Urian Brereton was a

Groom of the Privy Chamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

to King

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 ...

. While in this role his older brother William Brereton, also a Groom of the Privy Chamber, was executed along with other conspirators for high treason and adultery with

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

. In 1526 he was appointed Ranger of

Delamere Forest Delamere Forest is a large wood in the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by Forestry England, covers an area of making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contains a mixture of deciduous and ...

and

Escheator Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. Brereton had a close personal relationship with Queen Anne, to the extent that she may have named one of her

lap dog A lap dog or lapdog is a dog that is both small enough to be held in the arms or lie comfortably on a person's lap and temperamentally predisposed to doing so. ''Lapdog'' is not a specific breed, but a generic term for a type of dog that is sma ...

s after him. Despite both the Queen's and his brother's execution he continued to enjoy the King's favour, receiving the bulk of William's Cheshire estates—amounting to over 200 acres—from the King. In 1538 he was appointed Sheriff of

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

, and in July that year he became attorney to the King. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the King granted Brereton the assets of Newnham Priory and

Chester Priory Chester Priory was a priory of Benedictine nuns in Cheshire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the C ...

. Brereton was knighted in 1544 by the

Earl of Hertford Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

for valour during the Burning of Leith. Brereton was responsible for the construction of

Handforth Hall Handforth Hall is a former manor house in Handforth, Cheshire, England. It is dated 1562, and was built for Sir Urian Brereton. Alterations have been made to it in the 17th century, and subsequently. The hall is a timber-framed bui ...

, where he died on 19 March 1577. He was buried in

St Mary's Church, Cheadle St Mary's Church in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England, is a Grade I listed building. It is an Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Cheadle. Its benefice is united with th ...

. Brereton was the son of Sir Randle Brereton, grandfather of

Ambrose Barlow Ambrose Edward Barlow, O.S.B. (1585 – 10 September 1641) was an English Benedictine monk who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He is one of a group of saints canonized by Pope Paul VI who became known as the Forty Martyrs of En ...

, and great-grandfather of

Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, (1604–1661), was an English Puritan who owned extensive estates in Cheshire, and was Member of Parliament for Cheshire at various times between 1628 and 1653. During the First English Civil War, he was command ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brereton, Urian 1505 births 1577 deaths Brereton family People from Cheshire English courtiers English knights Court of Henry VIII