Peregrine Cust (1723 – 2 January 1785) was a British politician and

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 ...

(MP). He was also Deputy Chairman of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

in 1769.The India list and India Office list for ... - Great Britain. India Office - Google Books
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Family and early life

Cust was born in 1723 and

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

on 19 May 1723. He was the fourth son of

Sir Richard Cust, 2nd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, and a younger brother of Sir John Cust and

Francis Cust Francis Cockayne Cust (1722 – 30 November 1791) was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1770 and 1791. Cust was the second son of Sir Richard Cust, 2nd Baronet and his wife, Anne Brownlow, daughter of Sir Wi ...

, both future politicians. Peregrine was educated at

The King's School, Grantham The King's School is a British grammar school with academy status, in the market town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. The school's history can be traced to 1329, and was re-endowed by Richard Foxe in 1528. Located on Brook Street, the sch ...

, and apprenticed to a firm of linen drapers in 1739. He was sent to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

in 1743 for his further education, where he learnt

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Business career

He was a director of the

from 1767 to 1769, serving as deputy chairman from 1769 to 1770.

Political career

After investing £1,200 and having gained the interest of Charles Walcott, Cust was elected as MP for

Bishop's Castle Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales-England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west of ...

in 1761. He held the seat until 1768, when he was elected MP for New Shoreham. He represented New Shoreham until 1774, when he stood for

Ilchester Ilchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. Originally a Roman town, and later a market town, Ilchester has a rich medieval history and was a notable ...

. Though he was declared to have been returned, a subsequent petition uncovered evidence of bribery and the election was declared void. Cust did not stand in the resulting re-election, but instead stood for

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

in 1776, to which seat he was elected. He represented Grantham until 1780, when he again stood for Ilchester, and this time was declared duly elected. He was re-elected to the seat in 1784, and died the following year on 2 January 1785.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cust, Peregrine 1723 births 1785 deaths People educated at The King's School, Grantham Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Directors of the British East India Company Peregrine 1723