Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Pattee Byng, 2nd Viscount Torrington, (25 May 1699 – 23 January 1747), was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1723 to 1733 when he succeeded to the peerage as

Viscount Torrington Viscount Torrington is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. History The Peerage was created in 1721 for the statesman Sir George Byng, 1st Baronet, along with the subsidiary title Baron Byng, of Southill in the County of Bedford, also in ...

. His career included service as

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a Government of the United Kingdom, UK Government post usually held by the Government Whip (politics), Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is Margaret Whe ...

during the reign of King George II.

Life and career

Byng was the eldest son of

George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, (27 January 1663 – 17 January 1733) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who represented Plymouth in the English and British House of Commons from 1705 to 1721. While still a lieu ...

by his wife Margaret Master. He joined the British Army as a

Cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

in the Royal Horse Guards in 1712 and later was

from 1715 to 1718. He resigned from the Army due to his father's elevation to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

. Byng replaced his father as Member of Parliament for

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

at a by-election on 31 October 1723. In 1724, he became the

Treasurer of the Navy The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. T ...

for the following decade, At the 1727 general election he was elected as MP for

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

. From 1727 to 1733 he continued to serve as Treasurer of the Navy while his father was

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

. In 1732 he became a Privy Councillor and a

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of Greenwich Hospital. He had to vacate his seat in the House of Commons in 1733 when he succeeded to the Torrington viscountcy on the death of his father. In 1734, upon taking his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, Byng was given the position of Vice-Treasurer and

Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The position is currently held by Nick Thomas-Symonds of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. History The post was ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and by 1746, he became

. He served in both positions until his death.

Marriage and children

On 11 June 1724 Byng married Lady Charlotte Montagu (1705 - 1759), 4th daughter of

Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester Charles Edward Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester, (''previously'' 4th Earl of Manchester) (20 January 1722) was a British aristocrat and statesman. Early life Charles was born into the Noble House of Montagu. He was the eldest son of the form ...

by his wife The Hon. Doddington Greville. By his wife, who later became a

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...

Augusta, Princess of Wales Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg ( – 8 February 1772) was Princess of Wales by marriage to Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son and heir apparent of King George II. She never became queen consort, as Frederick predeceased his father ...

, he had two sons, who both died as infants and predeceased him: *George Byng (1728-15 May 1730), died an infant. *Frederick Byng (9 December 1735 – 10 January 1736), died an infant. In 1727 his father settled the family seat at Southill Park, Bedfordshire on him.

Death and burial

Byng died on 23 January 1747 and was buried in the Byng vault in the Church of All Saints in Southill,

. He was survived by his wife who died on 14 September 1759.

Succession

Having died without surviving issue his title passed to his younger brother

George Byng, 3rd Viscount Torrington Major General George Byng, 3rd Viscount Torrington (21 September 1701 – 7 April 1750) (styled ''The Honourable George Byng'' from 1721 to 1747), of Southill Park in Bedfordshire, was a British Army officer and peer. Origins He was the 2nd sur ...

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrington, Pattee Byng, 2nd Viscount 1699 births 1747 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plymouth British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Pattee People from Wrotham People from Southill, Bedfordshire