Sir Edward Astley, 4th Baronet

Edward Astley
4th Baronet
In office
1760–1802
Succeeded bySir Jacob Astley, 5th Baronet
Member of the British Parliament
for Norfolk
In office
1768–1790
Personal details
Born1729[1]
Died27 March 1802
Spouses
Parents

Sir Edward Astley, 4th Baronet (baptised 26 December 1729 – 27 March 1802)[2] was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1790.

Early life and career

He was the oldest son of Sir Jacob Astley, 3rd Baronet and his second wife Lucy le Strange, youngest daughter of Sir Nicholas le Strange, 4th Baronet.[3] He was admitted to Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1747.[4] In 1760, Astley succeeded his father as baronet.[5]

He was appointed High Sheriff of Norfolk for 1763–64 and in 1768 stood successfully as Member of Parliament (MP) for Norfolk, the same constituency his great-grandfather Sir Jacob Astley, 1st Baronet had represented, too.[6] Astley held this seat unopposed[2] until the 1790 general election when he retired.[6] He was a supporter of parliamentary reform.[2]

Astley had a younger brother, John Astley (born 1735), who was Rector of several Norfolk parishes.[7]

Marriage and children

Rhoda Delaval, first wife of Edward Astley, by Arthur Pond.

Astley married firstly Rhoda Delaval, oldest daughter of Francis Blake Delaval in 1751.[8] Rhoda died in childbirth in 1757 and Astley married secondly Anne Milles, youngest daughter of Christopher Milles, at St Margaret's Church, Westminster two years later.[8] She died in 1792, and he married lastly Elizabeth Bullen in the following year.[2] Astley had three sons and a daughter by his first wife and five sons and two daughters by his second wife.[9] On his death in 1802 Astley was succeeded in the baronetcy by his third but oldest surviving son Sir Jacob Astley, 5th Baronet,[3] who at this time sat also for Norfolk in the House of Commons.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Sir Edward Astley, 4th Baronet Astley of Hill Morton (1729-1802)". National Trust Collections. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Drummond, Mary. "ASTLEY, Sir Edward, 4th Bt. (1729-1802), of Melton Constable, Norf". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b Burke, John (1832). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. Vol. I (4th ed.). London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. p. 51.
  4. ^ "Astley, Edward (ASTY747E)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  5. ^ "Leigh Rayment - Baronetage". Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b c "Leigh Rayment - British House of Commons, Norfolk". Archived from the original on 20 December 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ John Archibald Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses: Part II. 1752–1900, Vol. I (1940), p. 88
  8. ^ a b Kimber, Edward (1771). Richard Johnson (ed.). The Baronetage of England: Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the English Baronets. Vol. II. London: Thomas Wotton. p. 39.
  9. ^ Debrett, John (1824). Debrett's Baronetage of England. Vol. I (5th ed.). London: G. Woodfall. p. 220.
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Norfolk
1768 – 1790
With: Thomas de Grey 1768–74
Wenman Coke 1774–76
Thomas Coke 1776–84
Sir John Wodehouse, Bt 1784–90 		Succeeded by
Baronetage of England
Preceded by
Jacob Astley
 Baronet
(of Hill Morton)
1760–1802 		Succeeded by