As Lord Grantham he was a founding member of The Yacht Club, and in fact chaired the first meeting on 1 June 1815.
The statue of a mermaid on the Haven's breakwater commemorates the name of his yacht at the time.
Born as Thomas Robinson in 1781, he was the eldest son of a President of the Board of Trade and brother of a future Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister.
He changed his surname to Weddell as a result of an inheritance in 1803, then to de Grey as a result of another in 1833.
He became the 3rd Baron Grantham in 1786, the 6th Baronet Robinson of Newby in 1792, and finally 2nd Earl de Grey and 5th Baron Lucas of Crudwell in 1833.
His inheritance consisted of large estates in Bedfordshire and Yorkshire, including two splendid country houses and the ruins of Fountains Abbey.
After studying at St John's College, Cambridge (1798-1801), he made a Grand Tour through Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and (in the intervals of war) France, immersing himself in the artistic and architectural treasures of Europe. On his return he developed his interest in architecture, designing a new interior and staircase for his London home at 4 St James's Square (now the Naval & Military Club) and an extension to the prison in Ripon (now the Ripon Museum). He contributed to the design of the United Service Club in Pall Mall, of which he was a leading member, restored Fountains Abbey, and maintained two great neoclassical houses in Yorkshire: Newby Park and Newby Hall. He went on to design and build a magnificent new family seat at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire inspired by his studies of Frencha rchitecture.
He was a founder and first President of the Institute of British Architects (1834-59), ensuring that it fulfilled abroad educational and philanthropic purpose, with bursaries for students of architecture who showed outstanding ability, prizes for achievement, and lectures from eminent British and foreign architects visiting London.
He was an MP, Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire 1818-1859, First Lord of the Admiralty 1834-5, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1841-1844. He was Colonel of the Yorkshire Hussars and yeomanry aide-de-camp to William IV and Queen Victoria; an exemplary public figure and by all accounts a kind, cultivated and courteous man. He built a summer house in 1809-11 at West Cowes, about 150 yards west of the Royal Yacht Squadron's Castle (the site is now occupied by a block of flats, Grantham Court), and sailed a 21-ton cutter, the Mermaid.
He died in 1859.