BECKFORD, Peter (?1739-1811), of Steepleton Iwerne, Dorset

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790, ed. L. Namier, J. Brooke., 1964
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

1768 - 1774

Family and Education

b. ?1739, o.s. of Julines Beckford. educ. Westminster Jan. 1748, aged 8; New Coll. Oxf. 12 Apr. 1757, aged 17; Grand Tour (France, Switzerland, Italy). m. 22 Mar. 1773, Louisa, da. of George Pitt of Strathfieldsaye, Hants, 2s. 3da. suc. fa. 1764.

Offices Held

Biography

Beckford stood for Morpeth in 1768 on the Carlisle interest, recommended by the Duke of Grafton; and was returned after a contest. No speech by him is recorded, and his name appears in only one division list: that of the minority on the Spanish convention, 13 Feb. 1771. In Robinson’s first survey on the royal marriage bill he is classed as ‘doubtful, present’, in the second as ‘pro, present’; and in Robinson’s electoral survey of September 1774 as ‘doubtful’. He did not stand in 1774.

He was more interested in hunting than in politics; and his book, Thoughts upon Hare and Fox Hunting (1781), is one of the classics of the sport

He died 18 Feb. 1811, aged 71.

Ref Volumes: 1754-1790

Author: John Brooke

Notes