Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington

Henry Gerard Sturt, 1st Baron Alington (16 May 1825 – 17 February 1904), was a British peer, Conservative Party politician and notorious landlord in the east end of London. The son of Henry Sturt,[1] he was created Baron Alington, of Crichel on 15 January 1876.

The Right Honourable The Lord Alington
"Bunny". Caricature by "Spy" published in Vanity Fair in 1876.
Member of Parliament for Dorset
In office 1856–1876
Member of Parliament for Dorchester
In office 1847–1856
Personal details
Born	Henry Gerard Sturt (1825-05-16)16 May 1825
Died	17 February 1904(1904-02-17) (aged 78)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Augusta Bingham ​ (m. 1853)​ Evelyn Herietta Leigh ​ ​ (m. 1892)​
Children	Humphrey Napier Sturt Winifred Selina Sturt Mildred Cecilia Harriet Sturt
Parent(s)	Henry Sturt (father)
Occupation	Politician

Sturt was twice married. On 10 September 1853, he wed Lady Augusta Bingham, the daughter of George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan. They had three children:-

• Humphrey Napier Sturt, 2nd Baron Alington (1859–1919) (died of wounds),
• Winifred Selina Sturt (1868–1914), and
• Mildred Cecilia Harriet Sturt (1869–1942), who herself made two notable marriages - first to Henry Cadogan, Viscount Chelsea, and, after his death, to Hedworth Lambton. On 4 December 1930, she also married Charles William Augustus Montagu.

On 10 February 1892, Sturt wed Evelyn Henrietta Leigh.[2]

Amongst other holdings, various branches of the family had owned land in London's east end for centuries and "Lord Alington, was still in possession of all but a small portion of the combined Pitfield estates in Hoxton when these were submitted to public auction in 1917."[3]

Lord Alington is one of the private landlords specifically named in relation to the terrible conditions in the East End in Charles Booth's London Poverty Maps. "Some private landlords were also criticised. Infant mortality in Shoreditch, one investigator recorded, was 22 per 1000, much higher than the London average. Quoting an anonymous interviewee, he drew attention to the 'disgraceful meanness' of Lord Allington, who owned the whole parish and 'drew £20,000 from the neighbourhood'."[4]