John Borlase Warren

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Sir

John Borlase Warren

Sir John Borlase Warren, by Daniel Orme, 1799
Born2 September 1753
Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, England
Died27 February 1822(1822-02-27) (aged 68)
Greenwich Hospital, London[1]
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1771–1822
RankAdmiral
Commands heldHMS Helena
HMS Ariadne
HMS Winchester
HMS Flora
Western Squadron
HMS Pomone
HMS Canada
North America Station
Battles/wars
Alma materWinchester College
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Spouse(s)Caroline Clavering
RelationsGeorge Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon (grandson)

Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet GCB GCH PC (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807.

Naval career[edit]

Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren (died 1763[2]) of Stapleford and Little Marlow. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1769, but in 1771 entered the navy as an able seaman;[3] in 1774 he became member of Parliament for Great Marlow; and in 1775 he was created a baronet, the baronetcy held by his ancestors, the Borlases, having become extinct in 1689.[4]

Career[edit]

Memorial to Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet, in St Mary's Church, Attenborough

His career as a seaman really began in 1777, and two years later he obtained command of a ship.[4] On 23 April 1794, as Commodore of the frigate squadron off the north-west French coast assisting in the blockade of Brest, Warren and his squadron captured a number of French frigates.[1] In 1795, he commanded one of the two squadrons carrying troops for the Quiberon expedition and in 1796 his frigate squadron off Brest is said to have captured or destroyed 220 vessels.[1] In October 1798, a French fleet—carrying 5,000 men—sailed from Brest intending to invade Ireland.[1] The plan was frustrated in no small part due to the squadron under his command during the action of 12 October 1798 off Donegal.

Diplomatic career[edit]

In 1802, he was sworn of the Privy Council and sent to St. Petersburg as ambassador extraordinary,[1] but he did not forsake the sea. In 1806 he captured a large French warship, the Marengo, at the action of 13 March 1806. He was commander-in-chief on the North American Station from 1807 to 1810.[1] He became an admiral in 1810, and was commander-in-chief on this Station again from 1813 to 1814.[1][4] While in Halifax he determined the late commander John Shortland's dog had been stolen from London and brought to Halifax.[5] He had the dog returned to London to Shortland's widow. During the British invasion of Maryland in 1814, he led a detail of British troops that occupied Havre de Grace and set fire to much of the town, including the home of Commodore John Rodgers.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Portrait of his daughter, Frances Maria Warren, between c. 1820 and c. 1830

On 12 December 1780, he married Caroline Clavering, a daughter of Lt.-Gen. Sir John Clavering. She died in 1839.

He died on 27 February 1822. His two sons predeceased him. His daughter and heiress, Frances Maria Warren (1784–1837), married George Venables-Vernon, 4th Baron Vernon. Their son was George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon.

Legacy[edit]

There is a monument to him in St Mary's Church, Attenborough in Nottinghamshire. A popular figure in the area of his birth, there are a number of pubs named after him in Nottingham and nearby towns.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
  2. ^ Stanford University,
  3. ^ "Warren, John Borlase (WRN769JB)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. ^ a b c  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Warren, Sir John Borlase". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 330.
  5. ^ King, R.N., Lt. William Elletson (1811). The Naval Chronicle (1799-1818): Containing a general and biographical history of the royal navy of the United kingdom with a variety of original papers on nautical subjects. London: J. Gold. p. 197. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  6. ^ Paullin, Charles Oscar (1910). Commodore John Rodgers: Captain, Commodore, and Senior Officer of the American Navy, 1773-1838. Arthur H. Clark Company. pp. 279–280. Retrieved 5 October 2023.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Great Marlow
1774–1784
With: William Clayton 1774–83
William Clayton 1783–84
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Nottingham
1797–1800
With: Daniel Parker Coke
Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Parliament of Great Britain
Member of Parliament for Nottingham
1801–1806
With: Daniel Parker Coke 1801–02, 1803–06
Joseph Birch 1802–03
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Buckingham
1807
With: Thomas Grenville
Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, North American Station
1807–1810
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, North American Station
1813–1814
Succeeded by
Baronetage of Great Britain
New creation Baronet
(of Little Marlow)
1775–1822
Extinct