Sir William Pynsent or Pinsent, 1st Baronet (1642–1719), of

Urchfont Urchfont is a rural village and civil parish in the southwest of the Vale of Pewsey and north of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, about southeast of the market town of Devizes. The hamlet of Cuckoo's Corner is in the northwest of the vil ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1689. Pynsent was baptised on 10 August 1642, the only son of William Pinsent, Merchant Taylor, of Watling Street, London and his wife Anne Lancelot, daughter of William Lancelot, Mercer, of St Olave, Hart Street, London. His father died in 1643 and he inherited his estate. He matriculated at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

in 1655 and was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1667. He married by licence dated 4 July 1676, Patience Bond, daughter of John Bond of London. In 1678 he purchased an estate at

, where he built a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, four miles from

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

. He was created

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 ...

on 13 September 1687. Pynsent, a dissenter, was recommended for the Commission of the Peace for Wiltshire in 1688, serving as JP until his death. At the 1689 general election he was returned on the corporation interest as Member of Parliament (MP) for

. He played little part in the Convention Parliament and did not stand for Parliament again. He was Commissioner for Assessment for Oxfordshire in 1689, and for Dorset and Wiltshire from 1689 to 1690. For the year 1693 to 1694, he was

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) high sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Go ...

. Pynsent died in 1719. He had three sons and two daughters, but only the eldest son,

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 ...

, survived to inherit the estate and baronetcy.

References

1642 births 1719 deaths Politicians from Wiltshire English MPs 1689–1690 High sheriffs of Wiltshire Baronets in the Baronetage of England {{1689-England-MP-stub