View source for William Morice (Secretary of State)

{{Short description|English politician and theologian}}
{{Other people|William Morice}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name          = Sir William Morice
| image         = Jacob Huysmans - Sir William Morice, MP.jpg
| alt           = 
| caption       = ''Portrait of Sir William Morice'' by [[Jacob Huysmans]]
| office1       = [[Member of Parliament (Great Britain)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Plymouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Plymouth]]
| term1         = 1660-1677
| office2       = [[Secretary of State for the Northern Department]] and [[Lord of the Treasury]]
| term2         = 1660-1668
| office3       = [[Member of Parliament (Great Britain)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Newport (Cornwall) (UK Parliament constituency)|Newport]]
| term3         = ?
| office4       = [[Member of Parliament (Great Britain)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Devon (UK Parliament constituency)|Devon]]
| term4         = 1648<br/>1654
| office5       = [[High Sheriff of Devon]]
| term5         = 1651
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1602|11|06|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = 
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1676|12|12|1602|11|06|df=yes}}
| death_place   = 
| education     = [[Exeter College, Oxford]]
| spouse        = Elizabeth Prideaux
| children      = 5+, [[Sir William Morice, 1st Baronet|William]]
| relatives     = [[Sir Nicholas Morice, 2nd Baronet|Nicholas Morice]] (grandson)
}}
'''Sir William Morice''' (6 November 1602 – 12 December 1676) of [[Werrington, Cornwall|Werrington]] in Devon, was an English statesman and theologian. He served as [[Secretary of State for the Northern Department]] and a [[Lord of the Treasury]] from June 1660 to September 1668.

==Life==
Morice was educated at [[Exeter College, Oxford]]. He was elected [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Devon (UK Parliament constituency)|Devon]] to fill a vacancy in 1648, but was excluded in [[Pride's Purge]] in December of that year, probably before he had taken his seat. Nevertheless, he was appointed [[High Sheriff of Devon]] in 1651, and returned to Parliament as MP for Devon in the [[First Protectorate Parliament]] elected in 1654. He subsequently represented Devon again in the [[Second Protectorate Parliament]], [[Newport (Cornwall) (UK Parliament constituency)|Newport (Cornwall)]] in the [[Third Protectorate Parliament]].<ref name=HOP>{{cite web | url =http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/morice-william-i-1602-76| title= History of Parliament| publisher = History of Parliament Trust| access-date = 2011-10-29}}</ref>
[[File:MoriceArms.PNG|thumb|150px|Arms of Morice of Werrington, Devon: ''Gules, a lion rampant reguardant or''<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=4FwzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA176 Display of Heraldry]'', John Guillim, John Logan (Captain.), Sir George Mackenzie, 1724, p.176</ref>]]

A relation of [[George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle|General Monck]], Morice assisted in the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] and was knighted in 1660. He was also made a [[Privy Counsellor]] and appointed [[Secretary of State for the Northern Department]], an office he held until he resigned in 1668; he was apparently an undistinguished minister, but justified his tenure of office by his usefulness in the House of Commons. In the [[Convention Parliament (1660)|Convention Parliament]] of 1660 he was re-elected for Newport but was also elected for [[Plymouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Plymouth]], which he chose to represent, and was that city's MP until his death 16 years later.<ref name=HOP/>

In 1657, during the [[English Commonwealth|Commonwealth]], he published a treatise on the administration of the [[Eucharist|sacrament]] to all church members.{{sfn|Courtney|1894}}

===Marriage and children===
Morice married Elizabeth Prideaux, a daughter of Humphrey Prideaux (abt 1573–1617) of Soldon, and Honor Fortescue, by whom he had children including {{sfn|Courtney|1894}}
*[[Sir William Morice, 1st Baronet]] (c.1628–1690), eldest son and heir, MP, created a baronet in 1661.
*[[John Morice (1630–1705)|John Morice]] (c. 1630–1705), MP.
*[[Nicholas Morice]] (c.1640–1712), MP.
*Anne (b. c.1653), who married [[Sir John Pole, 3rd Baronet]]
*Thomasine, who married [[Sir Walter Moyle]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite DNB|wstitle=Morice, William|first=William Prideaux|last=Courtney|volume=39}}
* Sir George Clark, ''The Later Stuarts 1660-1714'' (2nd edition - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1955)

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|en}}
{{s-bef | before=[[John Maynard (1604–1690)|John Maynard]]<br />[[Edmund Fowell]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Member of Parliament]] for [[Plymouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Plymouth]] | years=1660–1677 | with=[[Samuel Trelawny]] 1660–1666 | with2=[[Gilbert Talbot (courtier)|Sir Gilbert Talbot]] 1666–1677}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Gilbert Talbot (courtier)|Sir Gilbert Talbot]]<br />[[John Sparke (died 1680)|John Sparke]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl
  | title  = [[Secretary of State for the Northern Department]]
  | years  = 1660&ndash;1668
}}
{{s-aft
  | after  = [[John Trevor (died 1672)|Sir John Trevor]]
}}
{{s-mil}}
|-
{{s-vac|unknown}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Governor of Plymouth]] | years=1660–1661}}
{{s-aft | after=[[John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath|The Earl of Bath]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morice, William}}
[[Category:1602 births]]
[[Category:1676 deaths]]
[[Category:Secretaries of state for the Northern Department]]
[[Category:High sheriffs of Devon]]
[[Category:Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford]]
[[Category:English MPs 1640–1648]]
[[Category:English MPs 1654–1655]]
[[Category:English MPs 1656–1658]]
[[Category:English MPs 1659]]
[[Category:English MPs 1660]]
[[Category:English MPs 1661–1679]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of England for Plymouth]]