Sir William Whorwood (c.1500 – 28 May 1545) was a
landowner in Staffordshire and the neighbouring counties, a distinguished lawyer, and a politician in the reign of
Henry VIII. He achieved the positions of
Solicitor General and
Attorney General.
Background and early years
Whorwood was born before 1505: his elder brother John was aged 40 in 1534, and taking account also of the dates of his education, it can be assumed that William was born 1500–1502.
He was the second or third son of John Whorwood of Compton, near
Kinver
Kinver is a large village in the District of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the ...
one of a family of minor gentry, who had long lived at Compton, in
Kinver
Kinver is a large village in the District of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the ...
, Staffordshire. The family name is also rendered ''Horwood'' or ''Horewode'', giving an indication of contemporary pronunciation. His mother was Elizabeth Corbyn, daughter of Richard Corbyn of
Kingswinford
Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands, situated west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census.
The current economic focus ...
, Staffordshire.
Whorwood was admitted to the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...
for legal training on 2 November 1519.
[History of Parliament Online: 1509–1558 Members – WHORWOOD, William (Author: S. R. Johnson)]
/ref> Within two years he was acting as receiver of monies for the serjeants-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 wri ...
, the elite group of lawyers who monopolised work in the central courts. He quickly built up a successful practice, working for eminent clients. He handled the funeral accounts of Sir Thomas Lovell
Sir Thomas Lovell, KG (died 1524) was an English soldier and administrator, Speaker of the House of Commons, Secretary to the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Early life
He was fifth son of Sir Thomas Lovell of Barton Bendish in Nor ...
in 1524 and three years later was advising Anne Rede, niece of William Warham
William Warham ( – 22 August 1532) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1503 to his death.
Early life and education
Warham was the son of Robert Warham of Malshanger in Hampshire. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford ...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury on her jointure
Jointure is, in law, a provision for a wife after the death of her husband. As defined by Sir Edward Coke, it is "a competent livelihood of freehold for the wife, of lands or tenements, to take effect presently in possession or profit after the de ...
. In 1526 he was nominated for the post of Common Serjeant of London
The Common Serjeant of London (full title The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall) is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1291, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of Lon ...
, the capital city's senior legal officer, by the mayor and aldermen of London, although he was unsuccessful in the face of competition from a royal nominee.
Political career
In 1529 Whorwood was returned as Member of the English Parliament
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 the borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle A ...
of Downton in Wiltshire This was one of three boroughs controlled by the Diocese of Winchester
The Diocese of Winchester forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England. Founded in 676, it is one of the older dioceses in England. It once covered Wessex, many times its present size which is today most of the historic enl ...
. The bishop's bailiff simply filled in the election return or indenture and handed it to the High Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.
Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle.
On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Go ...
. The bishop in commendam at the time was Thomas Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the ...
, formerly the king's senior counsellor, but his career had entered its final crisis. It is possible Warham influenced the returns. Five of the six seats controlled by Winchester were taken by senior legal figures, including Whorwood's colleague at Downton, Nicholas Hare
Sir Nicholas Hare of Bruisyard, Suffolk (c. 1484 – 31 October 1557) was Speaker of the House of Commons of England between 1539 and 1540.
Life
He was born the eldest son of John Hare of Homersfield, Suffolk, educated at Gonville and Caius Co ...
and Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...
at 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 ...
.
Whorwood served throughout the English Reformation Parliament
The English Reformation Parliament, which sat from 3 November 1529 to 14 April 1536, was the English Parliament that passed the major pieces of legislation leading to the Break with Rome and establishment of the Church of England. In Scotland ...
, a period of more than six years. In 1533 his name appeared on a list drawn up by Cromwell and thought to be the names of the principal members opposed to the Statute in Restraint of Appeals However, he seems to have been generally cooperative with royal policy, and certainly showed no scruples in profiting from the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act
The Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535 ( 27 Hen 8 c 28; 1536 in modern dating), also referred to as the Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries and as the Dissolution of Lesser Monasteries Act, was an Act of the Parliament of ...
, which helped secure gentry support for the English Reformation. By the end of the parliament he had good relations with Cromwell and the administration. He was appointed Solicitor General on 13 April 1536, the day before the parliament was dissolved.
The king requested that the same members be returned to the next parliament, due to be called later in the year. However, Whorwood was not returned for Downton. However, he was paid £26 13s.4d. "for his pains in the time of the Parliament", so it seems that he must have attended the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
. He received recognition of his eminence at his own Inn of Court by being appointed bencher
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...
and Autumn Reader
A reader in one of the Inns of Court in London was originally a senior barrister of the Inn who was elected to deliver a lecture or series of lectures on a particular legal topic. Two readers (known as Lent and Autumn Readers) would be elected annu ...
there in 1537. From 1539 he was the recipient of a writ of assistance
A writ of assistance is a written order (a writ) issued by a court instructing a law enforcement official, such as a sheriff or a tax collector, to perform a certain task. Historically, several types of writs have been called "writs of assistance" ...
to attend the Lords – the first Solicitor General to be called thus. In July 1539 he and the Attorney General were paid £30 each for their attendance, with £6 13s.4d. to share among their clerks. Whorwood probably helped draft major measures during the parliament, including the Second Act of Dissolution and the act imposing the Six Articles, a reaffirmation of traditional Roman Catholic dogma.
Whorwood was used both regularly and in emergency to enforce the law in his native county and elsewhere. He was a justice of the peace in Staffordshire. In April 1536 he was sent with John Hynde
Sir John Hynde (died October 1550) was an English judge, prominent in the reign of Henry VIII.
Life
John Hynde and his brother Thomas were probably not from a family of Cambridgeshire origins, but having studied in the University of Cambridge beca ...
to help suppress a rising in Somerset and each received £50 "for executing of rebels in the west". The following year he was sent to deal with the aftermath of the Lincolnshire Rising
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "mo ...
. He was also employed in the revenue courts, receiving very large payments for his advice. In 1540 he was made Attorney General, in succession to John Baker, although he and Baker continued to work together on many issues. In 1544 Whorwood was made a member of the court of surveyors at a salary of £6 13s.4d. It was probably this connection that allowed him to buy a series of properties in the West Midlands.
Landowner
Whorwood's family seem to have been settled at the southern edge of Staffordshire for about a century before his birth, although his remoter ancestors are unknown. The family estate at Compton, just west of Kinver, was referred to as ''la Horewode alias le Halowes''. He is frequently referred to as William Whorwood of Compton Hallows. Compton was a small manor, which belonged to his father and later elder brother. The family were not prominent until William greatly increased their wealth and influence. This he achieved by using his contacts in the royal administration.
Whorwood bought from the king the manor of Kinver with Stourton Castle in 1537 and subsequently the rectory impropriate of Kinver, which remained in the family until 1672. He also acquired various estates elsewhere, including the reversion of White Ladies Priory
White Ladies Priory (often Whiteladies Priory), once the Priory of St Leonard at Brewood, was an English priory of Augustinian canonesses, now in ruins, in Shropshire, in the parish of Boscobel, some eight miles (13 km) northwest of Wolver ...
, a dissolved Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
convent in Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
.''Victoria County History: Shropshire'', II, p. 83.
/ref> He owned a large house in Putney
Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ancient paris ...
, probably acquired through his second marriage.
He died on 28 May 1545, leaving two daughters as heirs. Both daughters were taken into wardship
In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court".
Overview
The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient ...
by John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, later Duke of Northumberland.
Marriages and family
Whorwood married twice.
*Cassandra Grey, daughter of Sir Edward Grey of Enville, Staffordshire
Enville is a village and civil parish in rural Staffordshire, England, on the A458 road between Stourbridge and Bridgnorth.
Enville is in the South Staffordshire district. The largest village nearby is Kinver, with the smaller villages of Bobbin ...
was his first wife. A son, John, died young. Their daughter Anne Whorwood (died 1552), was married to Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick. so her share of her father's estates passed to Thomas Whorwood, William's great nephew.
*Margaret Brooke (died 1589), daughter of Sir Richard Broke of London, was his second wife: after his death she married William Shelton. Their daughter Margaret Whorwood became a ward of Sir Henry Sidney
Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he receive ...
after Dudley's execution in 1553 and was married to Thomas Throckmorton of Coughton Court
Coughton Court () is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building.
The house has a long crenellated façade directly facing the main road, at the cen ...
.
A partition was made of the family estates in 1578, between Thomas Throckmorton and Thomas Whorwood.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whorwood, William
1500 births
1545 deaths
Attorneys General for England and Wales
Solicitors General for England and Wales
People associated with the Dissolution of the Monasteries
English MPs 1529–1536
English landowners