Sir Thomas Charles Bunbury, 6th Baronet (May 1740 – 31 March 1821) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons 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, 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 in 1788. Bunbury married firstly Lady Sarah, daughter of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond (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. 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, Eleanor and Smolensko. His racing silks 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