Son of Sir Jacob Henry Astley, 5th Bt (1756 – 1817) and Hester Browne (d.1855), daughter of Samuel Browne of King’s Lynn. He was High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1821 and 1822, and in 1832 he returned to Parliament for Norfolk West. He married Georgiana Caroline, daughter of Sir Henry Dashwood, 3rd Bt, MP of Kirtlington, Oxford, in 1819. She bore him two sons: Jacob Henry, later 17th Baron (1855 – 75); and Delaval Loftus, later 18th Baron (1825 – 72). In 1835 she bore a daughter, fathered by Thomas Garth, an affair which was satirised in the press (see the prints in the V&A by William Heath of the Cuckoldum Extraordinary [published 23 February 1827], and Riding a Roebuck (published in July 1827]). His errant wife, however, died soon after the birth in June 1835, age 39. He clearly had the makings of a connoisseur. He acquired the Fairfax Jewel (still at Seaton Delaval), and we know he owned a 16th century Italian maiolica dish, with a woman with a winged headdress, now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Astley revived the dormant Hastings barony, having fought against other branches of the family, but in 1841 the House of Lords Privileges Committee reported in his favour. He resided at Melton Constable, and had owned Seaton Delaval for only five years when the fire of 1822 destroyed the main block. He may have started repairs before his death. Exhibited at the RA 1826, along with the companion picture of his wife.

Provenance: accepted in lieu of tax by H.M.Treasury and transferred to the National Trust in 2009

Text from National Trust website

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland
Material: Oil on canvas
Artist: Henry William Pickersgill, RA (1782 – 1875)
Date: 1826

Image Details
Date: 29 September 2023
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/30s
ISO: 800
Licensing: Image of a National Trust asset. This image cannot be licensed.