Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet, of Wytley (ca. 1602 – 30 November 1669), was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1625. He was an officer in the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

army during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

and, as Governor of Worcester, he refused entry to the Parliamentary cavalry shortly before the

Battle of Powick Bridge The Battle of Powick Bridge was a skirmish fought on 23 September 1642 just south of Worcester, England, during the First English Civil War. It was the first engagement between elements of the principal field armies of the Royalists and Parlia ...

(22 September 1642) — the first cavalry skirmish of the Civil War.

Biography

Russell was the son of Sir Thomas Russell of

Strensham Strensham is a village in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire. In the 2001 census, the civil parish of Strensham had a population of 314 across 127 households. Since 1991, the population has risen 28.7% from 244 residents. History The Chu ...

and his wife Elizabeth Spencer, daughter of Sir William Spencer. He was educated at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

(1620) and trained in the law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

(1622). In 1625 Russell 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 ...

(MP) for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. He was created baronet of Wytley on 12 March 1627. The manor of Great Witley passed out of the family, sold by his son Thomas during his lifetime.British History
/ref> Russell was appointed to the Worcestershire bench as 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 1633 to 1646 and from 1660 until his death. He was High Sheriff of Worcestershire for 1635 and 1642–43. He was the Governor of Worcester (1642–1643).

Family

Russell married Frances Reade, daughter of Sir Thomas Reade of Barton, Berkshire and his wife Mary Brockett, daughter of Sir John Brocket of Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire and had thirteen children. He was succeeded by his son

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

. Samuel Butler a poet who wrote ''

Hudibras ''Hudibras'' is a vigorous satirical poem, written in a mock-heroic style by Samuel Butler (1613–1680), and published in three parts in 1663, 1664 and 1678. The action is set in the last years of the Interregnum, around 1658–60, immediately b ...

'' was brought up in Russell's house and became his clerk.

Notes

References

* * * * * 1602 births 1669 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1625 High Sheriffs of Worcestershire Members of the Parliament of England for Worcestershire {{17thC-England-MP-stub