Sir Thomas Alston, 5th Baronet (23 March 1724 – 18 July 1774) was an English

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and Member of Parliament.

Namier Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier (; 27 June 1888 – 19 August 1960) was a British historian of Polish-Jewish background. His best-known works were ''The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' (1929), ''England in the Age of the Ameri ...

''et al.'', ''The House of Commons 1754-1790'', Vol. 3, p.18 Thomas Alston was the eldest son of

Sir Rowland Alston, 4th Baronet Sir Rowland Alston, 4th Baronet (1679 – 2 January 1759) of Odell, Bedfordshire, was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1741. Alston was baptized on 6 September 1679, the fourth son of Sir Rowland Alston, 2n ...

Odell, Bedfordshire Odell is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, north Bedfordshire, England, approximately north-west of Bedford town centre, near the villages of Harrold, Felmersham, Sharnbrook and Carlton. History Roman and Saxon p ...

, by his wife, Elizabeth Raynes. He was born on 23 March 1724 and baptised at St. James Church, Westminster nearly one month later, 22 April 1724.''England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975'' He was admitted at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

in 1740. From 1747 to 1761 he was 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 ...

. In 1750 he married Catherine Davie Bovey, but separated from her by mutual consent two years later. Confined for a while to a madhouse, he was nevertheless re-elected to Parliament unopposed in 1754.

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

reported a sorry appearance 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 November 1755: "Poor Alston was mad, and spoke ten times to order." On 2 January 1759, he succeeded his father as 5th

. He did not stand for Parliament in 1761. Alston died 18 July 1774, leaving his property (

Odell Castle Odell Castle was an 11th-century castle in the village of Odell, in the county of Bedfordshire, England. The land where Odell Castle stood was originally owned by Levenot, a thegn of King Edward the Confessor. At the time, the land and villa ...

) to his housekeeper Margaret Lee, through whom it eventually made its way to his illegitimate son Thomas. He was buried at Odell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Thomas, 5th Baronet 1724 births 1774 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of England British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Whig members of the Parliament of Great Britain People from the Borough of Bedford