Anthony Browne (died 1548)
Sir Anthony Browne, KG (c. 1500[1] – 6 May 1548) was an English courtier, Master of the Horse and a Knight of the Shire.
Life
He was the son of Sir Anthony Browne Sr., Standard Bearer of England and Governor of Queenborough Castle, by his wife Lady Lucy Neville, daughter of John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu and widow of Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam of Aldwark.[1] Anthony junior was thereby half-brother of William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton.
Anthony Browne's recorded royal service began in 1518, when he was appointed surveyor and master of hunting for the Yorkshire castles and Lordships of Hatfield, Thorne and Conisbrough. He was in an embassy to hand over Tournai to King Francis I of France. Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, knighted him on 1 July 1522. In 1525, he was made lieutenant of the Isle of Man. He was ambassador to France in 1527, reporting home in increasingly anti-French terms.
By 1528, Anthony Browne married Alice Gage, daughter of Sir John Gage and Philippa Guildford, and by her had seven sons and three daughters including:[1]
- Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu
- Mary Browne, who married John Grey of Pirgo and was the mother of Henry Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Groby.
- Mabel Browne, who married Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare.
During the uprisings in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire in 1536, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, King Henry VIII of England sent Browne to contend with the Catholic protesters inorder to test his loyalty. Browne executed the task and maintained the King's trust from then on.
Browne was elected to Parliament as Knight of the Shire for Surrey in 1539 and re-elected in 1542, 1545, and 1547. He was also appointed Master of the Horse for life in 1539.
In January 1540, when King Henry VIII came to Rochester to meet his future fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, he first sent Browne, as his Master of Horse, into her chamber. Browne later declared that he was never more dismayed in his life, "lamenting in his heart to see the Lady so far unlike that which was reported". King Henry VIII confided his own disappointment the next day to Browne as they returned to Greenwich by barge.[2]
In 1540, Browne was made a Knight of the Garter and given ownership of Battle Abbey, confiscated by the Crown in 1538 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which he turned into a country house.[3]
Sometime after 1540, his wife Alice having died, Anthony Browne married Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald, daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare and Lady Elizabeth Grey. They had two children who died young. Lady Elizabeth was one of the great beauties of the Court, known as " the fair Geraldine". Later, after his death, she remarried Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln.
Upon the death of his elder half-brother, William FitzWilliam, Browne inherited Cowdray House from him in 1542, a residence that would remain in his family for generations to come.
As a conservative, Browne had to be careful not to be brought down by factional politics at the court of King Henry VIII. He became so trusted by the King, that in the King's latter years, Browne held a dry stamp of the King's signature, to use for minor letters. By 1547, he was Keeper of Oatlands Palace.
Anthony Browne died on 6 May 1548 at Byfleet in Surrey, and was buried in a tomb with his first wife, Alice. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Anthony, Viscount Montagu.
Mistresses Brown
Browne was said to be a good-looking man and two members of his family were said to have been mistresses of Henry VIII. One, 'Mistress Browne', we do not know her first name, but it was allegedly his sister. One piece of information, however, points to it being his sister, Elizabeth Browne, countess of Worcester. The ex-mistress was alleged to have been a prime mover in the downfall of Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth Browne was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne Boleyn and the chief witness against her. Another member of his family, Anne Bassett was rumoured to be in the running to become Henry's fifth wife and there were earlier rumours of an affair, shortly before his marriage to Anne of Cleves.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 Bindoff. The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509–1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982. 'BROWNE, Sir Anthony (c.1500–48), of Battle Abbey and Cowdray Park, Suss.'
- ↑ Strype, John, Ecclesiastical Memoirs, vol. 1 part 2, Oxford (1822), 456–458.
- ↑ "Houses of Benedictine monks: Abbey of Battle". British History Online. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ Hart, Kelly (1 June 2009). The Mistresses of Henry VIII (First ed.). The History Press. ISBN 0-7524-4835-8.
- Dictionary of National Biography, Browne, Sir Anthony (d 1548), politician, by J A E Roundell. Published 1886.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Nicholas Carew |
Master of the Horse 1539–1548 |
Succeeded by Sir William Herbert |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Essex |
Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners 1539–1548 |
Succeeded by Lord Braye (John Braye, 2nd Baron Braye) |
| Preceded by new title |
Lieutenant and Keeper of Hampton Court Chase, Ranger of Bushy Park 1539–1548 |
Succeeded by Sir Michael Stanhope |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Rutland |
Justice in Eyre (Justice of royal forests) north of the Trent 1546–1548 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Shrewsbury |