Williams was born in Anglesey, the eldest son of Hugh Williams and Emma Dolben. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, followed by Gray's Inn, to which he was admitted in 1650.[1]
Parliamentedit
After unsuccessfully standing for Chester in the 1673 by-election, Williams was elected Member of Parliament for the constituency in the 1675 by-election. His profile grew, and he was elected to become Speaker of the House of Commons, a post which he held during the 3rd (Exclusion Bill Parliament, 1680–1681) and 4th (1681; Oxford Parliament) parliaments of Charles II. He was the first Welsh Speaker.[2]
In June 1684, allegations were made against him that he had libelled the Duke of York (later James II & VII) for authorizing, as Speaker, the publication of Thomas Dangerfield's Information in 1680. Dangerfield, one of the most notorious of the Popish Plot informers, was by now utterly discredited (he was killed in a scuffle with a barrister the following year). To provide the protection of a seat in parliament, Williams stood and was elected for Montgomeryshire in 1685; however, his return was cancelled on petition, on the grounds that the contributory boroughs had no opportunity of voting. The prosecution resumed, and he was fined £10,000. He was also fined £20,000 after similar action was instigated by the Earl of Peterborough.[3] Supporters worked on his behalf, including the Earl of Rochester; subsequently, £8,000 was accepted as full payment for the former fine, and Peterborough accepted a token payment for the latter after persuasion from James, now king.
Previously a critic of James II, Williams entered the king's service in 1687, being appointed Solicitor General. He had been knighted two days previously, and in June 1688 he was created a baronet, of Gray's Inn in Middlesex. He held an important role in the prosecution of the Seven Bishops, but the violent antipathy between himself and the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Robert Wright, who accused him, with no relevance whatever to the issue before the Court, of taking bribes, probably contributed to the verdict of not guilty. Judge Jeffreys (the hanging judge) tried to ruin Williams with a fine for publishing a libel: this led to the pair engaging in a bitter personal and professional rivalry.
He represented Beaumaris for the 1689 Convention Parliament, and turned against James after he fled England during the Glorious Revolution. He was placed on the committee appointed to draft the Bill of Rights. William III appointed Sir George Treby to succeed him as Solicitor General in the same year. Williams was made a King's Counsel and appointed Custos Rotulorum of Merionethshire and Denbighshire as consolation. The parliament declared the judgement against him for the publication of Dangerfield's Information illegal. He was not elected to Parliament in 1690, and prepared to stand again for Chester with Roger Whitley in 1695. Whitley was instead returned with Sir Thomas Grosvenor, and Williams was again returned for Beaumaris. He refused to take the new oath declaring William the rightful and lawful king, leading to his dismissal as King's Counsel. He left parliament in 1698.[4]
Personal lifeedit
Williams married Margaret Kyffin on 14 April 1664, and they had four sons and one daughter.
Williams died at his Gray's Inn chambers in 1700 and was buried at Llansilin in Wales. His baronetcy passed to his son William.
^(PDF). House of Commons Library. 9 July 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
^"Proceedings against Sir William Williams, bart. for the publication of Dangerfield's Narrative". A complete collection of State Trials and proceedings for High Treason and other Crimes and Misdemeanors. 13 (410, column 1369). 1812.
Halliday, Paul D. (2004). "Williams, Sir William, first baronet (1633/4–1700)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29555. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Archives Network Wales
British History Online — The Fifth Parliament (1681)
william, williams, baronet, gray, other, people, named, william, williams, william, williams, disambiguation, william, williams, baronet, 1634, july, 1700, welsh, lawyer, politician, served, member, parliament, chester, later, beaumaris, appointed, speaker, en. For other people named Sir William Williams see Sir William Williams disambiguation Sir William Williams 1st Baronet 1634 11 July 1700 was a Welsh lawyer and politician He served as a Member of Parliament for Chester and later Beaumaris and was appointed Speaker for two English Parliaments during the reign of Charles II He later served as Solicitor General during the reign of James II Williams had a bitter personal and professional rivalry with Judge Jeffreys the hanging judge SirWilliam WilliamsBtSpeaker of the House of CommonsIn office 1680 1685MonarchCharles IIPreceded bySir William GregorySucceeded bySir John TrevorSolicitor General for England and WalesIn office 1687 1689MonarchJames II amp VIIPreceded bySir Thomas PowysSucceeded bySir George TrebyPersonal detailsBorn1634Anglesey WalesDied 1700 07 11 11 July 1700London EnglandResting placeLlansilin WalesAlma materJesus College OxfordProfessionLawyer politician Contents 1 Early life 2 Parliament 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editWilliams was born in Anglesey the eldest son of Hugh Williams and Emma Dolben He was educated at Jesus College Oxford followed by Gray s Inn to which he was admitted in 1650 1 Parliament editAfter unsuccessfully standing for Chester in the 1673 by election Williams was elected Member of Parliament for the constituency in the 1675 by election His profile grew and he was elected to become Speaker of the House of Commons a post which he held during the 3rd Exclusion Bill Parliament 1680 1681 and 4th 1681 Oxford Parliament parliaments of Charles II He was the first Welsh Speaker 2 In June 1684 allegations were made against him that he had libelled the Duke of York later James II amp VII for authorizing as Speaker the publication of Thomas Dangerfield s Information in 1680 Dangerfield one of the most notorious of the Popish Plot informers was by now utterly discredited he was killed in a scuffle with a barrister the following year To provide the protection of a seat in parliament Williams stood and was elected for Montgomeryshire in 1685 however his return was cancelled on petition on the grounds that the contributory boroughs had no opportunity of voting The prosecution resumed and he was fined 10 000 He was also fined 20 000 after similar action was instigated by the Earl of Peterborough 3 Supporters worked on his behalf including the Earl of Rochester subsequently 8 000 was accepted as full payment for the former fine and Peterborough accepted a token payment for the latter after persuasion from James now king Previously a critic of James II Williams entered the king s service in 1687 being appointed Solicitor General He had been knighted two days previously and in June 1688 he was created a baronet of Gray s Inn in Middlesex He held an important role in the prosecution of the Seven Bishops but the violent antipathy between himself and the Lord Chief Justice Sir Robert Wright who accused him with no relevance whatever to the issue before the Court of taking bribes probably contributed to the verdict of not guilty Judge Jeffreys the hanging judge tried to ruin Williams with a fine for publishing a libel this led to the pair engaging in a bitter personal and professional rivalry He represented Beaumaris for the 1689 Convention Parliament and turned against James after he fled England during the Glorious Revolution He was placed on the committee appointed to draft the Bill of Rights William III appointed Sir George Treby to succeed him as Solicitor General in the same year Williams was made a King s Counsel and appointed Custos Rotulorum of Merionethshire and Denbighshire as consolation The parliament declared the judgement against him for the publication of Dangerfield s Information illegal He was not elected to Parliament in 1690 and prepared to stand again for Chester with Roger Whitley in 1695 Whitley was instead returned with Sir Thomas Grosvenor and Williams was again returned for Beaumaris He refused to take the new oath declaring William the rightful and lawful king leading to his dismissal as King s Counsel He left parliament in 1698 4 Personal life editWilliams married Margaret Kyffin on 14 April 1664 and they had four sons and one daughter Williams died at his Gray s Inn chambers in 1700 and was buried at Llansilin in Wales His baronetcy passed to his son William References edit Welsh Biography Online Speakers of the House of Commons PDF House of Commons Library 9 July 2009 Archived from the original PDF on 18 June 2009 Retrieved 11 April 2010 Proceedings against Sir William Williams bart for the publication of Dangerfield s Narrative A complete collection of State Trials and proceedings for High Treason and other Crimes and Misdemeanors 13 410 column 1369 1812 History of Parliament Online Williams WilliamExternal links editHalliday Paul D 2004 Williams Sir William first baronet 1633 4 1700 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 29555 Subscription or UK public library membership required Archives Network Wales British History Online The Fifth Parliament 1681 Baronetcies W usurped Parliament of England Preceded byRobert WerdenSir Thomas Smith Bt Member of Parliament for Chester1675 1685 With Robert Werden 1675 1679Sir Thomas Grosvenor Bt 1679 1681Roger Whitley 1681 1685 Succeeded bySir Thomas Grosvenor BtRobert Werden Preceded byHenry Bulkeley Member of Parliament for Beaumaris1689 1690 Succeeded byThomas Bulkeley Preceded byThomas Bulkeley Member of Parliament for Beaumaris1695 1698 Succeeded byOwen Hughes Political offices Preceded bySir William Gregory Speaker of the House of Commons1680 1685 Succeeded bySir John Trevor Preceded bySir Thomas Powys Solicitor General for England and Wales1687 1689 Succeeded bySir George Treby Honorary titles Preceded bySir Robert Cotton Custos Rotulorum of Denbighshire1689 1690 Succeeded bySir Richard Myddelton Preceded byThe Marquess of Powis Custos Rotulorum of Merionethshire1689 1690 Succeeded bySir John Wynn Bt Baronetage of England New creation Baronet of Gray s Inn 1700 1740 Succeeded byWilliam Williams Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sir William Williams 1st Baronet of Gray 27s Inn amp oldid 1188881237, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
