William More (died 1600)

Sir William More
Loseley House, the home of Sir William More
Born	(1520-01-30)30 January 1520
Died	20 July 1600(1600-07-20) (aged 80)
Spouse(s)	Mabel Dingley Margaret Daniell
Children	Sir George More Elizabeth More Anne More
Parent(s)	Sir Christopher More, Margaret Mudge

Sir William More (30 January 1520 – 20 July 1600), of Loseley, Surrey, was the son of Sir Christopher More. He was actively involved in local administration 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.

William More was the son of Sir Christopher More, King's Remembrancer of the Exchequer (c.1483–16 August 1549), and Margaret Mugge or Mudge, the daughter of Walter Mugge (d.1495) or Mudge of Guildford, Surrey, by his wife, Joan. He was the grandson of a London fishmonger, John More, and his wife, Elizabeth. After the death of Margaret Mugge, More's father married, by 1535, Constance Sackville (d.1554), the daughter of Richard Sackville, but there were no issue of his second marriage.

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 William Heneage of Milton; Bridget, who married a husband surnamed Compton, of Guernsey; Anne, who married John Scarlett; and Elizabeth, who married John Wintershall or Wintershull.

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. More is said to have avoided the 'political entanglements' of the reign of King Edward VI, and in particular to have avoided involvement in the Duke of Northumberland's attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne after the young King's death. During King Edward's reign More developed close connections with an influential courtier, William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, the brother of Henry VIII's last wife, Catherine Parr, an association which is said to have been an indication of More's 'Protestant convictions'. In some of his letters from that time Northampton refers to More as his servant.