# William Bokenham

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'''William Bokenham''' (died 10 November 1702) was [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) officer and Whig politician who sat in the [House of Commons](/source/House_of_Commons_of_England) from 1701 to 1702.<ref name="hop">{{HistoryofParliament |1690 |last=Handley |first=Stuart |title=Bokenham, William (d. 1702) |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/bokenham-william-1702}}</ref>

Bokenham was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy on 10 August 1681 and became a captain on 7 May 1689. He was captain of [HMS ''Happy Return''](/source/HMS_Happy_Return_(1660)) from 1689 to 1690, of [HMS ''Monck''](/source/HMS_Monck_(1660)) in 1691 and on [HMS ''Duchess''](/source/HMS_Duchess_(1679)) from 1693 to 1694.<ref name=Threedecks>{{cite web |url=http://www.threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_crewman&id=1736 |website=Three Decks |title=William Bokenham}}</ref> In 1696 he was first captain to [Sir George Rooke](/source/George_Rooke) and was later first captain to [Lord Berkeley](/source/John_Berkeley%2C_3rd_Baron_Berkeley_of_Stratton).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_NDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA285 |first=Isaac |last=Schomberg |title=Naval chronology: or An historical summary of naval and maritime events |page=285 |publisher=T. Egerton |location=London |date=1815 |volume=5}}</ref>

In 1700 Bokenham acquired Digs Court, otherwise called Digges, in the parish of [Westwell](/source/Westwell%2C_Kent), Kent.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63430 |chapter=Parishes: Westwell |title=The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent |volume=7 |date=1798 |pages=412–429 |publisher=W. Bristow |location=Canterbury |first=Edward |last=Hasted |accessdate=20 November 2010}}</ref>

In November 1701 Bokenham was elected [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament) (MP) for [Rochester](/source/Rochester_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in the government interest, and held the seat until July 1702.<ref>{{rayment-hc|r|2|date=March 2012}}</ref>

In August 1702, Bokenham became captain of [HMS Association](/source/HMS_Association_(1697)), a ninety gun ship.<ref name=Threedecks/> He took part in the [Battle of Vigo Bay](/source/Battle_of_Vigo_Bay) on 23 October 1702 when his ship fired broadsides at the battery on the left of the harbour, which soon disabled it. Vigo Bay was a resounding victory for the Anglo-Dutch forces against the French.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_50_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA180 |first=John |last=Campbell |title=Naval history of Great Britain |volume=3 |page=180 |publisher=Baldwin & Co |location=London |date=1818}}</ref>

Bokenham's property in Rochester was inherited by his brother Robert, who was also a naval captain. The properties were later inherited by another brother Harry Bokenham, and Harry's daughter Anne Bokenham and her husband John Dumaresq, son of [Elias Dumaresq](/source/Elias_Dumaresq%2C_3rd_Seigneur_of_Augr%C3%A8s) who sold it in 1729.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REQOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA195 |first=John |last=Charnock |title=Biographia Navalis |volume=3 |page=195 |publisher=R. Paulder |location=London |date=1795 }}</ref><ref name="hop"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}
*John Charnock ''Biographia Navalis Vol 2'' p240

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|en}}
{{s-bef|before=[Sir Joseph Williamson](/source/Joseph_Williamson_(English_politician))<br />[Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell](/source/Cloudesley_Shovell)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament) for [Rochester](/source/Rochester_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|with=[Francis Barrell](/source/Francis_Barrell_(1663%E2%80%931724))
|years=1701–1702}}
{{s-aft|after=[Edward Knatchbull](/source/Sir_Edward_Knatchbull%2C_4th_Baronet)<br/>[William Cage](/source/William_Cage_(MP_for_Rochester))}}
{{s-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bokenham, William}}
Category:English MPs 1701–1702
Category:1702 deaths
Category:Year of birth missing
Category:Royal Navy captains
Category:People from Rochester, Kent
Category:Place of birth missing
Category:17th-century Royal Navy personnel
Category:British naval commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Bokenham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bokenham) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bokenham?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.