Background
His father had been killed in a duel in 1661 and at the time of the succession he was aged eight. He had been born at Eaton Hall, Cheshire, and his mother was Christian, daughter of Thomas Myddleton of Chirk Castle, Denbighshire.
His father had been killed in a duel in 1661 and at the time of the succession he was aged eight. He had been born at Eaton Hall, Cheshire, and his mother was Christian, daughter of Thomas Myddleton of Chirk Castle, Denbighshire.
He was educated by a private tutor, who also accompanied him when he undertook the Grand Tour, in his case, a three-year educational tour of France, Italy and the Levant, starting in 1670.
On his return he set about building a new house at Eaton. At that time the family house was a medieval moated house. The new house was the first substantial one to be built and it was constructed to the north of the older house.
Grosvenor appointed the architect William Samwell to design it and building started in 1675.
By 1683 over £1,000 (£140,000 as of 2016) had been spent on the hall. The money for this venture came partly from the estates, and also from coal and lead mines, and from stone quarries in north Wales, that were owned by the family.
Grosvenor played his part in public life. In 1677 he was granted the freedom of Chester and later the same year he became an alderman.
In 1685 he became Mayor of Chester and later that year raised a troop of horses to support James II in the Monmouth Rebellion.
Grosvenor served as sheriff of Cheshire in 1688-1689. Because of this, and because Eaton Hall was used as a meeting place for Catholics, Grosvenor"s loyalty to the king was questioned. However he continued openly as an Anglican until his death.
This occurred in 1700, and he was buried in Eccleston church.
Exclusion Bill Parliament. Habeas Corpus Parliament]
He was the first member of the family to build a substantial house on the present site of Eaton Hall in Cheshire. Two years later he was returned as a Member of Parliament for Chester for the first time, in what became known as the Habeas Corpus Parliament.
In all he was to serve in six parliaments.