Sir Thomas Charles Bunbury, 6th Baronet (May 1740 – 31 March 1821) was a British 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. ...

between 1761 and 1812. He was the first husband of

Lady Sarah Lennox Lady Sarah Lennox (14 February 1745 – August 1826) was the most notorious of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sarah Cadogan. Early life After the deaths of both her parents when she was only fi ...

. Bunbury was the eldest son of Reverend Sir William Bunbury, 5th Baronet, Vicar of

Mildenhall, Suffolk Mildenhall is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. The town is near the A11 and is located north-west of Ipswich, the county town.Ordnance Survey (2006). ''OS Explorer Map 226 - Ely & Newmarket''. . The large Royal Air Force stati ...

, and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Vere Graham. The caricaturist Henry Bunbury was his younger brother. He was educated at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

. Bunbury was returned to Parliament as one of two representatives for

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

in 1761, a seat he held until 1784 and again from 1790 to 1812. He was also

High Sheriff of Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...

in 1788. Bunbury married firstly Lady Sarah, daughter of

Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Aubigny, (18 May 17018 August 1750) of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was a British nobleman and politician. He was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmo ...

(a grandson of Charles II), and one of the famous Lennox sisters, in 1762. Their notorious marriage, which produced no children (although Sarah gave birth to a daughter by her lover,

Lord William Gordon Lord William Gordon (1744–1823) was a Scottish nobleman. Background He was the second son of Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon (1720–1752) and his wife Lady Catherine Gordon (1718 – 10 December 1779), daughter of William Gordon, 2nd Ear ...

, in 1769), was dissolved by Act of Parliament in 1776 (on the grounds of Sarah's adultery). He married secondly Margaret Cocksedge in 1805. There were no children from this marriage either. Bunbury died in March 1821, aged 80, and was succeeded by his nephew,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

. Margaret, Lady Bunbury, died in February 1822. Bunbury was an important figure in the field of horse-racing. His influence has been described as "crucial". He was a steward of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...

and his horses included The Derby winners

Diomed Diomed, foaled in 1777, was an English Thoroughbred race horse who won 1780 Epsom Derby, the inaugural running of Epsom Derby, the Derby in 1780. He was subsequently a successful sire in the United States. Racing years A bright chestnut standin ...

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

and Smolensko. His

racing silks A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual w ...

were pink and white stripes.

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, , * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunbury, Charles, 6th Baronet 1740 births 1821 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of England British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 British racehorse owners and breeders High Sheriffs of Suffolk Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Owners of Epsom Derby winners UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 Chief Secretaries for Ireland