Sir William Esturmy (died 1427) (''alias'' Sturmy), of

Wolfhall Wulfhall or Wolfhall is an early 17th-century manor house in Burbage parish, Wiltshire, England. It is north-east of Burbage village, and about south-east of Marlborough. A previous manor house on the same site, at that time in the parish of G ...

, Wiltshire was an English

Knight of the Shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, and hereditary Warden of the royal forest of Savernake, Wiltshire.

Origins

He was born in about 1356, the son of Geoffrey Sturmy (d. 1381) and nephew and heir of Sir Henry Sturmy of Wolfhall in the

Savernake Forest Savernake Forest stands on a Cretaceous chalk plateau between Marlborough and Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. Its area is approximately . Most of the forest lies within the civil parish of Savernake. It is privately owned by the Earl of Ca ...

, Wiltshire.

Career

He succeeded his uncle in 1381 which brought him manors throughout Wiltshire, including

Elvetham Hartley Wintney is a large village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It lies about northwest of Fleet and east of Basingstoke. The parish includes the smaller contiguous village of Phoenix Green as well as the haml ...

in the north of the county, where he created a 300-acre park, and

and other manors in the east. He was knighted by October 1388. He held the post of hereditary warden of Savernake Forest from 1381 to 1417 and from 1420 until his death in 1427. Between 1384 and 1422 he served as

knight of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

eight times for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, twice for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

(1384 and 1390) and twice for Devon (1391 and 1404). He was elected

in 1404 during the reign of King Henry IV, known as the ''Illiterate'' or ''

Unlearned Parliament The Unlearned Parliament also known as the Lawless Parliament , Parliament of Dunces or the Parliamentum Indoctorum is the term used for the Parliaments of Henry IV, 1404 parliament called by Henry IV of England at the Great Hall of St. Mary's Pri ...

'' because the king forbade lawyers from attending. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Gov ...

for 1418–19. He held a number of public commissions and served several times as an ambassador abroad.

Marriage and children

He married Joan Crawthorne, the widow of Sir John Beaumont of

Shirwell Shirwell is a village, civil parish and former manor in the local government district of North Devon, in the county of Devon, England. It was also formerly the name of a hundred of Devon. The village lies about 3.5 miles north-east of the town o ...

and

Saunton Saunton is a village located approximately two miles from Braunton on the North Devon coast in the South West of England. Several kilometres long, the village borders Braunton Burrows, the heart of North Devon's Biosphere Reserve, the first ...

in North Devon, by whom he had no sons, only two daughters and co-heiresses including: *Maud Esturmy, wife of Roger II Seymour (c.1367/70-1420),Loades, David, ''The Seymours of Wolf Hall: A Tudor Family Story'', Chapter 1: ''The Origins

/ref>

feudal barony of Hatch Beauchamp The feudal barony of Hatch Beauchamp or honour of Hatch Beauchamp was an English feudal barony with its ''caput'' at the manor of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset. The site of the mediaeval manor house, to the immediate south of the ancient parish c ...

in Somerset, by whom she had a son John Seymour (d.1464).

Death

He died at Elvetham in 1427 and was buried at Easton Priory near Wolfhall. His heirs were his daughter Agnes (the wife of John Holcombe) and John Seymour (the son of Maud).

References

STURMY (ESTURMY), Sir William (c.1356-1427) of Wolf Hall in Great Bedwyn, Wilts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esturmy, William 1350s births 1427 deaths Year of birth uncertain High Sheriffs of Wiltshire Speakers of the House of Commons of England English MPs April 1384 English MPs January 1390 English MPs 1401 English MPs 1417 English MPs 1422 English MPs November 1390 English MPs 1391 English MPs 1393 English MPs 1399 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon