Sir Godfrey Webster, 4th Baronet (25 December 1747 – 3 June 1800) was an English politician. He used the additional surname Vassall in the period 1795 to 1797."Webster, Sir Godfrey, 4th Bt. (1748-1800), of Battle Abbey, Suss."
historyofparliamentonline.org. Accessed 17 December 2022. Godfrey Webster Gauffier

Life

He was the son of

Sir Godfrey Webster, 3rd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only ...

and Elizabeth Cooper of Lockington, Derbyshire, and nephew of Sir Whistler Webster, 2nd Baronet.

In politics

In January 1780 Webster was on a Sussex committee set up to support the reformist Yorkshire Association. In 1783 he was fighting in a Sussex reform meeting for a general petition. In 1786 he entered parliament as MP for Seaford, with support from the Pelham interest, and after a petition. Standing there again in 1790 with John Tarleton, he was defeated, but Tarleton was elected after a petition. He was back in Parliament in 1796, for Wareham.

Personal life

Webster's uncle, the 2nd baronet, died in 1779, and about half a year later his father died in 1780, making him the 4th baronet. He inherited also

Battle Abbey Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. The Grade I listed site is no ...

with its estate, but not with vacant possession since his aunt remained in residence. Webster was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

in 1786. He committed suicide, shooting himself on 3 June 1800 after gambling losses.

Family

Webster married, in 1786,

Elizabeth Vassall Elizabeth Vassall Fox, Baroness Holland (1771 – London, November 1845) was an English political hostess and the wife of Whig (British political faction), Whig politician Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland. With her husband, and after his death ...

, daughter and heiress of Richard Vassall of Jamaica.historyofparliamentonline.org, ''Vassall (afterwards Webster), Sir Godfrey, 4th Bt. (1747-1800), of Battle Abbey, Suss.''
/ref> It was a disastrous union which ended in divorce after Elizabeth's repeated affairs with other men. They had three children, not including two sons who died young: * Godfrey Vassall Webster, the 5th baronet; *Henry Vassall Webster; *Harriet Frances Webster, who married Fleetwood Pellew.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Godfrey 1747 births 1800 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England British MPs 1784–1790 Fellows of the Royal Society British MPs 1796–1800 British politicians who committed suicide Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies