William Singleton was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

  in 1640. He fought briefly on the side of the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

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Singleton may have been the son of Thomas Singleton, merchant of London and Gloucester

Gloucester

Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

. He was Sheriff of Gloucester in 1618 and Mayor of Gloucester in 1637. He may have been a woollen draper.

In April 1640, Singleton was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Gloucester

Gloucester (UK Parliament constituency)

Gloucester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was established in 1295 to return two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons but in 1885 representation was reduced to one member under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885...

 in the Short Parliament

Short Parliament

The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....

. He was a captain in the regiment of Colonel Henry Stephens in the defence of Goucester in 1643. He was Mayor of Gloucester again in 1651.

Singleton married Martha Lane, daughter of William Lane of Gloucester at St Nicholas Church on 21 June 1624.