Sir David Cecil, JP ( 1460 – 1540) was a Welsh landowner,

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

, and Member of Parliament. He is noted as a paternal-line ancestor of the Cecil family which later attained prominence and rose to the peerage, including the extant marquessates of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

and

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

. He was born into a Welsh family, the third son of Richard Cecil ap Philip Seisyllt of Alt-yr-Ynys on the border of

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

and

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, but settled near

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber ...

. Cecil was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of Stamford in 1504–1505, 1515–1516 and 1526–1527. He was made a Yeoman of the Chamber by 1506, a position he held for the rest of his life. He was elected as one of the Members of Parliament for Stamford in 1504, 1510, 1512, 1515 and 1523. He was a

serjeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms or sergeant-at-arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-ar ...

from 1513 to his death and appointed Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

from 1532 and

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

from June 1532 to November 1533. He probably died in September 1540 and was buried in St George's Church, Stamford. He had married twice: firstly Alice, the daughter of John Dicons of Stamford, with whom he had two sons and secondly Jane, the daughter of Thomas Roos of Dowsby, Lincolnshire and widow of Edward Villers of

Flore, Northamptonshire Flore (historically spelled as ''Floore'') is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. The village's name means 'Floor', perhaps referring to a Roman tessellated pavement. South of the neighbouring parish of Nether Heyfo ...

, with whom he had a daughter. He was succeeded by his son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cecil, David 1460s births 1540 deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown People from Northamptonshire

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

High sheriffs of Northamptonshire Serjeants-at-Arms of the House of Commons of England English MPs 1504 English MPs 1510 English MPs 1512–1514 English MPs 1515 English MPs 1523 English people of Welsh descent English courtiers English justices of the peace People from Stamford, Lincolnshire Court of Henry VIII