William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis KB (George Edward Cokayne. ''Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, Or Dormant'', Volume 6. G. Bell & sons, 1895. pg 295. – 7 March 1655Bernard Burke. ''A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire,'' Harrison, 1866. pg 275.) was a Welsh 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 1597 and 1629.

Early life

Herbert was born in

Powis Castle Powis Castle () is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former ...

, the son of Sir Edward Herbert (–1595) and the former Mary Stanley. In 1587, his father purchased the lands of the

abeyant Abeyance (from the Old French ' meaning "gaping") describes a state of temporary dormancy or suspension. In law, it can refer to a situation where the ownership of property, titles, or office is not currently Vesting, vested in any specific perso ...

barony of Powis from their distant relative, Edward, an illegitimate son of the 3rd Baron Grey of Powis. His maternal grandfather was Sir Thomas Stanley, who served as Under-Treasurer of the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

during the reign of Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. His father was the second son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and the former Anne Parr, sister of Queen

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

(the last of the six wives of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

). His paternal uncle was

Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, KG, KB (19 January 1601) was an English peer and politician. He was the nephew of Katherine Parr and brother-in-law of Lady Jane Grey through his first wife. During Elizabeth's reign, he held administr ...

Career

Herbert was High Steward to

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

. In 1597, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

. He served as Custos Rotulorum of Montgomeryshire from 1602 to 1641. Upon the coronation of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

in 1603, Herbert was made a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

. In 1604, he was elected MP for Montgomeryshire again. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire The office of High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire was established in 1541 since then a High Sheriff was appointed annually until 1974 when the office was transformed into that of High Sheriff of Powys as part of the creation of Powys Powys ( , ) ...

in 1613. In 1614, he was re-elected MP for Montgomeryshire and was re-elected in 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628. He was created Baron Powis (a new creation) of

on 2 April 1629.

Personal life

Before 1600, Lord Powis married Lady Eleanor Percy (1583–1650), third daughter of

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainme ...

and his wife, Katherine Neville (eldest daughter and co-heiress of

John Nevill, 4th Baron Latymer John Neville, 4th Baron Latimer (c. 1520 – 22 April 1577) was an English peer, and the stepson of Catherine Parr, later the sixth wife of King Henry VIII. Early life John Neville, born about 1520, was the only son of John Neville, 3rd Baron ...

). They had several children including: Daniel Lysons - Memorial to Sir William Herbert from Hendon Church - B1977

Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis (1598 – 19 January 1667), known as Sir Percy Herbert, Bt, between 1622 and 1655, was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622 and later inherited a peerage. Herbert was t ...

(1598–1667), who was created a baronet in 1622 before succeeding to his father's titles; he married Elizabeth Craven, eldest surviving daughter of Sir William Craven,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

. * Katherine Herbert (–1666), who married Sir Robert Vaughan of Llwydiarth. After his death, she married Sir James Palmer. * Lucy Herbert, who married William Habington (or Abington) of Hindlip in early 1633. * Marie Herbert (1604–1660), who married Humphrey Jones, son of Gruffyd Jones. Lord Powis died on 7 March 1655. He was succeeded by his son

. Herbert was buried at St. Mary's Church in Hendon, Middlesex, London.

Descendants

Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of William Herbert (1626–1696), who became the 1st

Earl of Powis Earl of Powis (Powys) is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 in favour of William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis, a descendant of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c. 1501–15 ...

in 1674 and then 1st

Marquess of Powis Marquess of Powis was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1687 for William Herbert, 1st Marquess of Powis, William Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis. He had already succeeded his father as third Baron Powis in 1667 and had been created ...

in 1687. Through his daughter Katherine's second marriage, she was the mother of Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, best known for his marriage to

Barbara Villiers Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine ( ; – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she ...

, one of Charles II's mistresses whom the King ennobled as the Duchess of Cleveland.

In popular culture

Herbert is a candidate for "Mr WH", the dedicatee of

Shakespeare's sonnets William Shakespeare (1565 –1616) wrote sonnets on a variety of themes. When discussing or referring to Shakespeare's sonnets, it is almost always a reference to the 154 sonnets that were first published all together in a quarto in 1609. Howe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powis, William Herbert, 1st Baron 1570s births 1655 deaths 1 High sheriffs of Montgomeryshire 16th-century Welsh politicians 17th-century Welsh politicians

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 ...

William Herbert Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629