Sir Henry Strachey, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Strachey, 1st Baronet (23 May 1737 – 3 January 1810) was a British
civil servant and politician.
Strachey was the eldest son of Henry Strachey, of Sutton Court
, Somerset
, and his first wife Helen, daughter of Robert Clerk, a Scottish physician. His grandfather was the geologist John Strachey
and his great-grandfather John Strachey was a friend of John Locke
. He was appointed private secretary to Lord Clive
in India
in 1762, a position he held until 1768, when he was returned to Parliament for Pontefract
. He sat for this constituency until 1774, and later represented Bishop's Castle
from 1774 to 1778 and from 1780 to 1802, Saltash
from 1774 to 1780 and East Grinstead
from 1802 to 1807. Strachey was Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance
from 1778 to 1780 and Principal Storekeeper of the Ordnance
from 1780 to 1780 and in 1783 and served under the Marquess of Rockingham
as Joint Secretary to the Treasury
in 1782 and under the Earl of Shelburne
as Joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
from 1782 to 1783. He took part in the peace negotiations with the American colonies in Paris in 1783 with Richard Oswald representing British and John Jay, Johns Adams and Benjamin Franklin representing the Americans. This resulted in the treaty of Paris. He later served as Master of the Household
between 1794 and 1810. In 1801 he was created a Baronet, of Sutton Court in the County of Somerset.
Strachey married Jane, only daughter of John Kelsall, in 1770. They had three sons and one daughter. His second son Edward Strachey was the father of John Strachey and Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Strachey
and the grandfather of Lytton Strachey, James Strachey
, Oliver Strachey
and Dorothy Bussy
. Other descendants of Strachey include the Liberal
politician Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie
, the journalist John Strachey and the Labour
politician John Strachey. Strachey died in January 1810, aged 72, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son Henry. Lady Strachey died in 1824.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
civil servant and politician.
Strachey was the eldest son of Henry Strachey, of Sutton Court
Sutton Court
Sutton Court, Stowey, also known as Stowey Court, is a large English house built on the site of a fourteenth century castle, with sections built in the fifteenth and sixteenth century....
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, and his first wife Helen, daughter of Robert Clerk, a Scottish physician. His grandfather was the geologist John Strachey
John Strachey (geologist)
John Strachey was a British geologist.He was born in Chew Magna, England, a member of the Strachey Baronets. He inherited estates including Sutton Court from his father at three years of age. He matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford and was admitted at Middle Temple, London, in 1688...
and his great-grandfather John Strachey was a friend of John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
. He was appointed private secretary to Lord Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1762, a position he held until 1768, when he was returned to Parliament for Pontefract
Pontefract (UK Parliament constituency)
Pontefract was an English parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Pontefract in the West Riding of Yorkshire, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons briefly in the 13th century and again from 1621 until 1885, and one member from 1885 to 1974.-In the unreformed...
. He sat for this constituency until 1774, and later represented Bishop's Castle
Bishop's Castle (UK Parliament constituency)
Bishop's Castle was a borough constituency in Shropshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It was founded in 1584 and was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to...
from 1774 to 1778 and from 1780 to 1802, Saltash
Saltash (UK Parliament constituency)
Saltash, sometimes called Essa, was a "rotten borough" in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1552 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
from 1774 to 1780 and East Grinstead
East Grinstead (UK Parliament constituency)
East Grinstead was a parliamentary constituency in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. It first existed as a Parliamentary borough from 1307, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons elected by the bloc vote system...
from 1802 to 1807. Strachey was Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance
Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance
The Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance and a member of the Board of Ordnance from its constitution in 1597. He was responsible for keeping record of the number and kind of stores issued from the stocks of ordnance...
from 1778 to 1780 and Principal Storekeeper of the Ordnance
Storekeeper of the Ordnance
The Principal Storekeeper of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance and a member of the English Board of Ordnance from its constitution in 1597. He was responsible for the care and maintenance of ordnance stores. The office was abolished in 1855.-Storekeepers of the...
from 1780 to 1780 and in 1783 and served under the Marquess of Rockingham
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, KG, PC , styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Earl Malton in 1750, was a British Whig statesman, most notable for his two terms as Prime...
as Joint Secretary to the Treasury
Secretary to the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are junior Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure as Lord Treasurer in the 16th century. The...
in 1782 and under the Earl of Shelburne
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
as Joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
-Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782-present:*April 1782: Evan Nepean*April 1782: Thomas Orde*July 1782: Henry Strachey*April 1783: George North*February 1784: Hon. John Townshend*June 1789: Scrope Bernard*July 1794: The Hon...
from 1782 to 1783. He took part in the peace negotiations with the American colonies in Paris in 1783 with Richard Oswald representing British and John Jay, Johns Adams and Benjamin Franklin representing the Americans. This resulted in the treaty of Paris. He later served as Master of the Household
Master of the Household
The Master of the Household is the operational head of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom...
between 1794 and 1810. In 1801 he was created a Baronet, of Sutton Court in the County of Somerset.
Strachey married Jane, only daughter of John Kelsall, in 1770. They had three sons and one daughter. His second son Edward Strachey was the father of John Strachey and Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Strachey
Richard Strachey
Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Strachey, GCSI, FRS , British soldier and Indian administrator, third son of Edward Strachey and grandson of Sir Henry Strachey, 1st Baronet was born on 24 July 1817, at Sutton Court, Stowey, Somerset...
and the grandfather of Lytton Strachey, James Strachey
James Strachey
James Beaumont Strachey was a British psychoanalyst, and, with his wife Alix, a translator of Sigmund Freud into English...
, Oliver Strachey
Oliver Strachey
Oliver Strachey , a British civil servant in the Foreign Office was a cryptographer from World War I to World War II....
and Dorothy Bussy
Dorothy Bussy
Dorothy Bussy was an English novelist and translator.-Family background and childhood:Dorothy Bussy was a member of the Strachey family, one of ten children of Jane Strachey and the great British Empire soldier and administrator Lt-Gen Sir Richard Strachey...
. Other descendants of Strachey include the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie
Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie
Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie PC , known as Sir Edward Strachey, Bt, between 1901 and 1911, was a British Liberal politician. He was a member of the Liberal administrations of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H...
, the journalist John Strachey and the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician John Strachey. Strachey died in January 1810, aged 72, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son Henry. Lady Strachey died in 1824.