Sir William Selby (died 1638) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1597 to 1601.

Biography

Selby was the son of Sir John Selby of Twizell. He was educated at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

in 1573. 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 of ...

for

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. He was re-elected MP for Northumberland in 1601. History of Parliament Online - William Selby
/ref> He was knighted in 1603 and was High Sheriff of Northumberland in the same year. He was Sheriff of Northumberland again in 1606. In 1611 he succeeded to

Ightham Mote Ightham Mote (), Ightham, Kent is a medieval moated manor house. The architectural writer John Newman describes it as "the most complete small medieval manor house in the county". Ightham Mote and its gardens are owned by the National Trust and ...

and the estates in Kent of his uncle Sir William Selby. He was gentleman porter of Berwick upon Tweed in succession to his father.C H Hunter Blair ''The Sheriffs of Northumberland'' Archaeologia Aeliana: Or, Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquities
/ref> Selby married Dorothy Bonham (1572–1641). She was a friend of Lady Anne Clifford. Dame Dorothy and Sir William obtained permission to receive Holy Communion - compulsory at the time - at home, giving rise to suspicion that they favoured Catholicism. There is a tradition that Dorothy Selby helped reveal the Gunpowder plot, apparently via the medium of needlework as recorded and depicted on her tomb at Ightham. She is said to have died of blood-poisoning from the prick of a needle while working at embroidery. Selby first heard of the Gunpowder plot on 10 November 1605, while riding from Carlisle to Newcastle. Selby died on 14 February 1637/8 at Ightham. The couple had no children: his estates in the north of England passed to William Selby, second son of Sir Ralph Selby.Joseph Jackson Howard, ''Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica'', vol.1 (London, 1868), p. 23.

References

External links

Portrait of Dorothy Bonham Selby, National Trust

Monument to Dorothy Bonham Selby at Ightham church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selby, William Year of birth missing 1638 deaths English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge High Sheriffs of Northumberland

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 ...

People from Ightham