Browne Willis

Browne Willis (16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708.

Willis was born at Blandford St Mary, Dorset, the eldest son of Thomas Willis of Bletchley, Buckinghamshire and his wife Alice Browne, daughter of Robert Browne of Frampton, Dorset.

[7] His published works are:[8] Between 1724 and 1730, Browne Willis built St. Martin's Church on the site of the old Chantry Chapel of St. Margaret and St. Catherine at Fenny Stratford.

He erected the church as a memorial to his grandfather Dr. Thomas Willis, a famous physician who lived in St. Martin's Lane in the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London and died on St. Martin's Day, 11 November 1675.

The firing of the "Fenny Poppers", six small cannon, dates from this period, although there is no record of their first use.