Thomas Browne (died 9 February 1597), of

Betchworth Castle Betchworth Castle is a mostly crumbled ruin of a fortified medieval stone house with some tall, two-storey corners strengthened in the 18th century, in the north of the semi-rural parish of Brockham. It is built on a sandstone spur overlooking ...

, Surrey, was an English politician.

Family

Browne was a descendant of Sir Thomas Browne,

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Ma ...

to Henry VI, and related in the male line to the Viscounts Montagu of Cowdray,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, and in the female line to Lord Buckhurst.Browne, Thomas (d.1597)
Retrieved 24 March 2013. He was the eldest son of Henry Browne, esquire, of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and his first wife, Katherine Shelley, the daughter of Sir William Shelley of Michelgrove in

Clapham, Sussex Clapham is a rural village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on varying downslopes and escarpment of the South Downs National Park three miles (5 km) north of Angmering on the A280 road and north of the ...

, by Alice Belknap, daughter of Henry Belknap, esquire.. After the death of his first wife, Alice, Henry Browne married Mary Fitz Herbert, daughter of John Fitz Herbert, by whom he had no issue. After the death of his second wife, Mary, Henry Browne married Eleanor Shirley, the daughter of Thomas Shirley (d.1545) of

West Grinstead West Grinstead is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies just off the B2135 road four miles (6.3 km) northwest from Henfield. It is within the ancient division of the Rape of Bramber The western ...

, by Elizabeth Gorges, the daughter of Marmaduke Gorges. After the death of Henry Browne, his widow, Eleanor, married, by licence dated 15 February 1548, William Sackville (d. 19 May 1556) of

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with medieval buildings and is mostly on a wide escarpment of the Gr ...

. By his father's first marriage to Katherine Shelley Thomas Browne had an only sister, Mary Browne, who married Cuthbert Blagden, gentleman. By his father's third marriage to Eleanor Shirley, Browne had five half brothers,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, Roger, John, Alexander, and Jasper, and two half sisters, Katherine Browne, who married a husband surnamed Hill, and Elizabeth Browne.

Career

Browne was educated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

from about 1559, and was appointed

High Sheriff of Surrey The list of known High Sheriffs of Surrey extends back to 1066. At various times the High Sheriff of Surrey was also High Sheriff of Sussex (1229–1231, 1232–1240, 1242–1567, 1571–1635). 1066–1228 (High Sheriffs of Surrey only) 1229– ...

in 1570–71, and High Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex in 1582–83. He was a deputy lieutenant of Surrey by 1569, and was knighted in 1576. He was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

in 1559, Wallingford in 1563,

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...

in 1571, and

in 1572 and 1586. He was among those involved in the examination of the translator Arthur Hall after his arrest in 1581. Browne died 9 February 1597. His widow, Helen, left a will dated 18 August 1601.

Marriages and issue

Browne married firstly, before 16 December 1558, Mabel Fitzwilliam (born c.1540), eldest daughter and coheiress of the courtier Sir William Fitzwilliam of

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, by whom he had a son and two daughters: *

Sir Matthew Browne Sir Matthew Browne (1563 – 1 August 1603) of Betchworth Castle, Surrey, MP, was the only son of Sir Thomas Browne and Mabel Fitzwilliam. He was involved in legal and financial transactions concerning the Globe Theatre in 1601.. He was kille ...

, who married Jane Vincent, and was slain in a duel with his kinsman, Sir John Townshend, on 1 August 1603. *Jane Browne, who married Sir Oliph Leigh. *Mabel Browne. Browne married secondly Helen or Ellen Harding, one of the daughters of William Harding (d. 7 September 1549), citizen and

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

of London, by Cecily Marshe, the daughter of Walter Marshe of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. William Harding was the elder son of Robert Harding (d.1515) of Knowle Park in

Cranleigh Cranleigh is a village and civil parish, about southeast of Guildford in Surrey, England. It lies on a minor road east of the A281, which links Guildford with Horsham. It is in the north-west corner of the Weald, a large remnant forest, the ma ...

; his sister, Elizabeth Harding, married Humphrey Pakington, the brother of Sir John Pakington and Robert Pakyngton. After the death of William Harding, Cecily Marshe married Robert Warner, who in 1557 purchased the wardship of her daughters, Helen (d.1601) and Katherine (d.1599). In 1559 Katherine Harding married Queen Elizabeth's Solicitor General, Richard Onslow, and Helen Harding married firstly, Richard Knyvet, by whom she had issue, and secondly, Thomas Browne, by whom she had a son, Richard Browne.Warner, Robert (1510–1575), History of Parliament
Retrieved 24 March 2013.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * *

External links

Browne, Sir Matthew (1563–1603), History of Parliament
Retrieved 23 March 2013
Fitzwilliam, Sir William (d.1559), History of Parliament
Retrieved 23 March 2013
Will of Sir Matthew Browne of Betchworth Castle, Surrey, National Archives
Retrieved 23 March 2013

Retrieved 24 March 2013
Will of Lady Hellen Browne of Betchworth Castle, National Archives
Retrieved 24 March 2013
Browne, Richard (d.1614?), History of Parliament
Retrieved 24 March 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Thomas Year of birth missing 1597 deaths People from Mole Valley (district) High Sheriffs of Surrey High Sheriffs of Sussex Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge English MPs 1559 English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1571 English MPs 1572–1583 English MPs 1586–1587