Browne Willis(16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was anantiquary,author,numismatistand politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708.
Early life
editWillis was born atBlandford St Mary,Dorset,the eldest son of Thomas Willis ofBletchley,Buckinghamshireand his wife Alice Browne, daughter of Robert Browne ofFrampton, Dorset.He was grandson ofDr Thomas Willis,the physician.[1][2][3]He was educated at Bechampton School in the care of Abraham Freestone and atWestminster School.He attendedChrist Church, Oxfordand entered theInner Templein 1700.[4]
In 1707 he married Katherine Eliot, the daughter ofDaniel Eliot.[5]
He joined the recently reformedSociety of Antiquariesin 1717–18.[6]
Political career
editIn 1705, Willis was elected Member of Parliament forBuckingham.He held the seat until 1708.[7]
Published works
editHis published works are:[8]
- Notitia Parliamentaria,vol. 1 (1715)[9]
- Survey of St David’s Cathedral(1716)
- Notitia Parliamentaria,vol. 2 (1716)[10]
- The Whole Duty of Man,Abridged for the Benefit of the Poorer Sort(1717)
- Mitred Abbies,vol. 1 (1718)
- An Survey of the Cathedral-Church of Landaff(1718 or 1719)
- Mitred Abbies,vol. 2 (1719)
- Survey of St Asaph(1720)
- Reflecting Sermons Consider'd; occasion'd by several discourses deliver'd by E. Wells(1720)
- Survey of Bangor Cathedral(1721)
- Survey of York, Durham, Carlisle, Chester, Man, Lichfield, Hereford, Worcester, Gloucester, and Bristol(1727)
- Survey of Lincoln, Ely, Oxford, and Peterborough(1730)
- A Table of the Gold Coins of the Kings of England(1733)
- Parochiale Anglicanum(1733)
- Notitia Parliamentaria,vol. 3 (1750)[11]
- To the Patrons of Ecclesiastical Livings(1752)
- History of the Town, Hundred, and Deanery of Buckingham(1755)
St Martin's Church, Fenny Stratford
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Fenny Poppers Festival, 23 August 2009
On this festival day in August, Aylesbury Street is closed to traffic and a short section of it is grassed over as a picnic area.
Between 1724 and 1730, Browne Willis builtSt. Martin's Churchon the site of the old Chantry Chapel of St. Margaret and St. Catherine atFenny Stratford.He erected the church as a memorial to his grandfather Dr. Thomas Willis, a famous physician who lived in St. Martin's Lane in the parish ofSt. Martin-in-the-Fieldsin London and died on St. Martin's Day, 11 November 1675.
The Fenny Poppers
editBrowne Willis arranged for a sermon to be preached in his memory at St. Martin's Church everySt. Martin's Day,for which a fee was payable. He celebrated the occasion with a dinner for local clergy and gentry. The firing of the "Fenny Poppers", six small cannon, dates from this period, although there is no record of their first use. In 1740 Browne Willis bought a house in Aylesbury Street, Fenny Stratford and the rent from this was used to pay for the sermon and gunpowder for the Fenny Poppers. The traditions were continued after Willis's death in 1760.[12]
The six poppers were re-cast in 1859 after one of them burst. They are still in use today.[12]
Many sites have been used for this battery. These include; the Canal Wharf, land behind the Church, St, Martin's Hall, the Churchyard and now the Leon Recreation Ground, which was once part of the lands belonging to the Chantry.
The poppers each weigh about 19 pounds (8.6 kg). The bore, 6 by 1.75 inches (152 mm × 44 mm) will take up to 1 ounce (28 g) of gunpowder, which is plugged with well-rammed newspaper. They are fired three times on St. Martin's Day: noon, 2pm and 4pm. There is no connection withRemembrance Day,which is also on 11 November.[12]
The poppers are also fired to mark special occasions, including the death ofQueen Victoria,the start of the second millennium, the 100th birthday ofQueen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother,[12]and theDiamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Notes
edit- ^Doggett, Nicholas (2009) [2004]. "Willis, Browne (1682–1760)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29577.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^"Willis, Browne (1682-1760), of Whaddon Hall, Bucks. | History of Parliament Online".www.historyofparliamentonline.org.Retrieved15 July2021.
- ^"Thomas Willis".Westminster Abbey.Retrieved15 July2021.
- ^The Willis Fleming Historical Trust
- ^Courtney, William Prideaux (1900)..InLee, Sidney(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 62. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^Chalmers, Alexander (1817)."Willis, Browne".The General Biographical Dictionary: containing an historical and critical account of the lives and writings of the most eminent persons in every nation: particularly the British and Irish; from the earliest accounts to the present time.Vol. 32. Printed for J. Nichols. pp.143–4.Retrieved24 November2010.
- ^David Hayton, Eveline Cruickshanks, Stuart Handley,The History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1690–1715,Cambridge University Press 2002,History of Parliament
- ^The Trustees of the Willis Fleming Historical Trust (2009)."Browne Willis's published works".Retrieved3 October2013.
- ^Notitia Parliamentaria: or, an History of the Counties, Citiesm and Broughs in England and Wales showing... Broughs... to which is subjoin'd Lists of the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses... With an Account of The Roman Towns in every Shire...Vol. 1 (second with additions ed.). Robert Gosling. 1730.
- ^Notitia Parliamentaria...: Containing the counties of Cornwall Cumberland Derby, Devon, Dorset, and Durham.Vol. 2 (first ed.). Robert Gosling. 1716.
- ^Willis, Browne(1750).Notitia Parliamentaria, Containing an Account of the First Returns and Incorporations of the Cities, Towns and Broughs, in England and Wales, That send Members to Parliament;... [and] A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660...London.
- ^abcd"The Fenny Poppers".Saint Martin's Church, Fenny Stratford.Retrieved29 June2020.
References
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Cousin, John William(1910). "Willis, Browne".A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.London: J. M. Dent & Sons – viaWikisource.
External links
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