Education
University of Oxford.
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William Damsell
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Career
Of a gentle but obscure family in Devon, Damsell gained some education at the University of Oxford, but there is no record of his taking a degree. Damsell joined the House of Commons of England as a member for Wilton in 1553, and in 1555 returned to represent Arundel. In 1563 he was elected from Hastings, to a parliament which was not dissolved until 1567.
In June 1553, Damsell signed Edward VI"s "devise for the succession".
Despite this, he was knighted by Queen Mary on 2 October 1553, following her coronation, and was later appointed Receiver-General of the Court of Wards and Liveries. Also in 1553, Damsell bought Wye College, in Kent, from Sir Maurice Denys
Stephen Batman"s The Travayled Pylgrime (1569), a verse translation of Olivier de la Marche"s poem le Chevalier délibéré (1483), was dedicated to "Sir William
Damsell, Knight, Receiver General of the Queen"s Court of Wards and Liveries". Damsell died on 16 June 1582 and was buried at the church of Street Mary Aldermanbury, London.
By his Will he gave one hundred pounds to poor scholars at Oxford, "..whereof I was a scholar in times past".
Membership
He was proficient in languages, serving as King"s factor in the Netherlands from 1546 to 1552, and was a member of the Mercers" Company of the City of London.
