Sir Henry Williams (c. 1579–1636) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at various times between 1601 and 1624. Williams was the eldest son of David Williams, the judge, of Gwernyfed and his first wife. He was probably educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

in 1589 and was admitted at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

on 16 April 1594, aged 15. He entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1594. In 1601, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

. He was knighted on 23 July 1603. In 1604 he was re-elected MP for Brecon. He succeeded to the Welsh estates of his father at Gwernyfed, Aberllyfni in 1613 and was appointed High Sheriff of Breconshire for 1614–15. In 1621 he was elected MP for

Breconshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1536 under the Laws in Wales ...

He was re-elected MP for Breconshire in 1624 and served a second term as Sheriff for 1627. History of Parliament Online - Henry Williams
/ref> Williams married Elinor Whitney, daughter of Eustace Whitney of Whitney, Herefordshire. They had seven sons including Sir Henry Williams, 1st Baronet, who became a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, and four daughters.

References

1570s births 1636 deaths People educated at Shrewsbury School Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 High sheriffs of Brecknockshire {{1624-England-MP-stub