Peregrine Cust was a British politician and Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP).

Family and early life

Cust was born in 1723 and baptized on 19 May 1723. He was the fourth son of Sir Richard Cust, 2nd Baronet, and a younger brother of Sir John Cust

Sir John Cust, 3rd Baronet

Sir John Cust, 3rd Baronet PC was a British politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1761 to 1770....

 and Francis Cust, both future politicians. Peregrine was educated at The King's School, Grantham

The King's School, Grantham

The King's School is a British grammar school located in the market town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England, and one of the oldest schools in the UK.-History:...

, and apprenticed to a firm of linen drapers in 1739. He was sent to Holland in 1743 for his further education, where he learnt Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

.

Political career

After investing £1,200 and having gained the interest of Charles Walcott

Charles Walcott (MP)

Charles Walcott was a British politician.He served as Member of Parliament for Weymouth from 1763 to 1769 and also served as High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1782. A graduate of the University of Oxford, he lived at Bitterley Court, Bitterley, Shropshire...

, Cust was elected as MP for Bishop's Castle

Bishop's Castle (UK Parliament constituency)

Bishop's Castle was a borough constituency in Shropshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It was founded in 1584 and was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to...

 in 1761. He held the seat until 1768, when he was elected MP for New Shoreham

New Shoreham (UK Parliament constituency)

New Shoreham, sometimes simply called Shoreham, was a parliamentary borough centred on the town of Shoreham-by-Sea in what is now West Sussex...

. He represented New Shoreham until 1774, when he stood for Ilchester

Ilchester (UK Parliament constituency)

Ilchester was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832...

. Though he was declared to have been returned, a subsequent petition uncovered evidence of bribery and the election was declared void. Cust did not stand in the resulting re-election, but instead stood for Grantham

Grantham (UK Parliament constituency)

Grantham was a Parliamentary constituency in Lincolnshire, England.The constituency was created in 1468 as a parliamentary borough which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until the union with Scotland, and then to the Parliament of Great Britain...

in 1776, to which seat he was elected. He represented Grantham until 1780, when he again stood for Ilchester, and this time was declared duly elected. He was re-elected to the seat in 1784, and died the following year on 2 January 1785.