Henry Priestman (Royal Navy officer)

Henry Priestman
Born c.1647
Died 20 August 1712 (aged 6465)
Allegiance  Kingdom of England
Service/branch  Royal Navy
Years of service 1672–1699
Rank Captain
Commands held HMS Antelope
HMS Richmond
HMS Lark
HMS Swan
HMS Reserve
HMS Bonaventure
Commander-in-Chief of ships in the Straits
HMS Hampton Court

Captain Henry Priestman (ca. 1647 - 20 August 1712) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1695 to 1698.

Priestman joined the Royal Navy in 1672 and his first command was the fourth-rate HMS Antelope.[1] In August 1673 he was promoted to the command of the sixth-rate HMS Richmond.[1] In a time of relative peace he saw no action and went to the Mediterranean in 1675 in command of the sixth-rate HMS Lark.[1] In January 1678 he was appointed to the fifth-rate HMS Swan, and later in the year returned to HMS Antelope.[1] In 1681, he commanded the fourth-rate HMS Reserve, and in May 1683 was appointed to the fourth-rate HMS Bonaventure.[1] Soon after he was appointed Commodore and Commander-in-Chief of ships in the Straits.[1] In 1688, he was placed in command of the third-rate HMS Hampton Court and after the Glorious Revolution, to which he was sympathetic, he became Comptroller of the Storekeeper's Accounts in 1689.[1]

Priestman was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for New Shoreham in 1695 and held the seat until 1698.[2] He joined the Board of Admiralty led by the Earl of Pembroke in June 1690[3] and was advanced to First Naval Lord in January 1691.[4] Priestman left the Admiralty Board in May 1699, following the departure from office of his friend, the Earl of Orford, who was highly criticised for financial abuse.[5] Priestman died on 20 August 1712, aged 65; there is a monument to him in Westminster Abbey.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Story of Shoreham". Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 2)
  3. "Sainty, JC, Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660-1870, Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660-1870 (1975), pp. 18-31". Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  4. Rodger, p. 34
  5. Charnock, John. Biographia Navalis. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  6. "Henry Priestman". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 4 August 2017.

Sources

  • Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Offices of State. Lavenham: T. Dalton Ltd. ISBN 0900963948.
Parliament of England
Preceded by
Sir Edward Hungerford
John Perry
Member of Parliament for New Shoreham
1695–1698
With: John Perry
Succeeded by
John Perry
Charles Sergison
Military offices
Preceded by
Edward Russell
Senior Naval Lord
1691–1694
Succeeded by
Earl of Orford
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