William Pole, MP

Family and Education b. 9 Aug. 1515, s. and h. of William Pole by 2nd w. Agnes, da. of John Drake of Ash, Devon. educ. I. Temple. m. (1) 19 Nov. 1548, Thomasin, da. of John Tudoll of Lyme Regis, Dorset, wid. of John Strowbridge (d.1539) of Streathayne in the parish of Colyton, Devon, and of William Beaumont (d.1547), s.p.; (2) by 1559, Catherine, da. of Alexander Popham of Huntworth, Som., 5s. inc. William† 2da.1

Offices Held

Bencher, I. Temple 1556, Autumn reader 1557, Lent 1562, treasurer 1564-5.

J.p. Dorset 1558/59-d., Devon 1562-d.; counsellor to Lyme Regis by 1564.2

Biography In the sheriff’s schedule of the Members elected in Dorset to the Parliament of 1545 the names of those for Lyme Regis were added in a different hand from the rest; and in Bridport’s indenture for Mary’s first Parliament William Pole’s name was inserted in a blank space left for the second Member. As early as 1541 Pole held a judicial appointment in Lyme, being then ‘a young justice’ whose behaviour was criticized by one who declared himself to be ‘a gentleman as Mr. Pole was (putting aside his office) and as well born as he’. Possibly there was opposition to his election in 1545 although later his advice was often sought by the town and he was retained of counsel by 1564. With Bridport he had no direct link; but John Paulet, Lord St. John, was high steward of both Lyme Regis and Bridport in 1553, and his deputy at Bridport, Robert Tytherleigh the younger, was a near relative of Pole.3

The family residence, Shute, in the parish of Colyton, formerly the property of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was acquired by Pole from (Sir) William Petre, to whom it had been granted after Suffolk’s attainder. There Pole died on 15 Aug. 1587.4

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558 Author: Helen Miller Notes 1. Date of birth given in MI. Polwhele, Devonshire, iii. 3111; Vis. Devon, ed. Vivian, 603; Colyton Par. Regs. (Devon and Cornw. Rec. Soc. xiv), 20-21, 459, 579-82; St.Ch.4/3/10. 2. Lyme Regis, finance 1, p. 60. 3. C219/18C/36, 21/56; Lyme Regis, fugitive pieces, 1, no. 6; Bridport doom bk. 213. 4. W. Pole, Description of Devonshire (1791), 137-8; C142/213/72; PCC 62 Spencer

Biography The name entered on the Exchequer list of 1559 MPs is Poley. No likely William Poley has been traced, so it has been assumed that Poley was a variant spelling of Pole, and that the 1559 MP was William Pole, a wealthy lawyer and speculator in church lands who had already represented two Dorset boroughs in previous Parliaments. His cousin John Saintclere had sat for West Looe in 1555, but Pole’s own return there in 1559 may well have been due to the 2nd Earl of Bedford, who knew Pole’s mother’s family. Whether Pole shared Bedford’s protestant religious opinions is another matter. His not sitting after 1559 and his not attaining any higher legal office than that of counsel to Lyme Regis suggests at best a lukewarm acceptance of the new religion, as does his retirement to his country seat of Shute, which he had acquired from the Catholic Petre family, Sir William Petre having received it after the attainder of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. Still, Pole remained on the commission of the peace and he was employed by the Privy Council in September 1580 to inquire into disturbances at Exeter. His will gives no indication of any religious beliefs. In it he bequeathed 20s. each to the vicars of Colyton and Seaton, remembered the poor of several Devon parishes, and left his widow an annuity and a life interest in the house and park at Shute. The remainder to this property, and the residue of his lands, went to his eldest son, William. John Popham, attorney-general and the testator’s brother-in-law, was one of the executors, another being Thomas Hannam. Pole died 15 Aug. 1587, and was buried at Colyton.

R. Polwhele, Devonshire, iii. 311; Vivian, Vis. Devon, 603; Colyton Par. Regs. (Devon and Cronw. Rec. Soc. 1928), 20, 21, 459, 570-82; St. Ch. 4/3/10; Lyme Regis mss, Finance, i. 60; CPR, 1563-6, p. 81; 1569-72, p. 143; Hutchins, Dorset, ii. 223; W. Pole, Desc. Devon, 137-8; APC, xii. 186; PCC 62 Spencer; C142/213/72.

Ref Volumes: 1558-1603 Authors: Helen Miller / P. W. Hasler

Will is transcribed in the book:

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register

By Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, New England Historic Genealogical Society

Published by New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1894

Item notes: v. 48

Original from the University of Virginia

Digitized Sep 5, 2007

Page 489

It can be downloaded free from Google Books