Joseph Williamson

Sir Joseph Williamson, PRS (25 July 1633 – 3 October 1701) was an English civil servant, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1665 and 1701 and in the Irish House of Commons between 1692 and 1699. He was Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 1674 to 1679. Early life Williamson was born at Bridekirk, near Cockermouth in Cumberland, where his father, also called Joseph, was vicar. His father died when he was very young, and his mother remarried the Reverend John Ardery. His relatively humble origins were often referred to unkindly in later life by his enemies, especially after he married into the aristocracy. He was educated at St. Bees School, Westminster School and Queen's College, Oxford, of which he became a fellow. Early career In 1660 he entered the service of the Secretary of State for the Southern Department, Sir Edward Nicholas, retaining his position under the succeeding secretary, Sir Henry Bennet, afterwards Earl of Arlington. He made himself indispensable to Arlington, due to his enormous capacity for hard work, which resulted in his employer delegating most of the routine work of the department to him. He was involved with the foundation of the London Gazette in 1665.