Robert Austen (3 August 1642 – 22 August 1696) 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 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 ...

in two periods between 1666 and 1696. Austen was the son of

Sir Robert Austen, 1st Baronet There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Austen, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain. Both creations are extinct. The Austen Baronetcy, of Bexley in the County of Kent, was cre ...

and his second wife. He was educated at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

and was a colonel in the militia. Austen was elected Member of Parliament for

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earli ...

on 4 October 1666 and held the seat until 1681. In 1668 he was deputy mayor of

and speaker of the

Cinque Ports The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

at the

Guestling Guestling is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located north-east of Hastings on the A259 road to Rye. Its parish church is dedicated to St Laurence. History Guestling, referred to in ...

court. Austen regained his seat at Winchelsea on 17 January 1689 and held it until his death aged 54 in 1696. He was Lord of the Admiralty and Commissioner for public accounts from 1691 and a Commissioner for Greenwich Hospital from 1695. Austen married Judith Freke, daughter of Ralph Freke of Hannington Wiltshire in September 1669.

References

1642 births 1696 deaths Lords of the Admiralty People from Winchelsea English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 Civil servants in the Audit Office (United Kingdom) {{1695-England-MP-stub