Richard Williams

Sir Richard Williams ( – 20 October 1544), also known as Sir Richard Cromwell, was a Welsh soldier and courtier in the reign of Henry VIII who knighted him on 2 May 1540. He was a maternal nephew of Thomas Cromwell, profiting from the Dissolution of the Monasteries in which he took an active part. He was the patrilineal great-grandfather of Oliver Cromwell. Early life Richard Williams was born about 1510 in the parish of Llanishen, Glamorganshire. He was eldest son and heir to Morgan (ap William) Williams, an aspiring Welsh lawyer (and a paternal descendant of Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, prince of Powys) who moved from Glamorgan to Putney where he initially pursued his business of innkeeper and brewer. Morgan Williams' good fortune was to marry Katherine Cromwell, the sister of Thomas Cromwell, long before the commencement of the latter's illustrious career as Henry VIII's great minister. In later life, Williams and his son would benefit financially from this relationship, receiving substantial landholdings confiscated from the church. Protégé of Thomas Cromwell Richard was brought into the court of King Henry VIII by an alliance with Thomas Cromwell, the great favourite of Henry, whom that monarch raised from a humble situation to be Earl of Essex, Vicar-General, and Knight of the Garter. When Thomas Cromwell made his will in July 1529 his nephew, whose parents were now dead, was then in the service of the Marquess of Dorset (father of Henry Grey, and grandfather of Lady Jane Grey). By the autumn of 1529, he had adopted the name Cromwell, and following Dorset's death in 1530, he was employed by Stephen Gardiner until early 1533 when he joined his uncle's household at Austin Friars and while in his service was introduced at court. For the next ten years, as Richard Cromwell alias Williams, he acted as a trusted agent for the minister, often joining with him in offices and grants. Introduced to Henry VIII, by so powerful an interest as Cromwell, and possessing many qualifications, he soon benefitted from the royal bounty which Henry lavished on his favourites. He was entrusted with considerable appointments early in the administration of his relation; and it appears that he was active in suppressing the Pilgrimage of Grace insurrection. Dissolution of the Monasteries