Sir George Colebrook acquired Gatton Park, near Reigate, Surrey, from his brother, Sir James Colebrooke, a prominent London banker and M.P. for Gatton. Sir George himself was M.P. for Arundel between 1754 and 1774 and Director (1767) and Chairman (1769) of the East India Company. He commissioned Capability Brown to lay out the grounds of Gatton Park in 1762-68. As a close supporter of the Duke of Newcastle's government he secured lucrative government contracts and speculated in land on a large scale in both Britain and North America. In 1771 however his fortunes seriously declined and in 1773 his bank closed. The following year he sold Gatton Park and in 1777 was declared bankrupt and withdrew to Boulogne, where he lived on an East India Company pension. He owned two Wilson paintings, P156 Near Rome, Private Collection and P69, Ego fui in Arcadia, Private Collection.
