t a large portion of his collections, valued at nearly
three thousand pounds, through a fire in his chambers.[74] In 1741 he
was elected one of the representatives in Parliament for St. Albans, and
was appointed one of the Joint Secretaries of the Treasury, which post
he held until 1762. Three or four years later his patron the Duke of
Newcastle obtained for him a pension of two thousand a year. He sat for
St. Albans until 1768, and afterwards represented the constituency of
Boroughbridge in Yorkshire until his death on July the 2nd, 1772. He was
Recorder of Poole for many years, and also High Steward of St. Albans.
He married the daughter of Sir Thomas Stephens, timber merchant in
Southwark, with whom he had a large fortune in houses in Rotherhithe.

West had a great love for scientific and antiquarian pursuits, and as
early as 1726 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in the
following year a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, of which he
became a Vice-President. Of the first-named Society he was chosen
Treasurer in 1736 and President in 1768, which office he held during the
remainder of his life. In addition to his extensive and valuable
library of manuscripts and printed books, West collected paintings,
prints, and drawings, coins and medals, plate, and miscellaneous
curiosities. His collection of printed books was exceedingly rich in
early English ones. It contained no fewer than thirty-four Caxtons, and
a large number of works from the presses of Lettou, Machlinia, the
anonymous 'Scole mayster' of St. Albans, Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, and
the rest of the old English typographers, many of which were unique
copies. His manuscripts were exceptionally interesting and valuable.
These, with some exceptions, were bought by William, Earl of Shelburne,
afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne, and were subsequently purchased by
Parliament, together with the other manuscripts of the Marquis, for the
British Museum. Many of the manuscripts had previously belonged to
Bishop Kennet.

West's coins, pictures, prints, drawings, and museum of curiosities were
disposed of at various sales in the early part of 1773,[75] and on the
29th of March and twenty-three following days in the same year his
library was sold by Messrs. Langford[76] at his late dwelling-house in
King Street, Covent Garden.[77] There were four thousand six hundred and
fifty-three lots, which realised two thousand nine hundred and
twenty-seven pounds, one sh