Sir Gregory Page-Turner, 3rd Baronet (16 February 1748 – 4 January 1805) was a wealthy landowner and politician in late 18th century

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, serving 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 ...

(MP) for

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological fin ...

for 21 years. Gregory Turner ("Page" was added later) was the eldest son of

Sir Edward Turner, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward Turner, 2nd Baronet (28 April 1719 – 31 October 1766) was one of the Turner baronets of Ambrosden and a Member of Parliament. Life Turner was the son of Sir Edward Turner, 1st Baronet and his wife Mary.Lobel, 1957, pages 15-30 He ...

Ambrosden Ambrosden is a village and civil parish in Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England, southwest of Bicester to which it is linked by the A41 road, and from Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,248. The parish is bounded by the ...

near

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. Gregory succeeded him to become the third Turner baronet on 31 October 1766.

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...

painted Sir Gregory's portrait in about 1768. In 1771, Sir Gregory sold the manor of

Wendlebury Wendlebury is a village and civil parish about southwest of Bicester and about from Junction 9 of the M40. It lends its name to Wendlebury Interchange, a major junction between the A34, A41, and M40 roads. A stream flows through the centre o ...

, Oxfordshire, which his father had bought in 1764, to his father's steward John Pardoe. In 1775 he inherited substantial estates in northwest

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

(today part of southeast

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) from his great-uncle Sir Gregory Page, and added "Page" to his surname. These included a mansion and of estates at Wricklemarsh (today part of

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

), which were sold in 1783 for £22,000 to

John Cator John Cator (21 March 1728 – 26 February 1806) was an English timber merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1772 and 1793. He became a landowner and property developer with estates in later life in: Blackheath, Beckenh ...

. That year he served as

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...

and then as MP for

from April 1784 until his death in 1805. Sir Edward Turner, 2nd Baronet had a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

, Ambrosden House, built by the architect

Sanderson Miller Sanderson Miller (1716 – 23 April 1780) was an English pioneer of Gothic revival architecture and landscape designer. He is noted for adding follies or other Picturesque garden buildings and features to the grounds of an estate. Early life ...

in the 1740s.Lobel, 1957, pages 15-30 Sir Gregory never lived at Ambrosden, thought the house too big and in 1767 sought to demolish part of it to make it smaller. This proved impractical so in 1768 he had the entire house demolished. He died at the age of 56 and was buried in Bicester. He had married Frances, the daughter of Joseph Howell. Their son Gregory Osborne Page-Turner (1785–1843) succeeded him to become the fourth baronet.

References

Sources

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Page-Turner, Sir Gregory, 3rd Baronet 1748 births 1805 deaths Turner baronets Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 High Sheriffs of Oxfordshire