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, ...

Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere (14 July 1699 – 21 October 1781), known as Lord Vere Beauclerk until 1750, 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, British peer and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 24 years from 1726 to 1750. After serving various ships 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 ...

and then commanding 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 ''Hampton Court'', he joined the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

, ultimately serving as Senior Naval Lord.

Naval career

Born the son of the 1st Duke of St Albans and his wife Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans, he was an illegitimate grandson of King Charles II. Beauclerk joined the

in 1713. Promoted to post-captain on 30 May 1721, he served in various ships in the

before being given command of the

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

HMS ''Lyme'' in 1727, the fifth-rate HMS ''Kinsale'' in 1729 and the fourth-rate HMS ''Oxford'' in 1731. He went to command the

HMS ''Hampton Court'' in December 1731. Beauclerk joined the

under the

Whig government In British politics, a Whig government may refer to the following British governments administered by the Whigs: * Whig Junto, a name given to a group of leading Whigs who were seen to direct the management of the Whig Party **First Whig Junto, th ...

in March 1738 but had to step down when the Government fell in March 1742. He returned to the Board again when the

Broad Bottom ministry The Broad Bottom ministry was the factional coalition government of Great Britain between 1744 and 1754. It was led by the two Pelham brothers in Parliament, Prime Minister Henry Pelham in the House of Commons and the Duke of Newcastle in th ...

came to power in December 1744 and was 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 regarde ...

on 23 April 1745. He was advanced to Senior Naval Lord on the Board in February 1746 and promoted to vice admiral on 14 July 1746 and 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 12 May 1748 before retiring in November 1749. Beauclerk was elected one of the first Vice Presidents of London's charitable

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...

for abandoned children, an unpaid position. He served in that capacity from the institution's first year of 1739 until 1756, but then again from 1758 until 1767. From 1726 to 1741 Beauclerk was

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 ...

(MP) for Windsor and for

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

(succeeding his brother Henry) from 1741 to 1750. On his retirement from politics in 1750, he was created Baron Vere, of Hanworth in the County of Middlesex. he was also

Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire. Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire *Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk 1545–22 August 1545 *Edw ...

from 1761 to 1771. It is said that he died at his home, 16 St James's Square in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, on 21 October 1781, although this date would appear at odds with the burial register of St James's Church, Piccadilly, which has him being buried on 6 October 1781.

Family

On 13 April 1736, in

, he married Mary Chambers (c. 1714-21 January 1783), a maternal granddaughter of the 2nd Earl of Berkeley. They later had six children (four of whom died young): *Vere Beauclerk (12 January 1737 – 26 December 1739) *Chamber Beauclerk (22 February 1738 – 16 July 1747) *Sackville Beauclerk (12 April 1739 – 25 April 1739) * Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans (3 June 1740 – 9 February 1802) *Elizabeth Beauclerk (7 July 1741 – April 1746); buried on 26 April 1746. * The Hon. Mary Beauclerk (4 December 1743 – 13 January 1812);''The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760''. 31 December 1743. who married

Lord Charles Spencer Lord Charles Spencer PC (31 March 1740 – 16 June 1820) was a British courtier and politician from the Spencer family who sat in the House of Commons between 1761 and 1801. Background Spencer was the second son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of ...

, son of the

3rd Duke of Marlborough Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, (22 November 170620 October 1758), styled as The Honourable Charles Spencer between 1706 and 1729 and as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British soldier, nobleman, and politician f ...

References

Sources

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vere, Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron 1699 births 1781 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George II Beauclerk, Lord Vere Lords of the Admiralty Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire Beauclerk, Vere, Lord Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754