Francis Hale Rigby

Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Hale Rigby (circa 1758 – 17 August 1827) was a British Member of Parliament.

Born Francis Hale, he was the son of General Bernard Hale by his wife Martha Rigby. He was probably educated at Eton College from 1768 to 1773, then at the University of Lausanne from 1773 to 1779. He was elected Member of Parliament for Mitchell on 22 September 1779, and followed his uncle Richard Rigby in supporting the North Ministry and then the Fox-North Coalition, losing his seat in 1784.

On 3 March 1785 he married Frances, daughter of Sir Thomas Rumbold, 1st Baronet; they had one daughter. He succeeded his uncle to the Mistley estate in Essex and adopted the surname of Rigby on 8 April 1788. On 10 January 1810 he was appointed Colonel of the Eastern Battalion of the Essex Militia.^[1]

Hale Rigby's daughter and heiress Frances (died 6 September 1860) was married on 9 February 1808 to William Horace Beckford, later 3rd Baron Rivers.^[2] They sold Mistley in 1844, when the Hall was demolished.^[3]

References

1. The London Gazette: no. 16335. p. 102. 20–23 January 1820.
2. Patrick Cracroft-Brennan, Rivers, Baron (UK, 1802 - 1880), in Cracroft's Peerage. Accessed 26 May 2012.
3. James Bettley and Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Essex (2007) page 599

Bibliography

• Christie, I. R. (1964). HALE, Francis (c.1758-1827). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790.