Skip to main content

Written by Cymruambyth.

William Cecil, historical personality (Elizabethan England, Seisyllts, Lord Burghley) with a connection to Wales (Abergavenny)

William Cecil

Lord Burghley, kg, Lord High Treasurer, JP and architect of Elizabethan England. Principal secretary and chief Councilor to Elizabeth the first. De facto foreign secretary, chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1559.
Connection: 1520 - 1598. Descended from the noble Welsh family the Seisyllts, who served under Welshman henry 7th against Richard 3rd 1485.
comment by:Cymruambyth
Succeeded by his son Robert, beginning "the reign of the Cecils". Burghley House, built between 1565 and 87, is regarded as the most magnificent Elizabethan building in Britain. The Seisyllt's ancestral home at Allt yr ynys, near Abergavenny, is now a hotel.