Christopher Billopp (Royal Navy officer)
Encyclopedia
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in the seventeenth century who commanded various ships of the line including in the Battle of Bantry Bay
Battle of Bantry Bay
The Battle of Bantry Bay was a naval engagement fought on 11 May 1689 during the Nine Years' War. The Allied fleet was commanded by Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington; the French fleet by François Louis de Rousselet, Marquis de Châteaurenault...
Billopp was given a crown grant by James
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
in 1676 for according to sources either 932 acres (3.8 km²) or 1167 acres (4.7 km²), on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
in the colony of New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
, where he built a stone manor house he named "Bentley Manor", after the name of a small ship he had commanded, the Bentley. He received a second crown grant in 1687.
The house, inherited by his great grandson Colonel Christopher Billopp
Christopher Billop
Christopher Billopp was a British loyalist during the American Revolution who commanded a Tory detachment during the war, earning him the sobriquet, "Tory Colonel". After the American Revolution he emigrated to New Brunswick, Canada along with other United Empire Loyalists and became a politician...
, a British Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, was the setting for a failed peace conference
Staten Island Peace Conference
The Staten Island Peace Conference was a brief meeting held in the hope of bringing an end to the American Revolution. The conference took place on September 11, 1776, at Billop Manor, the residence of Colonel Christopher Billop, on Staten Island, New York...
between Lord Howe
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
and members of the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
. His house is now a United States National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
known as the Conference House
Conference House
The Conference House was built before 1680 and is located near the southernmost tip of New York State on Staten Island, which became known as "Billop's Point" in the 18th century. The Staten Island Peace Conference was held here on September 11, 1776, which unsuccessfully attempted to end the...
.
Family
Billopp's father was named Christopher Billopp from BeverleyBeverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
in East Yorkshire
East Yorkshire
East Yorkshire could be:*East Yorkshire Motor Services*An alternative name for the East Riding of Yorkshire*East Yorkshire , a former district of Humberside*East Yorkshire...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His grandfather was James Billopp and great grandfather Barnard. He had a brother named Joseph, who resided in London, England. He was married twice and had two daughters by his first wife, Mary and Anne, his second wife was Katherine Farmar. Anne married Thomas Farmar. One of Billopp's descendants was the actress Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt
Jane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
. Another descendant is James Michael Billopp Willis
Naval career
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- As lieutenant:
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- As captain:
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} during the Battle of Bantry Bay
Battle of Bantry Bay
The Battle of Bantry Bay was a naval engagement fought on 11 May 1689 during the Nine Years' War. The Allied fleet was commanded by Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington; the French fleet by François Louis de Rousselet, Marquis de Châteaurenault...
}
}; a 10 gun ketch
Ketch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
-
- Prudent Mary; fire shipFire shipA fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
; commanded the ship on 11 August 1673 during the Battle of TexelBattle of TexelThe naval Battle of Texel or Battle of Kijkduin took place on 21 August 1673 between the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets and was the last major battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, which was itself part of the Franco-Dutch War , during which Louis XIV of France invaded the...
during the Third Anglo-Dutch WarThird Anglo-Dutch WarThe Third Anglo–Dutch War or Third Dutch War was a military conflict between England and the Dutch Republic lasting from 1672 to 1674. It was part of the larger Franco-Dutch War...
. While attempting to get alongside the ship of the Dutch Admiral Cornelis TrompCornelis TrompSir Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, 1st Baronet was a Dutch naval officer. He was the son of Lieutenant Admiral Maarten Tromp. He became Lieutenant Admiral General in the Dutch Navy and briefly Admiral General in the Danish Navy...
, was grappled by a Dutch fire ship, both burned together.
- Prudent Mary; fire ship
In New York
In 1664, the Dutch colonies became English colonies, and all fell under the control of the Duke of York, who was the brother of King Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. By 1667, a territorial dispute raged over Staten Island between New York, namesake of the duke, and New Jersey, which had possession of Staten Island under Dutch rule. To settle the dispute, the duke came up with a novel solution: he declared that all islands in New York Harbor that could be circumnavigated in 24 hours would belong to New York, and if such a voyage took longer than that, they would belong to New Jersey.
At this time, Billopp was just across the waterway from Staten Island at Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The City of Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 50,814. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to Raritan Bay.-Name:The Lenape...
aboard a small two-gun vessel called the Bentley. Billopp was selected for the duke's challenge. While struggling to figure out how to complete the more than 35 miles (56.3 km) voyage within the duke's time frame of 24 hours, Billopp reasoned that if he packed the deck of his ship with empty barrels, the extra surface area could harness some more wind giving his ship a slight boost in speed. Thus equipped, Billopp completed the circumnavigation in just over 23 hours and secured Staten Island for New York. In recognition of his achievement, the duke awarded Billopp a total of 1163 acres (4.7 km²) of land located in what is now the Tottenville section of Staten Island. On this land Billopp built his house, which he named the Manor of Bentley in honor of his ship. He 1709 he gained the charter to operate the Perth Amboy Ferry
Perth Amboy Ferry Slip
The Perth Amboy Ferry Slip, located on Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, was once a vital ferry slip for boats in New York Harbor.It was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The ferry slip was restored in 1998 to its 1904...
, part of an important overland route between New York and Phildelphia.
Billopp served for a time as a lieutenant in command of an infantry detachment under colonial governor Edmund Andros
Edmund Andros
Sir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...
.