William Tresham

Member of the Parliament of England

For the Tudor priest and Oxford University Vice-Chancellor, see William Tresham (priest).

Sir William Tresham JP (1404 - 22 September 1450) was an English lawyer who served as Speaker of the House of Commons until 1450.

Born in Northamptonshire, the son of Thomas Tresham of Sywell, he went on to become a major landowner in the region. He was elected as a Knight of the shire for the parliament of 1423, and again in 1427, 1429, 1432, 1433, 1435, 1439, 1442, 1445, 1447 and February and November 1449, serving in twelve successive parliaments overall.[1] In 1424 he was also appointed a Justice of the Peace for Northamptonshire; a man born of common stock relied on advancement in his home county for advancement nationally. Having trained as a lawyer, Tresham spent intermittent periods in the service of the king, such as in 1415, when he reviewed the accounts of the King's officials in southern Wales.

It is assumed he concentrated on his legal career in the 1420s, where there are few records of his activities, but in 1430 he was appointed as a councillor to Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and continued to receive a salary until at least 1447. In 1432 he was made one of the two Attorneys-general of Henry Beaufort, and spent much of the 1430s on various commissions of the crown, including one to Northamptonshire in 1434 to investigate the hiding of royal funds, and another in 1439 to look at the value of royal lands, again in Northamptonshire. He was employed by the royal household as an apprentice-at-law and thus secured a tie with them; this is likely why he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons for the 1439 Parliament, when there were attempts to reform the King's household. In 1438 he bought Rushton Hall in Northamptonshire as a family seat.

He was again elected Speaker in 1442 and 1447 and continued his royal service, mainly for the Duchy of Lancaster, and worked as an Apprentice-at-law between 1444 and 1447. He was made a feoffee of the duchy estates in 1446 and in 1448 was made a chancellor of those feoffees, followed by an appointment as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 3 July 1442.[2]

He was much-liked at court, and as a result was appointed to politically sensitive cases, such as the 1444 commission to investigate charges of treason against Thomas Carver, and a 1447 commission directed at members of the household of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. In 1450 he was himself indicted for treason in the aftermath of Jack Cade's rebellion in Kent, but before any sort of commission could take place he was murdered. While travelling to meet with Richard of York with his son, Sir Thomas Tresham, the pair were assaulted by a group of local men with whom Tresham was in a property dispute. William was killed, and Thomas escaped injured.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Summerson, Henry (2004). "Oxford DNB article:Tresham, William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27713. Retrieved 7 October 2008. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. ^ Baines, Edward (1888). "Five". The history of the county palatine and duchy of Lancaster. Manchester; London : J. Heywood. (1st ed.). Internet Archive. pp. 75–76. Retrieved 6 July 2022.

* Summerson, Henry. "Tresham, William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27713. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Parliament of England

Preceded by

Unknown

|  Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire
1423–1449  |  Succeeded by

Unknown

Preceded by

William Burley

|  Speaker of the House of Commons
1439-1442  | Succeeded by

William Burley

Preceded by

William Burley

|  Speaker of the House of Commons
1446-1447  | Succeeded by

Sir John Say

Preceded by

Sir John Popham

|  Speaker of the House of Commons
1449-1450  | Succeeded by

Sir William Oldhall

Preceded by

Walter Sherington

|  Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1442-1449  | Succeeded by

John Say

* v
* t
* e

Speakers of the House of Commons (list)

House of Commons
of England|

| 14th century|

* de Shareshull
* De la Mare
* Hungerford
* De la Mare
* Pickering
* Guildesborough
* Waldegrave
* Pickering
* Bussy
* Cheney
* Doreward
* Savage
* Redford
* Savage

|

15th century|

* Esturmy
* Tiptoft
* Chaucer
* Stourton
* Doreward
* Hungerford
* Chaucer
* Redman
* Beauchamp
* Flower
* Hunt
* Chaucer
* Baynard
* Flower
* Russell
* Walton
* Vernon
* Tyrell
* Alington I
* Tyrell
* Russell
* Hunt
* Bowes
* Tyrell
* Burley
* W. Tresham
* Burley
* W. Tresham
* Say
* Popham I
* W. Tresham
* Oldhall
* Thorpe
* Charlton
* Wenlock
* T. Tresham
* Green
* Strangeways
* Say
* Alington II
* Wood
* Catesby
* Lovell
* Mordaunt
* Fitzwilliam
* Empson
* Drury
* Englefield

16th century|

* Dudley
* Englefield
* Sheffield
* Nevill
* More
* Audley
* Wingfield
* Rich
* Hare
* Moyle
* Baker
* Dyer
* Pollard
* Broke
* Higham
* Cordell
* Gargrave
* T. Williams
* Onslow
* Wray
* Bell
* Popham II
* Puckering
* Snagge
* Coke
* Yelverton

17th century|

* Croke
* Phelips
* R. Crewe
* Richardson
* T. Crewe
* H. Finch
* J. Finch
* Glanville
* Lenthall
* Pelham
* Lenthall
* Rous (Barebones Parliament)
* Lenthall
* Widdrington (2nd Protectorate Parliament)
* Chute, Long & Bampfield (3rd Protectorate Parliament)
* Lenthall
* Grimston
* Turnour
* Charlton
* Seymour
* Sawyer
* Seymour
* Gregory
* W. Williams
* Trevor
* Powle
* Trevor
* Foley
* Littleton

18th century|

* Harley
* Smith

House of Commons
of Great Britain|

| 18th century|

* Smith
* R. Onslow
* Bromley
* Hanmer
* Compton
* A. Onslow
* Cust
* Norton
* Cornwall
* Grenville
* Addington

|

House of Commons
of the United Kingdom|

| 19th century|

* Addington
* Mitford
* Abbot
* Manners-Sutton
* Abercromby
* Shaw-Lefevre
* Denison
* Brand
* Peel
* Gully

|

20th century|

* Lowther
* Whitley
* FitzRoy
* Brown
* Morrison
* Hylton-Foster
* King
* Lloyd
* Thomas
* Weatherill
* Boothroyd
* Martin

21st century|

* Martin
* Bercow
* Hoyle

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