William Bassett

William Bassett (1507 – 10 March 1586) was an Anglo-Welsh gentleman and parliamentarian from Glamorgan, Wales. Life William Bassett was born in 1507. His family had been settled in Glamorgan since the 13th century. He was the first son of William Bassett of Beaupré and Margaret Fleming, daughter of William Fleming of Flemingston. His grandfather was Jenkin Basset. During the Protestant Reformation there was some hostility to the supposed curative powers of the springs of Buxton, supposed to derive from some spiritual agency. Basset's father wrote from Langley to Lord Thomas Cromwell saying that he had sealed up the baths and wells and awaited instructions. The prohibition does not seem to have lasted long. William married Catherine Mansell (died 1593), daughter of Sir Rice Mansel of Margam, from another parliamentary family. They had at least three sons and two daughters. William Bassett was a Justice of the Peace in Glamorgan from 1561 and Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1557–58 among other offices. He was Knight of the Shire in the 1563–67 and 1571 parliaments. He owned various properties in Glamorgan and Gloucestershire including the manors of Saint Hilary, Tregrove and Llantrithyd, and the advowsons of Penmark, Landore and Cardiff.