Sir Basil Firebrace, 1st Baronet (1652 – 7 May 1724) was a supplier of wines to the royal household,

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

, and MP for

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

, 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 Sir Henry Firebrace (c. 1619 - 1691) was a courtier to Charles I, serving during his conflicts with Parliament throughout the era of the English Civil Wars. He later served Charles II as a Clerk of the Green Cloth and was knighted about 1685. Ear ...

, a courtier to both

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and Charles II, and Elizabeth Dowell; he was born in 1652.

Career

Firebrace became a

vintner A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...

and supplier of wines to the royal household. He went into partnership with Samuel Shepheard. He was

in 1687, and knighted; he was also appointed

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the Orange Regiment of the London

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. He was admitted into the

Worshipful Company of Vintners The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of the oldest Livery Companies of the City of London, England, thought to date back to the 12th century. It is one of the "Great Twelve" livery companies of London, and its motto is ''Vinum Exhilarat A ...

the following year and became an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for

Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to the ...

. He was elected MP for

as a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

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 An election petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a Parliamentary election. Outcomes When a petition is lodged against an election return, there are 4 possible outcomes: # The election is declared void. The result is q ...

unseated him in favour of

Thomas Tollemache Thomas Tollemache, also spelt Talmash or Tolmach, (c. 16511694) was an Kingdom of England, English soldier and Member of Parliament. Beginning his military career in 1673, in 1686 he resigned his commission in protest at the introduction of C ...

on 22 January 1692. In 1694 he purchased West Lodge,

Enfield Chase Enfield Chase is an area of Enfield that is named for a former royal hunting ground. Much of the former area of the Chase has been developed, but a large part survives between Cockfosters in the west and Enfield in the east as Trent Country ...

, where he resided until 1716. FirebraceDebatesCorruption

Firebrace also became a prominent figure in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

and was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

by Parliament for bribery and fraud in relation to its activities. In April 1695 the House of Lords ordered that he be kept in "close confinement", having no contact with other prisoners. He was perhaps more of a go-between than a principal, and although criticised for his entrepreneurialism, he was eventually acquitted of all charges. He was appointed 1st Baronet Firebrace in 1698 by King William III., was bankrupted in 1701 and again imprisoned, for stabbing a creditor.

Marriage and family

He married Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant Thomas Hough on 7 September 1671, at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...

. They produced five children, two of whom, Basil and Thomas, died in infancy. Of the survivors, Hester (c. 1675- c.1725) married

Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh, 3rd Earl of Desmond (1668 – 18 March 1717) was a British peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Viscount Feilding from 1675 to 1685. Peerage Fielding inherited the English Earldom of Denbigh and th ...

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(1680–1727) later inherited the baronetcy and their final child, George, was born in 1681. Firebrace died on 7 May 1724;

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

was among his descendants.

Notes

References

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Firebrace, Basil 1652 births 1724 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1690–1695 Sheriffs of the City of London People from Wiltshire Prisoners in the Tower of London People from Billingsgate British East India Company people Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Chippenham