Anthony Henley (c. 1704–1748), of the Grange, near Alresford, Hampshire, was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1727 to 1734. Henley was the eldest son of Anthony Henley, MP of the Grange, Northington, Hampshire and his wife Mary Bertie, daughter of Hon. Peregrine Bertie of Waldershare, Kent. In 1711 he succeeded his father to the manors of Northington and Swarraton, known as the Grange. He also inherited his father’s waggish humour. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

on 21 March 1720, aged 15. Soon after coming of age, Henley was returned as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

at the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

. There were no recorded votes by him before1733. That year, the Southampton corporation asked their representatives to oppose the

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Customs officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

. He did vote against the bill, although a version of a reply to the corporation berating them for their impudence and refusing to follow their instructions was published, probably as a joke of his own making. Later, he voted against the Administration on the repeal of the Septennial Act. At the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

, general election there was a double return for Southampton, on which the House of Commons awarded the seat to

John Conduitt John Conduitt (; c. 8 March 1688 – 23 May 1737), of Cranbury Park, Hampshire, was a British landowner and Whig politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1737. He was married to the half-niece of Sir Isaac Newton, whom Conduitt s ...

. Henley did not stand again. On 11 February 1728, Henley married Lady Elizabeth Berkeley, daughter of

James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley Vice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley, (aft. 1679 – 17 August 1736) was the son of Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley and the Hon. Elizabeth Noel. He was known by the courtesy title of Viscount Dursley prior to succeeding ...

. The letter-writer

Mary Delaney Mary Delany ( Granville; 14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English artist, letter-writer, and Blue Stockings Society, bluestocking, known for her "paper-mosaicks" and botanic drawing, needlework and her lively correspondence. Early life Ma ...

reported of the occasion that Lady Betty Berkeley …… being almost 15 has thought it time to be married and ran away last week with Mr. Henley, a man noted for his impudence and immorality but a good estate and a beau. Henley died without issue on 24 December 1748.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henley, Anthony 1700s births 1748 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1727–1734