Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet (1596 – 9 October 1680), of

Beverston Beverston is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 132, decreasing to 129 at the 2011 census. The village is about two miles west of Tetbury. Beverst ...

, in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, and of Ruckholt, at

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, was an English Member of Parliament.

Early life

William Hicks was born in 1596. He was the son of the wealthy courtier Sir Michael Hicks, who was secretary to

Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from ...

during the reign of

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

, and wife Elizabeth Coulston; Burghley was his godfather, and he was named William in Burghley's honour. He inherited a substantial estate, including Beverstone Castle, on his father's death in 1612, and on 21 July 1619 was created a baronet. It is said in the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' that 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 ...

, though this is not confirmed by the Venn reference work on Cambridge graduates.

Career

Hicks served in two Parliaments as member for

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the ...

, that of 1625–6 and once more in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

of 1640. During 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 ...

he was a staunch

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

, and saw action at the

Siege of Colchester The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the Second English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Cavalier, Royalist army on its way through East Angli ...

in 1648, as a result of which he was imprisoned for several weeks. In 1669, Hicks acquired the manor of

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Londo ...

, Essex.

Personal life and death

He married Margaret Paget (born c. 1604 – buried 10 September 1652), daughter of

William Paget, 4th Baron Paget de Beaudesert William Paget, 4th Baron Paget of Beaudesert (1572 – 29 August 1629) was an English peer and colonist born in Beaudesert House, Staffordshire, England to Thomas Paget, 3rd Baron Paget and Nazareth Newton. His grandfather was William Paget ...

, and Lettice Knollys, and they had a number of children: * Baptist, who died young * Elizabeth, who died young * Sir William Hicks, 2nd Baronet (1629–1703), succeeded to the baronetcy * Letitia Hicks, who married

Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall (16 June 1606 – 18 March 1675), was an Anglo-Irish military officer, politician and peer. Origins He was the eldest son and heir of the Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester, 1st Viscount Chicheste ...

* Catherine, who died young * Francis, who died young * Sir Michael Hicks, whose line inherited the baronetcy after the death of the last of his brother's descendants, and from whom the

Earls St Aldwyn Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

are descended * Elizabeth, who died young Hicks died on 9 October 1680. He was buried at

Leyton Parish Church The Parish Church of St Mary with St Edward and St Luke, Leyton, also known as Leyton Parish Church and formerly, St Mary the Virgin, Leyton, is a Church of England parish church in Leyton, East London. Although records of the church go back to ab ...

where his monument records "his loyalty to

King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, S ...

in the Great Rebellion".

References

* *

Edward Kimber Edward Kimber (1719–1769) was an English novelist, journalist and compiler of reference works. Life He was son of Isaac Kimber; and in early life apprentice to a bookseller, John Noon of Cheapside. He made a living by compilation and editorial ...

& Richard Johnson, ''The Baronetage of England'' (London, 1771

* (Article on his father.) *

Notes

, - 1596 births 1680 deaths Hicks, William, 1st Baronet Cavaliers English MPs 1626 English MPs 1640 (April)

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

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