He was the eldest son and heir of
Sir Chichester Wrey, 3rd Baronet (1628-1668), of Trebeigh in the parish of
St Ive, Cornwall and of North Russell in the parish of
Sourton, Devon, by his wife Lady Anne Bourchier, a daughter and coheiress of
Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath (d.1636) of
Tawstock Court in North Devon, and widow of
Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex. The Wreys had been seated for several generations at the manor of Trebigh, but by the marriage of Sir Chichester with Lady Anne Bourchier they inherited the
manor of Tawstock, thenceforth the family seat (in which parish the present baronet still lives in 2015), and several other estates. ==Political career==