Sir William Clifton, JP (1663 1686 in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) was 3rd Baronet Clifton of

Clifton, Nottinghamshire Clifton is a large suburban village and historic manor in the city of Nottingham, England. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 22,749. Clifton has two council wards in the City of Nottingham (Clifton West and Clifton East as of 2018) ...

, and Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire from 1683 to 1686. In 1685, he founded a regiment which later became the

15th Regiment of Foot 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious num ...

and subsequently the

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

Family

William was the third, but eldest surviving son of Sir

Clifford Clifton Sir Clifford Clifton (1626 - June 1670) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1659. Early life Clifford was baptised on 22 June 1626. He was the son of Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet of Clifton-on Trent, N ...

and Frances Finch, daughter of

Sir Heneage Finch Sir Heneage Finch (15 December 1580 – 5 December 1631) was an English nobleman, lawyer, Member of Parliament, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Commo ...

former Speaker of the House of Commons. He was christened in St Mary Abbots, Kensington on 7 April 1663. His paternal grandfather was

Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet, K.B. (25 November 1587 – 28 June 1666) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1666. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. He was educa ...

and paternal grandmother was Lady Frances Clifford, daughter of

Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland (15594 January 1641) was a member of the Clifford family which held the seat of Skipton from 1310 to 1676. He was the second son of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland and Anne Dacre and inherited hi ...

He succeeded his father in ownership of the Clifton estates in 1670, and succeeded his cousin Sir Gervase Clifton, 2nd Baronet, to the baronetcy in 1676. He was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. Sir William Clifton was Deputy Lieutenant for Nottinghamshire from 1683 until his death in 1686, and was also a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

from 1685 to 1686, and M.P. for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, 1685–1686. On the outbreak of the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

in 1685, Sir William raised his own regiment, which later became the

. He died in France at the age of 23. He was unmarried, and was succeeded by his cousin

Sir Gervase Clifton, 4th Baronet Two unrelated baronetcies have been created in the surname of Clifton. The Clifton Baronetcy, of Clifton in the County of Nottinghamshire, was created in the Baronetage of England on 22 May 1611 for Sir Gervas Clifton, of Clifton Hall, Nottingh ...

. , -

References

1663 births 1686 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of England Politicians from Nottingham Deputy Lieutenants of Nottinghamshire English MPs 1685–1687 English justices of the peace {{17thC-England-MP-stub