Thomas Grey Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton
1st Earl of Wilton, byCharles Turner, afterJohn Hoppner
Member of Parliament forLancashire
In office 1772–1784
Preceded by	Lord Archibald Hamilton andCharles Molyneux, 1st Earl of Sefton
Succeeded by	Thomas Stanley (1749–1816) andJohn Blackburne (1754–1833)
Personal details
Born	(1749-08-14)14 August 1749
Died	23 September 1814(1814-09-23) (aged 65)
Nationality	British
Spouse	Eleanor Assheton
Parents	Sir Thomas Grey Egerton, 6th Baronet (father) Catherine Copley (mother)

Thomas Grey Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton (14 August 1749 – 23 September 1814), known asSir Thomas Grey Egerton, Bt from 1766 to 1784, was a British politician who sat in theHouse of Commons from 1772 to 1784 when he was raised to thepeerage asBaron Grey de Wilton.

Egerton was the son of Sir Thomas Grey Egerton, 6th Baronet, of theEgerton family, and his wife Catherine Copley, daughter of Rev. John Copley of Batley, Yorkshire. He was educated atWestminster School in 1764. In 1766 he succeeded his father to thebaronetcy. He married Eleanor Assheton, youngest daughter ofSir Ralph Assheton, 3rd Baronet, of Middleton (d. 1765) on 12 September 1769.^[1]

Egerton was returned unopposed asMember of Parliament forLancashire at a by-election on 4 February 1772. He was re-elected unopposed in1774 and1780. In 1778 he raised a regiment of foot at Manchester to serve in the American War. He spoke in Parliament on matters relating to Lancashire, and its trade or industry in particular. He did not stand at the1784 general election.^[1]

On 15 May 1784, he was elevated to the barony of Grey de Wilton held by his ancestors, which was revived when he was raised to the peerage asBaron Grey de Wilton, ofWilton Castle in the County Hereford. The peerage was created with remainder to heirs male of his body. On 26 June 1801, he was further honoured asViscount Grey de Wilton andEarl of Wilton, of Wilton Castle in the County of Hereford, with remainder to the second and younger sons successively of his daughter Eleanor, wife ofRobert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster.

Egerton was listed as a subscriber to theManchester, Bolton and Bury Canal navigation in 1791.^[2]

Egerton died on 23 September 1814, aged 65. He had no male issue so the title of Baron Grey de Wilton became extinct as he had no sons, while the Baronetcy passed to a distant relativeSir John Grey Egerton, 8th Baronet. He was succeeded in the Viscountcy and Earldom, according to the special remainder, by his grandsonThomas Grosvenor Egerton.

He had one surviving daughter:

• Eleanor, who on 28 April 1794 marriedRobert Grosvenor, then Viscount Belgrave; in 1802, he became 2nd Earl Grosvenor, and in 1831, the 1st Marquess of Westminster.

• Baron Grey de Wilton
• Earl of Wilton

Bibliography

• Hansard 1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Wilton

• 1749 births
• 1814 deaths
• People educated at Westminster School, London
• Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
• Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Lancashire
• British MPs 1768–1774
• British MPs 1774–1780
• British MPs 1780–1784
• Grey family
• Hulme Trust

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