Vice-Admiral Sir George Richard Brooke-Pechell, 4th Baronet (30 June 1789 – 29 June 1860),[1] born George Richard Pechell, was a British Royal Navy officer and Whig politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton for 25 years.

George Richard Pechell

Sir George was the second son of Major-General Sir Thomas Brooke-Pechell, 2nd Baronet (1753–1826), who was the MP for Downton, and his wife Charlotte (died 1841), second daughter of Lieutenant-General Sir John Clavering.[2] His older brother Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Pechell inherited the baronetcy, but died childless in 1849, and George succeeded to the title.

Pechell entered the navy in 1803, aged 14, and attained the rank of captain in 1826. He became a rear-admiral on the retired list in December 1852, and vice-admiral on 5 January 1858.[2]

He unsuccessfully contested Brighton at the 1832 general election,[3] but won the seat at the 1835 general election[3] and held it until his death on 29 June 1860,[4] on the day before his 71st birthday. In Parliament he spoke on a range of issues, particularly those on those relating to the navy and to fishing. He supported the secret ballot, non-denominational education for all, and opposed church rates.[2]

He married Katherine Annabella Bishopp, daughter of Sir Cecil Bisshopp, 12th Lord Zouche, on 1 August 1826.[5] They had one son and two daughters.[2]

Brooke-Pechell lived at Castle Goring in Sussex from 1825, when he let the building from Sir Timothy Shelley, father of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and Member of Parliament for New Shoreham. In 1845, Brooke-Pechell bought the property from Percy Bysshe Shelley's widow Mary Shelley.

See also

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  • O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). "Pechell, George Richard" . A Naval Biographical Dictionary . John Murray – via Wikisource.

References

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  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's list of baronets – Baronetcies beginning with "P" (part 1)
  2. ^ a b c d J. K. Laughton, ‘Pechell, Sir George Richard Brooke, fourth baronet (1789–1860)’, rev. Andrew Lambert, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 , accessed 13 October 2010
  3. ^ a b Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 65. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
  4. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 5)
  5. ^ Lundy, Darryll. "Vice-Admiral Sir George Richard Brooke-Pechell, 4th Bt". ThePeerage.com. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Brighton
18351860
With: Isaac Newton Wigney
Sir Adolphus Dalrymple, Bt
Isaac Newton Wigney
Lord Alfred Hervey
William Coningham
Succeeded by
Baronetage of Great Britain
Preceded by Baronet
of Paglesham
1849–1860
Succeeded by
George Samuel Brooke-Pechell