Bourchier Cleeve (1715–1760) was an English

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades ...

er and writer of pamphlets.

Life

A prosperous pewterer in London, he was the son of Alexander Cleeve, pewterer in Cornhill, who died on 11 April 1738. He was given the freedom of the City of London in 1736, at the age of 21. In 1755 Cleeve paid a fine to be excused serving the office of

sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

Around that date Cleeve acquired an estate in

Foots Cray Foots Cray is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Sidcup. History It took its name from Godwin Fo ...

, Kent, once the property of Sir Francis Walsingham. He pulled down the old house, and erected, at some distance north of it, a

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

mansion of freestone. He enclosed a park round it, with plantations of trees, and an artificial canal. This house was known as

Foots Cray Place Foots Cray Place was one of the four country houses built in England in the 18th century to a design inspired by Palladio's Villa Capra near Vicenza. Built in 1754 near Sidcup, Kent, Foots Cray Place was demolished in 1950 after a fire in 1949. ...

. It has been attributed to the architect

Isaac Ware Isaac Ware (1704—1766) was an English architect and translator of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. Early life Ware was born to a life of poverty, living as a street urchin and working as a chimney sweep, until he was adopted by ...

, on the basis of a 19th-century listing;

Howard Colvin Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field: ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840' ...

regards the attribution as "acceptable" on style ground, but there is no direct evidence. The house was damaged by fire in 1949, and demolished. Cleeve also acquired much other land in Kent before his death on 1 March 1760.

Works

Cleeve wrote ''A Scheme for preventing a further Increase of the National Debt, and for reducing the same'' (1756), inscribed to the Earl of Chesterfield (1756). The scheme was to impose a high tax on houses, and to repeal an equivalent amount of taxes on "commodities". Part of this tract was taken up with estimates of the amount subtracted in taxes from incomes. Cleeve's estimates were exaggerated, as was shown by Joseph Massie's ''Letter to Bourchier Cleeve, Esq., concerning his Calculations of Taxes'' (1757). He wrote another pamphlet, on the staffing of the navy.

Family

Cleeve married Mary Haydon in 1740 or 1741. Mary gave birth to three children: * Richard Haydon Cleeve christened at St Michael, Cornhill 1743-12-14 * Ann Cleeve christened at

St Alfege Church, Greenwich St Alfege Church is an Anglican church in the centre of Greenwich, part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London. It is of medieval origin and was rebuilt in 1712–1714 to the designs of Nicholas Hawksmoor. Early history The church is ded ...

1745-07-17 * Bourchier Cleeve christened at St Michael, Cornhill, 1746-11-26 His will was made in 1759 and only mentions Ann. Bourchier died at Foots Cray Place on 1760-03-01, having last modified his will two days earlier. It's not clear when Mary died, but Ann eventually inherited the estates, which in 1765 came into the possession of

Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet, KCB, PC (17 July 1731 – 25 September 1812), of Escot House in the parish of Talaton in Devon, England, was a British Secretary at War (1782–1783 and 1783–1794). He succeeded to his father's baronetcy in ...

, by his marriage with her.

Wealth

The source of Cleeve's enormous wealth is not at all clear. He bought the manor of Limpsfield in Surrey on 1750-12-28 for £15800. This included over 1000 acres of farms and 900 acres of woodland. He planned to raise over £15000 profit by felling and selling for timber 6200 oak trees from this land as part of Ann's dowry, which would still have left him with the freeholds and rents. He bought the estate which was to become Foots Cray Place for £5450 in 1752. He built his grand new house, and after his death the estate was sold for £14500. He thought that his widow would easily find £5000 to add to his daughter's dowry. He specified that his art collection was not to be sold for less than £7350. As well as his main house at Foots Cray Place, he also owned * the manor of

Limpsfield Limpsfield is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs close to Oxted railway station and the A25.

* a town house he used himself a
Spring Garden, Charing Cross
* Land in

Farningham Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located south-east of Swanley. It has a population of 1,314. History Farningham is believed to be home to Neolithic history – flint and other tools ha ...

, Eynsford,

North Cray North Cray is a village in south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the River Cray, east of Sidcup and south of Bexley, and is in the Cray Meadows electoral ward, which a ...

Bexley Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Ch ...

, Chislehurst and

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of Bromley and Greenwich. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the ...

, Kent * Property in Cornhill

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleeve, Bourchier 1760 deaths English businesspeople English economics writers English landowners Bourchier family Pewterers 1715 births People from Bexley