John Borlase Warren (original) (raw)

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Royal Navy officer, politician and diplomat (1753–1822)

Admiral The Right HonourableSir John Borlase WarrenBt GCB GCH
Sir John Borlase Warren, by John Opie, 1794, Ulster Museum
Born 2 September 1753Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, England
Died 27 February 1822(1822-02-27) (aged 68)Greenwich Hospital, London[1]
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
Years of service 1771–1822
Rank Admiral
Commands HMS HelenaHMS AriadneHMS WinchesterHMS FloraWestern SquadronHMS PomoneHMS CanadaNorth America Station
Battles / wars American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Action of 23 April 1794 Invasion of France Battle of Tory Island Napoleonic Wars Action of 13 March 1806 War of 1812
Alma mater Winchester CollegeEmmanuel College, Cambridge
Spouse(s) Caroline Clavering
Relations George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon (grandson)

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

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]

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.

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. In 1814, Warren led the British forces which occupied Havre de Grace, Maryland and burnt much of the town, including the home of Commodore John Rodgers.[6]

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.

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.

  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 domain: Chisholm, 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.
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded byWilliam ClaytonWilliam Dickinson Member of Parliament for Great Marlow 1774–1784 With: William Clayton 1774–83William Clayton 1783–84 Succeeded byWilliam ClaytonSir Thomas Rich
Preceded byRobert SmithDaniel Parker Coke Member of Parliament for Nottingham 1797–1800 With: Daniel Parker Coke Succeeded byParliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded byParliament of Great Britain Member of Parliament for Nottingham 1801–1806 With: Daniel Parker Coke 1801–02, 1803–06Joseph Birch 1802–03 Succeeded byDaniel CokeJohn Smith
Preceded byThomas GrenvilleSir William Young, Bt Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1807 With: Thomas Grenville Succeeded byThomas GrenvilleRichard Neville
Military offices
Preceded byGeorge Cranfield Berkeley Commander-in-Chief, North American Station 1807–1810 Succeeded byHerbert Sawyer
Preceded byHerbert Sawyer Commander-in-Chief, North American Station 1813–1814 Succeeded bySir Alexander Cochrane
Baronetage of Great Britain
New creation Baronet(of Little Marlow)1775–1822 Extinct