Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet (ca. 1715 – 13 April 1784) was a British
politician.
A native of North Devon
, he was the son of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 5th Baronet and his wife Diana, daughter of John Rolle of Stevenstone. He was educated at Winchester
and New College, Oxford
and succeeded his father (a Jacobite
sympathiser), as 6th baronet on 12 November 1726.
He made his Grand Tour
in 1737-40, visiting Paris
, Geneva
, Rome
, Florence
and Milan
. While living in Rome, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
recorded him sleeping with his landlady with the encouragement of his landlord. In 1742, he was elected to the Society of Dilettanti, a group of gentlemen who wanted to maintain an interest in the antiquarian and artistic pursuits which they had enjoyed abroad. George Knapton
(1698-1778), the official portraitist of the society, painted his portrait in 1744, in which he is depicted holding a punch bowl inscribed with a line from the Odes: "dulce est desipere in loco" (it is sweet on occasion to play the fool).
He was elected Member of Parliament
for Barnstaple
in 1747 and went to Bremen
, Hamburg
and Lübeck
in 1752 as a delegate for the 'Society for Carrying on the Herring Fishery'. He rebuilt the pier at Ilfracombe
and established better arrangements for English fishermen in Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck and Copenhagen
.
, who died without issue in 1751, and was the subject of a long Latin epitaph in The Gentleman's Magazine
of that year.
He married secondly in 1755, Ellen, daughter and heiress of John Thresher of Bradford on Avon
. There were two sons and four daughters from this marriage including Florentina, who married Richard Godolphin Long
.
Sir Bourchier Wrey died 13 April 1784 and was interred in Tawstock church where there is a pyramidal monument to him and his two wives. His second wife Ellen died at her house in The Circus
, 3 December 1813. He was succeeded by his eldest son Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Baronet.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician.
A native of North Devon
North Devon
North Devon is the northern part of the English county of Devon. It is also the name of a local government district in Devon. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth...
, he was the son of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 5th Baronet and his wife Diana, daughter of John Rolle of Stevenstone. He was educated at Winchester
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
and succeeded his father (a Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
sympathiser), as 6th baronet on 12 November 1726.
He made his Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
in 1737-40, visiting Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. While living in Rome, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
The Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an English aristocrat and writer. Montagu is today chiefly remembered for her letters, particularly her letters from Turkey, as wife to the British ambassador, which have been described by Billie Melman as “the very first example of a secular work by a woman about...
recorded him sleeping with his landlady with the encouragement of his landlord. In 1742, he was elected to the Society of Dilettanti, a group of gentlemen who wanted to maintain an interest in the antiquarian and artistic pursuits which they had enjoyed abroad. George Knapton
George Knapton
George Knapton was an English portrait painter and the first portraitist for the Society of Dilettanti in the 1740s. He became Surveyor and Keeper of the King's Pictures from 1765-1778.-Life and work:...
(1698-1778), the official portraitist of the society, painted his portrait in 1744, in which he is depicted holding a punch bowl inscribed with a line from the Odes: "dulce est desipere in loco" (it is sweet on occasion to play the fool).
He was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Barnstaple
Barnstaple (UK Parliament constituency)
Barnstaple was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Barnstaple in Devon, in the South West of England. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member.The constituency...
in 1747 and went to Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
in 1752 as a delegate for the 'Society for Carrying on the Herring Fishery'. He rebuilt the pier at Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England with a small harbour, surrounded by cliffs.The parish stretches along the coast from 'The Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 4 miles along The Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west...
and established better arrangements for English fishermen in Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck and Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
Family
Wrey married firstly in 1749, Mary, daughter of John Edwards of HighgateHighgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
, who died without issue in 1751, and was the subject of a long Latin epitaph in The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...
of that year.
He married secondly in 1755, Ellen, daughter and heiress of John Thresher of Bradford on Avon
Bradford on Avon
Bradford on Avon is a town in west Wiltshire, England with a population of about 9,326. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists....
. There were two sons and four daughters from this marriage including Florentina, who married Richard Godolphin Long
Richard Godolphin Long
Richard Godolphin Long was an English banker and Tory politician.-Background:Baptised at West Lavington, Wiltshire a month after his birth, he was the son of Richard Long and his wife Meliora, descendant of Sir John Lambe. Long was a partner in the Melksham Bank, together with his younger brother...
.
Sir Bourchier Wrey died 13 April 1784 and was interred in Tawstock church where there is a pyramidal monument to him and his two wives. His second wife Ellen died at her house in The Circus
The Circus (Bath)
The Circus is an example of Georgian architecture in the city of Bath, Somerset, England, begun in 1754 and completed in 1768. The name comes from the Latin 'circus', which means a ring, oval or circle. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building....
, 3 December 1813. He was succeeded by his eldest son Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Baronet.