Henry Lee

Who is Henry Lee?

Henry Lee was an English Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1685 and 1715.

Lee was the son of Dr John Lee, archdeacon of Rochester. His father took the name of Warner by act of parliament under the terms of the will of his uncle Dr John Warner, Bishop of Rochester. The family was descended from the Lees, of Hartwell, in Buckinghamshire. Lee, who held the rank of Colonel, purchased the manor of Dungeon in Kent.

Lee was an alderman of Canterbury and in March 1685 was elected Member of Parliament for Canterbury as a Tory. In 1687 Lee was mayor of Canterbury, but was dismissed from office by order of King James II. However he was re-elected MP for Canterbury in 1689 and held the seat until 1695. He was MP for Canterbury again from 1698 to 1708 and from 1710 to 1715.

Lee married Dorothy Howe, daughter of Sir George Grobham Howe, 1st Baronet and his wife Elizabeth Grimstone, daughter of Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet. His son Henry Lee Warner, who was MP for Hindon, pulled down the mansion of the Dungeon.