Died 17 April 1812 | Parents Martin Annesley | |
 | ||
Francis Annesley (2 May 1734 – 17 April 1812) was an English politician, and the first Master of Downing College, Cambridge.
Contents
Life
He was the son of Martin Annesley D.D. of Bucklebury, Berkshire, where he has born. He was elected Member of Parliament for Reading in 1774, a position he held for 32 years. In 1800 he was elected Master of Downing College, and awarded an LL.D. degree by Cambridge. He died unmarried.
Family
Annesley had a family connection to Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet, founder of Downing College. Frances Downing, the 3rd Baronet's aunt as sister to Sir George Downing, 2nd Baronet, married John Cotton, son of Sir John Cotton, 3rd Baronet. Their daughter, Frances Cotton, married John Hanbury, and was mother to Mary Hanbury, who was Annesley's mother. He was heir to Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet, but the effective founding of Downing College was long delayed by litigation with other parties, in which he was heavily involved.