William Petre, 2nd Baron Petre
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William Petre, 2nd Baron Petre (24 June 1575 – 5 May 1637) was an English peer and Member of Parliament. He was born the son of Sir
John Petre, 1st Baron Petre John Petre, 1st Baron Petre (20 December 1549 – 11 October 1613) was an English peer who lived during the Tudor period and early Stuart period. He and his family were recusants — people who adhered to the Catholic faith after the Englis ...
and was educated at
Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...
and the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
. William and his family were
recusant Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...
s – people who adhered to the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
faith after the
English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
. He was elected MP for
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 ...
in 1597, knighted in 1603 and inherited the Barony and the Ingatestone estate on his father's death in 1613. In 1623 he was appointed justice of the peace for Essex but, due to his uncompromising recusancy, he was dismissed in 1625 from the Magistracy and deprived of all of his other public offices.


Ingatestone Hall

From its position on the
Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...
road, and proximity to London,
Ingatestone Hall Ingatestone Hall is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Essex, England. It is located outside the village of Ingatestone, approximately south west of Chelmsford and north east of London. The house was built by Sir William Petre, a ...
was a constant meeting place and refuge for those disaffected to the Protestant religion or to the reigning sovereign. For example:
''13th July 1627. My Lord Petre’s son going over sea to Flanders with many letters, and two barrels of treasure, gold and silver, in a pink, is brought back and committed, and here it is said, that at his father’s house at Ingatestone in Essex divers great Papists had been in consultation about a fortnight and departed thence but on Saturday last.''
Secret guests may often have used the hiding place discovered at the Hall in 1855. It is very probable that some of the inns had similar places of concealment for these visitors, whom it would not always be safe to hide in the Hall, for example, the attic in the White Hart, the huge chimney block of the Eagle, behind the present billiard room, the present great cupboards of the Crown. Many of the houses about Fryerning Hall by the old chimney stacks, and for example, Furze Hall might reveal similar ones if thoroughly explored.


Private life

It does not appear that the 2nd Baron got into any serious trouble about the Papists who frequented Ingatestone, in part due to the support of King Charles I. Possibly, by this time the Hall was used as a
dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish estate (house), estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house fr ...
, or a residence for the sons, as the 3rd Baron is described in 1638 by William Riley, Blue Mantle, as dying at West Thorndon, and being buried in an old vault appropriated to his family in the chancel of the Parish Church of Ingatestone. William, 2nd Baron, died in May 1637, and is buried in the same vault. The tomb, which he erected in the north chapel in memory of his parents, bears also, his own effigy and that of his wife and children, but the tablet over his head is still waiting for an inscription. Petre had married Katherine Somerset (1575–1624), second daughter of
Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, KG, Earl Marshal (c. 1550 – 3 March 1628) was an English aristocrat. He was an important advisor to King James I (James VI of Scots), serving as Lord Privy Seal. Career He was the only son of thre ...
in a double ceremony with her sister Elizabeth who married Sir Henry Guilford.
Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...
celebrated the event in his poem, '' Prothalamion''. They had seven surviving sons and three daughters: *Hon. Elizabeth Petre (1592-1656), married William Sheldon of
Beoley Beoley is a small village and larger civil parish north of Redditch in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire. It adjoins Warwickshire to the east. The 2021 census gave a parish population of 984, mostly at Holt End. The parish includes the ...
,
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
* Robert Petre, 3rd Baron Petre (1599-1638) *Hon. Mary Petre (1600-1640), married John Roper, 3rd Baron Teynham *Hon. William Petre of Stanford Rivers, Essex (1602-1677), married Lucy Ann, d. of Sir Richard Fermor of Somerton, Oxfordshire *Hon. Edward Petre (1603-1664), married Elizabeth Griffith *Hon. John Petre (d. 1670), married Elizabeth, d. of Thomas Pordage *Hon. Thomas Petre (1606-1656), married Ursula, daughter of Walter Brooke of Lapley, Staffordshire *Hon. Katherine Petre (1607-1681), danced in the court masque ''
Tethys' Festival ''Tethys' Festival'' was a masque produced on 5 June 1610 to celebrate the investiture of Prince Henry (1594–1612) as Prince of Wales. Prince Henry, the son of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark, was made Prince of Wales in June 1610. Amon ...
'' on 5 June 1610 in the character of the "Nymph of Olwy", a tributary of the
River Usk The River Usk (; ) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north int ...
. Edmund Sawyer, ''Memorials of Affairs of State from the papers of Ralph Winwood'', vol. 3 (London, 1725), p. 181: John Nichols, ''The Progresses, Processions, and Magnificent Festivities, of King James the First'', vol. 2 (London, 1828), p. 349., married John Carryl *Hon. Henry Petre (died young) *Hon. George Petre of Greenfield, Flintshire (1612/3-1647), married Anne, daughter of Henry Fox, widow of John Mostyn


Portrait

A pair of paintings among the Petre Pictures dating from 1590, attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts, were once thought to be the portraits of William's parents, John Petre, 1st Baron Petre and Mary. The paintings were restored after the fire at
Thorndon Hall Thorndon Hall is a Georgian Palladian country house within Thorndon Park, Ingrave, Essex, England, approximately two miles south of Brentwood and from central London. Formerly the country seat of the Petre family who now reside at nearby ...
in 1876 and brought to Ingatestone Hall, and bear painted inscriptions naming the subjects. Art historian
Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. ...
contends that these are in fact portraits of William and his wife Katherine. The portraits are colourful and relaxed, showing fashionable changes in costume. Lord Petre wears a white ruff over a lace collar, embroidered doublet, full breeches, bobbed hair, moustache and slight beard and, in the fashion of the time, the minute patch of hair below the bottom lip. His wife is equally in fashion; the cartwheel-topped skirt, the full upper sleeves and a variation of ruff open in front to show the neck, a delicate silver tiara and the splendid necklace of pearls, 1466 in all.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petre, William Petre, 2nd Baron 1575 births 1637 deaths 16th-century English nobility 17th-century English nobility
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 ...
Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford English MPs 1597–1598 2