Sir Henry Firebrace
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Firebrace was a courtier
to Charles I
, serving during his conflicts with Parliament throughout the era of the English Civil War
s. He later served Charles II
as a Clerk of the Green Cloth
and was knighted about 1685.
origin, the name being variously argued to mean "strong of arm" (fier-a-bras) or more likely as a term of admiration for some feat of battle. It is unknown when they moved to England but the family eventually lived in Derbyshire
, where Henry was born, the sixth son of Robert Firebrace of Derby
and Susan Jerome of Kegworth
, Leicestershire
in 1619 or 1620.
He attended Repton School
until the age of about 14, shortly after which his family moved to London, and Firebrace was apprenticed to a scrivener
. In 1643, he was appointed secretary to Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh
's council of war.
, it appears that his sympathies were monarchist
; he later claimed to "have been of service to [the king] at Uxbridge
" in 1645. In 1647, when the Scots had delivered the king to the English at Newcastle, and his former servants were dismissed by the Parliamentarians, Firebrace arranged to be appointed by Denbigh to "attend to his majesty as one of the pages of the bedchamber", at the king's request, and was trusted with the task of guarding Charles. At the same time, Firebrace was acting as a double agent
, ensuring transit of the king's correspondence and in planning his escape. While ostensibly guarding Charles in November 1647, he allowed the king to escape from Hampton Court.
In 1648, when Charles was imprisoned on the Isle of Wight
, Firebrace (still trusted by the forces of Cromwell
) continued to act as a conduit for illicit communications and to develop further escape plans. One attempt, in which the plan was to lower the king to the ground using a rope, failed when Charles, who had ascertained that his head would pass through the window-frame, became lodged and was stuck there; of this, Firebrace would later write
However, his attempts proved fruitless and eventually he felt bound to advise the king to "take a boat and commit yourself to the mercy of the seas, where God will preserve you"; Charles did not take this advice.
Firebrace was one of the king's attendants at his execution on 30 January 1649, and thereafter he returned to serve Denbigh, who by that time had become a member of the post-civil war government
, residing in Warwickshire
. He was to remain there, settling in Stoke Golding
, close by, for the next nine years.
in 1660, Firebrace sought a court position under Charles II
having previously been commended as "a person very faithful and serviceable ... in his greatest extremities" by Charles I
. He was appointed Third Clerk of the Kitchen of the Board of Green Cloth
, promoted to Second Clerk in 1661 and Chief Clerk in 1667; in 1685 he rose to Clerk Comptroller and in 1688 to Clerk. For this service he was knighted some time before 2 April 1685 and retired c. 1688 at the age of 69.
, Leicestershire
, with whom he had five children, four of whom survived infancy; their second son Basil
(b. 1652) later became the first of the Firebrace Baronets
; his daughter Hester married Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh
. Elizabeth died in June 1659 and in 1664 Firebrace married Alice Bagnall, daughter of a Gentleman Usher
of the Court, and in 1685 Mary Sergeant, daughter of the Keeper of the Royal Wine Cellar. His first marriage was the only one to produce known issue.
Firebrace died on 27 January 1691 and is buried in Stoke Golding; he had become wealthy and the local church, to which he bequeathed some valuable items of communion plate, contains a marble monument to him.
The poet W. H. Auden
was a distant descendant of Firebrace.
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
to Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, serving during his conflicts with Parliament throughout the era of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
s. He later served Charles II
Charles 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...
as a Clerk of the Green Cloth
Clerk of the Green Cloth
The Clerk of the Green Cloth was a position in the British Royal Household. The clerk acted as secretary of the Board of Green Cloth, and was therefore responsible for organising royal journeys and assisting in the administration of the Royal Household. From the Restoration, there were four clerks...
and was knighted about 1685.
Early life
The Firebrace family are presumed to have been of NormanNormans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
origin, the name being variously argued to mean "strong of arm" (fier-a-bras) or more likely as a term of admiration for some feat of battle. It is unknown when they moved to England but the family eventually lived in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, where Henry was born, the sixth son of Robert Firebrace of Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
and Susan Jerome of Kegworth
Kegworth
Kegworth is a large village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England....
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
in 1619 or 1620.
He attended Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
until the age of about 14, shortly after which his family moved to London, and Firebrace was apprenticed to a scrivener
Scrivener
A scrivener was traditionally a person who could read and write. This usually indicated secretarial and administrative duties such as dictation and keeping business, judicial, and history records for kings, nobles, temples, and cities...
. In 1643, he was appointed secretary to Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh
Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh
Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh was the eldest son of William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh.Like his father, the son was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was summoned to the House of Lords as Baron Feilding in March 1629...
's council of war.
Service to Charles I
Despite Firebrace's links to Denbigh, who aligned with the ParliamentariansRoundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
, it appears that his sympathies were monarchist
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
; he later claimed to "have been of service to [the king] at Uxbridge
Treaty of Uxbridge
The Treaty of Uxbridge of early 1645 was a significant but abortive negotiation to try to end the First English Civil War.-Background:Parliament drew up 27 articles in November 1644 and presented them to Charles I of England at Oxford. Much input into these Propositions of Uxbridge was from...
" in 1645. In 1647, when the Scots had delivered the king to the English at Newcastle, and his former servants were dismissed by the Parliamentarians, Firebrace arranged to be appointed by Denbigh to "attend to his majesty as one of the pages of the bedchamber", at the king's request, and was trusted with the task of guarding Charles. At the same time, Firebrace was acting as a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
, ensuring transit of the king's correspondence and in planning his escape. While ostensibly guarding Charles in November 1647, he allowed the king to escape from Hampton Court.
In 1648, when Charles was imprisoned on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, Firebrace (still trusted by the forces of Cromwell
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
) continued to act as a conduit for illicit communications and to develop further escape plans. One attempt, in which the plan was to lower the king to the ground using a rope, failed when Charles, who had ascertained that his head would pass through the window-frame, became lodged and was stuck there; of this, Firebrace would later write
However, his attempts proved fruitless and eventually he felt bound to advise the king to "take a boat and commit yourself to the mercy of the seas, where God will preserve you"; Charles did not take this advice.
Firebrace was one of the king's attendants at his execution on 30 January 1649, and thereafter he returned to serve Denbigh, who by that time had become a member of the post-civil war government
English Council of State
The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I....
, residing in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. He was to remain there, settling in Stoke Golding
Stoke Golding
Stoke Golding is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England, which lies in the heart of England, in South West Leicestershire, close to the Warwickshire county border. According to the 2001 census the total population was 1,721, living in just over...
, close by, for the next nine years.
Service to Charles II
On the restoration of the monarchyEnglish Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
in 1660, Firebrace sought a court position under Charles II
Charles 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...
having previously been commended as "a person very faithful and serviceable ... in his greatest extremities" by Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. He was appointed Third Clerk of the Kitchen of the Board of Green Cloth
Board of Green Cloth
The Board of Green Cloth was a board of officials belonging to the Royal Household of England and Great Britain. It took its name from the tablecloth of green baize that covered the table at which its members sat....
, promoted to Second Clerk in 1661 and Chief Clerk in 1667; in 1685 he rose to Clerk Comptroller and in 1688 to Clerk. For this service he was knighted some time before 2 April 1685 and retired c. 1688 at the age of 69.
Death and legacy
Firebrace married three times; in 1645 he married Elizabeth Dowell, of Stoke GoldingStoke Golding
Stoke Golding is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England, which lies in the heart of England, in South West Leicestershire, close to the Warwickshire county border. According to the 2001 census the total population was 1,721, living in just over...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, with whom he had five children, four of whom survived infancy; their second son Basil
Sir Basil Firebrace, 1st Baronet
Sir Basil Firebrace, 1st Baronet was a supplier of wines to the royal household, Sheriff of London, and MP for Chippenham, Wiltshire, from 1690 to 1692...
(b. 1652) later became the first of the Firebrace Baronets
Firebrace Baronets
The Firebrace Baronetcy, of London, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 28 July 1698 for Basil Firebrace, Member of Parliament for Chippenham from 1690 to 1692. He was the son of Sir Henry Firebrace. The third Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Suffolk...
; his daughter Hester married Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh
Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh
Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh, 3rd Earl of Desmond was a British peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Viscount Feilding from 1675 to 1685....
. Elizabeth died in June 1659 and in 1664 Firebrace married Alice Bagnall, daughter of a Gentleman Usher
Gentleman Usher
Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders.-Historical:...
of the Court, and in 1685 Mary Sergeant, daughter of the Keeper of the Royal Wine Cellar. His first marriage was the only one to produce known issue.
Firebrace died on 27 January 1691 and is buried in Stoke Golding; he had become wealthy and the local church, to which he bequeathed some valuable items of communion plate, contains a marble monument to him.
The poet W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
was a distant descendant of Firebrace.
Further reading
- Cordell William Firebrace, Honest Harry: being the biography of Sir Henry Firebrace, knight (1619-1691), London, J. Murray, 1932.