William Danvers (1428 – 19 April 1504) of Chamberhouse Castle in

Thatcham Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. Geography Thatcham straddles t ...

, Berkshire, was a British judge. He was a

Serjeant-at-Law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

and 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 ...

Origins

He was a younger son of

John Danvers Sir John Danvers (c. 1585–buried 28 April 1655) was an English courtier and politician who was one of the signatories of the death warrant of Charles I. Life Danvers was the third and youngest son of Sir John Danvers of Dauntsey, Wiltshire, ...

(died 1449) of Calthorpe, near

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

and of Prescote in the parish of

Cropredy Cropredy ( ) is a village and civil parish on the River Cherwell, north of Banbury in Oxfordshire. History The village has Anglo-Saxon origins and is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The toponym comes from the Old English words ''cropp'' ...

, both in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

who served four times as a

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 ...

for

, in 1420, 1421, 1423 and 1435. His mother (his father's second wife) was Joan Bruley, daughter and heiress of John Bruley, of Waterstock, Oxfordshire, a son of William Bruley, MP. His elder half-brother was Sir Robert Danvers (d.1467), another notable judge.

Career

He became a

for Oxfordshire in 1456, and served again for Berkshire in 1463. He represented

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 ...

in Parliament in 1467 and 1472, and with him in that Parliament was his brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, who sat for Downton. William was also member for Hindon in 1478. He became a

in 1485 and was made a Justice of the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

on 5 February 1488. On the death of his brother Thomas Danvers in 1502, William Danvers inherited the manors of Adderbury, Colthorpe, and the family property in Banbury, Bourton, Cropredy, Milton, and elsewhere.

Marriage

In 1470 he married Anne Pury, by whom he was the grandfather of

Edmund Docwra Edmund Docwra ( fl. 1571–1572), of Chamberhouse Castle at Crookham near Thatcham in Berkshire, was an English politician. He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Aylesbury in 1571 and for New Windsor in 1572. He was the secon ...

MP and great-grandfather of

Henry Docwra, 1st Baron Docwra of Culmore Henry Docwra, 1st Baron Docwra of Culmore (1564 – 18 April 1631) was a leading English-born soldier and statesman in early seventeenth-century Ireland. He is often called "the founder of Derry", due to his role in establishing the city. Bac ...

Death

He died on 19 April 1504 and was buried in St Mary's Church, Thatcham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danvers, William Serjeants-at-law (England) 1428 births 1504 deaths People from Thatcham Justices of the Common Pleas English MPs 1467 16th-century English judges English MPs 1472

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 ...

Place of birth missing 16th-century English lawyers English MPs 1478