Sir William Spring, 2nd Baronet (1642–1684) 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 ...

politician, member of the

Spring family The Spring family is a Suffolk gentry family that has been involved in the politics and economy of East Anglia since the 15th century, as well as holding large estates in Ireland from the 16th century.Joseph Jackson Howard, ‘Spring’, ‘’ ...

and MP for Suffolk in 1679–1684. Spring was educated at King Edward VI School and Christ's College, Cambridge. He inherited the

Baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Pakenham, Suffolk Pakenham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Its name can be linked to Anglo-Saxon roots, Pacca being the founder of a settlement on the hill surrounding Pakenham chur ...

from his father, the Parliamentarian politician

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, in 1654. He was removed from the Commission of the Peace for Suffolk in 1670 for opposing the

Conventicle Act 1664 The Conventicle Act 1664 was an Act of the Parliament of England (16 Charles II c. 4) that forbade conventicles, defined as religious assemblies of more than five people other than an immediate family, outside the auspices of the Church of E ...

. He contested the Sudbury constituency in 1679, but lost. He subsequently represented Suffolk in both the second and third Exclusion Parliaments as an exclusionist. Although he moved away from his father's

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

beliefs, Spring was still anxious about the increasing Catholicisation of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

over his lifetime. On 14 February 1681, after he and Sir Samuel Barnardiston had been unanimously elected, an address was presented to them from the freeholders, thanking them for "''your zeal for the Protestant religion, your loyalty to his Majesty’s person and government, and your endeavours for the preservation of our laws, rights and liberties''" and urging them to continue their support of exclusion. He served as

High Sheriff of Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...

in 1674. He first married Mary, daughter of

Dudley North, 4th Baron North Dudley North, 4th Baron North, KB (160224 June 1677) of Kirtling Tower, Cambridgeshire was an English politician, who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1628 and 1660. Life North was the elder son of Dudley North, 3rd Baron ...

(no issue) and married secondly Sarah, daughter of

Sir Robert Cordell, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Cordell, 1st Baronet (died c. 1680), of Long Melford, Suffolk, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1660 and 1679. Cordell was the son of Sir John Cordell, of St Lawrenc ...

of Melford Hall, Suffolk and together they had three children: #

Sir Thomas Spring, 3rd Baronet Sir Thomas Spring, 3rd Baronet (c. 1672 – 2 April 1704) of Pakenham Hall in Pakenham, Suffolk, was an English baronet and landowner who served as High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1696. Career Spring was the eldest son of Sir William Spring, 2nd Bar ...

, married Merolina, daughter of

Thomas Jermyn, 2nd Baron Jermyn Thomas Jermyn, 2nd Baron Jermyn (10 November 1633 – 1 April 1703) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1679 until he inherited a peerage in 1684. Biography Jermyn was the son of Thomas Jermyn (d.1659) of Rushbrook ...

# Sir John Spring, 5th Baronet, married Elizabeth Nightingale # Sarah Spring, married John Macky. Spring was one of the earliest Whig MPs, being strongly in favour of excluding the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

James, Duke of York from inheriting the throne.

Ancestry

References

* * , - 1642 births 1684 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Whig (British political party) MPs

People educated at King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge English MPs 1679 English MPs 1681 High Sheriffs of Suffolk {{17thC-England-MP-stub