Vice-Admiral Sir George Richard Brooke-Pechell, 4th Baronet (30 June 1789 – 29 June 1860), born George Richard Pechell, was a British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and Whig politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

for 25 years. Sir George was the second son of Major-General

Sir Thomas Brooke-Pechell, 2nd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in Fren ...

(1753–1826), who was the MP for Downton, and his wife Charlotte (died 1841), second daughter of Lieutenant-General Sir John Clavering.J. K. Laughton
‘Pechell, Sir George Richard Brooke, fourth baronet (1789–1860)’
rev. Andrew Lambert,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, Oxford University Press, 2004 , accessed 13 October 2010 His older brother Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Pechell inherited the baronetcy, but died childless in 1849, and George succeeded to the title. Pechell entered the navy in 1803, aged 14, and attained the rank of

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

in 1826. He became a

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on the retired list in December 1852, and

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

on 5 January 1858. He unsuccessfully contested

at the 1832 general election, but won the seat at the 1835 general election and held it until his death on 29 June 1860, on the day before his 71st birthday. In Parliament he spoke on a range of issues, particularly those on those relating to the navy and to fishing. He supported the

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

, non-denominational education for all, and opposed

church rates The church rate was a tax formerly levied in each parish in England and Ireland for the benefit of the parish church. The rates were used to meet the costs of carrying on divine service, repairing the fabric of the church and paying the salaries of ...

. He married Katherine Annabella Bishopp, daughter of Sir Cecil Bisshopp, 12th Lord Zouche, on 1 August 1826. They had one son and two daughters. Brooke-Pechell lived at

Castle Goring Castle Goring is a English country house, country house in Worthing, in West Sussex, England about northwest of the town centre. One of Worthing's two Grade I listed buildings (deemed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ...

in Sussex from 1825, when he let the building from Sir Timothy Shelley, father of the poet

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

and Member of Parliament for New Shoreham. In 1845, Brooke-Pechell bought the property from Percy Bysshe Shelley's widow

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke-Pechell, Richard 1789 births 1860 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865

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