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Knollys, William (1545 - 1632)

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Born / Died

Birth Date: 1545
Death Date: 1632-05-25

Parents

Marriages/Other Unions

  1. Bray, Dorothy (1530 - 1605)
    Type: marriage
    Union began: 1573-3
    Union ended: n.d.
    Note: Probably married in this year
  2. Howard, Elizabeth (1586 - 1658)
    Type: marriage
    Union began: 1605-12-23
    Union ended: n.d.
    Note: Union also produced one daughter who died in childhood. Elizabeth was openly involved with Edward Vaux, her second husband, during this marriage, causing some doubt about the paternity of her two sons, the younger of whom was born at Vaux's home

Siblings

Offspring

Titles

  • Knight
    Assumed: 1586
    Vacated: 1632-05-25
  • Baron Knollys of Greys
    Assumed: 1603-05-13
    Vacated: 1632-05-25
  • Viscount Wallingford
    Assumed: 1616-11-07
    Vacated: 1632-05-25
  • 1st Earl of Banbury
    Assumed: 1626-08-18
    Vacated: 1632-05-25
  • Knight of the Garter
    Assumed: 1615-04-24 (date elected; installed 22 May 1615)
    Vacated: 1632-05-25

General Lands Note

Succeeded to father's estates 19 July 1596

Details of Offices

Began Ended Notes
MP, Staffordshire 1571
MP, Cornwall 1572
JP, Gloucestershire 1577 1587
JP, Wiltshire 1582
JP, Oxfordshire 1583
Keeper, Oxfordshire 1584 -6 -25
MP, Oxfordshire 1584
Keeper, London 1586
Deputy Lieut, Oxfordshire 1587
Deputy Lieut, Berkshire 1593
MP, Oxfordshire 1593
Commissioner of Custos Rotulorum, Oxfordshire 1594
Comptroller of the Household, England 1596 -8 -30
Lord Lieut, Berkshire 1596 -10 -26 Held jointly.
Lord Lieut, Oxfordshire 1596 -10 -26 Held jointly.
Privy Councillor, England 1596 -8 -30
MP, Oxfordshire 1597
High Steward, Berkshire 1601 1630
High Steward, Berkshire 1601
Lord Lieut, Oxfordshire 1601
Lord Lieut, Berkshire 1601 -7
MP, Oxfordshire 1601
Treasurer of the Household, England 1602 -12 -22 1616 -12 -22
Comptroller of the Household, England 1603 -5 -3
Privy Councillor, England 1603 -5 -3
Constable, Oxfordshire 1604
Steward, Oxfordshire 1604
Cofferer to the Prince of Wales, England 1606 -8 -8
High Steward, Berkshire 1607 (probable date)
High Steward, Oxfordshire 1608
High Steward, Oxfordshire 1611
Master of the Court of Wards, England 1614 -10 -10 1618 -12
Keeper, Hampshire 1625 -7 -2 1629 -06 -19 Held jointly
Keeper, Hampshire 1625 -7 -2 Held jointly
JP, Kent 1626
Lord Lieut, Berkshire 1627/8 -3 -7 1632 -05 -25 Held jointly
Lord Lieut, Oxfordshire 1627/8 -2 -7 1632 -05 -25 Held jointly

Details of Properties

Residence

  • Caversham, Berkshire
  • Tiltyard house, London (city-county)
    Divested: 1662
    Sold to George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham
  • Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire
    Acquired: 1621-03
    Divested: 1630/1-03
    Granted; sold

Lands

  • Berkshire
  • Hampshire: Holt Forest
  • Oxfordshire
  • Wales

Event Naming Patron

Event Type Date Location Troupe
Performance - St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry, Coventry (city-county) in Warwickshire Mr Nowell's Musicians

Patronized Troupes

Troupe Name Patron Troupe Type # of events
Mr Nowell's Musicians Knollys, William (1545 - 1632) Musicians 1

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. 1887–98 (8 vols); 1910–59 (13 vols). 6 vols. Gloucester: Alan Sutton, 1982
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.