Sir Robert Austen, 4th Baronet (6 October 1697 – 7 October 1743), of Hall Place, Bexley, Kent, was an English 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. ...

in two periods between 1728 and 1741. Austen was the son of Sir Robert Austen, 3rd Baronet and his wife Elizabeth Stawell, daughter of George Stawell of Cothelstone Somerset. He succeeded to the title of 4th Baronet Austen of Hall Place in Bexley,

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 ...

upon the death of his father on 5 July 1706 . He matriculated at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

in 1715. He was

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

in 1724. Austen was seated on petition 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

New Romney New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, w ...

on 29 April 1728 after being defeated in the poll at the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

. He voted with the Opposition on the civil list, the Hessians, and the army, but voted for the excise bill, and abstained on the repeal of the Septennial Act. He was defeated 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 ...

, but was returned for New Romney at a by-election on 10 February 1736. He did not vote on the Spanish convention in 1739 nor on the place bill in 1740, and appears in a ministerial list of absent opposition Members on 21 November 1739. He married Rachael Dashwood, daughter of

Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet ( – 4 November 1724), of St. Botolph without Bishopsgate, London, and West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was a British merchant, landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1713. Ea ...

on 4 November 1738. He stood down at New Romney at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

in favour of his brother-in-law,

Sir Francis Dashwood Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer, PC, FRS (December 1708 – 11 December 1781) was an English politician and rake, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1762–1763) and founder of the Hellfire Club. Life and career Early life Dashwood wa ...

. Austen died without issue aged 46 on 7 October 1743, and was buried in Churchdown,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

.Cokayne, Vol.III p.78 He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his brother Sir Sheffield Austen, and was so much in debt that his estates went into Chancery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austen, Robert 1697 births 1743 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 High Sheriffs of Kent