Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst
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Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst (1684 - 16 September 1775), was the eldest son of Sir Benjamin Bathurst (died 1704), by his wife, Frances (d. 1727), daughter of Sir Allen Apsley jr. 1616-1683, of Apsley, Sussex, and belonged to a family which is said to have settled in Sussex before the Norman Conquest.
He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford, and became member of parliament for Cirencester in May 1705, retaining his seat until December 1711, when he was created Baron Bathurst of Battlesden, Bedfordshire. As a zealous Tory he defended Atterbury, bishop of Rochester, and in the House of Lords was an opponent of Sir Robert Walpole. After Walpole left office in 1742 he was made a privy councillor, and in August 1772 was created Earl Bathurst, having previously received a pension of 2000 a year chargeable upon the Irish revenues. He died in 1775, and was buried in Cirencester church.
In July 1704 Bathurst married his cousin, Catherine (d. 1768), daughter of Sir Peter Apsley, by whom he had four sons and five daughters. The earl associated with the poets and scholars of the time. Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Prior, Sterne, and Congreve were among his friends. His name is listed as a founding governor on the royal charter of the Foundling Hospital, granted by king George II in 1739. He is described in Sterne's Letters to Eliza; was the subject of a graceful reference on the part of Burke speaking in the House of Commons; and the letters which passed between him and Pope are published in Pope's Works, vol. viii. (London, 1872).
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
| Honorary Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Duke of Bolton |
Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners 1742–1745 |
Succeeded by The Lord Hobart |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Earl Bathurst 1772–1775 |
Succeeded by Henry Bathurst |
