GRESLEY, Sir Thomas, 5th Bt. (1722-53), of Drakelow, Derbys.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754, ed. R. Sedgwick, 1970
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

30 Nov. - 23 Dec. 1753

Family and Education

b. 12 July 1722, 1st surv. s. of Sir Thomas Gresley, 4th Bt., by his 1st w. Dorothy, da. and coh. of Sir William Bowyer, 4th Bt., of Knypersley, Staffs. educ. Balliol, Oxf. 1739. m. 1749, Wilmot, da. and h. of Mr. Hood of Scraptoft, Leics. suc. fa. as 5th Bt. Oct. 1746.

Offices Held

Sheriff, Derbys. 1750-1.

Biography

Gresley, who had inherited large Staffordshire estates from his mother,1 was one of the heads of the Tory demonstration at Lichfield races in 1747. Chosen to stand for Lichfield at a by-election in 1753 against the ministerial candidate, he was described by Lady Anson as ‘the truest country cub I ever saw’.2 Returned after a contest, he died of smallpox a few weeks later, 23 Dec. 1753. On 29 Jan. 1754 the House of Commons resolved that he had not been duly elected.

Ref Volumes: 1715-1754

Author: Eveline Cruickshanks

Notes

  • 1. F. Madan, 'The Gresleys of Drakelow', Wm. Salt. Arch. Soc. n.s. i. 109.
  • 2. Staffs. Parl. Hist. (Wm. Salt Arch. Soc.) ii(2), pp. 253, 255.