Thomas de Grey

Thomas de Grey (1680 – 1765) of Merton, Norfolk, was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1708 and 1727.

Early life

De Grey was baptised on 13 August 1680, the eldest surviving son of William de Grey and his wife Elizabeth Bedingfield, daughter of Thomas Bedingfield of Darsham. Through a marriage settlement dated 10 September 1706, he married Elizabeth Windham, daughter of William Windham of Felbrigg, Norfolk with £4,500. His marriage brought him into connection with many Norfolk Whig families, although his father was a Tory.

At the 1715 British general election, de Grey was backed by Lord Townshend as a Whig candidate for Norfolk and he won the contest. He voted against the septennial bill of 1716 and joined the opposition (led by Townshend and Robert Walpole) against Lord Cadogan in June 1717. He abstained from the votes on the Peerage Bill and on repealing the Occasional Conformity Act and Schism Act, all in 1719. He did not want to stand again at the 1722 British general election, writing to Townshend asking:

Townshend did not let him stand down and he won the seat unopposed, but never stood again.

Death and legacy De Grey died in 1765 and was buried at Merton on 18 December 1765. He had two daughters and two surviving sons, Thomas and William.