Sir William Slingsby (29 January 1563 – 1634) was an English

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

who is often erroneously noted as the discoverer of the first spa water

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. He was the seventh but third surviving son of Sir Francis Slingsby and Mary de Percy, daughter of Sir Thomas Percy, executed for his part in the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was an English Catholic popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536 before spreading to other parts of Northern England, including Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham and north Lancashire. The protests occurre ...

, and sister of

Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, 1st Baron Percy, KG (152822 August 1572) was an English nobleman, politician and Roman Catholic rebel leader, who led the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I in 1569. After the failure of the risin ...

, and

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainme ...

. The Percies were descendants of

Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester (c. 1155 – 3 November 1219) was one of the leaders of the baronial rebellion against John, King of England, and a major figure in both the kingdoms of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of England, ...

. He was born in Scriven,

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The lieutenancy at that time included the city of York a ...

. After marrying Elizabeth Broard, daughter of Sir Stephen Broad of Broadshill, Sussex, in 1582, the couple took a Grand Tour of

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, returning in 1594. In 1596, Slingsby discovered that water from the Tewit Well mineral spring at Harrogate possessed properties similar to that from

Spa, Belgium Spa (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium, whose name became an eponym for spa, mineral baths with supposed curative properties. It is ...

. In 1596, Slingsby served as a soldier on the Cadiz expedition and again in 1597 against Spain. He purchased the estate of

Kippax, West Yorkshire Kippax is a town and civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated to the east of the city, near to Garforth and Great Preston. The Kippax and Methley ward of Leeds City Council is part of the UK Parliament constit ...

, from Francis Bailden. In 1601, he was made the junior Member of Parliament for

alongside his brother, Sir Henry Slingsby, serving until 1611. He was knighted in 1603. After retiring from soldiering, he was made Deputy Lieutenant for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

in 1617. He was elected MP for Appleby in 1626. He died in 1634, leaving a son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, who became Master of the Mint, and a daughter. He was buried in Knaresborough church. He had several distinguished nephews, including Sir Henry Slingsby, 1st Baronet, Guildford Slingsby, and Sir Robert Slingsby, 1st Baronet. His portrait by Moses Griffith hangs in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

. Slingsby Place Street in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

is named after him.

References

History of Parliament SLINGSBY, William (1563–1634) of Kippax, Yorks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slingsby, William 1563 births 1634 deaths People from Knaresborough English army officers English landowners Knights Bachelor English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 Deputy lieutenants of Middlesex 16th-century English soldiers English MPs 1626