Sir William Brooke (1598 – 20 September 1643) was an English soldier and politician. He was the

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 o ...

for

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, Kent.

Biography

He was the only son of George Brooke and Elizabeth Burgh, and in 1619 would have succeeded his uncle

Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham KG (22 November 1564 – 24 January 1618 ( Old Style)/3 February 1618 ( New Style), lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was an English peer who was implicated in the Main Plot against the rule of James I of Engla ...

Baron Cobham The title Baron Cobham has been created numerous times in the Peerage of England; often multiple creations have been extant simultaneously, especially in the fourteenth century. The earliest creation was in 1313 for Henry de Cobham, 1st Baro ...

, if the barony had not been under

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

, because of his father and uncle's

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, both having participated in the

Main Plot The Main Plot was an alleged conspiracy of July 1603 by English courtiers to remove King James I from the English throne and to replace him with his cousin Lady Arbella Stuart. The plot was supposedly led by Lord Cobham and funded by the Spanis ...

of 1603 against King

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. On 1 February 1626, he was invested as a

Knight 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 on ...

. He served as the Member of Parliament for Rochester, Kent from 1628 to 1629. Brooke married twice; his first wife was Pembroke Lennard (daughter of

Henry Lennard, 12th Baron Dacre Henry Lennard, 12th Baron Dacre (Born Chevening, Kent 25 March 1570 – 8 August 1616) was an English baron and politician. He was the son of Margaret Fiennes, 11th Baroness Dacre and Sampson Lennard. He was Member of Parliament for West L ...

and Chrysogona Baker, daughter of Sir Richard Baker), and his second wife was Penelope Hill, daughter of Sir

Moyses Hill Sir Moyses Hill (often written as Sir Moses Hill) was an English army officer who served in Ireland and later settled in Ireland. He was the governor of Olderfleet Castle, mareschal of Carrickfergus, provost mareschal of Ulster, and represented Cou ...

Hillsborough, County Down Royal Hillsborough (Irish: ''Cromghlinn'', meaning 'Crooked Glen' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 81. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.), more commonly known simply as ...

, and his first wife Alice McDonnell and widow of Arthur Wilmot. He had surviving daughters by both wives, including Margaret and Frances.

Margaret, Lady Denham Margaret, Lady Denham (c. 1642 – January 1667), formerly the Honourable Margaret Brooke, was an English courtier during the reign of King Charles II of England and was one of the " Windsor Beauties" painted by Sir Peter Lely. She was a mistress o ...

(1642–1667), his fourth daughter, was a celebrated beauty who was painted by Peter Lely and was the mistress of the future King James II. Her husband, the poet Sir

John Denham John Denham may refer to: * John Denham (died 1556 or later), English MP for Shaftesbury * John Denham (judge), (1559–1639), father of the poet below, and one of the Ship Money judges * John Denham (poet) (1615–1669), English poet * John Denham ...

, is said to have murdered her in revenge for her infidelity, although in fact, her death was probably natural. Her sister, the

Hon. Frances Brooke Hon. Frances Brooke (1640 – c. 1690) was a British courtier. She was styled Hon. Frances Brooke, and then Lady Whitmore. She was granted the style of a daughter of a baron in 1665. Frances and her sister Margaret, Lady Denham, were two of ...

, who married Sir Thomas Whitmore, was another noted beauty. Margaret Brooke, Lady Denham, 1663-5, by Lely

His two principal residences were Cooling in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and Sterborough in Surrey. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

he was

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

of the

Sutton-at-Hone Lathe Volunteers Sutton-at-Hone is a village in the civil parish of Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England. It is located 3.5 miles south of Dartford & 3.6 miles north east of Swanley. History The place-name 'Sutton-at-Hone' is f ...

of the

Kent Trained Bands The Kent Trained Bands were a part-time militia recruited from Kent in South East England, first organised in 1558. They were periodically embodied for home defence and internal security, including the Spanish Armada campaign in 1588, and saw ac ...

, and died from wounds received at the

First Battle of Newbury The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex. Followin ...

.Sutton-at-Hone Lathe Volunteers at British Civil War Project.
/ref> As he had no sons, the barony (subject to attainder) fell into abeyance between his four daughters and co-heirs. His widow remarried Hon. Edward Russell, younger son of

Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford PC (1587 – 9 May 1641) was an English nobleman and politician. He built the square of Covent Garden, with the piazza and church of St. Paul's, employing Inigo Jones as his architect. He is also known fo ...

and Catherine Brydges, by whom she had several children including the leading Whig statesman

Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, PC (1653 – 26 November 1727) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer at the Battle of Solebay during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, he served as a capta ...

. She died in 1694.

References

1598 births 1643 deaths

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Knights of the Bath English MPs 1628–1629 English soldiers Kent Militia officers People killed in the English Civil War {{17thC-England-MP-stub