John William Willis-Bund

John William Bund Willis-Bund (8 August 1843 - 7 June 1928) was an historian and local Worcestershire politician.^[1]

Willis-Bund was born in 1843 at Wick Episcopi, Worcestershire, the son of John Walpole Willis and his second wife Ann Susanna Kent Bund. The adoption of his mother's surname was necessary in order to inherit from his maternal grandfather. He was educated at Eton and Caius College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1865 with first-class honours in Law.^[2] He was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn.^[1]

Robert Thomas Jenkins noted that Willis-Bund wrote extensively about the history of the church in Wales but that some of his views were not generally held to be those of other academics writing in the field. Jenkins commented:

"Black Book of St. Davids (1902) — the work was but indifferently done". He also published a book, The Celtic Church of Wales, 1897, which propounded a theory of his own and was judged by Louis Gougaud to be "dubious and prejudiced," and by Sir J. E. Lloyd to be "very haphazard".^[1][3]

Willis-Bund was appointed Vice-Lieutenant of the County of Worcester in November 1924, and also received a CBE in 1918.

Willis-Bund married firstly (in 1872) Harriette Penelope Temple, the daughter (by his second wife) of Richard Temple. Temple's eldest son, also named Richard, became the first baronet Temple of the Nash. The Willis-Bunds had six children. His daughter Margaret married John Henry Milward, of the Redditch needle-manufacturing family. Daughter Mary Susanna's son, Francis Leader MacCarthy-Willis-Bund (1905–1980), was Chaplain, Fellow and Dean of Balliol College, Oxford. Willis-Bund married secondly (in 1896) Mary Elizabeth Thackeray, the daughter of General Frederick Rennell Thackeray and Lady Elizabeth Margaret Carnegie (the daughter of the 7th Earl of Northesk). Mary Elizabeth Thackeray was the widow of Colonel Alexander Essex Frederick Holcombe, and second cousin of the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray.

Books and articles

• Some passages in the early history of Evesham Abbey, a paper read before the Worcester Diocesan Architectural and Archaeological Society, at the Guildhall, on January 25, 1895
• The Celtic Church of Wales, 1897
• Paper on Peckham in Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1900-1
• '[Documents of the parish of Feckenham, Worcestershire]'. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London, 2nd ser., 18 (1901).
• Extent of all the lands and rents of the lord bishop of St. David's, 1326, usually called the Black Book of St. David's (Cymmrodorion record series, 5). 1902
• The law of compensation for unexhausted agricultural improvements ... 1876 (3rd edition 1904).
• The Civil War in Worcestershire, 1642–1646, and the Scotch invasion of 1651 (Birmingham). 1905
• 'Worcestershire roads'. Reports & Papers Read at the Meetings of the Architectural (& Archaeological) Societies, 33 (1916), 376-95.

Works edited

• A selection of cases from the state trials ... Trials for treason (1327-1681). Cambridge, 1879-1882.
  • Vol. 1. Trials for treason (1327-1660)
  • Vol. 2. pt. 1. Trials for treason (1660–1678)
  • Vol. 2. pt. 2. Trials for treason. The Popish plot (1678–1681)
• Lay subsidy roll for the county of Worcester, circ. 1280', with John Amphlett of Clent. (Worcestershire Historical Society). Oxford, 1893.
• The inquisitiones post mortem for the county of Worcester. Pts. 1-2, 1242-1326 (Worcestershire Historical Society). Oxford, 1894-1909.
• Register of the diocese of Worcester during the vacancy of the see, usually called Registrum sede vacante, 1301-1435. 1 vol. in 2 pts. (Worcestershire Historical Society). 1897.
• Episcopal registers, diocese of Worcester. Register of Bishop Godfrey Giffard, September 23, 1268, to August 15, 1301. 2 vols. (Worcestershire Historical Society). 1898-1902.
• Worcestershire county records. Calendar of the Quarter Session papers (1591–1643) (Worcestershire Historical Society). Worcester, 1900. *Register of William de Geynesburgh, bishop of Worcester, 1302-7. Intr. by R.A. Wilson (Worcestershire Historical Society). 1907-29.
• Diary of Henry Townshend of Elmley Lovett, 1640-1663. 2 vols. (Worcestershire Historical Society). 1915-20
• Religio medici : Hydriotaphia : and the Letter to a friend by Browne, Thomas, Sir, 1605–1682,
• Victoria County History: A History of the County of Worcester (Volume 1 edited by Willis-Bund alone; volumes 2-4 co-edited with W.H. Page). 1901-1926
• Reflections : or sentences and moral maximsby François, duc de La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680

References

• Details of most of his works have been extracted from Royal Historical Society database

External links

• Works by John William Willis-Bund at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about John William Willis-Bund in libraries (WorldCat catalog)