Sir Basil Firebrace, 1st Baronet (1652 – 7 May 1724) was a supplier of wines to the royal household,

Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

, and MP for

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

, Wiltshire, from 1690 to 1692. He was prosecuted for fraud and bribery, acquitted, and created a baronet in 1698.

Early life

Firebrace was the second son of

Sir Henry Firebrace Sir Henry Firebrace (c. 1619 - 1691) was a courtier to Charles I, serving during his conflicts with Parliament throughout the era of the English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political mac ...

, a courtier to both Charles I and Charles II, and Elizabeth Dowell; he was born in 1652.

Career

Firebrace became a vintner and supplier of wines to the royal household. He went into partnership with Samuel Shepheard. He was

in 1687, and knighted; he was also 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 Orange Regiment of the London

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 ...

. He was admitted into the

Worshipful Company of Vintners The Worshipful Company of Vintners, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, retains close links with the wine trade. It traces its origins to the 12th century and received its swan rights from King Edward IV. Its motto is ''Vinum Exhi ...

the following year and became an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for Billingsgate. He was elected MP for

as a

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on 9 December 1690, but the election was declared void almost a year later, on 1 December 1691, and was re-run on 14 December. He again won but an

election petition An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

unseated him in favour of Thomas Tollemache on 22 January 1692. In 1694 he purchased West Lodge, Enfield Chase, where he resided until 1716. FirebraceDebatesCorruption

Firebrace also became a prominent figure in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

by Parliament for bribery and fraud in relation to its activities. In April 1695 the House of Lords ordered that he be kept in "close confinement", having no contact with other prisoners. He was perhaps more of a go-between than a principal, and although criticised for his entrepreneurialism, he was eventually acquitted of all charges. He was appointed 1st Baronet Firebrace in 1698 by King William III, was bankrupted in 1701 and again imprisoned, for stabbing a creditor.

Marriage and family

He married Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant Thomas Hough on 7 September 1671, at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...

. They produced five children, two of whom, Basil and Thomas, died in infancy. Of the survivors, Hester (c. 1675- c.1725) married Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

(1680–1727) later inherited the baronetcy and their final child, George, was born in 1681. Firebrace died on 7 May 1724; W. H. Auden was among his descendants.

Notes

References

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Firebrace, Basil 1652 births 1724 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1690–1695 Sheriffs of the City of London Nobility from Wiltshire Prisoners in the Tower of London People from Billingsgate British East India Company people Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Chippenham