William Stourton, 7th Baron Stourton (c. 1505 – 1548) was the eldest son of Edward Stourton, 6th Baron Stourton, and his wife Agnes Fauntleroy, daughter of John Fauntleroy of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. He succeeded his father as

Baron Stourton Baron Stourton is a title in the Peerage of England, It was created by patent in 1448 for John Stourton. In 1878, the ancient barony of Mowbray was called out of abeyance in favour of the twentieth Baron Stourton. About two weeks later, the ...

in 1535. His wife was Elizabeth Dudley, daughter of

Edmund Dudley Edmund Dudley (c. 1462Gunn 2010 or 1471/147217 August 1510) was an English administrator and a financial agent of King Henry VII. He served as a leading member of the Council Learned in the Law, Speaker of the House of Commons and Presi ...

, a key advisor to

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufo ...

, and his first wife Anne Windsor, sister of

Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor (Wyndsore, Wyndesor) KB (1467–1543), was a Member of Parliament, English peer, and Keeper of the Wardrobe, knight banneret and military commander. Name In manuscript and printed sources dated before 1650 hi ...

. They had seven sons, including Charles, William and Arthur, and two daughters, including Ursula who married Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln. His affair with Agnes Rice, daughter of Rhys ap Gruffyd and grand-daughter of

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (144321 May 1524), styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st Du ...

, caused much scandal. He brought Agnes to live in his house, and separated from his wife. At his death he left most of the Stourton estates to Agnes, resulting in years of litigation between her and his eldest son and heir Charles, who had quarrelled bitterly with his father, calling him a "false hypocrite" who belonged in prison. William and Agnes had one daughter, also called Agnes. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

Parliament of England 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 ...

for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in 1529, although he admitted to finding the office a burden, as he was then managing the family estates on behalf of his aged father; he asked that both of them be excused from further attendance at Parliament. In religion, he seems to have been a conservative. He seems to have been more skilled as a military commander than as a politician. He played a part in suppressing the

Pilgrimage of Grace 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 "most ...

, and saw action in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and later in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where he spent much of his last years, serving with distinction as the English Deputy at Newhaven. He was succeeded as Baron Stourton by his eldest son Charles, who was executed for the murder of Wiliam Hartgill nine years later in 1557.

Notes

References

* Kidd, Charles and Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1995 edition). London: St. Martin's Press, 1995, 1548 deaths *07 Year of birth uncertain 16th-century English nobility {{England-baron-stub