Sir William Wray, 1st Baronet, of Glentworth, Lincolnshire (c. 1555 – 13 August 1617) was an English Member of Parliament.
He represented the constituency of
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...
from 1584 to 1585,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
in 1601 and Grimsby again from 1604 to November 1611. He was appointed
High Sheriff of Lincolnshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire.
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...
in 1594 and was created a baronet on 25 November 1611.
Wray was a patron of religion. ''The Estate of the Church, with the Discourse of Times'' (1602), translated and expanded by
Simon Patrick from
Jean de Hainault was dedicated to him.
John Smyth regarded Wray as the major supporter of "godly" religion in the county.
Monuments to Wray and his second wife, Frances (died 1647), and to Susanna Drury, sister of Frances, exist at
St Peter's church
Ashby cum Fenby.
[Cox, J. Charles (1916) ''Lincolnshire'' p. 47; Methuen & Co. Ltd]
Family
He was the son of
Christopher Wray, by his wife Anne, daughter of Nicholas Girlington of
Normanby, Yorkshire. He married, first, in 1580, Lucy, eldest daughter of
Edward Montagu of
Boughton and
Elizabeth Harington, and grandson of the judge
Sir Edward Montagu. They had eight sons and a daughter:
[
* Sir John Wray, 2nd Baronet
*Nathaniel Wray (May 1591 – July 1591) (''d.s.p.'')
*Philip Wray (born June 1596) (''d.s.p.'')][Burkes, 1841, p. 584.]
*Benjamin Wray (''d.s.p.'')[Burkes, 1841, p. 581.]
*Nathaniel Wray (died December 1640, ''s.p.'')
*Edward Wray (died 20 March 1658), a Groom of the Bedchamber
Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...
, married Elizabeth Norris, who left an only daughter, Bridget, who became 4th Baroness Norreys in right of her mother.Bobbing, Kent
Bobbing is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swale, Swale district of Kent, England, about a mile north-west of Sittingbourne, and forming part of its urban area. The hamlet of Howt Green and village of Keycol are included within the p ...
, and daughter of Sir William Drury of Hawsted, Suffolk, and Elizabeth Stafford, by whom he was father of:
* Sir Christopher Wray (1601–1646) of Ashby and Barlings.
*George Wray (October 1603 – 1606)
*Charles Wray (born March or April 1605), killed fighting in Spain.
*Frances Wray (born October 1610), married on 25 March 1623 Sir Anthony Irby of Boston, Lincs., and had issue.
References
;Attribution
1550s births
1617 deaths
Members of the Parliament of England for Great Grimsby
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
High sheriffs of Lincolnshire
English MPs 1584–1585
English MPs 1601
English MPs 1604–1611
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