William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury
Encyclopedia
Sir William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury, KG
, PC
(1544 – 25 May 1632) was an English
nobleman at the court of Queen Elizabeth I
and King James
He was the son of Sir Francis Knollys
, of Greys Court
in Oxfordshire
, and of Reading
, in Berkshire
, and his wife, Catherine Carey
. Knollys was a Member of Parliament
(MP) for Stafford
in 1571, Tregony
from 1572-81 and 1583-84 and for Oxfordshire
from 1584-1586, 1592-1593 and 1601. In 1584 he was made castellan of Wallingford Castle
. In 1596 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
, a position he held until his death. In 1586 he served as a captain in the Netherlands under his brother-in-law Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who knighted him.
William rebuilt Caversham Park
where he often resided. He was first married to Dorothy Bray
, daughter of Edmund Braye, 1st Baron Braye
by his wife Jane Halliwell and widow of Edmund Brydges, 2nd Baron Chandos
of Sudeley (d 1573). Dorothy was 20 years his senior, and had at least five children from her first marriage, though their marriage proved childless.
In the mid-1590s, William took in Mary Fitton
, the daughter of a family friend. Intended to be her protector from wayward influence of courtiers, he fell in love with her himself and wished his wife dead so he could marry her. He expressed desire for children with her, and when made godfather to Mary sister's daughter (Anne Newdigate) he named that child Mary. His infatuation with his ward was the cause of much court laughter:
went one song about him. He was derided as "Party Beard" because his beard was three colors: white at the roots, yellow mid-way and black at the ends. Mary refused him. He courted her even after she had an illegitimate child (who died) with the earl of Pembroke
but Mary was not interested and after his wife Dorothy died (31 October 1605 at Minty, buried at Rotherfield Greys
) he remarried quickly.
In 1603 he was created 1st Baron Knollys. On 23 December 1605, Knollys married Lady Elizabeth Howard (1586–1658), the daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
. In 1616 he was created 1st Viscount Wallingford and in 1626 1st Earl of Banbury.
Elizabeth remarried shortly after Knollys' death to Edward Vaux, 4th Baron Vaux of Harrowden
. There is some debate as to whether Elizabeth's two sons, Edward (1627–1645) and Nicholas (1631–1674) (titular 2nd and 3rd Earls respectively), were William's offspring, as her first son was born when William was 80 years old. As a result, the House of Lords
refused to seat them as Earls of Banbury and considered them to be illegitimate sons of Elizabeth and Edward Vaux.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, PC
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
(1544 – 25 May 1632) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
nobleman at the court of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and King James
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
He was the son of Sir Francis Knollys
Francis Knollys (the elder)
Sir Francis Knollys , of Greys Court, in Oxfordshire, KG was an English courtier in the service and favour of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth I of England, and was a Member of Parliament for a number of constituencies....
, of Greys Court
Greys Court
Greys Court is a Tudor country house and associated gardens, located at , at the southern end of the Chiltern Hills at Rotherfield Greys, near Henley-on-Thames in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public....
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, and of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, and his wife, Catherine Carey
Catherine Carey
Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey, after her marriage Katherine Knollys and later Lady Knollys, pronounced "Noles" Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey, after her marriage Katherine Knollys and later Lady Knollys, pronounced "Noles" Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey,...
. Knollys was a 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,...
(MP) for Stafford
Stafford (UK Parliament constituency)
Stafford is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. The sitting MP is the Conservative Jeremy Lefroy....
in 1571, Tregony
Tregony (UK Parliament constituency)
Tregony was a rotten borough in Cornwall which was represented in the Model Parliament of 1295, and returned two Members of Parliament to the English and later British Parliament continuously from 1562 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act....
from 1572-81 and 1583-84 and for Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Oxfordshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Members of Parliament. In 1832 this was increased to three...
from 1584-1586, 1592-1593 and 1601. In 1584 he was made castellan of Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire , adjacent to the River Thames...
. In 1596 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire.-Lord Lieutenants of Berkshire:*Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset 1551 – 22 January 1552...
, a position he held until his death. In 1586 he served as a captain in the Netherlands under his brother-in-law Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who knighted him.
William rebuilt Caversham Park
Caversham Park
Caversham Park is a Victorian stately home with parkland in the suburb of Caversham, on the outskirts of Reading, England. Historically it was in Oxfordshire, but since 1911 it has been in Berkshire.-Early History:...
where he often resided. He was first married to Dorothy Bray
Dorothy Bray, Baroness Chandos
Dorothy Bray, Baroness Chandos was an English noblewoman, who served as a Maid of Honour to three queens consort of King Henry VIII of England; Anne Of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr...
, daughter of Edmund Braye, 1st Baron Braye
Edmund Braye, 1st Baron Braye
Edmund Braye , 1st Baron Braye , was an English peer.Edmund Braye was the son of John Braye of Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire and the older brother of Sir Edward Braye....
by his wife Jane Halliwell and widow of Edmund Brydges, 2nd Baron Chandos
Edmund Brydges, 2nd Baron Chandos
Edmund Brydges, 2nd Baron Chandos was an English peer and politician. He was a Knight of the Garter, Baron Chandos, Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire and Vice-Admiral of Gloucestershire.-Life:...
of Sudeley (d 1573). Dorothy was 20 years his senior, and had at least five children from her first marriage, though their marriage proved childless.
In the mid-1590s, William took in Mary Fitton
Mary Fitton
Mary Fitton was the daughter of Sir Edward Fitton of Gawsworth, Cheshire and Alice Halcroft, and is considered by some to be the "Dark Lady" of Shakespeare's sonnets. Her elder sister, Anne, married John Newdigate in 1587, at the age of fourteen...
, the daughter of a family friend. Intended to be her protector from wayward influence of courtiers, he fell in love with her himself and wished his wife dead so he could marry her. He expressed desire for children with her, and when made godfather to Mary sister's daughter (Anne Newdigate) he named that child Mary. His infatuation with his ward was the cause of much court laughter:
Party Beard, party beard...
...the white hind was crossed:
Brave Pembroke struck her down
And took her from the clown
went one song about him. He was derided as "Party Beard" because his beard was three colors: white at the roots, yellow mid-way and black at the ends. Mary refused him. He courted her even after she had an illegitimate child (who died) with the earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, KG, PC was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his third wife Mary Sidney. Chancellor of the University of Oxford, he founded Pembroke College, Oxford with King James. He was warden of the Forest of Dean, and constable of St Briavels from 1608...
but Mary was not interested and after his wife Dorothy died (31 October 1605 at Minty, buried at Rotherfield Greys
Rotherfield Greys
Rotherfield Greys is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is west of Henley-on-Thames and just over east of the village of Rotherfield Peppard....
) he remarried quickly.
In 1603 he was created 1st Baron Knollys. On 23 December 1605, Knollys married Lady Elizabeth Howard (1586–1658), the daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Admiral Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG, PC was a son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, the daughter and heiress of the 1st Baron Audley of Walden....
. In 1616 he was created 1st Viscount Wallingford and in 1626 1st Earl of Banbury.
Elizabeth remarried shortly after Knollys' death to Edward Vaux, 4th Baron Vaux of Harrowden
Edward Vaux, 4th Baron Vaux of Harrowden
Edward Vaux, 4th Baron Vaux of Harrowden was an English peer. He was the son of George Vaux and his wife Elizabeth Vaux , and the grandson and heir of William Vaux, 3rd Baron Vaux of Harrowden...
. There is some debate as to whether Elizabeth's two sons, Edward (1627–1645) and Nicholas (1631–1674) (titular 2nd and 3rd Earls respectively), were William's offspring, as her first son was born when William was 80 years old. As a result, the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
refused to seat them as Earls of Banbury and considered them to be illegitimate sons of Elizabeth and Edward Vaux.