Sir William Killigrew (died 1622) of Hanworth, Middlesex, was a courtier to Queen Elizabeth I and to her successor King James I, whom he served as Groom of the Privy Chamber. [1] He served as a member of parliament at various times between 1571 and 1614 and was Chamberlain of the Exchequer between 1605 and 1608. Several of his descendants were also royal courtiers and many were buried in Westminster Abbey.
Killigrew was the fifth son of John III Killigrew (died 1567) of Arwenack, Cornwall, the first Governor of Pendennis Castle, situated on land within the Arwenack estate, appointed by King Henry VIII. [2] His mother was Elizabeth Trewinnard, 2nd daughter of James Trewennard of Trewennard, [3] in the parish of St Erth, Cornwall. [4] The monumental brass of John III Killigrew survives in St Budock's Church, near Arwenack.
In 1571 he was elected Member of Parliament for Grantham in Lincolnshire and in 1572 he was elected MP for Helston in Cornwall. He became feodary and escheator for the Duchy of Cornwall and Constable of Launceston Castle in 1576 by which year he was Groom of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I. In 1578 he was farmer of the profits from seals in the Court of Queen's Bench and the Court of Common Pleas. He was commissioner for musters for Cornwall by 1582 and was a Justice of the Peace for Cornwall from 1583 to 1587. In 1584 he was elected MP for the Killigrew pocket borough of Penryn. He was receiver for Devon and Cornwall by 1588 and was commissioner for goods from Madre de Dios in 1592. In 1593 he was elected MP for Fowey in Cornwall. He was commissioner acting treasurer of the chamber in 1595 and commissioner for goods from Cadiz in 1596. In 1597 he was elected MP for the prestigious county seat, Cornwall.
He was knighted in 1603 on the succession of King James I. In 1604 he became MP for Liskeard. From 1605 to 1608 he was Chamberlain of the Exchequer. In 1614 he was elected MP for Penryn again. [5]
At some time about 1576 Killigrew married Margaret Saunders, daughter of Thomas Saunders of Uxbridge, Middlesex, and widow of Robert Woolman and of John Leigh. By his wife he had the following progeny: [6]
In 1594 he obtained an 80-year lease of the two adjoining royal manors of Kempton and Hanworth in Middlesex. In 1631 his son Sir Robert Killigrew (1580–1633) secured the reversion and in 1651 the latter's son Sir William Killigrew (1606–1695), "of Kempton Park", conveyed Kempton to John Warburton. [8]
Killigrew died in 1622 and was buried in St. Margaret's Church, Lothbury, in the City of London, near his brother Henry Killigrew.
Sir Robert Killigrew (1580–1633) was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1629. He served as Ambassador to the United Provinces.
Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of Saint Albans, was an English politician and courtier. He sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1625 and 1643 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn. He was one of the most influential courtiers of the period, constantly devising and promoting schemes to involve foreign powers in the restoration of the monarchy, both before and after the execution of Charles I.
Sir William Killigrew (1606–1695) of Kempton Park, Middlesex, was an English court official under Charles I and Charles II.
Sir Henry Killigrew was a Cornish diplomat and an ambassador for the Kingdom of England in the sixteenth century. He was several times employed by Elizabeth I in Scottish affairs and served as one of the English appointees to the Council of State of the Netherlands in the United Provinces in 1586 and 1587–1589. He served as a Member of Parliament for Newport & Launceston in 1553, for Saltash in 1563, and for Truro in 1571–2.
Jonathan I Rashleigh, of Menabilly, near Fowey in Cornwall, was an English shipping-merchant, Member of Parliament for Fowey in 1614, 1621, 1625, April 1640 and November 1640, and 1661 and served as Sheriff of Cornwall in 1627. He supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War.
Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1601 and 1625. He was an ambassador to Denmark. During the English Civil War, he supported the Royalist cause.
Mary Wolverston, Lady Killigrew, was a gentlewoman from Suffolk, married into an ancient Cornish family, who was accused of piracy during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603).
The Killigrew Baronetcy, of Arwennick in the County of Cornwall, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 22 December 1660 for William Killigrew (d.1665), 6th son of John Killigrew (c.1557-1605) of Arwenack, near Falmouth in Cornwall, thrice MP for Penryn in 1584, 1586 and 1597, and Vice-Admiral of Cornwall and like his father and grandfather was Captain of Pendennis Castle (1584–98) The 1st Baronet was created a baronet at the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, which event was largely brought about by his uncle George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1608-1670). He died without progeny and the title by special remainder descended to his nephew Peter Killigrew, son of his elder brother Sir Peter Killigrew (1593-1667), MP for Camelford. The second Baronet was Member of Parliament for Camelford. The title became extinct on his death in 1704.
Sir Thomas Jermyn (1573–1645) of Rushbrooke, Suffolk, was an English courtier and Royalist who served as a Member of Parliament between 1604 and 1640.
Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1668. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. He succeeded by special remainder to the peerage of his son who predeceased him.
Sir Peter Killigrew, 2nd Baronet of Arwenack, St Budock, Cornwall was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660.
Maurice Berkeley was an English landowner and gentleman who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1614.
The Governor of Pendennis Castle was a military officer who commanded the fortifications at Pendennis Castle, part of the defences of the River Fal and Carrick Roads, on the south coast of Cornwall near Falmouth. Originally fortified under Henry VIII, defences in the area were intermittently maintained until after the Second World War. The office of governor was abolished in 1837, when Gen. Anderson received the colonelcy of the 78th Regiment of Foot.
Sir Thomas Stafford was an English courtier, politician, and historian of the Irish Wars. He sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1593 and 1625.
Sir Reginald Mohun, 1st Baronet of Boconnoc in Cornwall, was a prominent member of the gentry of Cornwall and an MP.
John Hervey was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1679. He fought for the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.
Arwenack, historically in the parish of St Budock, Cornwall, is a historic manor on the site of what is today the town of Falmouth. It was partly destroyed in 1646, and only a remnant survives today. It was long held by the Killigrew family, which was responsible for the development of the town of Falmouth, Sir Peter Killigrew, MP, having received a royal charter for its foundation in 1661.
John Killigrew of Arwenack, near Falmouth in Cornwall, was three times MP for Penryn in 1584, 1586 and 1597, although he rarely attended Parliament. He was Vice-Admiral of Cornwall and like his father and grandfather was Governor of Pendennis Castle (1584–98), but was removed from office due to grave suspicions about his loyalty to the Crown. He was heavily in debt throughout his adult life, and died a ruined man.
Sir John Killigrew of Arwenack, near Penryn, Cornwall, was the 2nd Governor of Pendennis Castle (1568–1584), appointed by Queen Elizabeth I, as stated on his father's brass in St Budock's Church. He was MP for Lostwithiel in 1563 and twice for the family's pocket borough of Penryn, in 1571 and 1572.
Mary Woodhouse, Lady Killigrew, musician and correspondent of Constantijn Huygens, was the daughter of Henry Woodhouse (MP) of Hickling and Waxham, and Anne Bacon, daughter of Sir Nicholas Bacon. She may have been the "Woodhouse" appointed Maid of Honour to Anne of Denmark in December 1603.