SAVAGE, William (c.1585-1627), of Winchester, Hants and the Middle Temple, London

Savage was the grandson of a Dorset yeoman who farmed land owned by Winchester College. PROB 11/77, f. 217v. Having trained as a lawyer, he settled in Winchester after marrying the sister of an impoverished Hampshire peer. In 1618 he succeeded John More I* as recorder, receiving an annual fee of £4 on condition of continued residence. He was returned for the borough to the 1621 Parliament. On 23 Mar. 1621 he informed the House that Sir John Townsend*, a discoverer of concealed lands against whom Gloucester corporation had previously petitioned, had brought an Exchequer suit against the hospital of St. John Baptist, Winchester, where 20 poor people were maintained. Nicholas, Procs. 1621, i. 218. His only other contribution to debate was on 23 Apr., when he urged the Commons to ‘use no moderation’ in punishing the corrupt practices of Sir John Bennet*, a judge in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury accused of taking bribes. CJ, i. 588a. On 26 Apr. Savage introduced a bill requiring clergymen to catechize all parishioners under 21 for half an hour each Sunday on pain of a 5s. fine, with a similar penalty for those who failed to send their children or servants for instruction. Nicholas, i. 325. He was appointed to the bill committee, but it was never reported.

Returned again for Winchester in 1624, Savage left no trace on the parliamentary record, despite bearing legislative instructions from the corporation to promote bills for the navigation of a local river and confirmation of the borough charter. Hants RO, W/B1/4, f. 35v. He died on 16 Jan. 1627 and was buried in St. Maurice’s, Winchester, with a funeral sermon preached by Dean Young. Hants RO, 1M82W/PR1, unfol.; Diary of John Young, 80. In his will, drawn up the day he died, he left all his property in Hampshire, Dorset and London to his ‘dearly beloved wife’ Helena for the maintenance of their (unnamed) children. PROB 11/152, f. 139. No other member of the family entered Parliament.