Sir Robert Bourchier Sherard Wrey, 11th Baronet DL JP (23 May 1855 – 16 January 1917) of Tawstock Court, North Devon, was a prominent member of the Devonshire gentry.

Early life

He was the son and heir of Sir Henry Bourchier Toke Wrey, 10th Baronet (1829-1900) and the former Marianne Sherard. Among his many siblings were younger brothers Philip Bourchier Sherard Wrey and Reverend Albany Bourchier Sherard Wrey.L. G. Pine, ''The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms'' (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 250 His paternal grandparents were the Rev. Sir Henry Bourchier Wrey, 9th Baronet and, his first wife, the former Ellen Maria Toke (a daughter of Nicholas Roundell Toke). His maternal grandparents were Philip Castel Sherard, 9th Baron Sherard and the former Anne Weekes (a daughter of Nathaniel Weekes).

Career

He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, seeing action in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War and with the Naval Brigade landed in the

Third Anglo-Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War ( my, တတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် – မြန်မာစစ်, Tatiya Anggalip–Mran cac), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance conti ...

. He retired from the service with the rank of captain, and later served as honorary

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

of the Royal North Devon Hussars. In 1900, he succeeded his father in the baronetcy and the family estates. He was the last to live at Tawstock Court and "to keep house in the old manner" and moved to Corffe a nearby house on the estate, having let the Court.Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, p.156 In 1913, Sir Robert unsuccessfully laid claim to the barony of FitzWarin, petitioning the Crown that the abeyance should be terminated in his favor and that he should be summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

as Lord FitzWarin.

Personal life

On 26 October 1905, Sir Robert was married to Jessie Maud Fraser, daughter of William Thomson Fraser and granddaughter of John Fraser, of Mongewell Park, Oxfordshire. He left no sons, only a daughter: * Rachel Wrey (1911–1991), wife of John Henry Peyto Verney, 20th Baron Willoughby de Broke (1896–1986). On his death in a nursing home in 1917 without sons, the title passed to his younger brother, Sir Philip Bourchier Sherard Wrey, 12th Baronet, who promptly in 1919 sold 2,500 acres of the estate for £67,000, leaving some 7,000 acres remaining. His widow later married Godfrey Heseltine, second son of John Postle Heseltine.

Descendants

Through his daughter Rachel, he was a grandfather of David Verney, 21st Baron Willoughby de Broke (b. 1938)UKIP: People: Peers
/ref> and Hon. Susan Geraldine Verney (1942–2009).Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. volume 2, page 1786.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrey, Robert Bourchier Sherard 1855 births 1917 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Royal North Devon Yeomanry officers Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War