The Hon. Anchitell Grey (c. 1624 – 8 July 1702) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in two periods between 1665 and 1695. Although he spoke rarely, he kept a detailed diary of proceedings in the House of Commons, summarising the speeches he heard. The diary, published in the 18th century, is the main surviving record for the debates in Parliament in most of the period that it covers.

Biography

Grey was the second son of

Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford ( 1599 – 21 August 1673), known as the Lord Grey of Groby from 1614 to 1628, was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the eldest son of Sir John Grey and Elizabeth Nevill. His mother was probabl ...

and his wife Lady Anne Cecil, daughter of

William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter (1566 – 6 July 1640), known as the third Lord Burghley from 1605 to 1623, was an English nobleman, politician, and peer. Life Exeter was the son of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, and Dorothy Neville, d ...

. He was the younger brother of

Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby (c. 16231657), was an elected Member of Parliament for Leicester during the English Long Parliament, an active member of the Parliamentary party and a regicide. He was the eldest son of Henry Grey, 1st Earl of St ...

. He was likely educated at home as little is known about his education. He married Anne, daughter and co-heir of Sir Henry Willoughby, 1st Baronet. Anne was the widow of

Sir Thomas Aston, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Aston, 1st Baronet (29 September 1600 – 24 March 1645) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640. He fought for the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. The portrait he commissioned from John Souch of his ...

. Anne inherited her father's estate at Risley Hall in Derbyshire and brought Grey connections that likely led to his early appointments to local office. Grey served as a commissioner for assessment in Derbyshire in 1657, and was appointed

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centu ...

for 1657–58. A Royalist, in 1659, he was arrested for supporting his brother-in-law

Sir George Booth George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer (18 December 1622 – 8 August 1684), was an English landowner and politician from Cheshire, who served as an MP from 1646 to 1661, when he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Delamer. A member of the ...

's uprising against the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament describes the members of the Long Parliament who remained in session after Colonel Thomas Pride, on 6 December 1648, commanded his soldiers to Pride's Purge, purge the House of Commons of those Members of Parliament, members ...

. After the Restoration, Grey was elected Member of Parliament for

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

in 1665 in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

. He was re-elected MP for Derby in 1679 for the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second Exclusion Parliament The Exclusion Bill Parliament was a Parliament of England during the reign of Charles II of England, named after the long saga of the Exclusion Bill. Summoned on 24 July 1679, but prorogued by the king so that it did not assemble until 21 Octob ...

s and again in 1681. In 1689 he was elected MP for Derby again and sat until 1695. Begun in 1667, Grey's parliamentary diary continued through 25 April 1694. Originally lost, Grey's manuscript ''Debates of the House of Commons from 1667 to 1694'' was first published in 10 volumes in 1763 after it was found, and republished most recently in 2007. Grey died of cancer of the mouth at Risley Hall in the summer of 1702, and was buried next to Anne, who had died in 1688. He and Anne had a son, Willoughby (died 1701), and a daughter, Elizabeth (died 1721). Both his children died unmarried. His daughter was a benefactor to three schools at Risley founded by her ancestor, Sir Michael Willoughby.

References

External links

''Debates of the House of Commons from 1667 to 1694''
the 18th-century edition of Grey's diary. Full-text available on British History Online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Anchitell 1620s births 1702 deaths People from Risley, Derbyshire High sheriffs of Nottinghamshire English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 Members of the Parliament of England for Derby Younger sons of earls