William Sambach

Sir William Sambach (died 1653) was an English-born lawyer and politician of the seventeenth century who spent much of his career in Ireland, but was driven back to England by the political turmoil of the 1640s, and died there.

His surname is probably a variant on Sandbach. Since that family preserved a collection of his papers^[1] it is likely that he was one of the Sandbachs of Tarporley, Cheshire, later famous as the owners of Hafodunos Hall.

Little is known of his early career, but he may have arrived in Ireland in 1633 with Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to whom he seems to have been personally close. He became Recorder of Carrickfergus and then Second Serjeant in 1637. Unusually he was allowed to hold both offices at once, probably because his salary as Serjeant was inadequate.^[2]

In 1640 he was elected to the Irish House of Commons as member for Carrickfergus and in the same year became Solicitor General for Ireland.^[3] After the downfall and execution of Strafford, Sambach continued to defend his policies; during the comprehensive attack on Strafford's rule known as "the Queries", Sambach was one of the few MPs to speak in Strafford's defence, and to denounce the Queries. Precisely when he stepped down as Solicitor General is unclear: in the confusion of the times the office simply seems to have lapsed, and he was not replaced until 1657.

During the Irish Rebellion of 1641 he remained a committed Royalist, and by his own account suffered much damage to his property as a result.^[4] He lived at Balyna, near Moyvalley, County Kildare: in 1642 he petitioned the Crown for redress for the great loss and damage he had suffered.,^[5] which he estimated at £3800.

He had returned to England by 1649, when he purchased an estate at Bretforton in Worcestershire.^[6] He is heard of acting as a justice of the peace in that county in 1651, which suggests that like many former Royalists, he had made his peace with the Cromwellian regime. He died in 1653.^[7]

He was married, although nothing seems to be known about his wife; he had at least one daughter, who married John Moore of Croghan and had five children, including Thomas, who was the grandfather of Charles Moore,1st Earl of Charleville.^[8]

References

1. Now held by Powys County Council Ref M/D/Sand
2. Hart, A.R. The History of the King's Serjeants-at-law in Ireland Four Courts Press Dublin 2000 pp.55-6
3. Smyth, Constantine Joseph Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland London Butterworths 1839 p.177
4. Smyth p.177
5. Deposition of Richard Butler ex parte Sir William Sambach
6. Victoria County History of Worcester (1906)Vol.2 p.323
7. History of Worcester p.323
8. Lodge, John and Archdall, Mervyn Peerage of Ireland Dublin 1789 Vol. 2 p. 89