SALUSBURY, William (by 1519-59), of Barnstaple, Devon.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Nov. 1554

Family and Education

b. by 1519, 1st s. of John Salusbury of Barnstaple by Catherine, wid. of one Couch. m. by 1539, Lettice, da. of Richard Gay of Barnstaple, 5s. 3da. suc. fa. 1549/52.1

Offices Held

Alderman, Barnstaple 1543-d., mayor 1557-8.2

Biography

William Salusbury’s great-grandfather had been a younger son in the family of Salusbury of Denbighshire, and he was thus a distant cousin of his namesake the lexicographer and translator. His grandfather, a physician, had settled in Barnstaple, where his father and uncles played a part in municipal affairs as he was to do in his turn. He was made a gift of sugar and spices worth 3s.4d. by the town in 1541/42 and elected alderman in 1543. Assessed at 13s.4d. for the subsidy of 1543, he obtained a lease of chantry lands two years later and in 1549 acted as feoffee with his father in the purchase of the chapel of St. Anne from Roger Prideaux; he was later appointed a trustee of the chapel school. He appears as one of the capital burgesses in the borough’s charter of 1557 and his re-election to Parliament occurred while he was mayor. Nothing is known of his role in the Commons save that he was not among those who left the Parliament of November 1554 without leave before its dissolution. He was buried in the parish church of Barnstaple on 26 Nov. 1559.3

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558

Author: A. D.K. Hawkyard

Notes

  • 1. Date of birth estimated from first marriage. Vis. Devon, ed. Vivian, 667; N. Devon Athenaeum, Barnstaple, D. Drake ms ‘Ms Barnstaple’, 28.
  • 2. N. Devon Athenaeum, D. Drake ms. op. cit. 28; 2520; 3330.
  • 3. N. Devon Athenaeum, 512; 602; 2520; 3972, f. 52(2); D. Drake ms. op. cit. 28; DNB (Salisbury, William); CPR, 1548-9, p. 380; 1555-7, p. 391.