Sir Henry Furnese, 1st Baronet (30 May 1658 – 30 November 1712), of Waldershare, Kent, and Dover Street, Westminster, was an English merchant and Whig politician who sat in the English 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 1698 and 1712. Furnese was the son of Henry Furnese, of

Sandwich, Kent Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval build ...

and his wife Anne Gosfright, daughter of Andrew Gosfright of Sandwich.Cokayne, George Edward (1906)
Complete Baronetage
'. Volume V. Exeter: W. Pollard & Co. . p. 1 He was an apprentice of the Drapers’ Company in 1672, and pursued a career in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

as a merchant trader. He was knighted at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

on 21 October 1691. He was master of the Drapers' Company from 1694 to 1695. He was one of the original directors of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

when the bank was founded in 1694. He served as a member of the Director's Court of the bank from 1694 to 1697, 1699 to 1700 and 1700 to 1702. He was also a director of the New East India Company from 1698 to 1703. Furnese was elected as Member of Parliament for Bramber at the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' su ...

, but was expelled on 14 February the following year for holding a post incompatible with being a Member of Parliament. He was re-elected for

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

in 1701 but was again expelled the following month, only to be re-elected again, after which he held the seat until his death. Furnese was Sheriff of London, 1700–01, and was created a

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 27 June 1707. In May 1711, he was selected as 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 ...

of the City of London, representing Bridge Within. He married twice: firstly in November 1684 to Anne Brough, the 19-year-old daughter of linen draper Robert Brough of St Lawrence Jewry. She was buried in the parish church of St Lawrence Jewry on 30 June 1695. His second marriage was to Matilda, the widow of Anthony Balam and daughter of fellow London merchant Sir Thomas Vernon. Furnese died on 30 November 1712, aged 54, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

. His widow died 20 years later on 8 May 1732. His tomb in Waldershare church was sculpted by Thomas Green of

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

.Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis p.179

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furnese, Henry, 1st Baronet 1658 births 1712 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Sheriffs of the City of London Councilmen and Aldermen of the City of London English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707