Sir Robert Furnese, 2nd Baronet (1 August 1687 – 7 March 1733), of Waldershare, Kent, and Dover Street, Westminster, was an English Whig politician who sat in the
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
from 1708 to 1733.
Furnese was the son of Sir Henry Furnese, 1st Baronet, and his first wife, Anne Brough, daughter of Robert Brough.Cokayne, George Edward (1906) Complete Baronetage '. Volume V. Exeter: W. Pollard & Co. . pp. 1–2. He was educated at Eton College in 1697, and spent some time in Germany and Austria as a young man.
Furnese was abroad at the time of the
1708 British general election
The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland.
The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...
, but shortly after his return from the Continent, he was returned unopposed as Whig Member of Parliament for Truro in a by-election on 16 December 1708. He voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. There was pressure for Furnese to stand for Thetford at the
1710 British general election
The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto.
...
, but he was appointed to the Commission of the Peace for Kent and returned in a contest as Whig MP for
New Romney
New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, w ...
. He voted for the " No Peace Without Spain" motion on 7 December 1711.
On the death of his father on 30 November 1712, he succeeded to the baronetcy and a large estate at
Waldershare
Waldershare is a village near Dover in Kent, England. In 1086, the village was in the hundred of Eastry in the ancient Lathe of Eastry.1713 British general election
The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...
and voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele on 18 March 1714
At the
1715 British general election
The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...
, Furnese was returned in a contest as a Whig at New Romney on his own interest. He voted for the septennial bill, and in 1717 followed
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...
into opposition. He voted against the Government on Lord Cadogan in June 1717 and opposed the Peerage Bill in 1719. At the
1722 British general election
The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...
he was returned unopposed for New Romney. At the
1727 British general election
The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...
, he was returned as MP for Kent while he was defeated at New Romney. After being awarded the New Romney seat on petition, he decided to remain as MP for Kent. From 1729, he voted against the Government.
Furnese was married three times. His first wife was his stepsister Anne Balam (1688-29 May 1713), the daughter of his father's second wife Matilda Vernon and her first husband Anthony Balam. They married on 1 October 1708 and had one daughter, Anne, who married the Hon. John St John, son of
Henry St John, 1st Viscount St John
Henry St John, 1st Viscount St John (baptized 17 October 1652 – died 8 April 1742), of Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire; Battersea, Surrey; and Berkeley Street, Westminster, Middlesex, was an English politician. In 1685 he was pardoned for ...
. Anne, Lady Furnese, died on 29 May 1713 aged 25.
His second marriage on 8 July 1714 was to Arabella Watson, daughter of Lewis Watson, 1st Earl of Rockingham. She was the mother of Furnese's only son Henry and his second daughter Catherine, who married her first cousin Lewis Watson, 2nd Earl of Rockingham. Arabella died on 5 September 1727.
He married thirdly, on 15 May 1729 at Teddington, Middlesex, Lady Anne Shirley, daughter of Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers. By his last wife, he left a daughter Selina who married Edward Dering. They had one other daughter who predeceased her father.Handley, Stuart (2004 "Furnese, Sir Henry, first baronet (1658–1712)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press,
Furnese died on 7 March 1733 at
Waldershare
Waldershare is a village near Dover in Kent, England. In 1086, the village was in the hundred of Eastry in the ancient Lathe of Eastry.Kent, and was succeeded by his son Henry. According to a contemporary, he died "by his own fault, for he had one of those colds hanging on him and he drank so hard that he was not sober for ten days before he was taken ill". He was buried at Waldershare on 14 March. His widow survived him by 46 years, dying in
Dover Street
Dover Street is a street in Mayfair, London. The street is notable for its Georgian architecture as well as the location of historic London clubs and hotels, which have been frequented by world leaders and historic figures in the arts. It also ...
, London, on 25 February 1779 aged 70. She was buried in Grosvenor Chapel, Westminster.
His only son, Sir Henry Furnese, 3rd Baronet, was born about 1716 and matriculated at
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, aged 16 in November 1732. He died unmarried and without issue aged 19 in
Montpellier, France
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people li ...
, in March 1735. The estate was shared, as co-heirs, by Sir Robert's three surviving daughters: Anne, Catherine (Countess of Rockingham) and Selina."Parishes: Waldershare" ''The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent'': Volume 10 (1800), pp. 50–61. Retrieved 17 November 2010. The title became extinct.