Sir William More (30 January 1520 – 20 July 1600), of Loseley, Surrey, was the son of Sir Christopher More. The great house at Loseley Park was built for him, which is still the residence of the More Molyneux family. Of Protestant sympathies, as Sheriff and Vice-Admiral of Surrey he was actively involved in local administration of the county of Surrey and in the enforcement of the Elizabethan religious settlement, and was a member of every Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He was the owner of property in the Blackfriars in which the first and second Blackfriars theatres were erected.W.B. Robison, 'More, Sir Christopher (b. in or before 1483, d. 1549), with Sir William More (1520–1600)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (OUP 2004). He has been described as "the perfect Elizabethan country gentleman" on account of his impeccable character and his assiduity and efficiency of service.
Family William More was the son of Sir Christopher More of Loseley, King's Remembrancer of the Exchequer (c.1483–16 August 1549) and his first wife Margaret, daughter of Walter Mugge or Mudge (died 1495) of Guildford, Surrey, by his wife Joan. (The Mudge arms are blazoned "argent, a chevron between three cockatrices".)S.R. Flint (ed), Mudge Memoirs (Netherton and Worth, Truro 1883), pp. xiii-xiv (Internet Archive). William was the grandson of a London citizen and Fishmonger, John More, and his wife Elizabeth. After the death of Margaret Mugge, More's father married, by 1535, Constance Sackville (died 1554), daughter of Richard Sackville and relict of William Heneage, but there was no issue by this second marriage.J. Burke and J.B. Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England (Scott, Webster and Geary, London 1838), p. 368 (Google).E.W. Brayley, A Topographical History of Surrey, 3 vols (Tilt and Bogue, London 1841), I, pp. 416-18, and p. 358 (Google).
More had four brothers (Richard, two brothers named Christopher, and John), all of whom died without issue, and seven sisters, Elizabeth; Cecily; Margaret, who married Thomas Fiennes, brother of the Lord Dacre; Eleanor, who married her stepbrother William Heneage (died 1555) of Milton in Arlington, East Sussex; Bridget, who married a husband surnamed Compton, of Guernsey; Anne, who married John Scarlett; and Elizabeth, who married John Wintershall or Wintershull.
Career Young life No evidence survives of More's education. His political career began early. He was elected to the Parliament of 1539 under King Henry VIII, and both he and his father were elected to the Parliament of 1547, his father as Knight of the Shire and William as the Member for Reigate. In c.1545 he made his first marriage, to Mabel, daughter of Mark Dygneley (or Dingley) of Wolverton Manor in Shorwell, Isle of Wight, a union which was without issue. His father died in 1549: in 1551 he made his second marriage, to Margaret, daughter of Ralph Daniell of Swaffham, Norfolk, and in 1553 his only son and heir, George More, was born.S.R. Johnson, 'More, William II (1520-1600), of Loseley, Surr.', in S.T. Bindoff (ed.), The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558 (from Boydell and Brewer, 1982), History of Parliament Online.
He avoided entanglement in the political affairs of King Edward's reign, and in particular kept clear of the Duke of Northumberland's attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne in 1553. Even so, More's Protestant sympathies are reflected in his close association with William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, brother of Henry VIII's last wife, Catherine Parr. Northampton appointed More his provost marshal in Surrey in 1552, and in some letters of that time referred to More as his servant. Neither this, nor his close friendship with another Protestant, Sir Thomas Cawarden, prevented the continuation of More's political life under the reversal of religious policy during the reign of Queen Mary I. He was elected three times consecutively, in October 1553, November 1554 and 1555, as MP for Guildford. In the 1555 parliament More opposed the government (but did not absent himself): he 'was hauled before the council for "lewd words" in 1556, and was reprimanded for his remissness in investigating conventicles in 1557'. The Privy Council gave him 'important responsibilities' during the final months of Mary's reign.
Elizabethan period With the accession of Elizabeth I, a Protestant sovereign, in November 1558, More's career 'flourished'. A succession of appointments quickly came his way. He was Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex in 1558–9, Vice-Admiral of Sussex from 1559, verderer of Windsor Forest in 1561, Constable of Farnham Castle in 1565, and Deputy Lieutenant for Surrey and Sussex from 1569.J. Neale, ed. M.A.P., 'More, William I (1520-1600), of Loseley, Surr.', in P.W. Hasler (ed.), The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603 (from Boydell and Brewer, 1981), History of Parliament Online. He was to serve in every Parliament during Elizabeth's reign. He was Member for Grantham in Lincolnshire in 1559, sat as Knight of the Shire for Surrey in 1563 and 1571, and as Member for Guildford in 1572.
From 1562 to 1568 More built Loseley House (Loseley Park), in Artington, Surrey,Brayley, Topographical History of Surrey, I, pp. 419-21 and Pl. (Google). described as 'the best house of its date in the county'. The mansion, of grey stone with mullioned and transomed windows, consists of one principal three-storey range with a broad cross-gable at either end of the frontage and two projecting gabled bays between them, leaving three recessed bays, all rising to the attic storey. The great hall, 42 feet long and 25 feet wide, has a bay window containing glass painted with the More arms. The main entrance to the hall was formerly through a porch which opened into the screens passage between the hall and the kitchens. The house was originally intended to enclose a quadrangle, by the construction of at least two additional wings: but although one such wing was actually built by Sir George More (Sir William's son), it was later demolished.
There are indications that Queen Elizabeth visited Loseley in her progresses in 1567 and in 1569, when the building was approaching completion. Elizabeth certainly visited in 1577J. Nichols, The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth, 3 vols (John Nichols and Son, London/Burt Franklin, New York 1823), II, pp. 6-7, and p. 62 (Google). (the year after he received the dignity of knighthood), and he was Sheriff of Surrey a second time for 1579–80. During the 1570s More extended his patronage to George Austen of Shalford, and secured for him the position of Clerk of the Peace for Surrey in 1577.A. Davidson and B. Coates, 'Austen, George (c.1548-1621), of Guildford and Shalford, Surr.', in A. Thrush and J.P. Ferris (eds), The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629 (from Cambridge University Press, 2010), History of Parliament Online .
Southampton's confinement at Loseley More was appointed a commissioner for ecclesiastical causes in 1572, and both before and after that appointment he was active in the enforcement of religious reform, dealing with sects such as the Family of Love as well as with Catholic recusants. Despite this, More was a lifelong friend of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montague, who had Catholic sympathies and who openly opposed the Elizabethan religious settlement.J.G. Elzinga, J.G. (2004). 'Browne, Anthony, first Viscount Montagu (1528–1592)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004). More was also a friend of Montague's son-in-law, Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, who was twice confined under his guardianship at Loseley.(Note concerning Southampton's confinement), in Nichols, Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, II, pp. 6-7, note 5 (Google). On 15 July 1570 the Privy Council placed Southampton in More's custody after it was learned that he had secretly met with John Lesley, Bishop of Ross, in Lambeth Marsh. More was instructed to induce Southampton to take part in Protestant devotions in his household. Southampton, having done so, was allowed his freedom in November 1570.
However, in September 1571 the Bishop of Ross, under questioning about the Ridolfi plot, incriminated Southampton by revealing the entire contents of their secret conversation at Lambeth. Southampton was arrested at the end of October and confined to the Tower for eighteen months. When released on 1 May 1573, he was again placed in More's custody at Loseley until 14 July.W. Bray, 'An Account of the Confinement of Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton', Archaeologia: Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Antiquity XIX, Society of Antiquaries of London (London 1821), pp. 263-69 (Internet Archive). Montague expressed his undying gratitude for More's hospitality, whose relations with Southampton remained more than cordial. On 6 October 1573 Southampton wrote elatedly to More to announce the birth of his son and heir, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton.G.E. Cokayne, ed. G.H. White, The Complete Peerage, Vol. XII, Part I (St. Catherine Press, London 1953), p. 126.G.P.V. Akrigg, Shakespeare and the Earl of Southampton (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1968), pp. 10-11.
More and the Blackfriars On 12 March 1550, Edward VI granted to Sir Thomas Cawarden (More's friend) a large part of the site of the former Blackfriars monastery in London, which Sir Thomas had been leasing since 4 April 1548.C.W. Wallace, The Evolution of the English Drama up to Shakespeare, with a History of the First Blackfriars Theatre (George Reimer, Berlin 1912), p. 139. Cawarden died in 1559, and More, his executor, acquired the property in that year from Lady Cawarden.Wallace, Evolution of the English Drama, pp. 143-44. According to More's own memoranda,"L.b.425. More, Sir William. 1520-1600. Memoranda related to the Blackfriars properties. ca. 1560", in Loseley Manuscripts, Folger Shakespeare Library: View originals at luna.folger.edu. and other documents,Wallace, Evolution of the English Drama, pp. 174-76. he leased part of that property on 10 June 1560 to Sir Henry NevilleWallace, Evolution of the English Drama, p. 144. and subsequently (at Neville's request) to Richard Farrant, who converted the premises into a playhouse for the Children of the Chapel. Farrant also sublet part of the premises, which caused More to claim that Farrant had forfeited his lease: but, before More could regain possession, Farrant died on 30 November 1580 bequeathing the lease to his widow, Anne daughter of Richard Bower (died 1561), Master of the Choristers of the Chapel Royal.Wallace, Evolution of the English Drama, pp. 151-52.