Francis Williams ( – 5 August 1598), also known as Francis Cromwell, of

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

landowner and politician. He was elected MP for

in 1572 and was appointed

Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire This is an ''incomplete'' list of Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in England from 1154 until the abolition of the office in 1965. Exceptionally, the two counties shared a single sheriff. Sheriffs had a one-year term of office, bei ...

in 1587.

Early life

Francis Williams, ''alias'' Cromwell, was the second son of

Sir Richard Williams Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams, (3 August 1890 – 7 February 1980), is widely regarded as the "father" of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He was the first military pilot trained in Australia, and went on to command Australian and Br ...

''alias'' Cromwell (–1544) of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

and Hinchingbrooke and Frances Murfyn (–), daughter of

Thomas Murfyn Thomas Murfyn (or Mirfyn, Merfyn, Murphin), (died 1523) was a Sheriff and Lord Mayor of London. Biography Thomas Murfyn was a native of Ely, Cambridgeshire, and son of George Murfyn. He was a member of the Worshipful Company of Skinners in the C ...

and his second wife, Elizabeth Donne. Williams, ''alias'' Cromwell was admitted to

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1565. His estates, which were mainly in

, included the site of

St Neots Priory St Neots Priory was a Benedictine monastery beside the town of St Neots in the historic county of Huntingdonshire, now a non-metropolitan district in the English county of Cambridgeshire. Anglo-Saxon monastery A monastery was first founded here ...

, the manors of

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

, Hardwick, and Grafham, as well as lands in the parish of

Wintringham Wintringham is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. Location The village is near the A64 road and east of Malton. Two long-distance footpath ...

. He also owned property in Aldermanbury, London.

Career

Fairly active in local affairs, he played a role subordinate to that of his elder brother, Sir Henry Williams, ''alias'' Cromwell. He served as JP,

Court of quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

in Huntingdonshire from 1582 and was

from 1587 to 1588. With his brother's support, as sheriff, he was returned as junior

knight of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

for

in 1572. He stood again in 1584, but then the sheriff was Sir Henry Darcy, a fierce opponent of his brother, who ensured that Francis was defeated and his own candidate, John Dorrington, was elected. He complained to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

, who appointed the

Recorder of London The Recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The Recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The Recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

and the solicitor-general to investigate the matter, but it was decided that the dispute lay outside its jurisdiction. Subsequently, the

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

took up his case in the

Star Chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...

. No further evidence survives, but Dorrington retained his seat.

Marriage and issue

Francis Williams, ''alias'' Cromwell married, by 1565, Margaret Mannock, daughter of Henry Mannock of

Hemingford Grey Hemingford Grey is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Hemingford Grey lies approximately east of Huntingdon. Hemingford Grey is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well a ...

, by whom he had a son: * Henry Williams, ''alias'' Cromwell (b. 1565) He was estranged from his wife by 1586 when he provided her with an annuity.

Death

He died at

Hardwick, Cambridgeshire Hardwick is a village and civil parish in the county of Cambridgeshire, England with a large housing estate located about west of the city of Cambridge, England. The village lies immediately south of the A428 road between Cambridge and St Neots. ...

on 5 August 1598 and was (presumably) buried at the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

at Hardwick. His heir, Henry, then 33 years of age, inherited the site of

, called the Fermerne; the manor of

, with 80 acres of pasture, called Little and Great-Dirty Wintringham; the manor of Grafham, and the manor of Hardwick.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * *

External links

CROMWELL, alias WILLIAMS, Francis (c.1541-98), of Hemingford Grey and St. Neot's, Hunts.
in ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558–1603'', ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981.
Pedigree of Oliver Cromwell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Francis 1541 births 1598 deaths Members of Gray's Inn English MPs 1572–1583 English people of Welsh descent Cromwell family 16th-century English people High Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire