Anthony Eyre (Boroughbridge MP)

Anthony Eyre (9 January 1727 – 14 February 1788) was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1784.

Anthony Eyre
Member of Parliament for
Boroughbridge
In office
1774–1784
Preceded byNathaniel Cholmley
Major-General Henry Clinton
Succeeded bySir Richard Sutton, Bt
Henry Temple
Personal details
Born(1727-01-09)9 January 1727
Died14 February 1788(1788-02-14) (aged 61)
Spouse
Judith Letitia Bury
(m. 1755; died 1788)
RelationsGervase Eyre (grandfather)
Parent(s)Anthony Eyre
Margaret Turner
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford

Early life

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Eyre was born on 9 January 1727. He was the only surviving son of Anthony Eyre (c. 1691–1748), High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, and his wife, Margaret Turner (d. 1748).[1] Among his siblings were elder brother Gervase (who died unmarried), Margaret Eyre (who married Bache Thornhill), Katherine Eyre (who married Matthew Dodsworth), and Mary Eyre (who married Anthony Cooke).[1]

His father was the eldest surviving son of Gervase Eyre of Rampton near East Retford, and Catherine Cooke (daughter and eventual heiress of Sir Henry Cooke, 2nd Baronet of Wheatley).[1] His maternal grandfather was Charles Turner of Kirkleatham, Yorkshire.[2]

He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford on 11 December 1745.[3]

Career

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Eyre was returned as Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge on the interest of the Duke of Newcastle at the 1774 general election. He was returned unopposed in 1780. In 1783 he voted against Newcastle on a matter of principle and in a letter of apology commented that he did not expect to be brought in at the 1784 general election and did not stand.[4]

Estates

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Eyre's father had torn down the old family manor house at Rampton, and moved to the family's other residence at Laughton-en-le-Morthen, South Yorkshire. He also bought an estate at Adwick le Street near Doncaster from his uncle, Sir George Cooke, 3rd Baronet, in 1733, and lived there until his death in 1748 when young Eyre succeeded to his father's estates of Rampton, Laughton-en-le-Morthen, and Adwick le Street.[2]

From his 1755 marriage to Judith, the Eyre family obtained the manor of Headon, and lands around Bilsby in eastern Lincolnshire, which were inherited from the Johnson family. In 1762, Eyre sold the Adwick estate and having acquired Grove Park near East Retford, and other land at Grove, Little Gringley and Ordsall, moved back to Nottinghamshire. He sold the Laughton estate in 1767.[5]

Personal life

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Portrait of his wife, the former Judith Letitia Bury, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1755

In 1755, Eyre married Judith Letitia Bury (1731–1800), a daughter of Catherine (née Hutchinson) Bury and John Bury of Grange, near Grantham. She was also the great-niece and heiress of Sir Hardolph Wasteneys, 4th Baronet, of Headon.[4] Together, they were the parents of:[2]

Eyre died in 1788 and was buried at Rampton All Saints, where he has a monument.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Biography of Anthony Eyre (c.1691-1748)". www.nottingham.ac.uk. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Biography of Anthony Eyre (1727-1788)". www.nottingham.ac.uk. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  3. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Eyre, Anthony" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  4. ^ a b c "EYRE, Anthony (1727-88), of Rampton, nr. East Retford, Notts". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  5. ^ "The Eyre and Harcourt-Vernon Families of Grove and Rampton: A Brief History". www.nottingham.ac.uk. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Biography of Anthony Hardolph Eyre (1757-1836)". www.nottingham.ac.uk. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  7. ^ A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours, Volume 4, John Burke Colburn, 1838.
  8. ^ The Gentleman's Magazine. p. 656.
  9. ^ Ralfe. The Naval Biography of Great Britain. p. 386.
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Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge
17741784
With: Charles Mellish
Colonel William Phillips
Charles Ambler
Succeeded by