Sir Jacob Astley, 1st Baronet (ca. 163917 August 1729) of Melton Constable Hall, Norfolk was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

politician and baronet. Melton Constable Morris edited

Background

He was the oldest son of Edward Astley and his wife Elizabeth Astley, daughter of his uncle Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading. Astley was educated first at

Norwich School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a selective English independent day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 as a ...

, then

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

, and finally

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he matriculated on 19 June 1659. On 7 September of the same year on the death of his paternal uncle

Sir Isaac Astley, 1st Baronet Sir Isaac Astley, 1st Baronet (died 7 September 1659) was an English baronet. Information He was the second son of Thomas Astley and Frances Drane, daughter of George Deane. Astley was High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1641 and High Sheriff of Nor ...

, he inherited the estates of Hill Morton, Warwickshire and Melton Constable, and in 1688 the Maidstone, Kent estates of his cousin

Jacob Astley, 3rd Baron Astley of Reading Jacob Astley, 3rd Baron Astley of Reading (c. 1654 – 1688) was an English peer. He was the elder son of Isaac Astley, 2nd Baron Astley of Reading and his wife Anne Stydolfe, fourth daughter of Sir Francis Stydolfe. In 1662, he succeeded hi ...

. In 1664 he commenced the building of the present Melton Constable Hall. He sold the Kent estate in 1720.

Career

Having been already knighted, Astley was created a Baronet, of Hill Morton, in the County of

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

on 26 June 1660. He was appointed High Sheriff of Norfolk for 1664 before entering the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

in 1685 as MP for

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

until 1689. He represented the constituency again from 1690 to 1701, from 1702 to 1705 and a last time from 1710 to 1722. Astley was High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1664 and Commissioner of Trade between 1714 and 1717.

Family

On 6 February 1661, he married Blanche Wodehouse, eldest daughter of

Sir Philip Wodehouse, 3rd Baronet Sir Philip Wodehouse, 3rd Baronet (24 July 1608 – 6 May 1681) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1660. Wodehouse was the son of Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet, and Blanche, daughter of ...

. They had four sons and a daughter. Astley was buried at Melton Constable few days after his death. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his second and oldest surviving son Philip. MP

Philip Metcalfe Philip Metcalfe, , (29 August 1733 – 26 August 1818), was an English Tory politician, a malt distiller and a philanthropist. The Metcalfe family were from Yorkshire of the Catholic faith and Royalists during the Civil war. Family and early ...

was his great-grandson.

References

;Bibliography *

External links

* History of Parliament
Sir Jacob Astley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astley, Jacob 1630s births 1729 deaths People from North Norfolk (district) People educated at Norwich School Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of England British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 High Sheriffs of Norfolk Members of the Parliament of England for Norfolk Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Norfolk English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1702–1705 People from Rugby, Warwickshire