Sambrooke Freeman

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(aka Sambrook Freeman, c.1721–1782) was a member of the prominent Freeman family of Fawley Court near

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

, England.Sambrooke Freeman of Fawley Court. In Roger Kendal, Jane Bowen, and Laura Wortley, ''Genius & Gentility: Henley in the Age of Enlightenment'', River & Rowing Museum, 2002, page 14. . He was a Member of Parliament, for

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from 1754–61 and Bridport in

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from 1768–74. Sambrooke Freeman was the son of John (Cooke) Freeman, a successful businessman. His first name derived from the Sambrooke family. Due to the Freeman family's rising fortune, Sambrooke Freeman was educated at

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, graduating in 1739, followed by an expensive Grand Tour of

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on two trips over nearly four years from 1744. He married Sarah Winsford daughter of Thomas Geers Winford of Glasshampton, Worcestershire in December 1757. Freeman lived at Fawley Court, a large house close to the

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north of Henley-on-Thames and just in

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. He inherited the house on the death of his father in 1752.

Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...

was commissioned to work on the grounds of the estate surrounding the house between 1764 and 1766. Freeman also had the house remodelled by the architect

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

during the early 1770s is a Neoclassical style. Wyatt also designed the "temple" (a fishing lodge) on Temple Island on the river close to Fawley Court in 1771 for Freeman, with Etruscan-style murals inside. Edward Cooper sold Phyllis Court to Sambrooke Freeman in 1768.Emily J. Climenson (editor),
Passages from the Diaries of Mrs. Philip Lybbe Powys
', Kessinger Publishing, 2008. . He also bought the manors of Henley and Remenham in the same year. Freeman worked on a

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fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

project for Prior Park south of the city of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

that was never realized. Sambrooke Freeman was twice an MP, for

and Bridport. He joined the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

in 1756, two years after its formation, and encouraged the involvement of Humphrey Gainsborough the inventor and Thomas Powys. Freeman tried to change the position (to the end of New Street, Henley) and style of the new stone Henley Bridge so it could form a pleasing view from his house, but was unsuccessful.Henley Communications II: Roads and Bridges — Early Roads
''

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...

'',

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. Online texts in progress, Henley.

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, November 2006. On his death in 1782, Fawley Court passed to his nephew, Strickland Freeman. After his death, his wife lived in Henley Park, a

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish estate (house), estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house fr ...

in the deer park of the Fawley Court Estate. She died on 2 October 1806.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Sambrooke 1720s births 1782 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1768–1774 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bridport Politicians from Buckinghamshire People from Henley-on-Thames Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts