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Birth:          ABT 1483 
Death:          10 Sep 1547 
Burial:         Horton

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Parr,_1st_Baron_Parr_of_Horton
William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton (c. 1483 ? 10 September 1547[1]) was the son 
of William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal and his second wife, the Hon. Elizabeth 
Fitzhugh, later Lady Vaux of Harrowden.[2]
Life[edit]

William Parr was a military man who fought in France, where he was knighted by King 
Henry VIII at Tournai Cathedral, and Scotland. Parr seemed to be uncomfortable in 
court circles and insecure in securing relationships.[citation needed] Nonetheless, he 
accompanied the King at the 'Field of the Cloth of Gold' in France. Like his brother, Sir 
Thomas Parr, William flourished under Sir Nicholas Vaux.[3]

William was also a family man. After the death of his brother, Thomas, William's sister-
in-law Maud, widowed at age 25, called upon him to help in financial matters and to 
manage her estates in North England while she was busy in the south securing a 
future for her three children. William had been named one of the executors of his 
brother's will. Along with Cuthbert Tunstall, a distant kinsman of the Parr's, they 
provided the kind of protection and father figure which was missing in the lives of 
Maud's children. William's children were educated alongside Maud's children.[3]

Although William was en-adapt at handling his financial matters, he was ironically 
appointed the office of Chamberlain in the separate household of the Duke of 
Richmond, the acknowledged illegitimate son of King Henry VIII and Elizabeth Blount, 
based at Sheriff Hutton Castle in Yorkshire. It was William who found a spot for his 
nephew, William Parr, later Earl of Essex, in the Duke's household where he would be 
educated by the very best tutors and mixed with the sons of other prominent families. 
Though thought to be a wonderful environment for Parr and his nephew to flourish in, 
the household was not a great passport to success as Parr hoped for. Henry VIII was 
very fond of his illegitimate son, but had no intention of naming him his heir. It has 
been claimed that Parr and his sister-in-law, Maud Parr, coached William to make sure 
that he ingratiated himself with the Duke, in case the Duke became heir to the throne 
but there is no factual evidence to support this claim.[3]

Although Parr was named Chamberlain of the Duke's household, the household was 
actually controlled by Cardinal Wolsey in London. This control by Wolsey diminished 
any opportunity of Parr gaining financial benefit or wider influence. Along with the 
limited possibilities came other daily frustrations as the Duke's tutors and the 
household officers under Parr disagreed on the balance of recreation and study. Parr 
was a countryman who thought it perfectly normal for boys to prefer hunting and sports 
to the boring rhetoric of learning Latin and Greek. As the Duke's behavior became 
more unruly Parr and his colleagues found it quite amusing. The Duke's tutor, John 
Palsgrave, who had only been employed six months, would not tolerate being 
undermined and decided to resign. Such was the household in which Parr presided 
over. Parr was suspicious of schoolmaster priests and anyone of lesser birth, even 
though he was not considered a nobleman at the time. The experience did not further 
the Parr family. If Sir William had spent more attention to his duties and responsibilities 
he may have reaped some sort of advancement; thus when the overmanned and over 
budgeted household was dissolved in the summer of 1529, Parr found himself 
embittered by his failure to find any personal advancement or profit from the whole 
ordeal.[3]

Despite his failed attempts at achieving personal gain from the household of the Duke, 
Sir William made up for it during the Pilgrimage of Grace during 1536. William showed 
impeccable loyalty to the Crown during the rebellion. He had been in Lincolnshire 
along with the Duke of Suffolk and supervised the executions at Louth and 
Horncastle. William tried to ingratiate himself with the Duke of Norfolk and Thomas 
Cromwell. Parr's presence at the execution in Hull of Sir Robert Constable prompted 
Cromwell to share in confidence a correspondence in which he received from the 
Duke of Norfolk on William's "goodness" which "never proved the like in any friend 
before."[3]

Offices[edit]

Sir William was Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1518, 1522, 1534 and 1538. He was 
also Esquire of the Body to Henry VII and Henry VIII. In addition to this, he was a third 
cousin to King Henry VIII through his mother. William was appointed Chamberlain to 
his niece Queen Catherine and when she became Queen regent during Henry's time in 
France, Catherine appointed William part of her council. Although he was too ill to 
attend meetings, the appointment shows her confidence in her uncle.[3]

Parr was knighted by King Henry VIII after the siege of Tournai in October 1513.[4] He 
was elected to parliament as knight of the shire for Northamptonshire in 1529 and 
1539.[5]

He was made a peer of the realm as 1st Baron Parr of Horton, Northamptonshire on 23 
December 1543. Upon his death in 1547 he was buried at Horton, where the 
inscription on his monument wrongly gives his year of death as 1546. With no male 
heirs, the barony became extinct.[6]

Family[edit]

He married Mary Salisbury, the daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Salisbury; who 
brought as her dowry the manor of Horton. It was a happy marriage which produced 
four daughters who survived infancy.
Maud (Magdalen) Parr, who married Sir Ralph Lane of Orlingbury.[1] Maud grew up 
with her cousin Catherine Parr, who later became the last queen of King Henry VIII. 
She became a lady-in-waiting and was among the queen's close circle. Maud would 
become a lifelong friend and confidante of the queen.[7] She was with her cousin as 
Dowager queen and was one of her ladies at Sudeley Castle.[3]
Anne Parr, who married Sir John Digby.[1][6]
Elizabeth Parr, who married Sir Nicholas Woodhall.[1][6]
Mary Parr, who married Sir Thomas Tresham.[1][8]

Lady Margery Parr was born in 1520 the child of William and Mary. She married Sir 
Richard Perry on 5 July 1551, in Exeter, Devon. They had one child during their 
marriage. She died in 1600 in Exeter, Devon, having lived a long life of 80 years, and 
was buried there. Lord Parr and his wife are ancestors of the Duke of Cambridge 
through his late mother, Lady Diana Spencer. They descend from both Maud, Lady 
Lane and Mary, Lady Tresham.

He is buried at Horton where the family estate was.

Parents
PARR William (1434 - 1483)
FITZ HUGH Elizabeth (ABT 1455 - BEF 10 Jul 1507)

Siblings
PARR William (ABT 1483 - 10 Sep 1547)

Marriage To SALISBURY Mary (ABT 1485 - )
    m.  

Notes

Parents
SALISBURY William ()
----- ----- ()

Children by SALISBURY Mary ABT 1485 - 
PARR Elizabeth (ABT 1515 - )

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