Thomas de Grey, 2nd Baron Walsingham PC (14 July 1748 – 16 January 1818), 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. ...

from 1774 to 1781 when he succeeded to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

Baron Walsingham Baron Walsingham, of Walsingham in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. This noble title was created in 1780 for Sir William de Grey on his retirement as Lord Chief Justice, who had previously served as Solicit ...

. He served as Joint Postmaster General and was for many years Chairman of Committees in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

Biography

Walsingham was the son of

William de Grey, 1st Baron Walsingham William de Grey, 1st Baron Walsingham PC KC (7 July 1719 – 9 May 1781), was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas between 1771 and 1780. de Grey was the third son of Thomas de Grey, MP, o ...

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...

,Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, and educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

from 1760 to 1765 and was admitted at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

in 1766. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Walsingham on 9 May 1781 and inherited his

Merton Hall, Norfolk Merton Hall is a 19th century country house in Merton, Norfolk, England. The extant north-west wing is a Grade II listed building. The 17th-century gatehouse, the 19th century stables and other associated buildings are also listed. The house st ...

estate from his uncle Thomas de Grey the same year. He served as

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

to King George III from 1771 to 1777. His other public posts included Lord of Trade (1777–1781), Under-Secretary of State for the American department (February 1778 – September 1780), Vice-

Treasurer of Ireland The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695. After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...

(1784–1787) and joint

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...

(1787–1794).

Political career

Walsingham sat 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 ...

for Wareham in 1774, for Tamworth from 1774 to 1780, and for

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 c ...

from 1780 to 1781, when he succeeded his father and took his seat in the House of Lords. In 1783 Lord Walsingham was admitted to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, and from 1794 to 1814 was Chairman of Committees in the

Family

Lord Walsingham married the Hon. Augusta Georgina Elizabeth Irby, daughter of

William Irby, 1st Baron Boston William Irby, 1st Baron Boston (8 March 1707 – 30 March 1775) was a British peer and Member of Parliament. Life Irby was the son of Sir Edward Irby, 1st Baronet and inherited his father's baronetcy in 1718. On 26 August 1746, he married Al ...

. He died in January 1818, aged 69, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsingham, Thomas De Grey, 2nd Baron 1748 births 1818 deaths Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge De Grey, Thomas De Grey, Thomas De Grey, Thomas De Grey, Thomas Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Fellows of the Royal Society United Kingdom Postmasters General People from Breckland District Thomas 2 People educated at Eton College