Sir William Fairfax (by 1531– 1 November 1597), of

Gilling Castle Gilling Castle is a Grade I listed country house near Gilling East, North Yorkshire, England (). History The castle was originally the home of the Etton family, who appeared there at the end of the 12th century. It was Thomas de Etton who bu ...

and

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, was an English politician. He was the eldest son of Sir Nicholas Fairfax of Gilling, who he succeeded in 1571. He was knighted in 1560 and was 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 ...

for Yorkshire from 1562 until his death. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

for

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the mai ...

in 1558 and for

in 1597. He was

High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere ...

for 1577–78 and a member of the Council in the North from 1577 to his death. He died in 1597 shortly after his election to Parliament. He had married twice; firstly Agnes, the daughter of George, Lord Darcy and secondly Jane, the daughter and heiress of Brian Stapleton of Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire. He had one son,

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 was made Viscount Fairfax in 1629.

References

1597 deaths English MPs 1558 Members of the Parliament of England for constituencies in Yorkshire People from Gilling East English knights High Sheriffs of Yorkshire Year of birth uncertain English justices of the peace English MPs 1597–1598 {{16thC-England-MP-stub