William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis KB (George Edward Cokayne. ''Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, Or Dormant'', Volume 6. G. Bell & sons, 1895. pg 295. – 7 March 1655Bernard Burke. ''A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire,'' Harrison, 1866. pg 275.) was a Welsh politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at various times between 1597 and 1629.

Early life

Herbert was born in

Powis Castle Powis Castle ( cy, Castell Powys) is a British medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys. The seat of the Herbert family, Earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the fo ...

, the son of Sir Edward Herbert (–1595) and the former Mary Stanley. In 1587, his father purchased the lands of the

abeyant Abeyance (from the Old French ''abeance'' meaning "gaping") is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vesting, vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the tru ...

barony of Powis from their distant relative, Edward, an illegitimate son of the 3rd Baron Grey of Powis. His maternal grandfather was Sir Thomas Stanley, who served as Under-Treasurer of the Royal Mint at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

during the reign of Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

. His father was the second son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and the former Anne Parr, sister of Queen Catherine Parr (the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII). His paternal uncle was

Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, KG, KB (in or after 153819 January 1601) was a Welsh nobleman, peer and politician of the Elizabethan era. He was the nephew of Catherine Parr, and brother-in-law of Lady Jane Grey, through his first wife ...

Career

Herbert was High Steward to

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. In 1597, he was elected

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 o ...

for

Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

. He served as Custos Rotulorum of Montgomeryshire from 1602 to 1641. Upon the coronation of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

in 1603, Herbert was made a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

. In 1604, he was elected MP for Montgomeryshire again. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire The office of High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire was established in 1541 since then a High Sheriff was appointed annually until 1974 when the office was transformed into that of High Sheriff of Powys as part of the creation of Powys from the amalgama ...

in 1613. In 1614, he was re-elected MP for Montgomeryshire and was re-elected in 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628. He was created Baron Powis (a new creation) of

on 2 April 1629.

Personal life

Before 1600, Lord Powis married Lady Eleanor Percy (1583–1650), third daughter of

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, 2nd Baron Percy (153221 June 1585) was an English nobleman and conspirator. Origins He was born in about 1532 at Newburn Manor (Northumberland), the second of two sons of Sir Thomas Percy (c. 1504–15 ...

and his wife, Katherine Neville (eldest daughter and co-heiress of

John Nevill, 4th Baron Latymer John Neville, 4th Baron Latimer (1520 – 22 April 1577) was an English peer, and the stepson of Catherine Parr, later the sixth wife of King Henry VIII. Early life John Neville, born about 1520, was the only son of John Neville, 3rd Baron Lati ...

). They had several children including: *

Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis (1598 – 19 January 1667), known as Sir Percy Herbert, Bt, between 1622 and 1655, was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622 and later inherited a peerage. Herbert was the ...

(1598–1667), who was created a baronet in 1622 before succeeding to his father's titles; he married Elizabeth Craven, eldest surviving daughter of Sir William Craven,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

. * Katherine Herbert (–1666), who married Sir Robert Vaughan of Llwydiarth. After his death, she married Sir James Palmer. * Lucy Herbert, who married

William Habington William Habington (4 November 1605 – 30 November 1654) was an English poet. Life Habington was born at Hindlip Hall, Worcestershire, and belonged to a well-known Catholic family. His father, Sir Thomas Habington, an antiquary and historical sc ...

(or Abington) of

Hindlip Hindlip or Hinlip is a village and civil parish north east of Worcester, in the Wychavon district, in the county of Worcestershire, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 180. The parish touches Tibberton, Martin Hussingtree, Salwarpe, ...

in early 1633. * Marie Herbert (1604–1660), who married Humphrey Jones, son of Gruffyd Jones. Lord Powis died on 7 March 1655. He was succeeded by his son

. Herbert was buried at St. Mary's Church in Hendon, Middlesex, London.

Descendants

Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of William Herbert (1626–1696), who became the 1st

Earl of Powis Earl of Powis (Powys) is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 in favour of William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis, a descendant of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c. 1501–15 ...

in 1674 and then 1st

Marquess of Powis Marquess of Powis was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1687 for William Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis. He had already succeeded his father as third Baron Powis in 1667 and had been created Earl of Powis in the Peerage of Englan ...

in 1687. Through his daughter Katherine's second marriage, she was the mother of

Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, PC (1634–1705) was an English courtier, diplomat, and briefly a member of parliament, sitting in the House of Commons of England for part of 1660. He was also a noted Roman Catholic writer. His wife Barba ...

, best known for his marriage to Barbara Villiers, one of Charles II's

mistresses Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

whom the King ennobled as the Duchess of Cleveland.

In popular culture

Herbert is a candidate for "Mr WH", the dedicatee of Shakespeare's sonnets.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powis, William Herbert, 1st Baron 1572 births 1655 deaths 1 High Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire 16th-century Welsh politicians 17th-century Welsh politicians

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 ...

William Herbert Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629