Sir George Hay (25 January 1715 – 6 October 1778) was a British

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and 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. ...

between 1754 and 1778. He committed suicide. The son of John Hay, a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

clergyman who was Rector of St Stephen's, Coleman Street, London, he was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School and St John's College, Oxford.
Article by Sir Lewis Namier in History of Parliament Online. He was Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester 1751–64; King's Advocate General from 1755 to 1764 (with interval in 1756) and Vicar General to the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

for the same period; He was

Dean of Arches The Dean of the Arches is the judge who presides in the provincial ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This court is called the Arches Court of Canterbury. It hears appeals from consistory courts and bishop's disciplinary trib ...

1764–1778 and also Judge of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Chancellor of the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

for the same period. In 1773, the year he was knighted, he was appointed

Judge of the High Court of Admiralty The Judge of the High Court of Admiralty was established in 1483 he was the chief law officer of the High Court of Admiralty. The office holder was supported by various officials and existed until 1875. History The High Court of Admiralty was ...

. In 1754, he 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 Stockbridge, but left the

in 1756 to take up the post of

Commissioner of the Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...

. He returned to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in July 1757 for

Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs h ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, at the request of

Pitt the Elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

. At the 1761 election, he was returned as MP for

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

in Kent, holding that seat until the next election, in 1768, when he stood unsuccessfully for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Later that year, through a by-election, he became MP for

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

, holding the seat until his death. In May 1778, he became ill and was known to be 'lunatic' by August. Arrangements to terminate his legal offices were being made, when in October he escaped from his asylum and drowned himself at the age of 63. He never married.

References

1715 births 1778 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Newcastle-under-Lyme British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Alumni of St John's College, Oxford English lawyers Members of Doctors' Commons Lords of the Admiralty Suicides by drowning in England British politicians who committed suicide {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub