Lieutenant Admiral Sir William Woodhouse (by 1517 – 22 November 1564) was an English naval commander and administrator who rose to the rank of

Lieutenant of the Admiralty The Lieutenant of the Admiralty is a now honorary office generally held by a senior retired Royal Navy admiral. He is the official deputy to the Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom. He is appointed by the Sovereign on the nomination of the First ...

and was head of the

Council of the Marine The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

later called the Navy Board. He also served as a Member of Parliament of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

from 1545 to 1564. He was prominent during an important time of the Navy Royal's development in the later half of the

Tudor period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

Naval career

Woodhouse was a naval commander and administrator who served under

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

of England. He went to sea early in life and his career advanced through service to the King. He was granted offices in Lynn Norfolk, and was appointed Escheator for Norfolk and Suffolk from 1538 to 1539. This was followed by his being appointed bailiff of the manor of Gaywood in 1540. In September 1542 he was appointed Captain of HMS Primrose until January 1543. In February 1543 he was appointed admiral of four ships in the North Sea. In November 1543 he took charge of 10 ships stationed at Portsmouth with the intention of attacking French fishing waters. Appointed Vice-Admiral of the Fleet of the Earl of Hertford's expedition to Scotland in early 1544, he was knighted in Leith, Scotland on 13 May 1544. He was next appointed Vice-Admiral in the Channel and Vice-Admiral at Boulogne from July to November 1544 serving under Admiral Sir Thomas Seymour. In April 1546 he was appointed a member of the

and made Master of Naval Ordnance from 1546 to 1552. His next appointment came in 1552 when he was given the office of the Keeper of Queenborough Castle which he held until 1553.Bindoff. pp.653–655. In December 1546 he was appointed head of the Council of the Marine as

until 1564. In 1554 he was appointed as both Vice-Admiral of Suffolk and Vice-Admiral of Norfolk until 1564. In 1557 he was a commander with John Clere of a fleet sent against Scotland. Clere died fighting at

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

. In October 1558 he was appointed for a second time

Vice-Admiral in the Channel The Channel Squadron also referred to as the Western Squadron (1512-1649) was a series of temporary naval formations first formed in under the English Tudor Navy Royal during the sixteenth century. Later during the Interregnum a channel squad ...

until January 1559. He remained as head of the Council of the Marine until 22 November 1564 when he died in office. The post of Lieutenant of the Admiralty then fell into abeyance until 1604.

Political career

Woodhouse was also served as a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

elected for

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

from 1545 to 1553, for

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

in 1558,

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

from 1559 to 1563, and Norfolk again from 1563 to his death in 1564. He is described as "of Hickling, Norfolk".

Family

This family of the Woodhouses was a distinct family from that of the Woodhouses of Kimberley and the later

Earls of Kimberley Earl of Kimberley, of Kimberley in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1866 for the prominent Liberal politician John Wodehouse, 3rd Baron Wodehouse. During his long political career, he no ...

, and bore, for their arms, quarterly, ''azure'', and '' ermine'', in the first quarter a leopard's head, ''or''; which arms belong to the family of ''Power'', and

Francis Blomefield Rev. Francis Blomefield (23 July 170516 January 1752), FSA, Rector of Fersfield in Norfolk, was an English antiquarian who wrote a county history of Norfolk: ''An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk''. It includes ...

found these Woodhouses to be formerly styled ''Woodhouse, alias Power''. Sir William Woodhouse was the younger son of John Woodhouse of Waxhame and his wife Alice, daughter of William Croftes of Wyston in Norfolk.'Woodhouse', in W. Rye (ed.), ''The Visitacion of Norfolk, made and taken by William Hervey, Clarencieux King of Arms, anno 1563, enlarged with another Visitacion made by Clarenceux Cook: with many other descents (etc.)'', Harleian Society XXXII (London 1891), pp. 320–23, at p. 321 (Internet Archive). His elder brother was

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Sir Thomas Woodhouse. Woodhouse married firstly Anne, daughter of Henry Repps of Thorpe Market in Norfolk, and had: * Thomas Woodhouse of Hickling, Norfolk, ob. s.p. who married Anne, daughter and heiress of John Wootton of Tuddenham in Norfolk. After his death Anne remarried firstly to Henry Reppes of

Mendham, Suffolk Mendham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the east bank of the River Waveney around a mile east of Harleston, the parish includes the hamlets of Withersdale Street. The Mendham ...

, his maternal uncle, the widower of

Bess Holland Elizabeth Holland (died 1547/8), commonly known as Bess Holland, was an English courtier. She was the mistress of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and maid-of-honour to his niece, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England. Life ...

. Anne's third and final marriage was to Bassingbourne Gawdy (d. 1590) * Sir Henry Woodhouse, who married Anne, daughter of Sir Nicholas Bacon, knight,

Lord Keeper The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This position evolved into that of one of the Great Officers of S ...

* Mary Woodhouse, who married Rafe Shelton of Shelton in Norfolk, son and heir of

Sir John Shelton Sir John Shelton (1476/7 – 1539) of Shelton, Norfolk, Shelton in Norfolk, England, was a courtier to King Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII. Through his marriage to Anne Shelton (courtier), Anne Boleyn, a sister and co-heiress of Thomas Bol ...

by his wife Margaret, the daughter of

Henry Parker, 10th Baron Morley Henry Parker, 10th Baron Morley (1476/1480/14813 December 1553/1556), (notes to Parliamentary records show this as 25 November 1556) was an England, English peerage, peer and translator, Lord of Morley Saint Botolph, Morley, Hingham, Norfolk, H ...

, and the sister of Jane Parker, Lady Rochford * Ann Woodhouse, who married Sir William Heydon, son and heir of Sir Christopher Heydon of Baconsthorpe Castle in Norfolk. Their children included

Christopher Heydon Sir Christopher Heydon (14 August 1561 – 1 January 1623) was an English soldier, politician, and writer on astrology, who was a Member of Parliament for Norfolk from 1588 to 1589. He quarrelled with his family over its estates in Norfolk. Ba ...

(1561–1623).Daniel Gournay, ''Record of the House of Gournay'', 1 (London, 1848) p. 412. He married secondly Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir Philip Calthorpe, knight, by Amata Boleyn, the daughter of William Boleyn and the aunt of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

, making Elizabeth the first cousin of Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth was the widow of Sir Henry Parker, knight, the son and heir of

, first cousin of Sir William's son-in-law Rafe Shelton, the husband of his daughter Mary. After Sir William's death, Elizabeth remarried to Sir Drue Drury, her third marriage. Children of Sir William Woodhouse and Elizabeth Calthorpe: * Thomas Woodhouse * William Woodhouse * Elizabeth Woodhouse

Footnotes

Bibliography

# Bindoff, Stanley Thomas (1982). The House of Commons, 1509-1558: History of Parliament Trust. Woodbridge, England: Boydell & Brewer. . # "Woodhouse, Sir William (by 1517-64), of Hickling, Norf". The History of Parliament. History of Parliament Trust. {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodhouse, William 1564 deaths 16th-century Royal Navy personnel English admirals English MPs 1545–1547 English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1553 (Edward VI) English MPs 1558 English MPs 1559 English MPs 1563–1567 People from Hickling, Norfolk 1510s births Members of the Parliament of England for Norfolk Members of the Parliament of England for Norwich Members of the Parliament of England for Great Yarmouth Military personnel from Norfolk