Cecil, William, 1st Baron Burghley or Burchleigh 1520-98
English statesman

He was born in Bourn, Lincolnshire. In 1547 Henry VIII appointed him 'Custos Brevium' and in 1547, under the patronage of the Protector Somerset (Edward Seymour), he was made Master of Requests and his secretary in the following year. When Somerset fell from grace Cecil fell too, but in 1550 he returned to office as Secretary of State and in 1551 was knighted. During Mary I's reign he adopted Catholicism but had already begun correspondence with Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) who, on her accession to the throne in 1558, appointed him Chief Secretary of State. For the next 40 years he was the main architect of the successful policies of the Elizabethan era. He was created Baron Burghley in 1571 and Lord High Treasurer in 1572, an office he held until his death. He left lavish mansions which he had built or restored, including Burghley, Theobalds in Hertfordshire and Cecil House in the Strand. He was the father of Thomas Cecil and Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury.

Bibliography: Lord Burghley and Queen Elizabeth (1960); Conyers Read, Mr Secretary Cecil and Queen Elizabeth (1955)