Sir Basil Firebrace, 1st Baronet

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Sir Basil Firebrace, 1st Baronet (1652 – 7 May 1724) was a supplier of wines to the royal household, Sheriff of London, and MP for Chippenham, Wiltshire, from 1690 to 1692. He was prosecuted for fraud and bribery, acquitted, and created a baronet in 1698.

Early life[]

Firebrace was the second son of Sir Henry Firebrace, a courtier to both Charles I and Charles II, and Elizabeth Dowell; he was born in 1652.[1]

Career[]

Firebrace became a vintner and supplier of wines to the royal household.[2] He went into partnership with Samuel Shepheard.[3] He was Sheriff of London in 1687, and knighted; he was also appointed Colonel of the Orange Regiment of the London militia.[1] He was admitted into the Worshipful Company of Vintners the following year and became an Alderman for Billingsgate.[4][5]

He was elected MP for Chippenham as a Tory on 9 December 1690, but the election was declared void almost a year later, on 1 December 1691, and was re-run on 14 December. He again won but an election petition unseated him in favour of Thomas Tollemache on 22 January 1692.[6] In 1694 he purchased , Enfield Chase, where he resided until 1716.[7]

Contemporary pamphlet detailing Parliamentary proceedings against Firebrace and others

Firebrace also became a prominent figure in the East India Company[8] and was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Parliament for bribery and fraud in relation to its activities.[9][10] In April 1695 the House of Lords ordered that he be kept in "close confinement", having no contact with other prisoners.[11] He was perhaps more of a go-between than a principal,[12] and although criticised for his entrepreneurialism, he was eventually acquitted of all charges.[13]

He was appointed 1st Baronet Firebrace in 1698 by King William III.,[14] was bankrupted in 1701 and again imprisoned, for stabbing a creditor.[2]

Marriage and family[]

He married Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant Thomas Hough on 7 September 1671, at St Margaret's, Westminster.[1]

They produced five children, two of whom, Basil and Thomas, died in infancy.[7] Of the survivors, Hester (c. 1675- c.1725) married Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh, (1680–1727) later inherited the baronetcy[14] and their final child, George, was born in 1681.[7]

Firebrace died on 7 May 1724;[2] W. H. Auden was among his descendants.[15]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c "Fabian – Fyge". British History Online. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Wright, Stephen (September 2004). "Firebrace, Sir Henry (1619/20)-1691". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9480. Retrieved 3 May 2010. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ "Shepheard, Samuel I (c.1648-1719), of St. Magnus the Martyr, and Bishopsgate Street, London". www.histparl.ac.uk. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  4. ^ Beaven 1908, pp. 168–195
  5. ^ Beaven 1908, pp. 75–119
  6. ^ "THE HOUSE OF COMMONS CONSTITUENCIES BEGINNING WITH "C"". www.leighrayment.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2010.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ a b c "Basil Firebrace b. 1652 Westminster, London, England d. 7 May 1724". www.halhed.com. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  8. ^ Hayton, David; Eveline Cruickshanks; Stuart Handley (2002). The House of Commons, 1690–1715. 1. Cambridge University Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780521772211. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  9. ^ West Lodge
  10. ^ "An exact collection of the debates and proceedings in Parliament,[CORRUPTION.] – Bernard J Shapero Rare Books". www.shapero.com. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  11. ^ "House of Lords Journal Volume 15 – 25 April 1695". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  12. ^ http://www.kouroo.info/kouroo/transclusions/18/31/EminentBritishStatesmen_EarlOfDanby.pdf
  13. ^ "Online Library of Liberty – BOOK I.: 1527–1707. – The History of British India, vol. 1". oll.libertyfund.org. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  14. ^ a b Lundy, Darryl. "thePeerage.com – Person Page 2627". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 4 May 2010.[unreliable source]
  15. ^ "Sir Basil Firebrace Bt MP – I904 – Individual Information – PhpGedView". auden.stanford.edu. Retrieved 4 May 2010.

References[]

Parliament of England
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Chippenham
1690–1692
With: Alexander Popham 		Succeeded by
Baronetage of England
New creation Baronet
(of London)
1698–1724 		Succeeded by

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