Pattee Byng, 2nd Viscount Torrington, (25 May 169923 January 1747), was a British Army officer 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. ...

from 1723 to 1733 when he succeeded to the peerage as

Viscount Torrington Viscount Torrington is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1721 for the statesman Sir George Byng, 1st Baronet, along with the subsidiary title Baron Byng, of Southill in the County of Bedford, also in the Peerage of Gre ...

. His career included service as

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a UK Government post usually held by the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is The 9th Earl of Courtown, who was appointed to the position in ...

during the reign of King George II.

Life and career

Byng was the eldest son of

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 ...

by his wife Margaret Master. He joined the British Army as a

Cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

in the Royal Horse Guards in 1712 and later was

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

from 1715 to 1718. He resigned from the Army due to his father's elevation to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

. Byng replaced his father 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

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

at a by-election on 31 October 1723. In 1724, he became the

Treasurer of the Navy The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. T ...

for the following decade, At the 1727 general election he was elected as MP for

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 ...

. From 1727 to 1733 he continued to serve as Treasurer of the Navy while his father was

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

. In 1732 he became a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

and a

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of Greenwich Hospital. He had to vacate his seat in the House of Commons in 1733 when he succeeded to the Torrington viscountcy on the death of his father. In 1734, upon taking his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, Byng was given the position of Vice-Treasurer and

Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and by 1746, he became

. He served in both positions until his death.

Marriage and children

On 11 June 1724 Byng married Lady Charlotte Montagu (1705 - 1759), 4th daughter of

Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester Charles Edward Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester, (''previously'' 4th Earl of Manchester) (20 January 1722) was a British aristocrat and statesman. Early life Charles was born into the Noble House of Montagu. He was the eldest son of the forme ...

by his wife The Hon. Doddington Greville. By his wife, who later became a

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mis ...

to Augusta, Princess of Wales, he had two sons, who both died as infants and predeceased him: *George Byng (1728-15 May 1730), died an infant. *Frederick Byng (9 December 1735 – 10 January 1736), died an infant. In 1727 his father settled the family seat at

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 on him.

Death and burial

Byng died on 23 January 1747 and was buried in the Byng vault in the Church of All Saints in Southill,

. He was survived by his wife who died on 14 September 1759.

Succession

Having died without surviving issue his title passed to his younger brother George Byng, 3rd Viscount Torrington.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrington, Pattee Byng, 2nd Viscount 1699 births 1747 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plymouth British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Pattee People from Wrotham People from Southill, Bedfordshire