Charles Gray Round

Charles Gray Round (28 January 1797 – 1 December 1867) was a barrister and the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for North Essex 1837–47. He also served as Recorder for Colchester, and as a magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant for Essex, as well as being a substantial local landowner and notable.

Round was educated at Winchester then Felsted (1810–1814), and graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, with first-class honours in classics in 1818 (BA) and 1821 (MA); he was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1822.

Round inherited from his father (also Charles) a great deal of land in Colchester, including Birch Hall, which he rebuilt 1843–8 as "a handsome mansion in the plain Ionic order". In the same way, he took possession of Colchester Castle and the accompanying Castle Park, originally under the ownership of Charles Gray. Round resigned his position as Recorder of Colchester in 1863. In 1838 he married his wife Emma Sarah (1819–1892); together they "promoted religion and education in the parish [of Birch], were diligent in charitable works, and provided some housing for estate workers." Having no children,