William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, (28 March 1591 – 3 December 1668), known as Viscount Cranborne from 1605 to 1612, was an English
peer, nobleman, and politician.
Early years, 1591–1612
Cecil was the son of
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612) was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury ser ...
and Elizabeth (née Brooke), the daughter of
William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham.
[.] He was born in
Westminster
Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
on 28 March 1591 and
baptized in
St Clement Danes on 11 April.
William's mother died when he was six years old, and he was subsequently raised by his aunt, Lady Frances Stourton.
In January 1600
Queen Elizabeth gave him a coat, a girdle and dagger, a hat with a feather, and a jewel to wear on it. He was educated at
Sherborne School
Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...
and at
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
, where he started his terms in 1602, at age eleven. In 1603
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...
held court at
Worksop Manor on the king's birthday, 19 June. She tied a jewel in William's ear, and he danced with
Princess Elizabeth.
James I raised Cecil's father to the
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...
, creating him
Baron Cecil in 1603;
Viscount Cranborne in 1604; and
Earl of Salisbury in 1605.
As a result, in 1605, William received the
courtesy title
A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title).
In some context ...
of Viscount Cranborne. In 1608, aged 17, Cranborne's father sent him to
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 ...
, but quickly recalled him to
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
to marry Catherine, the daughter of
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk in December 1608.
His father was determined that Cranborne should spend two years living abroad, and instructed him to return to France following his marriage. However, in mid-1610, James I determined to have his son
Henry installed as
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
and Salisbury (who was currently serving as
Lord High Treasurer
The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord H ...
) instructed his son to return for the ceremony: Cranborne subsequently held the king's train for the ceremony.
Following this ceremony, Cranborne returned to Europe, this time to
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, travelling first to
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, then to
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
. At Padua, he fell ill, and returned to England resolving never to go abroad again.
Early years as Earl of Salisbury, 1612–1640
Cranborne's father died in 1612, making him the 2nd Earl of Salisbury. He took part in ''
The Somerset Masque
''The Somerset Masque'', sometimes known as ''The Squire's Masque'', was written by Thomas Campion and performed on 26 December 1613 at the old Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace, to celebrate the wedding of Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset an ...
'' in December 1613. Salisbury was soon named
Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, where he gained a reputation for punctilious service to the king. James I made him a
Knight of the Garter in 1624.
Salisbury continued to find favour under James' successor,
Charles I, who named Salisbury to his
privy council in 1626.
Salisbury subsequently conformed during the
Personal Rule. He was annoyed when he was not named master of the
Court of Wards and Liveries
The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudalism, feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wa ...
, but was more pleased when he was named
Captain of the Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners, a post which he held until 1643.
Salisbury spent much of the 1630s in improving his ancestral seat,
Hatfield House
Hatfield House is a Grade I listed English country house, country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England.
The present Jacobean architecture, Jacobean hous ...
.
He also made Hatfield House a cultural centre, serving as patron for
painter
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 30 November 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. He became a naturalised British subject and was kn ...
,
musician
A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
Nicholas Lanier, and
gardener
A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby.
Description
A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...
John Tradescant the elder.
Role in the English Civil War, 1640–1649
In the wake of the
Bishops' Wars
The Bishops' Wars were two separate conflicts fought in 1639 and 1640 between Scotland and England, with Scottish Royalists allied to England. They were the first of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which also include the First and Second En ...
, Salisbury leaned towards the moderate party in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
which supported 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 its attempt to remove the elements of arbitrary government introduced into England during the Personal Rule.
However, Salisbury resisted throwing in his lot with any of the political factions, and thus remained vulnerable. When the
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...
broke out in 1642, Salisbury's estates at
Cranborne in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
suffered depredations.
In 1648, Salisbury served as a member of a deputation charged with negotiating with Charles at the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
.
These negotiations (
Treaty of Newport) resulted in failure.
However, Salisbury refused to approve of the
regicide of Charles I.
Following the king's execution, Salisbury decided to support the
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...
, and agreed to take the
Engagement.
This decision was influenced by several facts: two of his sons had sided with the
parliamentarians during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
;
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
voted to indemnify Salisbury's friend
Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke for his losses during the war; and several of his close friends, especially
Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland Algernon may refer to:
* Algernon (name), a given name (includes a list of people and characters with the name)
* Algernon Township, Custer County, Nebraska
See also
* Treaty of Algeron, an agreement signed by the United Federation of Planets a ...
(his son-in-law) had sided with Parliament.
Career during the English Interregnum, 1649–1656
Salisbury was a member of the
English Council of State
The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I.
Charles's execution on 30 January was delayed for several ho ...
from 1649 to 1651 (serving as its president for a while).
He became
Member of Parliament for
King's Lynn
King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...
in the
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament describes the members of the Long Parliament who remained in session after Colonel Thomas Pride, on 6 December 1648, commanded his soldiers to Pride's Purge, purge the House of Commons of those Members of Parliament, members ...
.
Salisbury was, however, excluded from public life under
The Protectorate
The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was the English form of government lasting from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659, under which the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotl ...
: he was elected in 1656 as MP for
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
in the
Second Protectorate Parliament
The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first sess ...
, but was not allowed to take his seat.
Later years, 1656–1668

Salisbury subsequently retired to his home at Hatfield House.
Following
The Restoration of 1660,
Charles II appointed him high steward of
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
in 1663.
His mental faculties apparently failed in his last years:
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
, observing him at church in October 1664, called him "my simple Lord Salisbury".
[ Diary of Samuel Pepys 16 October 1664] Harsher critics doubted whether he had any faculties to fail in the first place, describing him as a man who never spoke of anything but
hunting
Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
and
hawking.
Salisbury died at Hatfield House on 3 December 1668.
He was succeeded as Earl by his grandson
James Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, as his son
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
(1619–1660) had predeceased him.
Issue
Lord Salisbury married
Lady Catherine Howard, a daughter of the
1st Earl of Suffolk, on 1 December 1608. They had twelve children, including:
* James, Viscount Cranborne (born and died 1616)
*
Charles Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (1619–1660), father of the
3rd Earl of Salisbury.
* Anne (died 1637), who married the
10th Earl of Northumberland and had issue.
* Diana (1622–1633), died young.
* Catherine (died 1652), who married the
3rd Earl of Leicester and had issue.
*
Elizabeth (died 1689), who married the
3rd Earl of Devonshire and had issue.
* Algernon (died 1676)
* Mary, who married
Lord William Sandys (died 1668).
, -
Notes
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury, William Cecil, 2nd Earl of
1591 births
1668 deaths
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 ...
Knights of the Garter
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Lord-lieutenants of Dorset
Lord-lieutenants of Hertfordshire
Cranborne, William Cecil, Viscount
William, Salisbury 2
Lay members of the Westminster Assembly
Cranborne, William Cecil, Viscount