William Courtenay

Sir William Courtenay (June 1553 – 24 June 1630) of Powderham in Devon was a prominent member of the Devonshire gentry. He was Sheriff of Devon in 1579–80 and received the rare honour of having been three times elected MP for the prestigious county seat (Devon) in 1584, 1589 and 1601. Origins He was the only son and heir of Sir William Courtenay ( – 1557) of Powderham, MP for Plympton Erle in 1555, by Elizabeth, daughter of John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester. His sister Jane married Sir Nicholas Parker. After his father's death, his mother subsequently married Sir Henry Ughtred, son of Sir Anthony Ughtred and his second wife, Elizabeth Seymour, sister to Jane, third consort of Henry VIII. Career In 1557 at the age of 4, he succeeded his father. He trained as a lawyer in the Middle Temple. He was knighted on 25 March 1576, served as Sheriff of Devon for 1579–80 and was also involved in the Munster Plantation in Ireland in the 1580s, being granted Desmond Hall and Castle in Newcastle West. Sir William was elected as a Member of Parliament for Devon in 1584, 1589 and 1601. In 1831 he was recognised by a retrospective decision of the House of Lords as having been de jure 3rd Earl of Devon. Marriages and issue