William Collins 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 ...

from 1654 to 1659. He supported the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Biography

Collins was probably the son of John Collins of King's Norton, who was fined £10 for not taking knighthood on 4 March 1631. In the Civil War, Collins became a captain in the Parliamentary army. On 11 May 1644, he was added to the Committee for Worcestershire by the House of Commons. He became a sub-commissioner of the Grand Excise for Worcestershire on 25 February 1650. On 7 October 1651 the Committee for Compounding made an order that he be a commissioner for Worcestershire after a request on 1 October by Nicholas Lechmere that Capt Wm. Collins may be added to the Committee while Col. John James was not attending. On 14 March 1654 he was made sole sub-commissioner for Worcestershire. W R Williams ''Parliamentary History of the County of Worcester''
/ref> In 1654, Collins was elected Member of Parliament for

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

in the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the H ...

. He was an Assessment Commissioner for county and city of Worcester in 1656. In 1656 he was re-elected MP for Worcester in the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first sess ...

. He was re-elected MP for Worcester in 1659 for the

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a po ...

. He was Governor of Worcester on 9 July 1659 when the Council of State ordered him to assemble his troops in response to Sir George Booth's rising. On 4 January 1660 Capt. Collins wrote from Worcester College to the Army Commissioners "I have given order for the speedy drawing of my troop together for their march according to your directions, but their necessities for want of pay are very great, having been on hard duty for eight weeks, to preserve the peace of this country, which was much disturbed by highway robbers, being considerable parties, and supposed to be of the old enemy, they riding in the posture of soldiers; for this time they have had no money but what I have borrowed, and lent them, besides three years arrears formerly due to them. I shall according to your orders, as soon as I possibly provide to march, give notice thereof to Col. Hacker."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, William Year of birth missing Year of death missing Politicians from Worcestershire English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1659 Roundheads