Roger Wilbraham

Roger Wilbraham FRS (1743 – January 1829) was a British Member of Parliament (MP), bibliophile, antiquary, local historian and a patron of science and the arts. He had an extensive library and he published work on the Cheshire dialect.

Life Wilbraham was born on 30 December 1743 at Townsend House in Welsh Row in Nantwich. Wilbraham had an elder brother George and another brother named Thomas. His father and his mother, Mary, sent their son to Trinity College, Cambridge. Wilbraham gained a BA, joined the Inner Temple, gained an MA and became a fellow of the college by 1767.

Wilbraham spent a number of years abroad in France, Spain and Italy.

Wilbraham was elected fellow of the Royal Society on 28 February 1782. In 1784 he stood unsuccessfully to be the Member of Parliament for Truro in Cornwall representing the interests of Sir Francis Bassett. He and Sir Christopher Hawkins, 1st Baronet received an identical number of votes at an election in the Mitchell constituency but Hawkins was awarded the seat. Wilbraham also spoke in defence of Edmund Burke and he was also a strong supporter of Charles James Fox.

Wilbraham was known as a healthy large man of over 20 stone in weight. When out shooting he was known for wearing a red velvet jacket and a white hat. He made good company and he would host parties where guests could admire his knowledge and his library of leather-bound books. Unusually, he fell out with the Italian poet Ugo Foscolo at his own house. Despite Foscolo's further provocation, Wilbraham refused to use harsh words to his own guest, but did promise to speak more freely the following day.

Legacy

Wilbraham was known as an antiquary and for his fine collection of books which included novels, plays, poetry and texts in both Spanish and Italian. After he died in 1829 there was a six-day sale