Robert Bourchier (or Boussier), 1st Baron Bourchier (d. August 20, 1349) was Lord Chancellor of England, the first layman to hold the post.

Family

Robert Bourchier was the eldest son of John de Bourchier (d.''circa'' 1330) (''alias'' Boucher, Boussier, etc.), a Judge of the Common Pleas, by his wife Helen of Colchester, daughter and heir of Walter of Colchester of Stanstead Hall, in Halstead, Essex. The Bourchier family seat became the estate of Stanstead (not to be confused with nearby

Stansted Mountfitchet Stansted Mountfitchet is an English village and civil parish in Uttlesford district, Essex, near the Hertfordshire border, north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533, increasing to 6,011 at the 2011 census. The v ...

) in the parish of

Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011 Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

in 1328–9, 1330 (twice), 1332 (once), and 1339 (both). He held a number of judicial positions, despite no evidence for legal training (although likely), and in 1334 he was chief justice of the king's bench in Ireland, but never took up office. His military career was more active, joining the invasion of Scotland in 1335, was stated to have been present at the Battle of Cadsand in 1337 (although this is regarded by some as a translation error by his descendant John Bouchier) and travelled with Earl of Northampton on Edward III's expedition to Flanders in 1338. On 3 June 1341 he received, in the name of ''Robertus Bourghchier, Stanstede'', a royal

licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within th ...

his house at Stanstead in the parish of

Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011Edward III committed the great seal, which had been alternating between Archbishop John de Stratford and his brother Robert de Stratford, the

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...

, to Bourchier, who thus became, on 14 December 1340, the first lay chancellor. His salary was fixed at £100, besides the usual fees. In the struggle between the king and the archbishop, Bourchier withheld the writ of summons to the ex-chancellor, interrupted his address to the bishops in the Painted Chamber, and on 27 April 1341 urged him to submit to the king. When the parliament of 1341 extorted from the king his assent to their petitions that the account of the royal officers should be audited, and that the chancellor and other great officers should be nominated in parliament, and should swear to obey the laws, Bourchier declared that he had not assented to these articles, and would not be bound by them, as they were contrary to his oath and to the laws of the realm. He nevertheless exemplified the statute, and delivered it to parliament. He resigned his office on 29 October 1341. Robert continued to serve in the King's Council, as a diplomat and as a soldier. In 1342, he commanded a contingent in Brittany, and is recorded as being at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. He was summoned to parliament as a peer in November 1348 and from then was known as Lord Bourchier (or Burgchier). He died the following year, of the Black Death in Bordeaux, while on a diplomatic mission to Castile with Joan of England, who died shortly after him. He was later buried at Halstead, where he had intended to found a college of eight chaplains.

Marriage and issue

14th-century chancel monument Church of St Mary Little Easton Essex England

At some time before 1329 he married Margaret Prayers, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Prayers of Sible Hedingham and his wife Anne of Essex, daughter of Hugh of Essex. They had two known children: *

John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Bourchier John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Bourchier KG (died 21 May 1400), was a soldier and diplomat in the service of the crown Family John was the eldest son of Robert Bourchier, 1st Baron Bourchier and his wife Margaret Prayers. He inherited the title when ...

(1329–1400), eldest son and heir. * William Bourchier (d. 1375), who married Eleanor de Louvaine (d. 1397), daughter and heiress of Sir John de Louvaine (''alias'' Lovayne, etc.) feudal baron of Little Easton in Essex.Sanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, p.130, Little Dunmow, showing the descent from Godfrey de Louvain (d. 1226) (half-brother of the

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

(Sanders, p. 43)) to his great-grandson Thomas de Louvain (d. 1345) Their son was William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu (1386–1420). The eldest grandson of William Bourchier (d. 1375) was Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (1404–1483) who inherited the Barony of Bourchier from the senior line of the family, being the heir of his cousin

Elizabeth Bourchier Elizabeth Cromwell (née Bourchier; 1598–1665) was the wife of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland; and the mother of Richard Cromwell, the second Lord Protector. Family and marriage Eliz ...

(d. 1433), ''suo jure'' 4th Baroness Bourchier.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourchier, Robert Bourchier, 1st Baron Year of birth missing 01

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

1349 deaths Lord chancellors of England 14th-century deaths from plague (disease) Peers created by Edward III