[1710 British general election]], possibly on grounds of cost, and at the  [[1713 British general election]], declined an invitation by Robert Walpole to stand for Norfolk.<ref name = HOP>{{cite web| url = http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/de-grey-thomas-1680-1765| title=DE GREY, Thomas (1680-1765), of Merton, Norf. | publisher= History of Parliament Online (1690-1715)| accessdate = 14 August 2019 }}</ref>
At the [[1715 British general election]], de Grey was backed by [[Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend|Lord Townshend]]  as a  Whig candidate for [[Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|Norfolk]]  and he won the contest. He voted against the [[Septennial Act 1716|septennial bill of 1716]] and joined the opposition (led by Townshend and [[Robert Walpole]]) against [[William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan|Lord Cadogan]] in June 1717. He abstained from the votes on the [[Peerage Bill]] and on repealing the [[Occasional Conformity Act]] and [[Schism Act]], all in 1719. He did not want to stand again at the [[1722 British general election]], writing   to Townshend asking:
{{cquote|to be discharged of a trust, which after seven years’ experience I am every day more convinced that I am of all persons the most unfit for. It has been my misfortune many times to differ in my opinion from all my friends, and it is another misfortune to me that I can enjoy no peace or quiet in my mind but in acting conformably to it}}
Townshend did not let him stand down and he won the seat unopposed, but never stood again.<ref name = HOP2>{{cite web| url = http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/de-grey-thomas-1680-1765 | title=DE GREY, Thomas (1680-1765), of Merton, Norf. | publisher= History of Parliament Online (1715-1754)| accessdate = 14 August 2019 }}</ref>
==Death and legacy==
De Grey died in 1765 and was buried at Merton on 18 December 1765. He had two daughters and two surviving sons, [[Thomas de Grey (1717-1781)|Thomas]] and [[William de Grey, 1st Baron Walsingham|William]].
==References==
<references/>
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|gb}}
{{s-bef
| before  = [[Thomas Hanmer (politician)|Sir Thomas Hanmer]]
| before2 = [[Sir John Wodehouse, 4th Baronet|Sir John Wodehouse]]
}}
{{s-title
| title =  [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Thetford (UK Parliament constituency)|Thetford]]
| years =   [[1708 British general election|1708]]–[[1710 British general election|1710]]
| with  =  [[Robert Baylis]]
}}
{{s-aft
| after  = [[Thomas Hanmer (politician)|Sir Thomas Hanmer]]
| after2 = [[Dudley North (MP for Thetford)|Dudley North]]
}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Sir Edmund Bacon, 6th Baronet, of Redgrave|Sir Edmund Bacon]]| before2= [[Sir Jacob Astley, 1st Baronet|Sir Jacob Astley]] }}
{{s-ttl| title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|Norfolk]]
| with = [[Sir Jacob Astley, 1st Baronet|Sir Jacob Astley, Bt.]] (to 1722)
| years = 1715-1727
| with2 = [[Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation)|Sir Thomas Coke]] (from 1722) }}
{{s-aft| after = [[John Hobart, 1st Earl of Buckinghamshire|Sir John Hobart, Bt.]] | after2= [[Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation)|Sir Thomas Coke]] }}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Grey, Thomas}}
[[Category:1680 births]]
[[Category:1765 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Thetford]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Norfolk]]
[[Category:British MPs 1715–1722]]
[[Category:British MPs 1722–1727]]