Sir William Courtenay, 1st Baronet (7 September 1628 – 1 August 1702) was an English politician.

Origins

Courtenay was the eldest son and heir of Francis Courtenay (d. 1638) of

Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house in Exminster, Devon, south of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of Kenton, where the main public entrance gates are located. It is a Grade I listed building. The park and gar ...

by his second wife Elizabeth Seymour, daughter of

Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet (c. 1580 – 5 October 1659) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons between 1601 and 1625. He was an ambassador to Denmark. During the English Civ ...

Career

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 14th ...

in 1644 by King Charles I but disdained the newly invented variety of title, perhaps on political grounds, and never took out a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

. He was therefore not included in the list of baronets, although the king styled him as such in his commissions.John Burke ''A General and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire, Volume 1''
/ref> On 2 April 1660, Courtenay became the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Ashburton, Devon Ashburton is a town on the south-southeastern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England, adjacent to the A38. The town is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Plymouth and 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Exeter. It was formerly important as a stann ...

.History of Parliament Online - Courtenay, Sir William
/ref> However, he retired from politics after the Restoration and appears not to have been returned in 1661. In 1664 he served as

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

. In 1677 Courtenay's health prevented him from standing for Ashburton but he managed the campaign of the country party. The country party's candidate was unsuccessful, but the government supporters admitted that in a clean election Courtenay's campaign had been very moderate. Notwithstanding that, he had made a new freeholder and "drank him so freely" that he fell downstairs and broke his neck. On 18 February 1679, Courtenay became MP for

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

until 1685. His health prevented him from standing in 1688. After the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

of 1688, Courtenay funded a lavish reception at Forde House, Wolborough, for William of Orange and his council, who had just landed nearby at

Torbay Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of ...

. He was not himself present as host, having felt it prudent not to associate himself too strongly with the new regime should it fail. The chair on which the future King William III sat during his first Council of State at Forde is now displayed in the Dining Hall of Powderham Castle.

Marriage and children

Courtenay married Margaret Waller (d. 1694), daughter of Sir

William Waller Sir William Waller JP (c. 159819 September 1668) was an English soldier and politician, who commanded Parliamentarian armies during the First English Civil War. Elected MP for Andover to the Long Parliament in 1640, Waller relinquished ...

, a parliamentary general in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

, and eventual heiress of her maternal grandfather Sir Richard Reynell (d. 1633) of Forde, Wolborough, Devon, where he had built a new mansion in about 1610. Forde became the couple's main home, possibly due to the damage suffered by

during the Civil War, it having been captured on 25 January 1646 from the Royalist garrison by the parliamentarian forces under Col. Robert Hammond. Certainly, Sir William and his wife were buried at Wolborough and several of their children were baptised there.Vivian, Visitations of Devon, 1895, pp.247-8, pedigree of Courtenay They had eight children:Rutland 8: Descendants of William the Conqueror http://www.william1.co.uk/r7.htm#r7l16 *Col. Francis Courtenay (1651–1699), eldest son, who predeceased his father. He married in 1670 Mary Boevey, daughter of William Boevey (d. 1661), a merchant of Dutch ancestry, of Flaxley Abbey, Gloucestershire, brother of the merchant, lawyer, philosopher and pioneering developer of

Exmoor Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...

James Boevey James Boevey (1622–1696) (pronounced "Boovey") was an English merchant, lawyer and philosopher of Huguenot parentage. Origins He was born in London at 6 a.m. on 7 May 1622 in Mincing Lane, in the parish of St. Dunstan-in-the-East. He was the ...

(1622–1696). His eldest son and thus heir to his grandfather was

Sir William Courtenay, 2nd Baronet Sir William Courtenay, 2nd Baronet (11 March 1676 – 6 October 1735) of Powderham Castle, Powderham, Devon, was an English landowner, a leading member of the Devonshire gentry and Tory politician who sat in the English House of Commons from 17 ...

(1675–1735) ''de jure'' 6th

Earl of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay famil ...

. *James Courtenay (1655–1727), of Walreddon, Witchurch, Devon. He married Elizabeth Bourbon in 1682. *George Courtenay (born 1657), MP of Fitzford, Devon. *Richard Courtenay (died 1696), married Katherine Waller. *William Courtenay (died 1703), MP for Devon. Married Susanna Kellond. (if this refers to the Susanna Kellond b. c. 1677 daughter of John Kellond married to Bridget Fownes, da. John Fownes, she married William Courtenay, (M.P. for Mitchell 1701) son of Humphrey Courtenay married to Alice Courtenay da. of Peter Courtenay married to Alice Rashleigh. *Elizabeth Courtenay, married John Clobery in 1673. *Margaret Courtenay (1663–1755), married Edmund Reynell. *Jane Courtenay (born 1664), married John Rowe in 1687.

Death and burial

Courtenay died aged 73 and was buried at Wolborough, the parish church of Forde House.

Succession

He was succeeded by his grandson

(1675–1735) ''de jure'' 6th

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtenay, William Baronets in the Baronetage of England 1628 births 1702 deaths High sheriffs of Devon Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon English MPs 1660 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 Earls of Devon (1553 creation) Members of the Parliament of England for Ashburton