Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet (1566–1628) was an English 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 ...

at various times between 1593 and 1628.

Life

Twysden was the son of Roger Twysden, of Roydon Hall,

East Peckham East Peckham is a village and civil parish in Kent, England on the River Medway. The parish covers the main village as well as Hale Street and Beltring. History The Domesday entry for East and West Peckham reads:- :'' The Archbishop himse ...

, and his wife Anne Wyatt, daughter of Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger of

Allington Castle Allington Castle is a stone castle in Allington, Kent, just north of Maidstone, in England. The first castle on the site was an unauthorised fortification, built during "The Anarchy" (1135–1153) and torn down later in the century when royal c ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He was admitted to

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

on 28 October 1584 and succeeded his father in the estate at East Peckham in November 1603. He was appointed a

Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers. Gen ...

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...

and knighted at Charterhouse on 11 May 1603. In 1593, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

, in 1601 MP for

Helston Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...

and in 1606 MP for

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

. 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 ...

on 29 June 1611. In 1614, he was re-elected MP for Thetford and finally served as MP for

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earli ...

from 1628 until his death. Twysden was a great collector of manuscripts and knew Hebrew, Greek, and other languages. George E. Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Vol. 1'' (1900)
/ref> He died in his 63rd year and was buried at East Peckham with a monumental inscription. He had married Lady Anne Finch, daughter of

Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet Justice of the Peace, JP ( – 18 December 1614) was an English politician, knight, sheriff, and MP. Early life Finch was the second, but eldest surviving son, of Thomas Finch (soldier), Sir Thomas Finch of Eastw ...

and

Elizabeth Finch, 1st Countess of Winchilsea Elizabeth Finch, ''née'' Heneage, 1st Countess of Winchilsea (9 July 1556 – 23 March 1634) was an English peeress. Early life Elizabeth was born on 9 July 1556. She was the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Heneage, who was Chancel ...

(nee Heneage), by whom he had five sons and two daughters. Anne was a writer, though most of her work is lost.Marie-Louise Coolahan, ‘Twysden, Anne, Lady Twysden (1574–1638)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 14 Jan 2017
/ref> His son

Roger Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

succeeded him in the baronetcy. His second son was

Sir Thomas Twisden, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Twisden, 1st Baronet (2 January 1602 – 2 January 1683) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England in two periods between 1646 and 1660. He was a High Court judge who presided at the trial of the r ...

of a new creation, and a judge of the

Court of King's Bench The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the '' curia regis'', the King's Bench initi ...

: he changed the spelling of the family name. Sir William's daughter Elizabeth married

Sir Hugh Cholmeley, 1st Baronet Sir Hugh Cholmeley, 1st Baronet (22 July 1600 – 20 November 1657) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1643. He was initially a Parliamentarian but later a Royal ...

. Another daughter Anne married

Sir Christopher Yelverton, 1st Baronet Sir Christopher Yelverton, 1st Baronet (27 March 1602 – 4 December 1654) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1648. Yelverton was the son of Henry Yelverton, a lawyer, and his wife Margaret Beale, daughter of ...

References

1566 births 1628 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Helston English MPs 1593 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 Baronets in the Baronetage of England People from East Peckham {{1614-England-MP-stub