Fiennes, William, 1582 - 1662

William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele was the son of Richard Fiennes and Constance Kingsmill of Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire, England.  He was a student at Winchester College and New College, Oxford.  Succeeding his father as the 8th Baron Saye and Sele in 1613, Saye became a member of the House of Lords the following year.  A proponent of "godly protestantism" and a staunch Puritan, Saye was an associate of a number of puritan divines and served as a patron for their colonization plans.  With Lord Brooke and John Pym, he formed a company to settle Providence Island and with Brooke and others purchased land at the mouth of the Connecticut River, which became Saybrook Colony.  ODNB

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