Sir William Courtenay (June 1553 – 24 June 1630) of
Powderham in Devon was a prominent member of the Devonshire gentry. He was
Sheriff of Devon
The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...
in 1579–80 and received the rare honour of having been three times elected
MP for the prestigious county seat (
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
) in 1584, 1589 and 1601.
Origins
He was the only son and heir of
Sir William Courtenay ( – 1557) of Powderham, MP for
Plympton Erle
Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Pl ...
in 1555, by
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, daughter of
John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester
John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester ( – 4 November 1576), styled The Honourable John Paulet between 1539 and 1550, Lord St John between 1550 and 1551 and Earl of Wiltshire between 1551 and 1555, was an English peer. He was the eldest son ...
. His sister Jane married Sir
Nicholas Parker. After his father's death, his mother subsequently married Sir
Henry Ughtred
Sir Henry Ughtred or Oughtred ( – June 1599) was a merchant and shipbuilder during the reign of Elizabeth I. One of his ships, the ''Leicester'' sailed with Sir Francis Drake against the Spanish Armada. He was elected MP for the seat ...
, son of Sir
Anthony Ughtred
Sir Anthony Ughtred or Oughtred, Knight banneret ( – 6 October 1534) was as an English soldier and military administrator during the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII. Ughtred fought in Ireland, the Anglo Scottish border and both on ...
and his second wife,
Elizabeth Seymour, sister to
Jane
Jane may refer to:
* Jane (given name), a feminine given name
* Jane (surname), related to the given name
Film and television
* ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd
* ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...
, third consort of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
.
Career
In 1557 at the age of 4, he succeeded his father. He trained as a lawyer in 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 ...
. He was knighted on 25 March 1576, served as
Sheriff of Devon
The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...
for 1579–80 and was also involved in the
Munster Plantation
Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The Crown saw the plantations as a means of controlling, angl ...
in Ireland in the 1580s, being granted
Desmond Hall and Castle
Desmond Hall and Castle, also called Desmond Castle and Banqueting Hall or Newcastle West Medieval Complex and Desmond Hall, are a set of medieval buildings and National Monuments located in Newcastle West, Ireland. For over 200 years, it belon ...
in
Newcastle West
Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicized Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city, It is also the county town, and sits on the ...
. Sir William was elected as a Member of Parliament for
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
in 1584, 1589 and 1601. In 1831 he was recognised by a retrospective decision of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
as having been ''de jure'' 3rd
Earl of Devon
Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be con ...
.
Marriages and issue
He married three times:
First marriage
He married firstly, around 18 January 1573, Elizabeth Manners, a daughter of
Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland
Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, 13th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG (23 September 152617 September 1563) was an English nobleman.
Origins
He was the son and heir of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland and his wife Eleanor Paston.
Career
Li ...
, and by her had seven sons and three daughters:
* Sir William Courtenay, (died 1603), eldest son and
heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
, knighted 1599, died without progeny and predeceased his father.
*
Francis Courtenay, (1576 – 3 Jun 1638), of Powderham, MP, 2nd but eldest surviving son and heir. In 1831 he was recognised retrospectively as having been ''de jure'' 4th
Earl of Devon
Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be con ...
.
* Thomas Courtenay
*
Sir George Oughtred Courtenay[: Sir William Courtenay settled the Newcastle estate on his fourth son, George, to whom the Manor of Mayne, (forfeited by a branch of the FitzMaurice family) was left by Sir ]Henry Ughtred
Sir Henry Ughtred or Oughtred ( – June 1599) was a merchant and shipbuilder during the reign of Elizabeth I. One of his ships, the ''Leicester'' sailed with Sir Francis Drake against the Spanish Armada. He was elected MP for the seat ...
, on his taking the name of Ughtred.(born ), 1st Baronet of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, Limerick, married by 1616, Catherine, daughter of Francis Berkeley of
Askeaton
Askeaton (, Waterfall of Géitine, also historically spelt Askettin), is a town in County Limerick, Ireland. The town on the N69, the road between Limerick and Tralee, is built on the banks of the River Deel some 3 km upstream from the e ...
, Limerick, and by her had three sons:
::* Sir William Courtenay (born ), 2nd Baronet
::* Francis Courtenay (born )
::* Morris Courtenay
* John Courtenay
* Alexander Courtenay
* Edward Courtenay
* Margaret Courtenay, eldest daughter, whose mural monument with kneeling effigy survives in St Mary Magdalene's Church, Richmond, Surrey. She married firstly Sir
Warwick Hele
Sir Warwick Hele (1568 – 15 January 1626) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1625.
Origins
Hele was the eldest son of John Hele (died 1608), a money-lender and MP and was ...
(1568-1626) of Wembury in Devon, MP, secondly Sir John Chudleigh (born 1584), knighted by King Charles I 22 Sept 1625, 3rd son of John Chudleigh (1565-1589) of Ashton, Devon, and younger brother of
Sir George Chudleigh, 1st Baronet
Sir George Chudleigh, 1st Baronet (c. 1578 – 15 January 1658), of Ashton, Devon, was an English landowner and politician, who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1625. He had close family connections to a group of Dev ...
(d.1656).
* Bridget Courtenay
* Elizabeth Courtenay, 3rd daughter, who married
Sir William Wrey, 1st Baronet
Sir William Wrey, 1st Baronet (died 1636) of Trebeigh, St Ive, Cornwall and North Russell, Sourton, Devon, was High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1598 and was created a baronet by King Charles I in 1628.
Origins
He was the second son of John Wrey (d.159 ...
of
Tawstock
Tawstock is a village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon in the English county of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Barnstaple, Bishop's Tawton, Atherington, Yarnscombe, Horwood, ...
in Devon. Her father's arms survive, impaled by Wrey, on the monument of her father-in-law
John Wrey
John Wrey (died 1597) of North Russell, Sourton, and Bridestowe in Devon and Trebeigh, St Ive, Cornwall, was Sheriff of Cornwall in 1587.
Origins
He was the son and heir of Walter Wrey of North Russell by his wife Bridget Shilstone, daughter of ...
(d.1597) in Tawstock Church.
Second marriage
He married secondly Elizabeth (d. 1598), a daughter of Sir George Sydenham of
Combe Sydenham
Combe Sydenham is an historic manor in Somerset, England. The 15th-century manor house, called Combe Sydenham House is in the parish of Stogumber, Somerset and is situated just within the boundary of Exmoor National Park. It is a Grade I list ...
in Somerset and widow of Sir
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
(d. 1596).
Third marriage
Thirdly he married Jane Hill, a daughter of Robert Hill of
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, Somerset.
Death
He died in London on 24 June 1630 and was buried in Powderham Church, Devon. 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 ...
.
References
Sources
*
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*
External links
Hasler, P.W. (1981). "Courtenay, Sir William I (1553-1630), of Powderham, Devon". In Hasler, P.W. (ed.). ''The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1558–1603''at historyofparliamentonline.org
;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtenay, William
1553 births
1630 deaths
Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon
High Sheriffs of Devon
English MPs 1584–1585
English MPs 1589
English MPs 1601
Earls of Devon (1553 creation)
16th-century English landowners