Anthony James Keck (c1740 – 1782) 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. ...

from 1765 to 1780. Keck was born in

Stoughton, Leicestershire Stoughton is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire. The population at the 2011 census was 351. Stoughton is east of Leicester, in countryside between two protrusions of the Leicester urban area (Thurnby to ...

, and educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, and

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

. He was

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

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

from 1765 to 1768, also for the

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

from 1768 to 1780. He lived at

Stoughton Grange Stoughton Grange was a country house in the parish of Stoughton in Leicestershire and the family seat of the Farnham and Beaumont family. The house dated back to 15th century but was demolished in 1926, after being a successful family home for over ...

until he moved to Lancashire in 1768 and died aged 42 years, on 28 February 1782. He is buried at St Mary and All Saints Church in Stoughton. along with numerous members of his family and descendants including his son,

George Anthony Legh Keck Colonel George Anthony Legh-Keck (1774–1860) was a British MP in the Georgian era who owned landed estates in Leicestershire and Lancashire. Early life Legh-Keck was born at Stoughton Grange, Leicestershire, the only surviving son of Anthon ...

(who was also MP for Leicestershire).

Family

He was descended from Thomas Keck (1617-1671) who was the elder brother of Sir Anthony Keck (1630-1695)(MP) Sir Anthony Keck. His father was Anthony James Keck of Lincoln's Inn, son of Rev David James and Martha Keck, and his mother was Anne Busby of Beaumont, daughter of William Busby and Catherine Beaumont his wife. His father was a

sergeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wri ...

, who worked with Thomas Vernon.His father changed his surname to Keck in 1736 which enabled the family to use the Keck coat of arms. Anthony James Keck, married Elizabeth Legh (the second daughter of Peter Legh of

Lyme Park Lyme Park is a large estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England, managed by the National Trust and consisting of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park in the Peak District National Park. The house is the largest in Chesh ...

and Martha Bennet of

Salthrop House Salthrop House is a country house about west of the village of Wroughton, Wiltshire, in England. It is Grade II listed on the National Heritage List for England. There was a large house on the site in the early 17th century. The present house ...

), and by her had six children as follows: There are marble plaques in remembrance for all the Keck family in the church of St Mary and All Saints in Stoughton. Elizabeth Legh remarried after the death of Anthony James Keck to William Bathurst Pye-Bennet and inherited the

Broad Hinton Broad Hinton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Swindon. The parish includes the hamlets of Uffcott and The Weir. Disambiguation This village of Broad Hinton near Swindon should not be confused with Broad ...

estate (from the new marriage) and Salthrop estate (from her mother Martha Legh (née Bennet)) as well as the estates belonging to Norborne Family of

Bremhill Bremhill is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about northwest of Calne and east of Chippenham. The name originates from '' 'Bramble hill'.'' Geography Bremhill civil parish is a rural area which stretches nort ...

, Wiltshire. The estates then passed to her surviving daughter Elizabeth Calley (née Keck).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keck, Anthony James 1740 births 1782 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People from Stoughton, Leicestershire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780