Henry Grey (17 August 1683 – 9 September 1740) was a British Whig 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 1709 and 1740. Grey was born as Henry Neville, the younger son of Richard Neville of

Billingbear House Billingbear House was situated in the parish of Waltham St. Lawrence in Berkshire, England, about six miles from Windsor. Originally owned by the Bishop of Winchester, the land was given to Sir Henry Neville (father of politician and diplomat, ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and his wife Katherine Grey, daughter of

Ralph Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Werke Ralph Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Werke (27 October 1630 – 15 June 1675) was an English peer. Early life Grey was baptised on 27 October 1630. He was the eldest son of William Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Werke and the former Cecilia Wentworth. The fam ...

. He travelled abroad in Holland, Germany, Italy and France between 1699 and 1700. In 1707, he changed his surname to Grey by Act of ParliamentDeed Poll Office: Private Act of Parliament 1706 (6 Ann.). c. 2
/ref> to inherit the estates of his uncle

Ralph Grey, 4th Baron Grey of Werke Ralph Grey, 4th Baron Grey of Werke (c. 1661 – 1706) was an English peer who served as Governor of Barbados and as one of the English commissioners for the negotiations on the Treaty of Union between England and Scotland. The second son of Ralp ...

, in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. Grey entered Parliament for

Wendover Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...

at a by-election on 21 November 1709, through the influence of his friend

Richard Hampden Richard Hampden (baptized 13 October 1631 – 15 December 1695) was an English Whig politician and son of Ship money tax protester John Hampden. He was sworn a Privy Counsellor in 1689 and was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 18 March 1690 unti ...

. He successfully contested this seat at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

, but was defeated when he stood at Orford in the same election. Financial difficulties and attempts to sell his northern estates precluded him from taking an active part in Parliament. He was politically a Whig, and voted against peace with Spain in 1711. He was defeated at

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...

, despite the Grey interest in that town, and at a by-election at Wallingford in 1714. Grey returned to Parliament as MP for Wallingford at a by-election on 1 December 1719. At the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

he was defeated at

, but was returned at a by-election on 11 March 1723 for Berwick-upon-Tweed, where his brother

Grey Neville Grey Neville (23 September 1681 – 24 April 1723) of Billingbear, Berkshire was an English landowner and politician who sat in the English House of Commons from 1705 to 1708 and in the British House of Commons between 1708 and 1723. Early life N ...

held the other seat. When his brother died later in 1723, he inherited his brother's estate of Billingbear House. He was returned 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 ...

for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Grey married Elizabeth Griffin, daughter of

James Griffin, 2nd Baron Griffin of Braybrooke James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

in 1720, but they had no children. He died on 9 September 1740.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Henry 1683 births 1740 deaths British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1734–1741 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

People from Waltham St Lawrence Neville family