Christopher Billopp (Royal Navy officer)
Christopher Billopp (ca.1638 - 1726) was a captain in the British Royal Navy in the seventeeth century who commanded various ships of the line including the HMS Greenwich in the Battle of Bantry Bay After his service to the British Crown he was granted a land patent of 932 acres on Staten Island in the colony of New York, where he built a stone manor house he named "Bentley Manor", after the name of a small ship he commanded the "Bentley".
The house, inherited by his great grandson Colonel Christopher Billopp a British Loyalist during the American Revolution, was the setting for a failed peace conference between Lord Howe and members of the Continental Congress. His house is now a United States National Historic Landmark known as the Conference House.[1]
Family
Billopp's father was named Christopher Billopp from Beverley in East Yorkshire, England. His grandfather was James Billopp and great grandfather Barnard. His had a Brother named Joseph. He was married twice and had two daughters by his first wife, Mary and Anne, his second wife was Katherine Farmar. Anne married Thomas Farmar. One of Billopp's descendants was the actress Jane Wyatt
Naval Career
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Billopp served as captain on a variety of Royal Navy ships:
- HMS Suffolk during the Battle of Barfleur
- HMS Ossory
- HMS London
- HMS Greenwich during the Battle of Bantry Bay
- HMS Victory
- HMS Deptford; a 10 gun ketch
- Prudent Mary; fire ship, commanded the ship on August 11, 1673 during the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. While attempting to get alongside the ship of the Dutch Admiral Cornelis Tromp, was grappled by a Dutch fire ship, both burned together.[2]
In New York
Billopp served for a time as a lieutenant in command of an infantry detachment under colonial governor Edmund Andros.
References
- ^ History of Thomas and Anne Billopp Farmar, and Some of their Descendants in America by Charles Farmer Billopp (Hardcover - Sept. 22, 2009)Publisher: BiblioLife Language: English ISBN 1113765771 ISBN 978-1113765772
- ^ The manuscripts of the Earl of Dartmouth, Volume 3 By Great Britain. Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts
Bibliography
The Londons of the British fleet, how they faced the enemy on the day of battle and what their story means for us to-day by Edward Fraser Published in 1908, J. Lane (London)