Sir Francis Henry Drake, 5th Baronet (29 August 1723 – 19 February 1794) was an English

Master of the Household The Master of the Household is the operational head (see Chief operating officer) of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. The role has charge of the domestic staff, from the Royal Kitchens, the pages and foot ...

and

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 ...

. He was born the eldest son of

Sir Francis Drake, 4th Baronet Sir Francis Henry Drake, 4th Baronet (1694–1740) of Buckland Abbey, Devon was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1740. Early life Drake was the eldest surviving son of Sir Francis Drake, 3rd Bar ...

, whom he succeeded in 1740. He was educated at

Winchester School Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of t ...

(1734–39),

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

(1740) and

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

1740–44. He then studied law at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

(1740). He was a Ranger of Dartmoor Forest for life from 1752. He served as a

Clerk of the Green Cloth The Clerk of the Green Cloth was a position in the British Royal Household. The clerk acted as secretary of the Board of Green Cloth, and was therefore responsible for organising royal journeys and assisting in the administration of the Royal ...

from 1753 to 1770, rising from second clerk comptroller to first clerk and then as

from 1771 to his death. He represented

Bere Alston Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers. History and geography With a population of about 2,000, the village lies in the Bere peninsula, between the rivers ...

as a Member of Parliament from 1747 to 1771 and from 1774 to 1780. He lived at Nutwell Court on the south coast of Devon. He was said by Hoskins (1954) "to have wrecked the fine medieval house with his ''improvements'' demolishing the two-storied gatehouse with great difficulty in 1755-6 and cutting through the timbered roof of the 14th century chapel to make a plaster ceiling".Hoskins, p.518, re Woodbury parish He died unmarried in 1794 and the baronetcy became extinct. He bequeathed almost his whole fortune, including his

Nutwell Nutwell in the parish of Woodbury, East Devon, Woodbury on the south coast of Devon is a historic Manorialism, manor and the site of a Georgian neo-classical Listed building, Grade II* listed mansion house known as Nutwell Court. The house is s ...

estate and his other lands, to his nephew Francis Augustus Eliott, 2nd Baron Heathfield, the son of his sister Anne Pollexfen Drake and her husband,

George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, (25 December 1717 – 6 July 1790) was a British Army officer who served in three major wars during the eighteenth century. He rose to distinction during the Seven Years' War when he fought in Ge ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Francis Henry, 5th Baronet 1723 births 1794 deaths People educated at Winchester College People educated at Eton College Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of England Masters of the Household Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bere Alston British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780