Sir William Hussey, MP

Family and Education b. by 1473, 2nd s. of Sir William Hussey of Sleaford and Dagenham, Essex by Elizabeth, da. of Thomas Berkeley of Wymondham, Leics., bro. of Sir John. educ. ?G. Inn. m. by Aug. 1503, Anne, da. and h. of Sir John Salveyn of Thorpe, Yorks. at least 1s. Kntd. 25 Sept. 1513.2

Offices Held

Gent. usher by 1509; comptroller, Calais 6 Apr. 1526-d.3

Biography The description of William Hussey as ‘the younger, esquire of London alias Sleaford’ in 1494 may reflect a spell at Gray’s Inn, of which his father was a luminary, but he was to make his career at court and in the service of the crown. His election to the Parliament of 1512 for Stamford he must have owed to his elder brother, by then a Councillor and comptroller of the Household, who was steward of the town. His absence from the following Parliament is something of a surprise in view of the King’s request for the reselection of the previous Members, but as he was replaced by a fellow-member of the Household, George Kirkham, the change was presumably both amicable and approved. It is possible that Hussey was unavailable through being abroad: following his part in the Tournai campaign of 1513, which brought him a knighthood, he was much involved in his brother’s diplomatic activities. His overseas engagements continued with the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520, a mission to the Archduke Ferdinand in 1523 (which debarred him from the Parliament of that year) and his appointment as comptroller of Calais early in 1526.4

Hussey’s alliance with a Yorkshire heiress had probably led him to settle in that county, and his son George’s marriage into the Constable family of Flamborough confirmed the migration: his grandson William Hussey III was to sit for Scarborough in 1555. Before his death, which took place before 1 Apr. 1531, Hussey saw his other younger namesake, his brother’s heir, returned for Grantham. He died intestate and no inquisition has been found.5

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558 Author: M. K. Dale Notes 1. Stamford hall bk. 1461-1657, f. 91. 2. Date of birth estimated from first reference. Lincs. Peds. (Harl. Soc. li), 528; Vis. Yorks. (Harl. Soc. xvi), 168; CPR, 1485-94, p. 86. 3. LP Hen. VIII, i. iii. 4. CPR, 1494-1509, pp. 10, 501-2; C67/93, m. 2; LP Hen. VIII, i-iv. 5. LP Hen. VIII, v; C1/827/47