Sir Henry Furnese, 1st Baronet

Monument to Furnese, All Saints' Church, Waldershare, Kent

Sir Henry Furnese, 1st Baronet (30 May 1658 – 30 November 1712) was an English merchant and politician.

He was the son of Henry Furnese, of Sandwich, Kent, and pursued a career in the City of London as a merchant trader. He was a member of the Drapers' Company and was knighted on 21 October 1691 at The Hague.

He was elected to the Parliament of England as Member of Parliament for Bramber in 1698, but was expelled on 14 February the following year. He was re-elected for Sandwich in 1700/1 but was again expelled the following month, only to be re-elected again, after which he held the seat until his death.

He was Sheriff of London, 1700–01, and was created a baronet on 27 June 1707. In May 1711, he was selected as an Alderman of the City of London, representing Bridge Ward Within.

He married twice: firstly in November 1684 to Anne Brough, the 19-year-old daughter of linen draper Robert Brough of St Lawrence Jewry. She was buried in the parish church of St Lawrence Jewry on 30 June 1695. His second marriage was to Matilda, the widow of Anthony Balam and daughter of fellow London merchant Sir Thomas Vernon.

He died 30 November 1712, aged 54, and was succeeded by his son Robert. His widow died 20 years later on 8 May 1732.

External links

• Handley, Stuart (2002) "FURNESE, Sir Henry (1658-1712), of Waldershare, Kent, and Dover Street, Westminster", The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715, edited by D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley