Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford

Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (1676–1745), a Norfolk Whig, is regarded as Britain's first prime minister and held office longer than any successor. Born at Houghton, he entered Parliament in 1701. In 1712 he was impeached for corruption and spent six months in the Tower, returning to office in 1714.

After the South Sea Bubble collapse, he became First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1721. For twenty years, an era later dubbed the Robinocracy, he kept Britain out of European wars, held taxes low and encouraged trade, though he had to withdraw his 1733 excise scheme amid protest.

Pushed by king and Commons, he reluctantly went to war with Spain in 1739. After a narrow defeat in Parliament in 1742 he resigned and became Earl of Orford. He rebuilt Houghton Hall and filled it with Old Master paintings, dying on 18 March 1745.