Sir Robert Broughton (died 17 August 1506) was a landowner, soldier, and Member of Parliament for

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. He was knighted at the Battle of Stoke, where he fought on the Lancastrian side under

John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (8 September 1442 – 10 March 1513), the second son of John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, and Elizabeth Howard, a first cousin of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (2nd creation), was one of the principal ...

. He was a close associate of the Earl, and is said to have married the Earl's illegitimate daughter, Katherine.

Family

Robert Broughton was the son of John Broughton (d.1479) of Denston, and Anne Denston (d.1481), daughter and heir of John Denston (d.1473) by Katherine Clopton, daughter of Sir William Clopton (d.1446) of Long Melford. Portraits of Robert Broughton's parents are preserved in the stained glass windows of Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Suffolk, while the 'cadaver tomb' of his maternal grandparents is in the church of St Nicholas at

Denston Denston is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around eight miles south-west of Bury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 120.Broughton in Buckinghamshire, is said to have acquired its wealth through marriage with an heiress in the early fifteenth century. Mary Pever, the daughter of Thomas Pever (d. 22 September 1429) by Margaret Loring, one of the two daughters and coheirs of Sir Nigel Loring (d. 13 March 1386), a founding member of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

, married firstly Sir Richard St. Maur (d. 6 January 1409), and secondly John Broughton, by whom she had a son, John Broughton (d.1489), Sheriff of Bedfordshire, whose son, John Broughton (d.1479), married Anne Denston (d.1481) and predeceased his father by ten years, leaving a son, Robert, to inherit the Broughton estates. Broughton had two brothers, William and Edward, and a sister, Elizabeth, married to Edmund Cornwall. The Broughton arms are given as ' Argent, a

chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * ''Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock lay ...

between three mullets

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

Career

Broughton was appointed

Knight of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

when the four-year-old Richard, Duke of York, second son to

King Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...

, one of the two princes later said to have been murdered in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, married

Anne de Mowbray Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk, later Duchess of York and Duchess of Norfolk (10 December 1472 – c. 19 November 1481) was the child bride of Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower. She died at the age of ...

on 15 January 1478. He was a close associate of

, and a feudal tenant of the Earl in

Ashdon Ashdon, is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is about northeast of Saffron Walden and northwest from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Uttlesford and the parliamentary constituency of Saffron Walde ...

, Essex and

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Historically it was a market town on the important route from London to Chester (Watling Street, now the A5). It is also the name of a civil parish with a town cou ...

, Buckinghamshire. He fought under the Earl's banner at the Battle of Stoke in June 1487, and was knighted on the battlefield together with John Paston II and George Hopton. According to Richmond, a record of the knighting of Broughton, Paston and Hopton is found in a copy of

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...

’s ''Game and Playe of the Chesse'' once owned by John Paston III, and now in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. Broughton's name is also found on a list in the royal household books of those in the 13th Earl's affinity who were to raise forces in July 1487 at the King's and the Earl's costs and charges. In January 1488 Broughton was a witness to a recognizance in the amount of £2000 taken by the 13th Earl from

Sir Edmund Hastings ''Sir'' is a formal honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer ...

to guarantee Hastings’ continuing loyalty to Henry VII. In 1489 he was elected Member of Parliament for

, likely as a result of the 13th Earl's influence. In January 1496 Broughton served as deputy to the 13th Earl as

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Clare Castle Clare Castle is a high-mounted ruinous medieval castle in the parish and former manor of Clare in Suffolk, England, anciently the ''caput'' of a feudal barony. It was built shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by Richard Fit ...

, Suffolk. In October 1501 he was among those who participated in an entertainment on a grand scale to welcome to England

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

, the bride of Henry VII's eldest son and heir,

Arthur, Prince of Wales Arthur, Prince of Wales (19/20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502), was the eldest son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York. He was Duke of Cornwall from birth, and he was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in 1489. As ...

. After journeying on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

to the

, Catherine was met by

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufo ...

’s second son, the future

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, accompanied by the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

, the

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

, the Earls of Suffolk and Shrewsbury, several barons, and a number of knights, including Broughton.. Broughton made his will on 20 June 1504, requesting burial in Denston church, and appointing his wife, Katherine, as one of his executors, and the 13th Earl of Oxford as supervisor. He died on 17 August 1506. His will was proved 10 July 1507. The

inquisition post mortem An Inquisition post mortem (abbreviated to Inq.p.m. or i.p.m., and formerly known as an escheat) (Latin, meaning "(inquisition) after death") is an English medieval or early modern record of the death, estate and heir of one of the king's tenants-in ...

taken after Broughton's death assessed his annual income at £600, making him 'one of the richest non-baronial landowners in England'. Broughton's two sons received legacies in the 13th Earl's will when the Earl died in 1513. The elder son, John, was bequeathed two silver flagons, while the younger, Robert, was given £40. Robert appears to have been in the 13th Earl's service, as he was also granted an annuity of 53s 4d.

Marriage and issue

Broughton married firstly Katherine de Vere, said to have been the illegitimate daughter of

, by whom he had two sons and a daughter: *John Broughton (d. 24 January 1518) of Toddington, Bedfordshire, aged fifteen at his father's death. He married Anne Sapcote (d. 14 March 1559), the daughter and heir of Sir Guy Sapcote by Margaret Wolston, daughter and heir of Sir Guy Wolston, and by her had a son and three daughters: #John Broughton (d.1528). #Katherine Broughton (d. 23 April 1535), who was the first wife of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham. #Anne Broughton, who married, as his second wife, by dispensation dated 24 May 1539, Sir Thomas Cheyney. #Elizabeth Broughton, who died unmarried in 1524. There is a monument to her at Chenies. *Robert Broughton. *Margaret Broughton (d. 6 August 1524), who married Henry Everard (d.1541), by whom she had several children, including Elizabeth Everard, who married Sir William Clopton (d. 6 October 1568) of Liston Hall, Essex. After the death of Margaret Broughton, Henry Everard married Lore (née Wentworth), widow of Edward Shaw and daughter of Sir Roger Wentworth by Anne Tyrrell, daughter of Humphrey Tyrrell. She survived him, and married, as her third husband, Francis Clopton (d.1558). Broughton married secondly Dorothy Wentworth,According to Ross, Dorothy Wentworth was Sir Robert Broughton's first wife, whom he married between 1487 and 1490; . the sister of Sir Richard Wentworth (d. 17 October 1528), and daughter of Sir Henry Wentworth (d. August 1499) by Anne Say, daughter of Sir John Say (d.1478) of Broxbourne. Dorothy Wentworth's sister,

Margery Wentworth Margery Wentworth, also known as Margaret Wentworth, and as both Lady Seymour and Dame Margery Seymour (c. 1478 – 18 October 1550). She was the wife of Sir John Seymour and the mother of Queen Jane Seymour, the third wife of King Henry VII ...

, married Sir John Seymour, by whom she was the mother of Henry VIII's third wife,

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Will of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, proved 10 May 1513, PROB 11/17/379, National Archives
Retrieved 1 June 2013
Will of Sir Robert Broughton, proved 10 July 1507, PROB 11/15/535, National Archives
Retrieved 1 June 2013
Will of John Broughton, proved 4 June 1519, PROB 11/19/251, National Archives
Retrieved 1 June 2013
Will of John Broughton, proved 14 August 1489, PROB 11/8/396, National Archives
Retrieved 5 June 2013

Retrieved 6 June 2013] {{DEFAULTSORT:Broughton, Robert 1506 deaths Knights of the Bath People of the Wars of the Roses English MPs 1489 16th-century English people Year of birth unknown