Sir William Clifton, JP (1663 1686 in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) was 3rd Baronet Clifton of

Clifton, Nottinghamshire Clifton is a suburb and historic manor in the city of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 22,936. Clifton has two council wards in the City of Nottingham (Clifton West and Clifton East as of ...

, and Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire from 1683 to 1686. In 1685, he founded a regiment which later became the 15th Regiment of Foot and subsequently the

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

Family

William was the third, but eldest surviving son of Sir Clifford Clifton and Frances Finch, daughter of

Sir Heneage Finch Sir Heneage Finch (15 December 1580 – 5 December 1631) was an English lawyer, Member of Parliament, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Commons in 16 ...

former Speaker of the House of Commons. He was christened in St Mary Abbots, Kensington on 7 April 1663. His paternal grandfather was

Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet, K.B. (25 November 1587 – 28 June 1666) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1666. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. He was educa ...

and paternal grandmother was Lady Frances Clifford, daughter of

Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland (15594 January 1641) was a member of the Clifford family which held the seat of Skipton from 1310 to 1676. He was the second son of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland and Anne Dacre and inherited h ...

He succeeded his father in ownership of the Clifton estates in 1670, and succeeded his cousin

Sir Gervase Clifton, 2nd Baronet Sir Gervase Clifton (1612–1675) was 2nd Baronet Clifton of Clifton, Nottinghamshire. Family Gervase was the only son of Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet, and his first wife Lady Penelope Rich, daughter of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick a ...

, to the baronetcy in 1676. He was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. Sir William Clifton was Deputy Lieutenant for Nottinghamshire from 1683 until his death in 1686, and was also a Justice of the Peace from 1685 to 1686, and M.P. for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, 1685–1686. On the outbreak of the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion in June 1685 was an attempt to depose James II of England, James II, who in February had succeeded his brother Charles II of England, Charles II as king of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and ...

in 1685, Sir William raised his own regiment, which later became the 15th Regiment of Foot. He died in France at the age of 23. He was unmarried, and was succeeded by his cousin Sir Gervase Clifton, 4th Baronet.

References

, - 1663 births 1686 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of England Politicians from Nottingham Deputy lieutenants of Nottinghamshire English MPs 1685–1687 English justices of the peace {{1685-England-MP-stub