Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere (14 July 1699 – 21 October 1781), known as Lord Vere Beauclerk until 1750, was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

peer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

for 24 years from 1726 to 1750. After serving various ships in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and then commanding the

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

HMS ''Hampton Court'', he joined the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

, ultimately serving as Senior Naval Lord.

Naval career

Born the son of the 1st Duke of St Albans and his wife Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans, he was an illegitimate grandson of King Charles II. Beauclerk joined the

in 1713. Promoted to

post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...

on 30 May 1721, he served in various ships in the

before being given command of the

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

HMS ''Lyme'' in 1727, the

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

HMS ''Kinsale'' in 1729 and the

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...

HMS ''Oxford'' in 1731. He went to command the

HMS ''Hampton Court'' in December 1731. Beauclerk joined the

under the Whig government in March 1738 but had to step down when the Government fell in March 1742. He returned to the Board again when the

Broad Bottom ministry The Broad Bottom ministry was the factional coalition government of Great Britain between 1744 and 1754. It was led by the two Pelham brothers in Parliament, Prime Minister Henry Pelham in the House of Commons and Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Du ...

came to power in December 1744 and was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 23 April 1745. He was advanced to Senior Naval Lord on the Board in February 1746 and promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on 14 July 1746 and to full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on 12 May 1748 before retiring in November 1749. Beauclerk was elected one of the first Vice Presidents of London's charitable

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropy, philanthropic Captain (nautical), sea captain ...

for abandoned children, an unpaid position. He served in that capacity from the institution's first year of 1739 until 1756, but then again from 1758 until 1767. From 1726 to 1741 Beauclerk was Member of Parliament (MP) for Windsor and for

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

(succeeding his brother Henry) from 1741 to 1750. On his retirement from politics in 1750, he was created Baron Vere, of Hanworth in the County of Middlesex. he was also

Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire. Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire *Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk 1545–22 August 1545 *Edw ...

from 1761 to 1771. It is said that he died at his home, 16 St James's Square in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 21 October 1781, although this date would appear at odds with the burial register of St James's Church, Piccadilly, which has him being buried on 6 October 1781.

Family

On 13 April 1736, in

, he married Mary Chambers (c. 1714-21 January 1783), a maternal granddaughter of the 2nd Earl of Berkeley. They later had six children (four of whom died young): *Vere Beauclerk (12 January 1737 – 26 December 1739) *Chamber Beauclerk (22 February 1738 – 16 July 1747) *Sackville Beauclerk (12 April 1739 – 25 April 1739) * Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans (3 June 1740 – 9 February 1802) *Elizabeth Beauclerk (7 July 1741 – April 1746); buried on 26 April 1746. * The Hon. Mary Beauclerk (4 December 1743 – 13 January 1812);''The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760''. 31 December 1743. who married Lord Charles Spencer, son of the 3rd Duke of Marlborough.

References

Sources

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vere, Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron 1699 births 1781 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George II Beauclerk, Lord Vere Lords of the Admiralty Lord-lieutenants of Berkshire Beauclerk, Vere, Lord Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754