Admiral of the Fleet Sir Stafford Fairborne (1666 – 11 November 1742) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer and Whig politician. As a captain he saw action in command of various ships at the Battle of Beachy Head, at the

Battle of Barfleur The action at Barfleur was part of the battle of Barfleur-La Hougue during the War of the Grand Alliance. A French fleet under Anne Hilarion de Tourville was seeking to cover an invasion of England by a French army to restore James II to the ...

and at the

Battle of Lagos The naval Battle of Lagos took place between a British fleet commanded by Sir Edward Boscawen and a French fleet under Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran over two days in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. They fought south west of the Gulf of C ...

during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

. As a flag officer Fairborne was given command of the inshore squadron in a fleet sent to the Mediterranean during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. The fleet was defeated at the Battle of Cádiz but later achieved a victory at the

Battle of Vigo Bay The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande (; ), was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish ...

. He later became Second-in-Command, under

Sir Cloudesley Shovell Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. ...

, of the Mediterranean Fleet and was present at the siege and capture of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. After that he was given command of a squadron sent to

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

and took part in the capture of Ostend. Fairborne represented

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

as 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 ...

from 1705 to 1710 and also served as a member of the council of the Lord High Admiral (an office vested at that time in

Prince George of Denmark Prince George of Denmark ( da, Jørgen; 2 April 165328 October 1708) was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. He was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession on 8 March 1702 until his death in 1708. The marriage of Georg ...

Early career

Born the eldest son of Sir Palmes Fairborne, Governor of Tangiers and Margery Fairborne (née Devereux), Fairborne became a King's letter boy in 1681. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

, he commanded the

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

HMS ''Bonaventure'' during the captain's illness in a successful encounter with some

Salé Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran ...

vessels off Mamora in June 1685 and, after being promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 12 July 1686, he was given command of the Salé prize HMS ''Half Moon'' later that month. Fairborne's patron from this time was Admiral Arthur Herbert. Combat du Scipion conte le London-Rossel de Cercy mg 5097

Combat du Scipion conte le London-Rossel de Cercy mg 5097

Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 30 August 1688, Fairborne was given command of the

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

HMS ''Richmond'' later that month. The fact that his mother had been left without a pension by the old regime is likely to have made Fairborne a supporter of the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

of November 1688. He transferred to the command of the fifth-rate HMS ''Phoenix'' in early 1689 and then commanded the

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

HMS ''Warspite'' at the French victory at the Battle of Beachy Head in June 1690 during the

. After the battle the upper decks of the ship were found to be full of Dutch

musket balls A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

. Fairborne served as part of the naval brigade under the

Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...

at the

siege of Cork The siege of Cork took place during the Williamite war in Ireland in the year of 1690, shortly after the Battle of the Boyne when James II attempted to retake the English throne from King William III. In a combined land and sea operation, W ...

in September 1690 during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

before commanding the third-rate HMS ''Elizabeth'' at the

in May 1692. He commanded the third-rate HMS ''Monck'' in the fleet under Sir George Rooke, which while in charge of the Smyrna convoy, was scattered by the French at the

off

Cape St. Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already sacr ...

in June 1693. Fairborne was given command of the

first-rate In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying ...

HMS ''Victory'' in 1695 and then transferred to the command of the third-rate HMS ''Defiance'' in February 1696 with orders to protect the outward-bound trade in the Downs. He returned to HMS ''Victory'' in March 1697 and then transferred to the first-rate HMS ''London'' in June 1697 and to the

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

HMS ''Albemarle'' in Autumn 1697. Fairborne was appointed to the third-rate HMS ''Torbay'' in May 1699, but as the ship was not ready, he transferred to the storeship HMS ''Suffolk'' in Summer 1699 and then took command of the

HMS ''Tilbury'' in January 1700 with orders to sail to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

to clear the coast of pirates. Later in the year he served in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

Senior command

Promoted to

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded ...

on 30 June 1701, Fairborne was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

on 3 November 1701. After receiving the Freedom of the City of Cork, he was given command of the inshore squadron, with his flag in the first-rate HMS ''St George'', in a fleet sent to the Mediterranean in Summer 1702 during the

. The fleet was defeated at the Battle of Cádiz in September 1702 but, after Fairborne transferred his flag to the third-rate HMS ''Essex'', the fleet achieved a victory at the

in October 1702. After the battle he was tasked with assisting

to bring the prizes home delivering a squadron of them safely to

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

in November 1702. In February 1703, he refused a command in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and, fearing he had been banned by the council of the Lord High Admiral from holding any future command, challenged Admiral George Churchill to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

: both officers were subsequently arrested. Promoted to vice-admiral on 6 May 1703, Fairborne became Third-in-Command, with his flag in the second-rate HMS ''Association'', serving under Shovell in the Mediterranean Fleet with orders to annoy the enemy, assist the allies and protect English trade. The ship was caught in the great storm of December 1703 and, having been torn from her anchor at Gunfleet Sands, was blown across the North Sea to the coast of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in dreadful conditions which resulted in the loss of 28 lives from exposure and exhaustion. Nothing was heard from Fairborne for a whole month. After refitting at

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

the ship returned to England. Rochester Guildhall

Fairborne was given command of a squadron in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, with his flag in the third-rate HMS ''Shrewsbury'' in 1704. He became Second-in-Command, under Shovell, of the Mediterranean Fleet in Spring 1705 and was present at the siege and capture of

in October 1705. He was also elected Whig

for

at the 1705 English general election and appointed a member of the council of the Lord High Admiral (an office vested at that time in

) in February 1706. That year he financed the laying of a new pavement outside

Rochester Guildhall The Rochester Guildhall is an historic building located in the High Street in Rochester, Kent, England. It is a Grade I listed building. History The first guildhall in Rochester was located further south along the High Street on a site where t ...

, the commemorative stone for which still remains in place on the front of the building. He was given command of a squadron sent to

in May 1706 and took part in the capture of Ostend in June 1706. In each of these actions he was personally involved in dangerous inshore operations and was said to have "courted danger like a mistress". Fairborne was promoted to full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

on 7 January 1708 and was returned again for Rochester at the 1708 British general election. He retired as a council member in June 1708, and was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 21 December 1708. In Parliament he supported the Whig Ministry voting for the Naturalization of the German Palatines in 1709 but lost his Rochester seat at the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in 1710 which produced a landslide victory for the

Tory party The Tories were a loosely organised political faction and later a political party, in the Parliaments of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. They first emerged during the 1679 Exclusion Crisis, when they opposed ...

in the wake of the prosecution of

Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...

which Fairborne had supported. He was offered a post as commissioner for disbanding the marines in 1713 but refused it in the vain hope that he would one day return to senior office in the Admiralty. The Tory

Earl of Orford Earl of Orford is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1697 when the naval commander Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell was made Earl of Orford, in the County of Suffolk. He was c ...

, who became

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

, ensured Fairborne never did return to office. In retirement he lived at No. 33

Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and sout ...

in London. He died on 11 November 1742 and was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

Family

In June 1694 Fairborne married Dorothy Fane; they had three sons (all of whom predeceased him) and a daughter. Following the death of his first wife, he married Rebecca Paston in October 1708; they had one son. Fairbone became a widower for a second time when his second wife, Rebecca, predeceased him. She was buried at St James, Westminster, on 27 September 1724.''The Register of Burials in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1723-1754''. 27 September 1724.

References

Sources

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External links