Sir William Maurice (April 1552 – August 1622) was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1593 and 1611. Maurice was the son of Morys ap Ellis ap Morys, and grandson of Ellis ap Morris of Clennenau, his brother was captain Ellis Maurice fought for Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

in Ireland. He was one of the Council of the Marches of Wales. He was

High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire (or Carnarvonshire). The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in a county but over the centuries most of the responsibi ...

in 1582 and High Sheriff of Merionethshire in 1591. In 1593, he was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Carnarvonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

. He was High Sheriff of Carnarvonshire again in 1596. In 1597 he was re-elected MP for Carnarvonshire. In 1601 he was elected MP for Beaumaris. He was a personal friend of James I, and induced him to assume the title of King of Great Britain. He was knighted at Whitehall on 23 July 1603. In 1604 he was elected MP for Carnarvonshire again. He was High Sheriff of Merionethshire again in 1606. He was of Clennenau and was probably constable of Harlech Castle. Maurice died at the age of 70 and was buried at

Penmorfa Penmorfa is the name of two villages in Wales. One is a small village in the community of Penbryn, Ceredigion, Wales. Penmorfa is represented in the Senedd by Elin Jones (Plaid Cymru) and is part of the Ceredigion constituency in the House of Com ...

. Maurice married firstly Margaret Lacon only daughter of John Wyn Lacon of Elanddyn and Porkington. She died in 1572 and was buried at

Selattyn Selattyn ( Welsh: ''Sylatyn'') is the name of a village close to Oswestry in Shropshire, England, on the England–Wales border. The village is near Offa's Dyke, which bounds the parish on the west. The parish includes the townships of Upper a ...

on 18 February 1572. He married secondly Ellen Wis, widow of John Wis of Chwaen and daughter of Hugh ap Llewelyn. His third wife, whom he married between 6 June 1604 and 8 June 1605 was Jane Johnes widow of Sir Thomas Johnes of Abfrmarles and daughter of Rowland Puleston of Carnarvon. Maurice employed a tailor in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, John Langley. In 1594 he ordered clothing for his wife and daughter, including a

farthingale A farthingale is one of several structures used under Western European women's clothing in the 16th and 17th centuries to support the skirts in the desired shape and enlarge the lower half of the body. It originated in Spain in the fifteenth c ...

and farthingale sleeves.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maurice, William 1552 births 1622 deaths Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales High Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire High Sheriffs of Merionethshire 16th-century Welsh politicians 17th-century Welsh politicians English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 Members of the Parliament of England for Beaumaris