William Peryam

Citations

1. [S1646] P. W. Hasler, History of Parliament: House of Commons (1558-1603), William PERYAM (1534-1604), of Crediton, Devon.
   
   Family and Education
   b. 1534, 1st s. of John Peryam, and bro. of John. educ. Exeter Coll. Oxf. 1551; Clifford’s Inn; M. Temple 1553, called 1565. m. (1) Margery, da. of John Holcot of Berks.; (2) Anne or Agnes, da. of John Parker of North Molton, Devon, 4da.; (3) Elizabeth, da. of Sir Nicholas Bacon†, lord keeper, wid. of Robert Doyley and of Sir Henry Neville I. suc. fa. c.1573. Kntd. 1593.
   Offices Held
   J.p. Devon from c.1569, many other counties from c.1583; bencher, M. Temple 1577, serjeant-at-law 1580; justice of common pleas 1581; chief baron of the Exchequer from 1593; commr. trials of Mary Stuart 1586, Earl of Essex. 1601.
   Biography
   The son of a Marian exile, Peryam became a London lawyer. By the time of the 1568 parliamentary election his services were no doubt already retained by the Plymouth corporation, which paid him for drawing up a bill about an almshouse during this Parliament. Peryam was a supporter of the 2nd Earl of Bedford as his father had been of the 1st. He was an overseer of the 2nd Earl’s will, and succeeded to his borough patronage at Bossiney and Camelford. Early in 1568 Peryam was called to Ireland by Sir Peter Carew, then prosecuting his claims to an Irish barony, and he was instrumental in winning Carew’s case. This may have led to his suggested appointment as judge under the president of Munster, Sir John Pollard. Though ‘scarcely known’ to Sir William Cecil, Peryam wrote to him to try to get out of it, then petitioned the Privy Council against it, mentioning his wife and children, losses previously incurred in Ireland, and his delicate state of health. The Privy Council agreed that he should serve for two years only and in the end he does not seem to have gone at all.
   Peryam’s name has not been found in the journals of the 1563 Parliament. After distinguished service on the bench he was discharged of his circuit in 1603 ‘by reason of his weakness’, and he died 9 Oct. 1604 at his home near Crediton. Peryam was described by Ralegh as ‘my lord puritan Peryam’, and Thomas Wilcox, dedicating a work to John Popham and Peryam wrote ‘you both profess the holy gospel of Christ, and may ... be received amongst them that mourn for your own sins’. Peryam’s daughter Elizabeth married Robert, heir of Arthur Bassett and his daughter Mary married William Pole II.
   
   Notes:
   1. Vivian, Vis. Devon , 603; Roberts thesis; HMC Bath, v. 74, 269.
   
   2. Plymouth Recs. 195; PCC 45 Windsor; J. Hooker, Life of Carew, ed. Maclean, 80-2; SP63/26/25; 27/28; CSP Ire. 1509-73, p. 402; Trevelyan Pprs. (Cam. Soc. cv), 50; E. Edwards, Life of Raleigh, ii. 250; Stowe 130, f. 110; MacCaffrey thesis, 42; Collinson thesis, 59, 811, n. 1; Harl. 6996, f. 27.
2. [S1648] William Peryam, Peryam was born in Exeter, the eldest son of John Peryam, twice mayor of Exeter, and his wife Elizabeth, a daughter and co-heir of Robert Hone of Ottery. The year of Peryam's birth is known to history but, as was common in the 16th century, the day and month went unrecorded. Through his mother's sister, Joan Bodley née Hone, Peryam was cousin to Sir Thomas Bodley. Like the Bodleys, the Peryams were early adherents of Protestantism and were also threatened in the time of Marian persecutions. Under Queen Elizabeth however, the family thrived, with William eventually achieving eminence in law and his younger brother John Peryam (1541-c.1618), MP, elected to Parliament four times (Barnstaple 1584, Bossiney 1586, Exeter 1589 and 1593) and becoming Mayor of Exeter.
   
   Young William was first educated in Exeter and then at Exeter College, Oxford where on 25 April 1551 he was elected fellow. He resigned his fellowship some months later and went to London where he eventually studied law at the Middle Temple, being called to the bar in 1565.
   
   A slight setback in his career occurred in 1568 when, after having been summoned to Ireland by Sir Peter Carew to help him prosecute an ultimately successful claim to an Irish barony, Peryam received an unexpected appointment as judge under the prospective President of Munster, Sir John Pollard. By writing to Sir William Cecil and earnestly petitioning the Privy Council, mentioning his wife and children and delicate state of health, Peryam seems to have been able to avoid the transfer to Ireland altogether. Thereafter, his rise through the legal ranks was steady: in 1575 he became serjeant-at-law for the Michaelmas term, and on 13 February 1581, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. His highest office came in January 1593, when he was knighted and promoted to Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Of his knighthood Prince wrote as follows: "Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory, as a signal testimony of her favour and his worth, was pleased to confer upon him the honour of knighthood, but not before he had been twelve years a judge, so cautious was that wise princess in conferring titles, lest they should become cheap and contemptible"
   
   Peryam married thrice:
   Firstly, to Margery Holcot, daughter and heiress of John Holcot of Berkshire and widow of Richard Hutchenson of Yorkshire, without progeny.
   Secondly, to Anne Parker, daughter of John Parker of North Molton (ancestor of the Earls of Morley of Saltram House), by whom he had four daughters, all his co-heiresses, and all of whom made advantageous marriages to West Country gentry:
   Mary Peryam (d.1606), the eldest, (effigy in Colyton Church, see below), married as his first wife Sir William Pole (1561-1635) the antiquarian and historian of Devon, of Colcombe Castle, Colyton, and Shute, Devon. She was buried in Shute Church on 8 May 1606.
   Elizabeth Peryam (1571-1635), 2nd daughter, (effigy in Heanton Punchardon Church, see below), married Sir Robert Bassett (1574-1641), MP, of Heanton Punchardon, Devon. She inherited as her portion the estate of Little Fulford, which her husband sold to the Tuckfield family.
   Jane Peryam (1572-1620), 3rd daughter, married twice: firstly to Thomas Poyntz (d.1597), of North Ockendon, Essex & Gray's Inn, son of Sir Gabriel Poyntz (d.1608), of North Ockendon, Sheriff of Essex; secondly to Thomas Docwra, Sheriff of Hertfordshire.
   Anne Peryam, youngest daughter, married William Williams, son and heir of Sir John Williams of Herringstone, Dorset.
   Thirdly, to Elizabeth Bacon, daughter of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and eldest half-sister of Sir Francis Bacon, who survived him by seventeen years. Without progeny.
   
   He died on 9 October 1604, in the year of his seventieth birthday, at his house at Little Fulford (renamed Shobroke Park in the early 1800's, demolished) east of Crediton in Devon. His monument exists in Crediton parish church to the north of the chancel, showing a life-like effigy of his recumbent figure his head propped up on his hand. He had served at the Exchequer for eleven years and nine months, and his funeral and burial in Crediton Church appears to have been a significant event, as it was well attended, according to Prince not only by "The gentry, clergy, and others in these parts, but also with heralds at arms, marshalling all according to their rank and place".
   
   His monument exists in the large and important parish church of Crediton, about two miles west of Little Fulford. It is situated to the north of the chancel, in the position of greatest honour, and shows a life-like effigy of his recumbent figure his head propped up on his hand. He wears a long Collar of Esses with a single portcullis, one of the badges of the Tudor monarchs. Underneath are shown sculpted in relief his three wives kneeling with his four daughters. The marble monument is decorated with ribbon-work and shows his heraldic achievement on top. The three heraldic escutcheons on the cornice have been defaced by blows from a chisel-like instrument and the armorials removed. The text inscribed on a tablet within a strapwork surround above the effigy is as follows:
   
   
   - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Peryam
3. [S1648] William Peryam,
   
   Young William was first educated in Exeter and then at Exeter College, Oxford where on 25 April 1551 he was elected fellow. He resigned his fellowship some months later and went to London where he eventually studied law at the Middle Temple, being called to the bar in 1565.
   - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Peryam
4. [S506] Note: The picture is of Little Fulford House in 1797, viewed from south-west, detail from watercolour by John Swete. The west front (left) is Elizabethan, as built by Sir William Peryam (1534-1604); the south front (right, with bow window) is a Georgian alteration. Swete found the juxtaposition of the two styles "widely incongruous".