Francis Vernon, 1st Earl of Shipbrook (1715 – 15 October 1783), known as The Lord Orwell between 1762 and 1776 and as The Viscount Orwell between 1776 and 1777, was an English politician.

Biography

Vernon was the son of

James Vernon James Vernon may refer to: *James Vernon (politician, born 1646) (1646–1727), English administrator and Whig politician *James Vernon the Younger (1677–1756), British diplomat, civil servant, and briefly a Member of Parliament *James Vernon (ch ...

by his wife Arethusa, daughter of Charles Boyle, Lord Clifford.Vernon at History of Parliament Online.
/ref> When the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

was reconstituted under threat of French invasion during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, Vernon was appointed

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 2nd or East Suffolk Battalion on 27 April 1759. In June 1762, under his personal command, the regiment attended a training camp at Sandheath, near Ripley. With the Seven Years War drawing to a close, he was instructed on 20 December 1762 to disembody the regiment. He had been succeeded in the command by

William Wollaston William Wollaston (; 26 March 165929 October 1724) was an English school teacher, Church of England priest, scholar of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, theologian, and a major Enlightenment era English philosopher. He is remembered today for one book, ...

by the time the regiment was next embodied, in 1778. Vernon sat as Member of Parliament for

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

from 1761 to 1768. In 1762 he was raised to the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

as Baron Orwell, of

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

in the

County of Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. He was further honoured when he was made Viscount Orwell in 1776 and in 1777 Earl of Shipbrooke "of Newry in the County of Down", also in the Irish peerage. Shipbrook Castle in Cheshire was the earliest recorded seat of the Vernon family. He married Alice, daughter of Samuel Ibbetson of

Denton Hall, Wharfedale Denton Hall is an English country house located to the north of the River Wharfe, at Denton, North Yorkshire, England between Otley and Ilkley, and set within a larger Denton estate of about , including a village, church, and landscaped garde ...

, Yorkshire. Their son, Francis (1752–1760) died early. Lord Shipbrooke died in October 1783 when all the titles became extinct.

References

1715 births 1783 deaths Suffolk Militia officers Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III British MPs 1761–1768 Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Ipswich {{Ireland-earl-stub