Francis Browne, 3rd Viscount Montagu (2 July 1610 – 2 November 1682) was the eldest son of

Anthony-Maria Browne, 2nd Viscount Montagu Anthony-Maria Browne (1574 – 23 October 1629) was an English peer during the Tudor and Stuart period. He was born in 1574, the son of Anthony Browne (22 July 1552 – 29 June 1592), eldest son of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu, and ...

and Jane Sackville, the daughter of

Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset (153619 April 1608) was an English statesman, poet, and dramatist. He was the son of Richard Sackville, a cousin to Anne Boleyn. He was a Member of Parliament and Lord High Treasurer. Biography Early life ...

. He succeeded his father on 23 October 1629. His seat was the family home at

Cowdray House Cowdray House consists of the ruins of one of England's great Tudor houses, architecturally comparable to many of the great palaces and country houses of that time. It is situated in the Parish of Easebourne, just east of Midhurst, West Sussex s ...

and the estate included Easebourne Priory and Verdley. A plan of these commissioned by Browne, executed by cartographer Nicholas Lane in February 1635, is now held in the West Sussex Record Office. Browne also inherited the substantial park estate of

Battle Abbey Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. The Grade I listed site is now op ...

. Browne married Lady Elizabeth Somerset (1618–1684), daughter of

Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

by licence on 6 July 1637. Julia Roundell, however, claimed that they were married prior to Francis succeeding the title and a first son, Anthony, was baptised at

in August 1629. Some sources claim that Anthony did not marry and predeceased his father without issue, but Roundell recounts another version, that Anthony argued with his father, moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, returned at the outbreak of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, married Bridgit Maskell of York, fought and was wounded at the

Siege of York The siege of York in 1644 was a prolonged contest for York during the First English Civil War, between the Scottish Covenanter army and the Parliamentarian armies of the Northern Association and Eastern Association, and the Royalist Ar ...

February 1644, had several children whose line later, unsuccessfully, lay claim to the title. Browne's other sons,

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

(1638 – April 1708) and

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(c. 1640–1717), both succeeded in turn to become the 4th and 5th Viscounts Montagu, respectively. Their daughter, Elizabeth Browne (d. after 1686), married

Christopher Roper, 5th Baron Teynham Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

. During the Civil War, Browne remained a staunch

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and had both land and possessions sequestrated as a result. Deprived of wealth and income, he was forced to divide and let out some of the estate at Battle. Francis Browne, 3rd Viscount Montagu, died 2 November 1682 aged 72.

References

1610 births 1682 deaths 17th-century English nobility Cavaliers

3 People from Fernhurst {{England-viscount-stub