George Byng (1735 – 27 October 1789) of

Wrotham Park Wrotham Park (pronounced , ) is a neo-Palladian English country house in the parish of South Mimms, Hertfordshire. It lies south of the town of Potters Bar, from Hyde Park Corner in central London. The house was designed by Isaac Ware in 17 ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

(now in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

), 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 1768 to 1784.

Origins

He was the eldest son of Robert Byng (1703-1740),

Governor of Barbados This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...

, by his wife Elizabeth Forward, a daughter and co-heiress of Jonathan Forward. He was a grandson of Admiral

George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, (27 January 1663 – 17 January 1733), of Southill Park in Bedfordshire, was a Royal Navy officer and statesman. While still a lieutenant, he delivered a letter from various captains t ...

(1663-1733) of

Southill Park Southill Park contains the site of late medieval Gastlings or Gastlyns Manor House and is the name given to a country house in Southill, Bedfordshire and its adjoining privately owned gardens and separate public parkland; it includes a lake and wo ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

Career

He inherited the estate of

from his unmarried and childless uncle Admiral

John Byng Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a British Royal Navy officer who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Passa ...

(1704-1757), famously court-martialled and shot in 1757 following the

fall of Minorca The siege of Fort St Philip, also known as the siege of Minorca, took place from 20 April to 29 June 1756 during the Seven Years' War. Ceded to Great Britain in 1714 by Spain following the War of the Spanish Succession, its capture by France thr ...

. At the 1768 general election Byng was elected as a

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

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

. He was returned unopposed for Wigan in 1774. He was returned unopposed as MP for

at the 1780 general election but was defeated in a contest in 1784.

Marriage and progeny

On 5 March 1761 Byng married Anne Conolly (died 1806), daughter of

William James Conolly William James Conolly (died 2 January 1754) was an Irish landowner and Whig politician who sat in the Irish House of Commons from 1727 to 1754 and in the British House of Commons from 1734 to 1754. Early life Conolly was a nephew of William Con ...

(d.1754) by his wife Lady Anne Wentworth, a daughter of

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, (13 April 1593 ( N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1 ...

(1672–1739). William James Conolly was an Irish

and was the nephew and heir of

William Conolly William Conolly (9 April 1662 – 30 October 1729), also known as Speaker Conolly, was an Irish politician, Commissioner of Revenue, lawyer and landowner. Career William Conolly was born the son of an inn-keeper, Patrick Conolly, in Ballysh ...

(1662-1729), of

Castletown House Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centrepiece of an estate. Sold to developers in 1965, the estate ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

Speaker of the Irish House of Commons The Speaker of the Irish House of Commons was the presiding officer of the Irish House of Commons until its disestablishment in 1800. In the absence of a government chosen from and answerable to the Commons, the Speaker was the dominant politica ...

, reputed to be the wealthiest man in Ireland. By his wife he had progeny including: * George Byng (1764–1847), eldest son and heir, MP, of

and of Wentworth House, 5, St James's Square, London, built in 1748-51 by his maternal relative

William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford (8 June 1626 – 16 October 1695), KG, of Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire, was a prominent landowner. Origins He was born at Wentworth Woodhouse, the only surviving son of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Ea ...

(1722–1791). He married but left no children. *Field Marshal

John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford Field Marshal John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford (1772 – 3 June 1860) was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and Irish Rebellion of 1798, he became Commanding Officer of ...

(1772-1860), 2nd son and heir to his childless brother.

Death

He died on 27 October 1789.

References

Torrington, Viscount (GB, 1721)
1735 births 1789 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub