Sir Basil Firebrace, 1st Baronet

Sir Basil Firebrace was a supplier of wines to the royal household, Sheriff of London, and MP for Chippenham, Wiltshire.

He was born as the second son of Sir Henry Firebrace, a courtier to both Charles I and Charles II, and Elizabeth Dowell. Firebrace became a vintner and supplier of wines to the royal household, and in 1688 was admitted into the Worshipful Company of Vintners. He was also a person of prominence in the East India Company, but due to involvement in illegal affairs he was kept for a while in “close confinement” by Parliament. In 1701 he went bankrupt and was imprisoned again.

In 1698 he was appointed 1st Baronet Firebrace by King William III. He also served as Sheriff of London in 1687, and MP for Chippenham, Wiltshire, from 1690 to 1692. Firebrace married Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant Thomas Hough with whom he had five children.