William Dawtrey of Petworth, Sussex (Born ~1530)

12^th Great Grandfather – FFFMFFMFMFFFFF¹

William Dawtrey’s father was William Dawtrey of Petworth.

William Dawtrey was born about 1530 to Sir John Dawtrey and his second wife Joan (or Jane) nee Skardeville or Skarfield.

I have not been able to find any record of his education but he married Margaret Roper on 18^th July 1551 at Shere in Surrey². Shere is a small village equidistant from Guildford and Dorking

Margaret was the daughter of William Roper, Member of Parliament, of Eltham Kent³ and Margaret More, Sir Thomas’s beloved daughter who he referred to in his letters as “Dearest Meg”.

William and Margaret had at least 6 children, 4 sons and two daughters. I have not found references to the baptisms of the two older boys, William, my 11^th great grandfather and John, as I believe they were born before the records began at Petworth parish. The remaining four children were all baptised at Petworth parish church, Jane on 14^th October 1559 ,Charles on 12^th May 1562⁴, Mary on 15^th April 1564⁵ and Anthony on 2^nd January 1567/68⁶.

On 10^th February 1554 he inherited his father’s estates on the death of his brother. While his brother died in 1554 his Inquisition Post Mortem was not done in 1574, probably as a Nicholas Dawtrey a cousin claimed the inheritance. In fact in the post mortem it is declared that “William Dawtrey, esq., has intruded himself into all the possessions of R. D. and still receives the issues”.⁷

However, William’s father Sir John Dawtrey’s will⁸ does make clear that the estate should actually pass to William, after his widow Dame Joan’s marriage or decease. In fact he never mentions Richard in his will.

In 1559 William was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Sussex, a position he held until 1570, with a brief break between 1565 and 1568 and in 1566 and 1567 he was appointed Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex. In 1563 William represented Sussex as Member of Parliament⁹. However, as he was considered a recusant, he didn’t really serve after 1569.

In 1577/78 William’s wife Margaret died and on 15^th February 1577/78 she was buried at Petworth church¹⁰. William remarried 3 years later to Mary Stoughton at Petworth on 27^th November 1581¹¹.

Apparently, William’s religious views were influences by his wives’ views, as he modifed his views greatly after the death of his first wife, Margaret, Sir Thomas More’s granddaughter. This modification eventually gave rise to his reappointment as a Justice of the Peace in 1591, just months before his death.

William died on 13^th June 1591. He was presumably buried at Petworth, although there is no record of his burial. His Inquisition Post Mortem was taken at Chichester on 26^th August 1591¹². In his will, as his eldest son William had died two years before him, he leaves everything to his grandson Henry, William’s son.

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