Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet (30 January 1744 – 6 November 1830) was a British merchant shipbuilder and Tory politician who sat in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

and of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

between 1802 and 1807.

Background

Wigram was born at

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

, the only son of John Wigram, merchant, of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, and his wife Mary Clifford, daughter of Robert Clifford of Wexford and granddaughter of Highgate Boyd.

Public life

In 1762, Wigram took up an apprenticeship with Dr Allen of Dulwich London, and two years later, he was a fully qualified surgeon. He sailed to India on the

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

''Admiral Watson'' as ship's surgeon, but retired from this position in 1772 because of failing health, and became a successful merchant. He developed the family's mercantile activities and made several voyages to India in the service of the company. He was the sole, or at least principal owner, of several vessels trading to Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, and was one of the greatest importers of drugs in England.Edmund Burke, John Davis ''The Annual register, or, A view of the history, politics, and literature for the year 1830, Volume 72''
/ref> He was also involved in South Seas whaling, with at least seven vessels operating in the trade between 1795 and 1807. Wigram became member of parliament for

Fowey Fowey ( ; , meaning ''beech trees'') is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, ...

in 1802 and was a strong supporter of William Pitt. He was chairman of the meeting of the merchants and bankers during the French Revolution, and was instrumental in raising the regiment of the Sixth Royal London Volunteers, becoming their lieutenant-colonel in September 1803. Also in July 1803, he led a group of shipowners in securing an act "for the further improvement of the Port of London", by making docks and other works at Blackwall for the accommodation of the East India shipping, and established the East India Dock Company. He 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 20 October 1805. At the general election in 1806, he was chosen for the Wexford Borough but after the dissolution in 1807, he retired from public life. He was a vice-president of the Pitt Club. He had partnerships in the

Blackwall Yard Blackwall Yard is a small body of water that used to be a shipyard on the River Thames in Blackwall, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987. History East India Company Blackwall was a sh ...

, Reid's Brewery, and Huddart's Rope Works. In 1805, he bought a large share of Deptford shipbuilders, formerly

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

, Wells &

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

, and the firm became Wigram, Wells & Green. By 1813, Wigram had taken over all of Wells' interest and it became Wigram & Green. He owned half the business, his sons Money and Loftus Wigram a quarter, and Green the remaining quarter. Wigram retired in 1819 and sold his half to the other partners. He was appointed High Sheriff of Essex for 1812–13, as Perry had been before him. Wigram died at Walthamstow House, his home at

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

, Essex, at the age of 86.

Family

Wigram was twice married and had a large family of 23 children. His first wife was Catherine Broadhurst, by whom be had six children. Following Catherine's death, in 1787, he married Eleanor (born Watts), widow of Captain Agnew and daughter of John Watts, secretary to the victualling office of Southampton. They had thirteen sons and four daughters. His children included: *

Sir Robert Fitzwygram, 2nd Baronet Sir Robert Fitzwygram, 2nd Baronet, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (25 September 1773 – 17 December 1843), born Robert Wigram, was a List of directors of the Bank of England, Director of the Bank of England and a Tories (British political pa ...

* James Wigram * Octavius Wigram * Joseph Cotton Wigram * Loftus Wigram * George Wigram. His 12th son, Ely Duodecimus Wigram (1801–1869), was a lieutenant-colonel in the Coldstream Guards and compiled a scrapbook of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

that contains a rare photograph of

Mary Seacole Mary Jane Seacole (;Anionwu, E. N. (2012), "Mary Seacole: nursing care in many lands". ''British Journal of Healthcare Assistants'' 6(5), pp. 244–248. 23 November 1805 – 14 May 1881) was a British Nursing, nurse and Women in business ...

. His 16th son, Reverend William Pitt Wigram, was the grandfather of Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram. Another descendant was Ralph Wigram, grandson of Joseph Cotton Wigram.

Arms

References

* Gentleman's Magazine Obituary 1830 *Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Anne Pimlott Baker, ''Wigram, Sir Robert, first baronet (1744–1830)'', 2004 * available online a

* available online a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigram, Sir Robert, 1st Baronet 1744 births 1830 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Wexford constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 Politicians from County Wexford Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall High sheriffs of Essex British people in whaling Tory MPs (pre-1834)