William Combe was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

  in 1640.

Combe was the son of Thomas Combe of Warwickshire and his wife Maria Savage. He was baptised at Stratford on 8 December 1586. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

 on 8 July 1603 aged 15. The Combe family had some connection with William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

. Combe's uncle another William Combe was High Sheriff and sold property to Shakespeare in 1602. Another uncle John Combe left Combe some land at Welcombe

Welcombe Hotel

Welcombe Hotel occupies a 19th century former country mansion house near Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire which was previously known as Welcombe House. It is a Grade II* listed building....

 when he died in 1614. Combe immediately caused a local dispute when he tried to enclose some land at Welcombe. The council took action against Combe's enclosure, but Shakespeare gave some support to Combe. Combe was probably High Sheriff of Warwickshire

High Sheriff of Warwickshire

The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

 in 1616.

In April 1640, Combe was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Warwickshire

Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Warwickshire was a parliamentary constituency in the Warwickshire in England. It returned two Members of Parliament , traditionall known as knights of the shire, to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.-Boundaries and franchise:The...

 in the Short Parliament

Short Parliament

The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....

. He was elected MP for Warwickshire 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...

in November 1640, but his election was declared void in December 1640.

Combe died at Stratford in January 1667 aged 80.

Combe married Katharine Boughton, daughter of Edward Boughton. She died in 1662. They had one son and nine daughters.