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 1557 - 1625 (~ 67 years)
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| Name |
George Selby |
| Title |
Sir |
| Suffix |
MP |
| Birth |
~1557 |
(Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England)  [1, 2] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Occupation |
Member of Parliament [2] |
| Death |
1625 |
| Person ID |
I53291 |
The Hennessee Family |
| Last Modified |
10 Jul 2019 |
| Father |
William Selby, Esquire, b. ~1537, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England d. 21 Dec 1613, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England (Age ~ 76 years) |
| Mother |
Elizabeth Fenwick, b. 1538, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England d. Aft 1580, (Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England) (Age 43 years) |
| Marriage |
(Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England) [2, 3, 4, 5] |
| Family ID |
F19971 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Margaret Selby, b. Twizell Castle, Northumberland, England |
| Marriage |
1602 [1, 2, 6] |
| Residence (Family) |
Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England [2] |
| Children |
| | 1. Isabella Selby, b. ~1604, Whitehouse, Durham, England d. 1666, Workington, Cumbria, England (Age ~ 61 years) |
|
| Family ID |
F19970 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
30 Apr 2023 |
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| Notes |
- ConstituencyDates
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
1601
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
1604
NORTHUMBERLAND
1614 - 9 Apr. 1614
Family and Education
b. 1556/7, 1st s. of William Selby†, mercer and alderman of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Elizabeth, da. and coh. of Gerard Fenwick of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; bro. of Sir William II*. m. by 1593, Margaret, da. of Sir John Selby of Branxton, Northumb. and Twizell, co. Dur., 5s. d.v.p., 6da.1 kntd. 23 July 1603.2 suc. fa. 1613.3 d. 30 Mar. 1625, aged 68.4 sig. George Selbye.
Offices Held
Freeman, Merchant Adventurers’ Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1589, gov. 1600, 1606, 1611, 1622;5 sheriff, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1594-5, alderman by 1600-?d. mayor, 1600-1, 1606-7, 1611-12, 1622-3;6 member, Hostmen’s Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1600, beadle 1600-at least 1611, gov. 1601, 1607, 1612, 1616;7 commr. piracy, co. Dur. 1603-10, Cumbs. 1603-14, Northumb., 1604-14, Westmld. 1614, cart-taking, Northumb. 1605, oyer and terminer, Northern circ. 1607-d.;8 j.p. co. Dur. 1608-9, Northumb. 1608-14;9 sheriff, Northumb. 1607-8, co. Dur. 1608-24;10 commr. aid, Northumbs. and Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1609;11 freeman, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumb. by 1615, member, Council of Twelve 1615;12 commr. subsidy, Northumb. and Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1621-2, 1624.13
Biography
On his tomb, Selby claimed to have ‘sprung from the ancient and illustrious family of the Selbys of Selby in the county of York’. His family’s connections with Newcastle began in around 1500 with William Selby, who served as sheriff. William’s son became an alderman, while his grandson served as mayor, and subsequently MP for the town in 1572. The family also claimed kinship with Odinel Selby†, who arrived in Berwick-upon-Tweed under Henry VIII, and whose descendants settled at Twizell, Branxton and other nearby manors.14
Sir George Selby’s father was one of the original contractors of the 1583 Grand Lease of the Gateshead and Newburn coalmines, the exploitation of which made vast fortunes for the handful of merchants who took charge of what was undoubtedly the most lucrative industrial concern of the age. Oligarchic control of the trade was cemented by the chartering of the Hostmen’s Company in 1600, of which Selby and his father were founder members, and when the Company first established quotas for the trade in 1603, father and son were assigned 16,500 tons, just under 9 per cent of annual output. It is thus hardly surprising that Selby made a prestigious match with his relatives, the Selbys of Twizell, acquired substantial estates in county Durham, was knighted at the coronation in 1603, and was returned as borough MP in both 1601 and 1604.15
In the 1604-10 Parliament Selby was overshadowed by the town’s other MP, Henry Chapman, a much more senior alderman who had played a key role in securing the Hostmen’s charter. Selby made no recorded speeches, but was named to a handful of committees. The only one of any general significance was that for the bill to confirm Exchequer decrees fixing entry fines for copyholders on Crown lands (31 Mar. 1610), although two others, the bill for ‘shipping and mariners’ (28 Feb. 1610) and an estate bill for the cousins of alderman William Jenison* of Newcastle (22 Feb. 1610) had local implications.16 However, Selby and Chapman also worked hard behind the scenes to further their town’s business interests: they clearly lobbied for the rejection of a 1604 bill intended to repeal the statute of 21 Henry VIII which formed the legal basis for the Hostmen’s monopoly, voted down at its second reading on 30 May; and in 1606 they persuaded Robert Cecil†, 1st earl of Salisbury to quash a similar bill in the Lords.17 At the same time they joined MPs for Hull and York in promoting a bill to confirm a discount on customs for northern cloth, which had been granted in 1592 but was disallowed by the new customs farmers. The bill stalled in the Lords, but a joint petition to Salisbury later secured the restoration of the concession.18 On 15 Nov. 1610 Selby, Chapman and alderman Thomas Riddell* were commissioned to lobby Parliament and the Privy Council on the Hostmen’s behalf, but as the parliamentary session was prorogued shortly thereafter the three men probably achieved little, if they reached London at all.19
In 1608, having just completed his shrieval year in Northumberland, Selby was appointed sheriff of Durham. This position, unlike that in most counties, was permanent, and consequently Selby’s return as knight of the shire for Northumberland in 1614 technically breached medieval election statutes, which forbade the return of sheriffs. The hustings at Alnwick was organized on a shamelessly partisan basis by Sir George’s brother-in-law, sheriff Sir Ralph Selby of Twizell, who avoided a contest by refusing to take cognizance of any freeholder not prepared to support his relative, thus ignoring the presence of a substantial body of support for a rival candidate, Sir Ralph Grey* of Chillingham. Complaints were voiced in the Commons on 8 Apr. 1614, and the following day the case was reported by Sir George More, who noted irregularities in the poll, Selby’s questionable status and the latter’s lack of freehold or residence in Northumberland. The last two points were discounted, and Sir Edwin Sandys observed that the relevant election statute might not apply in this case for two reasons. The first was that in Durham the sheriff was appointed by the bishop, not the king; the second was that the purpose of the statute was not ‘to restrain the election of sheriffs’ but to prevent a sheriff from returning himself, which in this instance had not happened. However, Sir George Selby’s return was rejected, and Sir Ralph Selby was summoned to explain himself.20 The Selbys eloquently expressed their indignation at this verdict by procuring the return of Sir George’s brother Sir William Selby II* at the resulting election.
Sir George Selby continued to serve as sheriff of Durham until 1624, which rendered him ineligible for election to Parliament, but he remained active in local affairs. In 1616 he and Thomas Riddell were sent to lobby the Privy Council for revocation of a patent for the survey of Newcastle coals, which usurped one of the Hostmen’s own functions, but they only managed to delay its implementation by some weeks. Noting their departure, alderman Sir Henry Anderson* privately carped that Riddell was a recusant, and Selby a cynic, ‘of the religion the king is of, whatsoever that may be’. However, as a senior alderman, Selby hosted King James during his progress to Scotland in April 1617, a distinction later recorded on his tombstone.21 One of the issues raised during the 1614 Northumberland election dispute was the enfranchisement of county Durham, and while a draft bill was lost at the dissolution, the summons of another Parliament in November 1620 led Selby and Timothy Comyn, mayor of Durham, to circulate a petition calling for the enfranchisement of the county and city. Bishop Neile proved amenable, and the resulting bill passed both Houses in 1621. However, it was lost at the dissolution, and again in 1624, when it was vetoed by the king.22
Selby drafted his will on 18 Dec. 1624, granting his mansion house in Newcastle to his brother Sir William, while his youngest brother Charles inherited other lands in the town and his quarter share of a lease of Elswick colliery. His wife received a generous jointure provision, his two unmarried daughters dowries of 2,000 marks apiece, while his six daughters and various grandchildren shared cash bequests of ¹3,000. His inventory valued his estate at almost ¹10,000, including ¹1,200 in cash and ¹1,500 in coal. He died on 30 Mar. 1625, and was buried in a vault in St. Nicholas’, Newcastle, where his wife erected a tomb proclaiming ‘his splendid and ever-abounding style of living’. His main estates passed to his brother Sir William.23
Ref Volumes: 1604-1629
Author: Simon Healy
Notes
1. Surtees, Hist. co. Palatine Dur. ii. 274; Durham Vis. Peds. ed. J. Foster, 283; DURH 3/189/142.
2. Shaw, Knights of Eng. ii. 115.
3. Surtees, ii. 274.
4. DURH 3/189/142.
5.Newcastle Freemen ed. M.H. Dodds (Newcastle-upon-Tyne rec. soc. iii), 4; Northumbs. RO, ZAN/M13/B34.
6. Northumbs. RO, ZAN/M13/B34.
7.Recs. Co. Hostmen ed. F.W. Dendy (Surtees Soc. cv), 242-7, 263, 266.
8. C181/1, ff. 89, 114; 181/2, ff. 50v, 219, 215v; 181/3, f. 189v.
9. C181/2, ff. 65, 81v; SP14/33, f. 48; C66/1988.
10.List of Sheriffs comp. A. Hughes (PRO, L. and I. ix), 42a, 99; DURH 20/103.
11. E179/283, ‘commrs. for the aid’.
12. Berwick RO, B1/9, pp. 9, 28.
13. C212/22/21-3.
14. R. Welford, Hist. Newcastle and Gateshead, 266-7; Surtees, ii. 274-5; Durham Vis. Peds. ed. Foster, 283.
15. J. Hatcher, Hist. Brit. Coal Industry, 514-16; Recs. Co. Hostmen, 44-5.
16.CJ, i. 397-8, 402a, 417a.
17. Ibid. 208a, 228b; J.U. Nef, Rise of the Brit. Coal Industry, ii. 128; CSP Dom. 1603-10, p. 285.
18. Hull RO, L.159-60; Hatfield House, Petition 2070; KINGSTON-UPON-HULL.
19.Recs. Co. Hostmen, 61.
20.List of Sheriffs, 42a; Procs. 1614 (Commons), 30, 37-41, 78-9.
21. Nef, ii. 241-4; APC, 1615-16, pp. 537-8; CSP Dom. 1611-18, pp. 360, 374-5; Welford, 266-7.
22.Durham Civic Memorials ed. C.E. Whiting (Surtees Soc. clx), 25-6; Surtees, iv. pt. 2, pp. 157-8; A.W. Foster, ‘Struggle for Parl. Representation for Durham’, in Last Principality ed. D. Marcombe, 176-201.
end of this biography [2]
- Selby family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The Selby family is a prominent and prolific family in the English gentry that originated in Selby, Yorkshire, but largely settled in Northumberland and County Durham. At various points through history, the family owned Biddlestone Hall and Twizell Castle in Northumberland in addition to the manor houses Ightham Mote in Kent and at Beal, Northumberland. The family had two baronetcies; the Selby and the Selby-Bigge but both are now extinct.
The following are some of the more important branches of the family, several of which are interconnected by marriage between cousins:
Contents
1 Selby of Biddlestone
2 Selby of Newcastle and Whitehouse
3 Selby of Twizell Castle
4 Selby of Ightham Mote, Kent
5 Selby of Beal
6 Selby of Holy Island and Swansfield
7 Selby of Pawston
8 Notable people in history
9 References
Selby of Biddlestone
Biddlestone is a small village in the parish of Alwinton, Northumberland, on the fringe of the Northumberland National Park.
The Selbys were granted the manor of Biddlestone in 1272. In 1346 Sir Walter Selby of Biddlestone, Royal Constable and Governor of the castle at Liddel Mote was captured by the Scots whilst defending the castle and he and two sons were executed.
A fortified manor house was recorded at Biddlestone in 1415 and a survey in 1541 disclosed a pele tower with a barmkin in good repair in the ownership of Percival Selby. In 1715 the house was described as in the ownership of Thomas Selby and comprised a cruciform four winged structure with a central battlemented tower.
The family were Catholics with Jacobite sympathies. Ephraim Selby was involved in an uprising at Rothbury in 1715.
In 1796 a later Thomas Selby replaced the old house with a much grander structure which became known as Biddlestone Hall.The new house was remodelled by architect John Dobson in 1820 to incorporate a private Catholic chapel.
The Biddlestone estate was sold by Walter Selby to the Forestry Commission in 1914 and the Hall was demolished in 1957. The chapel however was preserved and still stands as a Grade II* listed building. The arms of the Selby family, (Barry of eight, or and sable), are depicted in stained glass in the chapel.
Selby of Newcastle and Whitehouse
Anthony Selby of Selby, Yorkshire moved to Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland and his son Walter (b. 1444) married into the prominent Brandling of Newcastle family. Other marriages to Anderson and Fenwick further established the standing of the Selbys.
George Selby (1506–1552) married Margaret Anderson. He was a Merchant Adventurer in Newcastle and a memorial to him stands in St Nicholas Church, Newcastle.
Marriages between members of the different branches of the Selby family were not uncommon. In 1602 George Selby of Newcastle married Margaret Selby of Twizell Castle. In 1600 he became Mayor of Newcastle, an honour he received on three further occasions. He was knighted in 1606, was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1608 and Deputy Lieutenant of the county in 1611.
Shortly thereafter he acquired an estate at Whitehouse, Ryton, County Durham. He was elected Member of Parliament for Northumberland in 1614 but his election was rejected by the House of Commons as by then he had lost his residential and property owning qualification in Northumberland. He was appointed High Sheriff of Durham in 1624.
George Selby (b. 1627) became the first of the Selby baronets in 1664 but the baronetcy was short-lived. It became extinct when both the first and second baronets died in the month of September 1688.
Selby of Twizell Castle
A pele tower at Branxton, Northumberland then in the county of Islandshire, owned by William Selby was destroyed by the Scots in 1496 and was rebuilt by his son John (d 1565). It did not remain the main family home as William had purchased Twizell Castle from Heron in 1520 and that estate was developed in preference to Branxton.
John was Gentleman Porter of Berwick Castle as was his son John who was knighted by Elizabeth I in 1582. His grandson Sir William Selby (d1637) was also Gentleman Porter of Berwick and Member of Parliament for that city in 1592,1597 and 1601. Sir William inherited the Twizell estate on the death of his father in 1595 and also the estate of his uncle Sir William Selby of Ightham Mote, Kent in 1611. On his death his northern estate passed to his brother Sir Ralph Selby (d1646).
Sir Ralph's granddaughter married a Selby cousin from Cornhill and Twizell remained with that junior branch until sold in 1685 to Sir Francis Blake
Selby of Ightham Mote, Kent
Sir William Selby (d. 1611) of Twizell bought Ightham Mote in 1591 and on his death in 1611 bequeathed it to his nephew, also Sir William Selby (d. 1637) of Twizell Castle.
In 1644 the estate came into the ownership of a nephew, George Selby of London, who was appointed High Sheriff of Kent in 1648.
In the 18th century the estate passed via the female line when Dorothy Selby married John Browne. On the death of the 9th Viscount Montague in 1797 the Browne successors and descendant Thomas Selby of Ightham made an unsuccessful claim to the Viscountcy.
The marriage of Lewis Marianne Selby of Beal into the Bigge family in 1833 led to the creation of Selby-Bigge ( see Selby-Bigge baronets) and the estate remained in the family until sold in 1889 to Sir T C Fergusson.
In 1865 Elizabeth Selby of Ightham (1839–1906) married William Court Gully who upon accession to the Peerage took the title Viscount Selby.
Selby of Beal
Grindon Rigg, Northumberland was in the possession of Roger Selby in 1512 and John Selby in 1545. Oliver Selby, son of John, purchased half of the Manor of Beal, Northumberland in 1588 and land at neighbouring Lowlin in 1629. His brother William married Agnes Selby of Twizell Castle.
The Selbys moved from Beal when George Selby (1724–1804) bought Twizell House,( not to be confused with Twizell Castle), Addestone, near Bambrough. His son Prideaux John Selby (1789–1867), was an eminent naturalist who improved the Twizell property and sold the Beal estate in 1850. His daughter Lewis Marianne married Charles Bigge (1803–1846) son of Charles William Bigge in 1833. After his death she remarried Robert Luard at Ightham Mote in 1850.
For later descendants see Selby-Bigge baronets.
Twizell House was demolished in 1969.
Selby of Holy Island and Swansfield
Richard Selby (d 1690) of Beal, purchased property on Holy Island in the 17th century. His grandson son George married a daughter of Prideaux Selby of Beal. A great grandson, also named Prideaux Selby (1747–1813) became a colonial administrator in Canada, Another great grandson Henry Collingwood Selby (d 1839) bought an estate at Swansfield, near Alnwick where he built Swansfield House to a design by architect John Dobson in 1823. The house was demolished in 1975. Selby also commissioned the Camphill Column, possibly as a reaction to locals thought to be supportive of the French Revolution.
A later Prideaux Selby of Swansfield, a barrister, High Sheriff and Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, was also of Pawston.
Selby of Pawston
Gerard Selby of Branxton, Northumberland purchased the neighbouring village of Pawston, Northumberland ( sometimes referred to as Paston) and built there a pele tower of which he was in occupation in 1541. The property was replaced with a manor house known as Pawston Hall in the 18th century.
The Selbys prospered there for over three hundred years.
By 1860 ownership of the estate had passed to the Beal/Holy Island branch of the family whose Prideaux Selby (1810–1872) had married in 1840 Sir Thomas Beauchamp-Proctor. On his death the estate passed to his son Beauchamp Proctor Selby .
Pawston Hall was later demolished
Notable people in history
Charles August Selby (1755–1823), English-Danish merchant and landowner
George Selby (1557–1625), English politician
Prideaux Selby (1747–1813), English soldier and political figure in Upper Canada
Prideaux John Selby (1788–1867), English ornithologist, botanist and artist and landowner
Robert of Selby (died 1152), Englishman, courtier of Roger II of Sicily and chancellor of the Kingdom of Sicily
William Selby (died 1638), MP for Northumberland
William Selby (1738–1798), British-American composer, organist and choirmaster
References
History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland (1835) (ISBN 978-0-8063-0742-8) Selby of Biddlestone
Biddlestone Chapel
Biddlestone Hall
The History and Antiquities of North Durham Rev James Raine MA (1852) Selby of Twizell pp313-316 Selby of Beal p203 and 338
Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source][better source needed] Selby of Whitehouse and Selby Bigge Baronets
Pawston Tower
Branxton Tower
end of this biograpy [6]
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| Sources |
- [S14284] "Isabella (Selby) Curwen (abt. 1604 - 1666)", Profile, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Selby-1391, this person, place, eve.
- [S14285] "SELBY, Sir George (1556/7-1625), of Oatmarket, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumb. and Winlaton, co. Dur.", British Parliame.
- [S14288] "William Selby (~1537-1613)", Profile, https://www.geni.com/people/Sherriff-of-Newcastle-William-Selby/60000000813884483.
- [S14293] "Elizabeth Selby formerly Fenwick", Ancestors, Descendants & Biography, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fenwick-779, this.
- [S14294] "Elizabeth Selby formerly Fenwick", Sources, Ancestors, Descendants & Biography, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fenwick-7.
- [S14287] "Selby Family", Biography, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selby_family, this person, place, event, location, document or.
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