Sir William Spring, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir William Spring, 1st Baronet (1613 – 17 December 1654) was a British politician and a member of the wealthy and prominent Spring family of Pakenham, Suffolk
.
(d. 1637). The only surviving son, he inherited the family lands from his father, including Cockfield Hall
.
Spring served as High Sheriff of Suffolk
in 1641. During the Stour Valley anti-popery riots of 1642, Sir William was ordered by Parliament to search Hengrave Hall
, the house of his cousin, Lady Penelope Darcy, where it was thought arms for a Catholic insurrection were being stored. Although created a baronet
by Charles I
on 11 August 1641, Spring was a committed Parliamentarian. Throughout the Civil War
he helped to recruit soldiers to the Parliamentarian army, and was in regular correspondence with Oliver Cromwell
.
Spring was elected in 1645 as a recruiter for the Long Parliament
for Bury St Edmunds
, and sat from 1646 to 1648, when he was secluded by Pride's Purge
. Although there is no evidence that Sir William Spring engaged in armed combat on behalf of the cause of Parliament, he was a prominent member of the Bury St. Edmunds Committee of the Eastern Association, which recruited men for Cromwell's Ironsides
. He was also a staunch friend of Sir Nicholas Barnardiston of Kedington, a more famous advocate of the Puritan cause, upon whose death he wrote an acrostic elegy. Spring sat in the First Protectorate Parliament
for Suffolk
in 1654 and died at the end of that year. He was buried on December 19; his eldest son William
succeeded him.
Spring was a close friend of John Winthrop
and his priest was John Knewstub
. He lived at Newe House
, Pakenham.
Pakenham, Suffolk
Pakenham is a village in the English county of Suffolk.It is to the east of Bury St. Edmunds and it administered as part of the borough of St Edmundsbury, until local government reorganisation in 1974 it was part of Thingoe Rural District...
.
Life
William was the son of Sir William SpringWilliam Spring of Pakenham
Sir William Spring of Pakenham or Ridenhall was a wealthly Suffolk politician.He was the son of John Spring and grandson of Sir William Spring of Lavenham....
(d. 1637). The only surviving son, he inherited the family lands from his father, including Cockfield Hall
Cockfield Hall
Cockfield Hall in Yoxford in Suffolk is a Grade I listed private house standing in of historic parkland, dating from the 16th century. It was built by the Spring family, wealthy cloth merchants and later baronets of Pakenham....
.
Spring served as High Sheriff of Suffolk
High Sheriff of Suffolk
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually by the Crown. He was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county and presided at the Assizes and other important county meetings...
in 1641. During the Stour Valley anti-popery riots of 1642, Sir William was ordered by Parliament to search Hengrave Hall
Hengrave Hall
Hengrave Hall is a Tudor manor house near Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England and was the seat of the Kytson and Gage families 1525-1887. Both families were Roman Catholic Recusants.-Architecture:...
, the house of his cousin, Lady Penelope Darcy, where it was thought arms for a Catholic insurrection were being stored. Although created a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
by Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
on 11 August 1641, Spring was a committed Parliamentarian. Throughout the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
he helped to recruit soldiers to the Parliamentarian army, and was in regular correspondence with Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
.
Spring was elected in 1645 as a recruiter for the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
for Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (UK Parliament constituency)
Bury St Edmunds is a county constituency located in Suffolk and centred on the town of Bury St Edmunds. It elects one Member of Parliament to in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, and sat from 1646 to 1648, when he was secluded by Pride's Purge
Pride's Purge
Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
. Although there is no evidence that Sir William Spring engaged in armed combat on behalf of the cause of Parliament, he was a prominent member of the Bury St. Edmunds Committee of the Eastern Association, which recruited men for Cromwell's Ironsides
Ironside (cavalry)
The Ironsides were troopers in the Parliamentarian cavalry formed by English political leader Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, during the English Civil War. The name came from "Old Ironsides", one of Cromwell's nicknames...
. He was also a staunch friend of Sir Nicholas Barnardiston of Kedington, a more famous advocate of the Puritan cause, upon whose death he wrote an acrostic elegy. Spring sat in the First Protectorate Parliament
First Protectorate Parliament
The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....
for Suffolk
Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency)
Suffolk was a county constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1290 until 1832, when it was split into two divisions.-Boundaries and franchise:...
in 1654 and died at the end of that year. He was buried on December 19; his eldest son William
Sir William Spring, 2nd Baronet
Sir William Spring, 2nd Baronet , a British politician, member of the wealthy and prominent Spring family and MP for Suffolk 1679-1684....
succeeded him.
Spring was a close friend of John Winthrop
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
and his priest was John Knewstub
John Knewstub
John Knewstub was an English clergyman, one of the participants in the Hampton Court Conference of 1604 representing the Puritan side. Patrick Collinson calls him presbyterian by conviction, but moderate in his views.-Life:...
. He lived at Newe House
Newe House
Newe House is a Grade II* listed Stuart-era manor house in the village of Pakenham, Suffolk.Newe House was built in 1622 by Sir Robert Bright and today the façade of the house remains largely unmodified. Sir Robert had bought the land surrounding Pakenham from the Bacon family several years before...
, Pakenham.
Family
William married Elizabeth L'Estrange, the daughter of Sir Hamon L'Estrange, with whom he had six children:- Sir William Spring, 2nd BaronetSir William Spring, 2nd BaronetSir William Spring, 2nd Baronet , a British politician, member of the wealthy and prominent Spring family and MP for Suffolk 1679-1684....
(1642–1684) - Thomas Spring, died unmarried
- John Spring, died young
- Elizabeth Spring, died unmarried
- Catherine Spring, married (1st) Capt. Laurence, (2nd) John Palgrave
- Dorothy Spring (1648–1714/5), married Sir Christopher Calthorpe in 1664