William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele
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William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele (28 June 158214 April 1662) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
nobleman and politician, known also for his involvement in several companies for setting up overseas colonies.


Early life

He was born at the family home of
Broughton Castle Broughton Castle is a medieval fortified manor house in the village of Broughton, which is about two miles south-west of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England, on the B4035 road (). It is the home of the Fiennes (in full Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes) ...
near
Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...
, in
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
, the only son of Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Saye and Sele, and his wife Constance, daughter of Sir William Kingsmill. He was educated at
New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
. He was a descendant and heir of the sister of
William of Wykeham William of Wykeham (; 1320 or 1324 – 27 September 1404) was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of ...
, the college's founder. Fiennes succeeded to his father's
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
y in 1613.


1620s

During the latter part of James I's reign, Saye was one of the most prominent opponents of the court. In 1621 he was active against
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
, and urged that he should be degraded from the peerage. In 1622 he opposed the benevolence levied by the king, saying that he knew no law besides parliament to persuade men to give away their own goods; he spent six months in the Fleet Prison, and then had a period of house arrest. When
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...
returned from Spain and proposed to break the Spanish match, the duke and baron became temporary allies; and Saye became
Viscount Saye and Sele Viscount Saye and Sele was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 7 July 1624 for William Fiennes, 8th Baron Saye and Sele and became extinct on the death of Richard Fiennes 6th Viscount on 29 July 1781. Succession Under James I of ...
in 1624. He pressed home the attack on
Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575 – 6 August 1645) was an English merchant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1622 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Cranfield. Life He was the second son ...
. In the parliament of 1626 Saye was back in opposition; he defended the privileges of the peerage against the new king
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
in the cases of
John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol (February 1580 – 21 January 1653),David L. Smith, 'Digby, John, first earl of Bristol (1580–1653)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008. was an E ...
and
Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel KG, (7 July 1585 – 4 October 1646) was a prominent English courtier during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I, but he made his name as a Grand Tourist and art collector rather than as a politic ...
, and intervened on behalf of
Dudley Digges Sir Dudley Digges (19 May 1583 – 18 March 1639) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia ...
when Buckingham accused him of speaking treason. In the autumn of the same year, he was among those who refused to pay the forced loan. In the parliament of 1628, he employed with success the right of peers to protest. In the debates on the
Petition of Right The Petition of Right, passed on 7 June 1628, is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689. It was part of a wider ...
, he opposed the reservations and amendments of the court party.


Colonist

During the
personal rule of Charles I The Personal Rule (also known as the Eleven Years' Tyranny) was the period from 1629 to 1640, when King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland ruled without recourse to Parliament. The King claimed that he was entitled to do this under the Roya ...
, Saye devoted time and money to schemes of colonisation: his motives were in part financial, but also religious and political.


Providence Island

In 1630 he established, in conjunction with
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke (May 1607 – 4 March 1643) was a radical Puritan activist and leading member of the opposition to Charles I of England prior to the outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642. Appointed Roundhead, Pa ...
,
John Pym John Pym (20 May 1584 – 8 December 1643) was an English politician, who helped establish the foundations of Parliamentary democracy. One of the Five Members whose attempted arrest in January 1642 sparked the First English Civil War, his use ...
, and others from the group of
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
entrepreneurs, a company for the settlement of the
Providence Island colony The Providence Island colony was established in 1630 by English Puritans on what is now the Departments of Colombia, Colombian Department of Archipelago_of_San_Andrés,_Providencia_and_Santa_Catalina, San Andrés and Providencia ...
on what is now
Isla de Providencia Isla de Providencia, historically Old Providence, and generally known as Providencia, is a mountainous Caribbean island that is part of the Colombian department of Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina and the municipality o ...
in the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
, part of the
Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina The Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina ( es, Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina, ), or San Andrés and Providencia, is one of the departments of Colombia, and the only one in North America. It cons ...
, a department of
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
.


New England

Saye obtained a patent for a large tract of land on the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...
on 19 March 1632 from
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick (5 June 158719 April 1658), Lord of the Manor of Hunningham,Hunningham, in A History of the County of Warwick: Vol. 6, Knightlow Hundred, ed. L F Salzman (London, 1951), pp. 117–120. was an English colonial ad ...
and the
New England Company The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England (also known as the New England Company or Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America) is a British charitable organization created to promote ...
, in association again with Lord Brooke and ten others. They appointed
John Winthrop the Younger John Winthrop the Younger (February 12, 1606 – April 6, 1676) was an early governor of the Connecticut Colony, and he played a large role in the merger of several separate settlements into the unified colony. Early life Winthrop was born ...
to act as governor and established a fort at the mouth of the river, to which they gave the name of "Sayebrook;" they then sent over a shipload of colonists. In 1633, Saye and Brooke also purchased a plantation at
Cocheco Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast Region (New Hampshire), Seacoast region and the fi ...
or Dover, in what is now
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, from some
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
merchants. They both contemplated settling in New England, but they demanded the establishment of an emigrant
hereditary aristocracy The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...
as a preliminary, from which the governors were to be chosen. After a hostile reception to Saye's constitutional ideas, the partners in the colony compromised to obtain colonists.


Aftermath

Saye concentrated his energies on the settlement of Providence Island, while spreading disparaging reports about New England, including its climate and land. He soon abandoned his enterprises there and surrendered his rights. The New Hampshire settlements were made over to Massachusetts in 1641, and Sayebrook was sold to Connecticut three years later. Saye was one of the commissioners for the government from Westminster of the plantations appointed on 2 November 1643.
Old Saybrook, Connecticut Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybroo ...
is named after Viscount Saye and Lord Brooke.


1630s politics

Leading puritans, including John Pym, who were members of the
Providence Island Company The Providence Company or Providence Island Company was an English chartered company founded in 1629 by a group of Puritans including Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick in order to establish the Providence Island colony on Providence Island and Mosq ...
met Saye at Broughton Castle to coordinate their opposition to the King. On several occasions, Saye outwitted the advisers of Charles I by his strict compliance with legal forms, earning him the nickname "old subtlety". Although Saye resisted the levy of
ship money Ship money was a tax of medieval origin levied intermittently in the Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed typically on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English monarchs co ...
, he accompanied Charles on his march against the Scots in 1639; but, with only one other peer, he refused to take the oath binding him to fight for the king "to the utmost of my power and hazard of my life". Then Charles I sought to win his favour by making him a Privy Councillor and Master of the
Court of Wards The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wardship and liv ...
.


Civil War and Restoration

When the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
broke out, however, Saye was on the committee of safety, was made
Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Cheshire, and raised a regiment that occupied Oxford. He was a member of the committee of both kingdoms; was mainly responsible for passing the self-denying ordinance through the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
; and in 1647 stood up for the army in its struggle with the parliament. In 1648, both at the
treaty of Newport The Treaty of Newport was a failed treaty between Parliament and King Charles I of England, intended to bring an end to the hostilities of the English Civil War. Negotiations were conducted between 15 September 1648 and 27 November 1648, at Newpo ...
and elsewhere, Saye was anxious that Charles should come to terms, and he retired into private life after the execution of the king. In 1656 he recovered £500 damages from James Whinnel, gent of Wisbech, he agreed to donate £100 to the town of
Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
in the Isle of Ely, the interest was to be used for providing clothing for the poor and administered by his son Richard Fiennes He became a privy counsellor again upon the restoration of Charles II. He died at Broughton Castle on 14 April 1662.


Family

Fiennes married Elizabeth, youngest daughter of John Temple of
Stowe Stowe may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Stowe, Buckinghamshire, a civil parish and former village **Stowe House **Stowe School * Stowe, Cornwall, in Kilkhampton parish * Stowe, Herefordshire, in the List of places in Herefordshire * Stowe, Linc ...
, in 1600. She was born in May 1585 and was about fifteen at marriage. Their eldest son
James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
(c. 1603–1674) succeeded him as 2nd viscount; other sons were the Parliamentarians
Nathaniel Fiennes Nathaniel Fiennes (c. 1608 – 16 December 1669) was a younger son of the Puritan nobleman and politician, William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. He sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1659, and served with the ...
and
John Fiennes John Fiennes ( 1612–1708) was the third son of Puritan noble and politician William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. He served in the Parliamentarian army during the First English Civil War, before resigning his commission when elected M ...
. His daughter
Bridget Bridget is an Irish female name derived from the Gaelic noun ''brígh'', meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternate meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is largely related to the popularity of ...
married her remote cousin
Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln, KB (1599 – 21 May 1667), styled Lord Clinton until 1619, was an opponent of Charles I during and preceding the English Civil War. Family The eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Lincoln and Elizabeth Knyve ...
, son of the 3rd Earl of Lincoln. Another daughter Ann married
Sir Charles Wolseley, 2nd Baronet Sir Charles Wolseley, 2nd Baronet (c. 1630 – 9 October 1714), of Wolseley in Staffordshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1653 and 1660. He held high office during the Commonwealth. ...
. The viscounty of Saye and Sele became extinct in 1781, and the barony was subsequently held by the descendants of John Twisleton (died 1682) and his wife Elizabeth (died 1674), a daughter of the 2nd viscount.Arthur Collins and Sir Egerton Brydges, ''Peerage of England: genealogical, biographical, and historical'' (F.C. and J. Rivington, 1812), 32.


Ancestry


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saye and Sele, William Fiennes, 1st Viscount 1582 births 1662 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford
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 ...
Lord-Lieutenants of Cheshire Lord-Lieutenants of Gloucestershire Lord-Lieutenants of Oxfordshire Members of the Privy Council of England Lay members of the Westminster Assembly 1 Lords of the Admiralty