Sir Bourchier Wrey, 4th Baronet (1653–1696) of Tawstock Court in North Devon, was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

and a noted duellist. He commanded a regiment of horse after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, serving under

James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC (9 April 1649 – 15 July 1685) was a Dutch-born English nobleman and military officer. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlan ...

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of

Sir Chichester Wrey, 3rd Baronet Sir Chichester Wrey, 3rd Baronet (1628–1668) of Trebeigh in the parish of St Ive, Cornwall and of North Russell in the parish of Sourton, Devon, was an active Royalist during the Civil War and was Colonel of the Duke of York's Regiment and serv ...

(1628-1668), of Trebeigh in the parish of

St Ive St Ive ( ; kw, Sen Iv) is a village in the civil parish of St Ive and Pensilva in eastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is split into four parts: St Ive Church End, St Ive Cross, St Ive Keason and St Ive Parkfield. In addition ...

, Cornwall and of North Russell in the parish of

Sourton Sourton is a small village and civil parish in West Devon, England. It lies about south-west of Okehampton. It is at the north-western extremity of Dartmoor, a National Park of England and Wales, and lies along the A386 road The A386 is a ...

, Devon, by his wife Lady Anne Bourchier, a daughter and coheiress of

Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath (baptised 1 March 1590Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', new edition, Vol II, p. 18 – died 31 March 1636). Origins He was born in Somerset, the eldest son and heir of William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bat ...

(d.1636) of Tawstock Court in North Devon, and widow of

Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575 – 6 August 1645) was an English merchant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1622 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Cranfield. Life He was the second son ...

. The Wreys had been seated for several generations at the manor of Trebigh, but by the marriage of Sir Chichester with Lady Anne Bourchier they inherited the

manor of Tawstock The historic manor of Tawstock was situated in North Devon, in the hundred of Fremington, 2 miles south of Barnstaple, England. According to PolePole, p.14 the feudal baron of Barnstaple Henry de Tracy (died 1274) made Tawstock his seat, appare ...

, thenceforth the family seat (in which parish the present baronet still lives in 2015), and several other estates.

Political career

He served as

for

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

in Cornwall from 1678 to 1679, was elected for the county seat of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

1685, and sat for Liskeard again from 1689 to 1696.

Duels

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, on 4 February 1691–92 he fought a duel with Thomas Bulkeley (d. 1708), MP for

Beaumaris Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from ...

, in which of the six men engaged as principals and seconds five were MPs, as noted by Luttrell. Two of the seconds were slightly wounded. In May 1694 at Falmouth in Cornwall, he fought another duel with James Praed (d. 1706) of Trevethowe, MP for St. Ives and "was run through the body, Mr. Praed being only hurt slightly in the face". Although on 1 June 1694 he was reported as having died from his wounds, he lived on until 21 July 1696. He was buried in Tawstock Church.

Marriage and children

He married Florence Rolle, daughter of Sir John Rolle (d.1706) of

Stevenstone Stevenstone is a former manor within the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same r ...

, Devon, a great landowner.

Sources

* Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L.
''The Visitations of Cornwall: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1530, 1573 & 1620; with Additions by J.L. Vivian'', Exeter, 1887, pp.564-566, pedigree of "Wrey of Trebeigh"

References