Sir George Oxenden, 5th Baronet

Oxenden was the son of George Oxenden LLD master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge and his wife Elizabeth Dixwell daughter of Sir Basil Dixwell Bt. In April 1720 he succeeded his brother Sir Henry Oxenden, 4th Baronet in the baronetcy[1] and in May 1720, he married Elizabeth Dunch, daughter of Edmund Dunch of Little Wittenham then in Berkshire.[2]

Elizabeth Dunch (Thomas Hudson (painter))

Oxenden was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Sandwich at a by-election on 9 May 1720 and was re-elected at the 1722 general election. He was appointed Lord of Admiralty in 1725. In 1727 he was re-elected MP for Sandwich and became Lord of Treasury in that year. He contested Kent as well as Sandwich in 1734. He was defeated at Kent but elected again for Sandwich. He lost his post as Lord of Treasury in June 1737 and became a supporter of the Prince of Wales faction at Leicester House. He was elected again for Sandwich at the general elections of 1741 and 1747 but stood down in 1754 on the promise of a government post for his son which never materialized.[2]

Oxenden was party to at least two scandals and earned a very bad reputation.[2] On the death of his uncle Sir Basil Dixwell, 2nd Baronet, who died in 1750, without any sons, Oxenden inherited the Dixwell estate, or what remained of it after debts had been paid.[3] As a condition of the inheritance he was required to take on the surname of Dixwell, but although he procured an Act of Parliament in 1751, to this effect,[4] it is not clear if he took the surname on in practice.

Oxenden died on 20 January 1775 aged 80 leaving three sons and three daughters. His son Henry succeeded in the baronetcy.

• Artnet Portrait by Edward Byng