Edward Astley 1729-1802

Sir Edward ASTLEY, 4th baronet 1729-1802

Astley's bookplate (British Museum Franks Collection 860)

Biographical Note

Son of Sir Jacob Astley of Melton Constable, 3rd bart, from whom he inherited the title and family estates in 1760. He was sheriff of Norfolk in 1763, and MP for Norfolk 1768-90. He employed Capability Brown to landscape the gardens of Melton Constable Hall in the 1760s, but the costs involved in this, and in contesting the 1768 parliamentary election, forced him to sell some of his estates.

Books

Astley's father used an engraved armorial bookplate (Franks 864), which he had slightly re-engraved for his won use (Franks 860). The extent of his library is not known; the estate and title were inherited by his son Jacob Henry, 5th bart (1756-1817).

Sources

• History of Parliament.
• Landed families of Britain and Ireland.
• Gambier Howe, E. R. J. Franks bequest: catalogue of British and American book plates bequeathed to the ... British Museum. London, 1903-4.