Sir William Capel (c. 1446-1515) of Capel Court in the parish of St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

and of Hadham Hall in the parish of

Little Hadham Little Hadham is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England. At the census of 2001 it had a population of 1,081, increasing to 1,153 at the 2011 Census. It is bypassed by the A120 road, which connects ...

, Hertfordshire, served as

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

and as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the

Origins

He was the son of John Capell (1398–1449) of Stoke-by-Nayland in Suffolk, a member of the Suffolk

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

,HOP: "born into an armigerous family"; family is not listed in the

heraldic visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as their deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulate the ...

s of Suffolk, not listed in ind

/ref> whose family had been seated at Capel St. Mary in Suffolk since the 12th century.

Career

William Capel was a member of the

Worshipful Company of Drapers The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. It has the formal name The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Dr ...

, who served as

Sheriff of the City of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

for 1496, and was twice elected

, in 1503 and 1510. He was elected as a

for the

from 1511 to 1515. His London mansion stood in the vicinity of the present

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

and of Capel Court (named after him, now a short sidestreet or walkway) in the City of London. He added a south chapel to his parish church of St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange (demolished in 1840) in the City. He purchased the estate of Hadham Hall in the parish of

, Hertfordshire, which remained in the Capell family from many generations. A new house was later built there, whether on the site of the old hall or on a new site is uncertain, which became the seat of his Capell descendants from the 1570s onwards.

Marriage and issue

Shield of Arms of the Lord Arundell of Wardour

He married Margaret Arundell, a daughter of Sir John Arundell (1421–1473) of Lanherne in Cornwall, by his second wife Katherine Chideocke, by whom he had issue including a son and two daughters: *Elizabeth Capell (abt 1480-1558), the first wife of

William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester (c. 1483/1485 – 10 March 1572), styled Lord St John between 1539 and 1550 and Earl of Wiltshire between 1550 and 1551, was an English Lord High Treasurer, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and statesma ...

. *Giles Capel (abt 1485-1556), son and heir, whose descendants included: Sir Gamaliel Capell (1561-1613), MP, of Rookwood Hall, Abbess Roding, Essex, 4th son of Henry Capell (d.1588), MP, of Little Hadham and of Rayne in Essex, by his wife Katherine Manners, a daughter of

Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, 12th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG (c. 1497{{snd20 September 1543), of Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire (adjacent to the small county of Rutland), was created Earl of Rutland by King Henry VIII in 1525. Ori ...

;

Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell (20 February 16089 March 1649), of Hadham Hall and Cassiobury House, Watford, both in Hertfordshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he was raised to the peera ...

(1604–1649), only son of Sir Henry Capell of Rayne Hall in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

by his wife Theodosia Montagu, a daughter of Sir Edward Montagu of

Boughton House Boughton House is a country house in the parish of Weekley in Northamptonshire, England, situated about north-east of Kettering. It is situated within an estate of . The present house was built by Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (d.1709), ...

, Northamptonshire;

Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex, PC (163113 July 1683), also spelt Capel, of Cassiobury House, Watford, Hertfordshire, was an English statesman. Early life He was the son of Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (executed in 1649) ...

(1631–1683), son of 1st Baron Capell, created

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

in 1661. *Dorothy Capel, the wife of John La Zouche, 8th Lord Zouche

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capel, William 1440s births 1515 deaths Sheriffs of the City of London 16th-century lord mayors of London 15th-century English people Members of the Parliament of England for the City of London English MPs 1512–1514 English MPs 1515 Year of birth uncertain