Sir Richard Browne (ca. 1539 – 1604), of Horsley, Essex and later of

Sayes Court Sayes Court was a manor house and garden in Deptford, in the London Borough of Lewisham on the Thames Path and in the former parish of St Nicholas. Sayes Court once attracted throngs to visit its celebrated garden'' Diary and Correspondence of ...

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

, Kent, was an English politician. He was a younger son of John Browne of Colchester, Essex and trained in the law at either the Inner or Middle Temple. He was knighted in 1603. He was a Member (MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

for

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

in 1584, Newtown (Isle of Wight) in 1593,

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

in 1601 and Harwich in 1604. He accompanied the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

on his expedition to the Netherlands in 1585 as victualler of his forces. He was appointed the

Clerk of the Green Cloth The Clerk of the Green Cloth was a position in the British Royal Household. The clerk acted as secretary of the Board of Green Cloth, and was therefore responsible for organising royal journeys and assisting in the administration of the Royal ...

in 1588, was a clerk comptroller of the Household by 1596 and

Master of the Household The Master of the Household is the operational head (see Chief operating officer) of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. The role has charge of the domestic staff, from the Royal Kitchens, the pages and foot ...

and cofferer from 1603 until his death. He was a justice of the peace of the quorum for Middlesex by 1600. He was knighted on 24 July 1603. He married Joan, the daughter of John Vigors (sometimes spelled Vigorus) of Langham, Essex, and had at least one son, Christopher. Joan was the young widow of Nicholas Eve of Chelmsford, Essex and had a young daughter Joan Eve (who married John Loveden of Buscot, Berkshire). It appears that with Richard's appointment as Clerk of the Green Cloth, he was granted the lease from the Crown of the then 200 acre Saye's Court estate in Deptford (previously known as the manor of West Greenwich). His son, Christopher Browne, walso lived at Saye's Court and married Thomasine Gonson, daughter of Benjamin Gonson, Treasurer of the Navy. His grandson,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

, was created a baronet and great granddaughter, Mary Browne, was married to

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or ...

, the diarist.

References

* 1530s births 1604 deaths People from Tendring (district) People from Deptford English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 Masters of the Household {{17thC-England-MP-stub