George Osbaldeston

Who was George Osbaldeston?

"Squire" George Osbaldeston was an English sportsman and politician.

Osbaldeston spent his childhood at Hutton Buscel, the family estate in Yorkshire. His father died when he was six, so he and his three sisters were brought up by his mother, Jane, who despite being a great political hostess, was wildly extravagant and squandered much of his inheritance. He spent most of his life trying to recover from this poverty, mainly by trying to win bets and sporting competitions. For example, in 1831 he won an endurance horse race for a prize of 1,000 guineas. The money he made from these sorts of wins were overshadowed by the gambling debts of around £200,000 which eventually forced him to sell his house and led to his dying almost penniless. His will states that he left effects to the value of under ₤100