William Sotwell (1571–1639) was an English landowner and 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. ...
between 1621 and 1624.
Biography
Sotwell, born on 23 November 1571, was the eldest son of John Sotwell, clerk, of
Penistone
Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Barnsley, n ...
, Yorkshire, and
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
* Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Ando ...
, Hants, and Mary, daughter of Christopher Ellis of
Rothwell, Yorkshire. He was educated at
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
(1590) and
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
(1590) and was
called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in 1598.
Sotwell was a landowner of
Greenham
Greenham is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. Greenham commences immediately south-east of Newbury and is in West Berkshire. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Greneham''.
Governance
Greenham was originally a tithing i ...
, Berkshire. He also inherited property at
North Tidworth
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
and Andover. In 1621, 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
Ludgershall. He was re-elected for the seat in 1624. He died on 18 June 1639.
Family
Sotwell married Eleanor (died 1607), third daughter of William Knight of
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. They had a son and three daughters. The son and two daughters
predeceased their father; the surviving daughter Elizabeth married firstly Francis Trenchard of Cutteridge, Wiltshire and secondly
John Bulkeley.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sotwell, William
1639 deaths
English MPs 1621–1622
English MPs 1624–1625
1571 births
People from West Berkshire District