Sir Francis Warre, 1st Baronet
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Sir Francis Warre, 1st Baronet (c. 1659–1718), of
Hestercombe House Hestercombe House is a historic country house in the parish of West Monkton in the Quantock Hills, near Taunton in Somerset, England. The house is a Grade II* listed building and the estate is Grade I listed on the English Heritage Register ...
, Kingston, Somerset, was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat in the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
and
British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...
between.1685 and 1715.


Early life and family

Warre was the only son of Sir John Warre of
Hestercombe Hestercombe House is a historic country house in the parish of West Monkton in the Quantock Hills, near Taunton in Somerset, England. The house is a Grade II* listed building and the estate is Grade I listed on the English Heritage Register ...
, where his family had lived since 1375, and his wife Unton Hawley, daughter of Francis Hawley, 1st Baron Hawley. In 1669 his father died and he succeeded to the estates which made him one of the largest landowners in Somerset. He was created
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
on 2 June 1673. He was educated at
Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...
and matriculated at
Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...
on 16 October 1674, aged 15., From 1678 to 1678 he was a Captain in the. Duke of Monmouth's Foot. He resigned his commission before he married Anne Cuffe, daughter of Robert Cuffe of St. Michael Church, Somerset. She died on 24 December 1690 and he married secondly Margaret Harbin, daughter of John Harbin, merchant, of London.


Career

Warre was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Somerset in 1680 and a JP in 1681. He was active against dissenters, searching their houses and breaking up meetings. In 1683 he was nominated as recorder of Bridgwater under the town's new charter. At the general election of 1685, he was returned as a Tory Member of Parliament for
Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...
. He opposed the Monmouth rebellion and was appointed one of the commissioners to discover the rebels’ estates. However the agents of
King James II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...
referred to him as ‘a very ill man’ and ‘a violent Churchman’ and he was removed from the lieutenancy in 1687 because he opposed James's religious policy. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, he was reinstated as JP and Deputy Lieutenant. He was re-elected MP for Bridgwater in 1689, and was appointed to the committee of elections and privileges. He was also appointed commissioner for assessment for Somerset in 1689. He continued to sit as a Tory under King William III and Queen Anne. Warre was appointed commissioner for assessment for Bridgwater in 1690 and was re-elected MP for Bridgwater at the 1690 general election. He was a colonel of the militia foot of Somerset from 1691 to 1697, but was absent from the house for much of this Parliament. He did not stand in the 1695 and 1698 general elections, but regained his seat at Bridgwater without opposition at a by-election on 29 November 1699. He stood down in the first 1701 general election, but was returned at a by-election in March as MP for
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...
. His estate was close to Taunton and he was appointed Recorder of Taunton in 1701. He was elected in a contest as MP for Taunton at the
1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Briti ...
and was appointed Vice-admiral of Somerset and Bristol in 1702. He was returned unopposed in the
1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of "Church in Danger" occurring in ...
and voted against the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705. At the
1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...
he was returned again as Tory MP and voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He was returned successfully in a contest at the
1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...
. He was listed as a ‘Tory patriot’ who opposed the continuance of the war, and a ‘worthy patriot’ who helped to detect the mismanagements of the previous administration. He was a member of the
October Club The October Club was a group of Tory Members of Parliament, established after the 1710 general election. The Club was active until approximately 1714. The group took its name from the strong ale they reportedly drank.Pat Rogers, âOctober Club (' ...
. At the
1713 British general election The 1713 British general election was held on 22 August 1713 to 12 November 1713, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 R ...
he was returned without opposition again. Warre, was re-elected for Taunton at a contest in
1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire in ...
but was unseated on petition on 30 August 1715. In September 1715 he gave Sir William Wyndham a letter from Lord Lansdowne about arrangements for a planned Jacobite rebellion in the west country, which was found by the officer sent to arrest Wyndham. He was arrested as a Jacobite, but released a few months later.


Death and legacy

Warre died at Ghent 1 December 1718. and was buried with his ancestors at Kingston. He had one son, Michael by his first marriage who was a Captain of Dragoons and who predeceased him, dying at Ghent. A son by his second wife died in infancy, and he had only a surviving daughter Margaret. The baronetcy therefore became extinct and his estate, which included the manor of Middlezoy, went to his daughter, who married John Bampfylde and brought him the Hestercombe estate. The estate eventually passed to a grandson John Tyndale, who adopted the name Warre.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warre, Francis 1650s births 1715 deaths British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 People educated at Sherborne School Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of England