William West, 1st Baron De La Warr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_West,_1st_Baron_De_La_Warr

William West, 1st Baron De La Warr, of the second creation (c. 1520 – 30 December 1595) , was nephew and adopted heir of Thomas West, 9th Baron De La Warr. William West was the eldest son of Sir George West, the third of four brothers, and of Elizabeth Morton, daughter of Sir George Morton of Lechlade . He was attainted, 1 February 1550 of attempting to poison his uncle, and was deprived of all honors. His uncle died four years later, so far as we know of natural causes. William West was convicted of treason in 1556, for assisting the plot of George Dudley against Bloody Mary. (He argued that he was a peer, and should be tried in the House of Lords; but was refused.)

He was nevertheless a captain in the siege of St. Quentin in 1557. In 1563, he was restored in blood (i.e. to his rights of inheritance by descent); he was knighted, and created Baron Delaware, on 5 February 1570. He took part as a peer in the trials and convictions of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk and, later, his son, Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel.

He was junior peer in his lifetime, as latest created. However, his son and descendants have been seated with the precedence of 1299, as though they had inherited his uncle Thomas's title. By the modern rules of the House of Lords, his uncle's title fell into abeyance between the daughters of William West's second uncle, Sir Owen West, or their heirs; however, as Cokayne notes, such rules are at best modern approximations to actual medieval practice. What seems clear is that some, but not all, writers treat the letters patent as clarifying the descent of the ancient title, rather than creating a new one, hence William is sometimes referred to as 10th baron.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

• ______________________
• 'Sir William West, 1st Baron de la Warre1,2,3
• 'M, #15325, b. before 1520, d. 30 December 1595
• Father Sir George West4,5 b. c 1503, d. bt 7 Sep 1538 - 25 Sep 1538
• Mother Elizabeth Morton4,5 b. c 1503, d. a 1568
• ' Sir William West, 1st Baron de la Warre was born before 1520 at of Warbleton, Sussex, England. He married Elizabeth Strange, daughter of Sir Thomas Strange and Anne Vaux, circa 1550; They had 2 sons (Sir Thomas, 2nd Lord de la Warr; & Capt. William, Gent.) and 3 daughters (Mary, wife of Richard Blount, Esq; Jane, wife of Thomas Wenman, Esq., of Thomas Tasburgh, Esq., & of Ralph Sheldon, Esq; & Elizabeth).2,3 Sir William West, 1st Baron de la Warre married Anne Swift, daughter of Henry Swift, Esq. and Elizabeth, after 1579.2,3 Sir William West, 1st Baron de la Warre died on 30 December 1595 at Wherwell, Hampshire, England.2,3 His estate was probated on 12 February 1601; Administration of his estate.3
• 'Family 1 Elizabeth Strange b. c 1523, d. a 15 May 1579
• Children
  • Jane West3 b. c 1553, d. b 1606
  • Sir Thomas West, 2nd Lord de la Warre, Sheriff of Hampshire, Burgess for Chichester, East Looe, Yarmouth, & Aylesbury+2,3 b. c 1556, d. 24 Mar 1602
  • Mary West3 b. c 1557, d. a 1625
  • Elizabeth West3 b. c 1559, d. b 1612
• 'Family 2 Anne Swift b. c 1540, d. bt 6 Oct 1611 - 2 Jul 1633
• Citations
• 1.[S4081] Unknown author, The Complete Peerage, by Cokayne, Vol. IV, p. 158/9; Ancestral Roots of 60 Colonists, p. 25; Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, by F. L. Weis, 4th Ed., p. 4; Plantagenet Ancestry of 17th Century Colonists, by David Faris, p. 143.
• 2.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 404.
• 3.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. IV, p. 323-324.
• 4.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 403-404.
• 5.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. IV, p. 322-323.
• From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p510.htm#i...
• ______________________
• 'William West, 1st Baron Delaware1
• 'M, #207561, b. before 1520, d. 30 December 1595
• Last Edited=3 Feb 2013
• ' William West, 1st Baron Delaware was born before 1520.3 He was the son of Sir George West and Elizabeth Morton.2 He married, secondly, Anne Swift, daughter of Henry Swift.3 He married, firstly, Elizabeth Strange, daughter of Thomas Strange, before 1555.3 He died on 30 December 1595 at Wherwell, Hampshire, England.1
• ' He was invested as a Knight.3 He was 'adopted as heir' by his uncle, Sir Thomas Warre, 9th Lord la Warre.2 On 1 February 1549/50 he was disbarred by Act of Parliament from all honours, for trying to poison his uncle, 9th Lord la Warre.3 He gained the rank of Captain in the service of the Army.3 He fought in the Siege of St. Quintin in Picardy in July 1557.3 On 10 April 1563 he was restored in blood.3 He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Sussex in 1569, jointly.3
• 'Child of William West, 1st Baron Delaware
  • 1.Jane West4
• 'Children of William West, 1st Baron Delaware and Elizabeth Strange
  • 1.Elizabeth West3
  • 2.Thomas West, 2nd Baron Delaware+1 b. c 1556, d. 24 Mar 1601/2
• Citations
• 1.[S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume IV, page 159. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
• 2.[S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IV, page 158.
• 3.[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1075. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
• 4.[S3268] Hans Harmsen, "re: Chester Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 21 August 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Chester Family."
• From: http://www.thepeerage.com/p20757.htm#i207561
• ________________
• 'William WEST (1º B. De La Warr)
• 'Born: 1520, Sussex, England
• 'Died: 30 Dec 1595, Wherwell, Northampton, England
• 'Notes: Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. The Complete Peerage by Vicary Gibbs, Vol. 4. Of Sceptered Race by Annah Robinson Watson, pp.191, 219. 'Disabled of all honors' by Parliament, 1 Feb 1549/1550. Created 5 Feb 1569/1570 Baron De La Warr.
• Father: George WEST (Sir Knight)
• Mother: Elizabeth MORTON
• 'Married 1: Elizabeth STRANGE (B. De La Warr) Sep 1538 / 1551, Offington, Sussex, England
  • 1. Thomas WEST (2º B. De La Warr)
  • 2. Elizabeth WEST
  • 3. Jane WEST
  • 4. Mary WEST
• 'Married 2: Anne SWIFT (B. De La Warr) (d. AFT 6 Oct 1611) (m.2 Thomas Oliver) BEF 1595
• From: http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/WEST.htm#William WEST (1º B. De La Warr)
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WILLIAM8 WEST, LORD DELAWARE (Sir George7, Thomas6, Lord de la Warr, Richard5, Lord de la Warr, Reginald4, Lord de la Warr, Sir Thomas3, Sir Thomas2, Sir Thomas1) succeeded his uncle, Thomas, as Lord Delaware, but was debarred from the title because of his attempt to poison him. He was at the siege of St. Quinton in 1557. In 1568 he was created anew Lord de la Warr (or Lord Delaware, as it was frequently written). He was Ambassador to Scotland. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Strange of Chesterton, in Gloucestershire.

(Seldens of Virginia vol 1, page 691)

[The state of Delaware is named after Anne Knollys's son, Thomas West, baron de la Warre.

Member of the Privy Council of Queen Elizabeth, distinguished himself at St. Quentin and in 1568, she made him Baron De La Warr, reconstituting the title after the direct male line became extinct. The son of George West, Sir William was adopted by Thomas West (d. 1554) the half-brother of his father. He was the father of Sir Thomas West, who married Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Knollys. William was named as heir by his uncle but was debarred from the succession for attempting to poison him. Later, however, for services to the King, William was created a new Lord DeLaWarr. William, the first Lord DeLaWarr of the new line, died in 1595 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Thomas Lord DeLaWarr 2nd Baron. William West, Baron De La Warr, born 1519 in England; died 1595 in England. He was disabled by act of parliament (1549) from succeeding to his honors for having sought to poison his uncle. However, in 1570 he was created by patent Baron De La Warr.

Knighted: February 05, 1567/68

William West 1st Baron De La Warr, who had been created Baron de La Warr by letters of patent.

Notes: Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. The Complete Peerage of Vicary Gibbs, Vol. 4. Of Sceptered Race by Annah Robinson Watson, pp. 191, 219. 'Disabled of all honors' by Parliament, 1 Feb 1549/1550. Created 5 Feb 1659/1570 Baron De La Warr.

William was born in 1515. His uncle George was the Baron de la Warr and he adopted William and designated him as his heir. William repaid this kindness by attempting to murder him with poison so that he could inherit his title sooner. For this he was attainted and, despite his claim to a right to be tried in the House of Lords, the Bill of Attainder was issued from the House of Commons. Subsequent to this, he was convicted of treason for plotting to murder Bloody Mary. He was not executed, but was given a military command which he performed so skillfully that he was forgiven by the king, restored in blood so that he was no longer attainted, knighted and created Baron de la Warr. He was designated the first Baron de la Warr of the Second creation.

Image: Portrait of a Gentleman, probably of the West Family 1545–60

Tate Gallery, Britain

Summary:

The history of this puzzling work cannot be traced prior to its appearance in 1868 in the third Exhibition of National Portraits at the South Kensington Museum (cat. no. 629) where it was identified as a portrait of ‘William West, 1st Lord Delawarr’ by Hans Holbein (1497/8-1543) owned by R.S. Holford M.P. The attribution to the German-born Holbein, who died in England in 1543, cannot be sustained, and it is not even clear whether it was carried out by an artist working in England. Dendrochronological analysis by Dr Peter Klein of the three-board oakpanel on which it is painted indicates that it was created at some date after 1527. Preliminary technical analysis indicates that the pigments used are ones that were available during the sixteenth century….

On his left index finger, the sitter wears a ring with a shield-shaped motif associated with the West family. It is described in heraldic terminology as ‘argent a fess dancetty sable’, that is, a black wavy-edged horizontal band across a white background. Above this motif are the faintly painted letters ‘H P’, the significance of which is unclear. These arms presumably led to the nineteenth-century identification of the sitter as William West, born c.1519…

It has not proved possible to confirm that this colourful character is indeed the sitter, but technical investigation of this work, which is currently being conserved, continues.

(for the complete description, see the Tate Gallery website)

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/british-school-portrait-of-a-ge...

William West, 1st Baron De La Warr of the second creation (c. 1520 – 30 December 1595) was the elder son of Sir George West (d.1538), second son of Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr, by his third wife, Eleanor Copley, and Elizabeth Morton, widow of Robert Walden, and daughter of Sir Robert Morton of Lechlade, Gloucestershire.[1][2][3] He was nephew and adopted heir of his uncle of the half blood, Thomas West, 9th Baron De La Warr, eldest son of the 8th Baron's second wife, Elizabeth Mortimer.

[In 1549 the 9th Baron] placed a private bill before parliament to disinherit his nephew William West, first Baron De La Warr (c.1519–1595). The latter was the son of the ninth baron's half-brother Sir George West of Warbleton (d. 1538) and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Morton of Lechlade, Gloucestershire. His uncle was childless, and had at some time adopted William as his heir. However, West tried to gain the de la Warr estate early by poisoning his uncle. The attempt was unsuccessful and he was in the Tower by October 1548. He was disinherited by an act of parliament in 1550, although he had been reinstated as heir by the time of his uncle's death. Despite the fact that he had been reinstated as heir by his uncle, when the latter died in 1554 William West was unable to inherit the barony of de la Warr as a result of the Act of Parliament of 1550 which had deprived him of all honours. Two years later he was involved in the Dudley, and on 30 June 1556 was arraigned at the Guildhall on charges of treason, to which he responded as 'William, Lord de la Warr', forcing the heralds to prove during the trial that he was not entitled to the barony and therefore not entitled to a trial by his peers in the House of Lords. He was convicted of treason. However the death sentence was not carried out, and in 1557 he was pardoned by Queen Mary. He fought at the siege of St. Quentin in that year, and in 1563, early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, was restored in blood. On 5 February 1570 he was knighted, and on the same day created Baron De La Warr, which was regarded as a new creation of the title.[4]