William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele
Wenceslas Hollar, mid-seventeenth century. | |
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Born | 28 June 1582 |
Died | 14 April 1662 (aged 79) |
Burial place | Broughton, Oxfordshire |
Spouse | Elizabeth Temple of Stowe |
Children | James Fiennes, 2nd Viscount Saye and Sele Nathaniel Fiennes John Fiennes Bridget Clinton, Countess of Lincoln |
Parent(s) | Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Saye and Sele, Constance Kingsmill |
William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele (28 June 1582 – 14 April 1662) was an English nobleman and politician. He was a leading critic of Charles I's rule during the 1620s and 1630s. He was known also for his involvement in several companies for setting up overseas colonies.[1]
Early life
He was born at the family home of Broughton Castle near Banbury, in Oxfordshire, the only son of Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Saye and Sele, and his wife Constance, daughter of Sir William Kingsmill.[2] He was educated at New College, Oxford. He was a descendant and heir of the sister of William of Wykeham, the college's founder. Fiennes succeeded to his father's barony in 1613.[3]
1620s
During the latter part of James I's reign, Saye was one of the most prominent opponents of the court. In 1621 he was active against Francis Bacon, and urged that he should be degraded from the peerage. In 1622 he opposed the benevolence levied by the king, saying that he knew no law besides parliament to persuade men to give away their own goods; he spent six months in the Fleet Prison, and then had a period of house arrest. When George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham returned from Spain and proposed to break the Spanish match, the duke and baron became temporary allies. Saye became Viscount Saye and Sele in 1624.[4] He pressed home the attack on Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex.[2]
In the parliament of 1626, Saye was back in opposition; he defended the privileges of the peerage against the new king
Colonist
During the
Providence Island
In 1630 he established, together with
New England
Saye obtained a patent for a large tract of land on the
They appointed
The two men both contemplated settling in New England, but they demanded that an emigrant
Aftermath
Saye concentrated his energies on the settlement of Providence Island, while spreading disparaging reports about New England, including its climate and land. He soon abandoned his enterprises there and surrendered his rights. The New Hampshire settlements were made over to Massachusetts in 1641, and Sayebrook was sold to Connecticut three years later.[2]
Saye was one of the commissioners for the government from Westminster of the plantations appointed on 2 November 1643.[2]
Old Saybrook, Connecticut is named after Viscount Saye and Lord Brooke.
1630s politics
Leading puritans, including John Pym, who were members of the Providence Island Company met Saye at Broughton Castle to coordinate their opposition to the King. On several occasions, Saye outwitted the advisers of Charles I by his strict compliance with legal forms,[5] earning him the nickname "old subtlety".
Although Saye resisted the levy of
Civil War and Restoration
When the
In 1648, both at the treaty of Newport and elsewhere, Saye was anxious that Charles should come to terms. After the king was executed, Saye retired into private life. In 1656 he recovered £500 damages from James Whinnel, gentleman of Wisbech. He agreed to donate £100 to the town of Wisbech in the Isle of Ely, with the interest to be used for providing clothing for the poor and administered by his son Richard Fiennes. [6][7]
Saye became a privy counsellor again upon the restoration of Charles II. He died at Broughton Castle on 14 April 1662.[5]
Family
Fiennes married Elizabeth, youngest daughter of John Temple of
The viscounty of Saye and Sele became extinct in 1781,[5] and the barony was subsequently held by the descendants of John Twisleton (died 1682) and his wife Elizabeth (died 1674), a daughter of the 2nd viscount.[10]
Ancestry
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Notes
- ^ John Burke, A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, Volume 2 (H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1832), 402.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- ^ Arthur Collins and Sir Egerton Brydges, Peerage of England: genealogical, biographical, and historical (F.C. and J. Rivington, 1812), 31–32.
- ^ The Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland: The peerage of Scotland (W. Owen [and 2 others], 1790), 296.
- ^ a b c d e f public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Saye and Sele, William Fiennes, 1st Viscount". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Walker & Craddock (1849). The History of Wisbech and the Fens. Richard Walker. p. 405.
- ^ Frederick John Gardiner (1898). History of Wisbech & Neighbourhood, during the last fifty years - 1848 -1898. Gardiner & Co. p. 218.
- ^ Huntington Library, Ca. STT Manorial Box 9, folder 21 for her baptism and marriage.
- S2CID 166145045.
- ^ Arthur Collins and Sir Egerton Brydges, Peerage of England: genealogical, biographical, and historical (F.C. and J. Rivington, 1812), 32.
References
- Smith, David L. "Fiennes, William, first Viscount Saye and Sele (1582–1662)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9415. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)