Sir William Morice (6 November 1602 – 12 December 1676) of Werrington in Devon, was an English statesman and theologian. He served as

Secretary of State for the Northern Department The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Northern Department became the Foreign Office. History Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of St ...

and a Lord of the Treasury from June 1660 to September 1668.

Life

Morice was educated at Exeter College, Oxford. He was elected Member of Parliament for Devon to fill a vacancy in 1648, but was excluded in Pride's Purge in December of that year, probably before he had taken his seat. Nevertheless, he was appointed High Sheriff of Devon in 1651, and returned to Parliament as MP for Devon in the First Protectorate Parliament elected in 1654. He subsequently represented Devon again in the Second Protectorate Parliament, Newport (Cornwall) in the Third Protectorate Parliament. MoriceArms

A relation of General Monck, Morice assisted in the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

and was knighted in 1660. He was also made a Privy Counsellor and appointed

, an office he held until he resigned in 1668; he was apparently an undistinguished minister, but justified his tenure of office by his usefulness in the House of Commons. In the Convention Parliament of 1660 he was re-elected for Newport but was also elected for

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, which he chose to represent, and was that city's MP until his death 16 years later. In 1657, during the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, he published a treatise on the administration of the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...

to all church members.

Marriage and children

Morice married Elizabeth Prideaux, a daughter of Humphrey Prideaux (abt 1573–1617) of Soldon, and Honor Fortescue, by whom he had children including *

Sir William Morice, 1st Baronet Sir William Morice, 1st Baronet (c. 1628 – 7 February 1690), of Werrington (then in Devon but now in Cornwall), was an English Member of Parliament. Origins Morice was the eldest son of Sir William Morice, a Member of Parliament who assis ...

(c.1628–1690), eldest son and heir, MP, created a baronet in 1661. * John Morice (c. 1630–1705), MP. * Nicholas Morice (c.1640–1712), MP. *Anne (b. c.1653), who married

Sir John Pole, 3rd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

*Thomasine, who married

Sir Walter Moyle Sir Walter Moyle (9 March 1627 – 19 September 1701) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1656 and 1660. Moyle was the son of John Moyle of Bake, Cornwall. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford ...

Notes

References

* * Sir George Clark, ''The Later Stuarts 1660-1714'' (2nd edition - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1955) {{DEFAULTSORT:Morice, William 1602 births 1676 deaths Secretaries of State for the Northern Department High Sheriffs of Devon Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1659 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon Members of the Parliament of England for Plymouth