Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet (1634 – 11 July 1700) was a Welsh lawyer and politician. He served as a

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 Chester and later

Beaumaris Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from th ...

, and was appointed

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

for two English Parliaments during the reign of Charles II. He later served as Solicitor General during the reign of James II. Williams had a bitter personal and professional rivalry with

Judge Jeffreys George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, PC (15 May 1645 – 18 April 1689), also known as "the Hanging Judge", was a Welsh judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor (and serving a ...

(the hanging judge).

Early life

Williams was born in

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, the eldest son of Hugh Williams and Emma Dolben. He was educated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

, followed by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

, to which he was admitted in 1650.Welsh Biography Online
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Parliament

After unsuccessfully standing for Chester in the 1673 by-election, Williams was elected Member of Parliament for the constituency in the 1675 by-election. His profile grew, and he was elected to become

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, a post which he held during the 3rd (

Exclusion Bill Parliament The Exclusion Bill Parliament was a Parliament of England during the reign of Charles II of England, named after the long saga of the Exclusion Bill. Summoned on 24 July 1679, but prorogued by the king so that it did not assemble until 21 Octob ...

, 1680–1681) and 4th ( 1681; Oxford Parliament) parliaments of Charles II. He was the first Welsh Speaker. In June 1684, allegations were made against him that he had libelled the Duke of York (later James II & VII) for authorizing, as Speaker, the publication of Thomas Dangerfield's ''Information'' in 1680. Dangerfield, one of the most notorious of the Popish Plot informers, was by now utterly discredited (he was killed in a scuffle with a barrister the following year). To provide the protection of a seat in parliament, Williams stood and was elected for

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

in 1685; however, his return was cancelled on petition, on the grounds that the contributory boroughs had no opportunity of voting. The prosecution resumed, and he was fined £10,000. He was also fined £20,000 after similar action was instigated by the

Earl of Peterborough Earl of Peterborough was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for John Mordaunt, 5th Baron Mordaunt (see Baron Mordaunt for earlier history of the family). He was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry, the second Earl. He was ...

. Supporters worked on his behalf, including the

Earl of Rochester Earl of Rochester is a title that was created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1652 in favour of the Royalist soldier Henry Wilmot, 2nd Viscount Wilmot. He had already been created Baron Wilmot, of Adderbury in the Co ...

; subsequently, £8,000 was accepted as full payment for the former fine, and Peterborough accepted a token payment for the latter after persuasion from James, now king. Previously a critic of James II, Williams entered the king's service in 1687, being appointed Solicitor General. He had been knighted two days previously, and in June 1688 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

, of Gray's Inn in Middlesex. He held an important role in the prosecution of the Seven Bishops, but the violent antipathy between himself and the

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, Sir Robert Wright, who accused him, with no relevance whatever to the issue before the Court, of taking bribes, probably contributed to the verdict of not guilty.

(the hanging judge) tried to ruin Williams with a fine for publishing a libel: this led to the pair engaging in a bitter personal and professional rivalry. He represented

for the 1689 Convention Parliament, and turned against James after he fled England during the Glorious Revolution. He was placed on the committee appointed to draft the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...

. William III appointed

Sir George Treby Sir George Treby JP (1643–1700), of Plympton, Devon, and of Fleet Street in the City of London, was Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and six times Member of Parliament for the Rotten Borough of Plympton Erle, Devon, largely controlle ...

to succeed him as Solicitor General in the same year. Williams was made a King's Counsel and appointed Custos Rotulorum of Merionethshire and

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

as consolation. The parliament declared the judgement against him for the publication of Dangerfield's ''Information'' illegal. He was not elected to Parliament in 1690, and prepared to stand again for Chester with Roger Whitley in 1695. Whitley was instead returned with Sir Thomas Grosvenor, and Williams was again returned for Beaumaris. He refused to take the new oath declaring William the rightful and lawful king, leading to his dismissal as King's Counsel. He left parliament in 1698.History of Parliament Online - Williams, William
/ref>

Personal life

Williams married Margaret Kyffin on 14 April 1664, and they had four sons and one daughter. Williams died at his Gray's Inn chambers in 1700 and was buried at

Llansilin Llansilin () is a village and local government community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, west of Oswestry. The community, which includes Llansilin village, a large rural area and the hamlets of Moelfre and Rhiwlas as well as the remote parish ...

in Wales. His baronetcy passed to his son

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 ...

References

External links

*
Archives Network Wales

British History Online — The Fifth Parliament
(1681) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, William 1634 births 1700 deaths People educated at Shrewsbury School Welsh lawyers Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Members of Gray's Inn Baronets in the Baronetage of England Knights Bachelor 17th-century King's Counsel Speakers of the House of Commons of England English MPs 1661–1679 17th-century English lawyers 17th-century Welsh lawyers English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1695–1698 Members of the Parliament of England for Beaumaris