The Hon. Sir John Cust, 3rd Bt of Pinchbeck and 6th Bt of Humby (1718-1770)...

Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (Plympton 1723 - London 1792). Oil painting on canvas, The Hon. Sir John Cust, 3rd Bt of Pinchbeck and 6th Bt of Humby MP (1718-1770) in Speakers robes by Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (Plympton 1723 - London 1792). 1761. Full-length portrait of a mature man, standing, facing, head turned to the left, hazing to the left, dressed in grey full-bottomed wig and Speaker's robes in an interior with a copy of the Speakers speech on a table beside him. Arched window on the right showing distant landscape and cloudy sky. Dated 2 Dec 1761. Shown in his robes as Speaker of the House of Commons (1761-70) and painted just before his re-election to this office. His wig had a sitting all of its own! Cust holds the first Bill he presented to George III for signature, to provide a settlement for Queen Charlotte in the case of the king's death. He died five days after resigning the post from exhaustion, mostly caused by the demagogue John Wilkes. The Rt. Hon. Sir John Cust, 3rd Bt. of Pinchbeck and 6th Bt. of Humby (1718-70) was born on 29 August 1718. He was baptised on 25 September 1718 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London. Son of Sir Richard Cust (1680-1734), 2nd Bt. of Pinchbeck and Anne Brownlow (1694-1779). He was educated at Eton College, and succeeded to the title of 3rd Baronet Cust, of Stamford on 25 July 1734. He graduated from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in 1739 with an M.A. He was admitted to the Middle Temple on 26 November 1742. Married Etheldred Payne (1720-75) daughter of Thomas Payne and Elizabeth Folkes, on 8 December 1743. He was MP for Grantham 1743-1770. He held the office of Clerk of the Household to Frederick, Prince of Wales 1747-1751, and was Steward of the Household to the Dowager Princess of Wales, 1751, and Clerk of the Household to George Prince of Wales 1751 and 1760. He held the office of Speaker of the House of Commons between 3 November 1761 and 19 January 1770 Father of Sir Brownlow Cust (1744-1807), 7th Bt. of Humby, who was created Baron Brownlow in 1776. The peerage conferred on his son was his posthumous recompense as Speaker. He died on 24 January 1770 at age 51. Belton House, Lincolnshire (Accredited Museum)