Sir John Clere (1511? – 21 August 1557) was an English politician and naval commander.

Career

He was eldest surviving son of Sir Robert Clere of

Ormesby Ormesby is a village and area split between the unitary authority areas of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. Demographics The Ormesby ward, including Overfields and Ormesby Hall, ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, and his second wife

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, daughter of Sir William Boleyn, of

Blickling Hall Blickling Hall is a Jacobean stately home situated in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure, near the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England. The mansion was built on the ruins of a Tudor building for Sir He ...

, Norfolk. He succeeded to his father's estates in 1529 and in 1538 came into possession of about 20 manors, mostly on the Norfolk coast, following his mother's death. His mother left him "a bed of blue damask and yellow", a "heart of gold with a large diamond in it", and "a pair of beads of gold" (a rosary). She bequeathed to his brother, the poet Thomas Clere a gold table salt and a pair of beads which had been a gift from

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

. Clere married, by 1531, Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Tyrrell of Gipping,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

(and a granddaughter of

James Tyrrell Sir James Tyrrell (c. 1455 – 6 May 1502) was an English knight, a trusted servant of king Richard III of England. He is known for allegedly confessing to the murders of the Princes in the Tower under Richard's orders. In his 1593 play ''Ric ...

), with whom he had three sons and two daughters. Clere was knighted in 1539, and was an attendant of the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The premier non-royal peer, the Duke of Norfolk is additionally the premier duke and earl in the English peerage. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the t ...

at the reception of

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Bramber Bramber is a former Manorialism, manor, village and civil parish in the Horsham (district), Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It has a ruined mediaeval castle which was the ''caput'' of a large English feudal barony, feudal barony. B ...

1542 and 1545,

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

March 1553 and

1555.

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...

raised loans for defence and war in Scotland. Clere was one of the Norfolk landowners who contributed £100 in 1557.

Naval service

He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as captain of the ships ''Peter Longanarde'' or ''

Peter Pomegranate ''Peter Pomegranate'' was a warship of the English Tudor navy, built in 1510. Her name most likely was in honour of Saint Peter and the badge of Queen Catherine of Aragon, a pomegranate. History She had a tonnage of 400 or 450 when first bu ...

'' (1545) and ''Swepestake'' (1546). He served in France as treasurer of the English army stationed there from November 1549 to April 1550. In 1556 he was appointed Vice-Admiral at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. His first mission was to escort the abdicated

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

to retirement in Spain, receiving a golden chain from him.

Defeat at Kirkwall

His second assignment was to command with Admiral William Woodhouse a naval expedition against Scotland. Clere's fleet in July included; the ''Minion'', the ''Trinity Henry'', the ''

Salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...

'', the '' Mary Willoughby'', the ''

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

'', the ''Bull'', the ''Tiger'', the ''New Bark'', and the ''Flower de Luce''. He was drowned in August 1557 in battle with a Scots fleet in the

Orkney Islands Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland ...

. According to the report of John Southerne, captain of the ''Gabriel'', Clere burnt

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

town on 11 August and on next day entered the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and brought six cannon on shore to batter the castle. On Friday 13 the force on shore attempting to take the

Bishop's Palace A bishop's palace is a form of ecclesiastical architecture constituting the official residence of a bishop.The term was not used in the British Isles until the Church of England was restructured following the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD. However, th ...

was beaten back to sea by 3000 islanders, and 97 men including Clere were drowned. The defending forces were led by Edward Sinclair of Strom.

Family

His children included: *Robert Clere (died 1547), killed at the

battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns, ...

*Thomas Clere, who died at Florence * Edward Clere, who became an MP. *Elizabeth Clere, who married (1) Walter Hevenden of Maidstone, (2) Francis Trevor *Margaret Clere (died 1566), who married

Walter Haddon Walter Haddon LL.D. (1515–1572) was an English civil lawyer, much involved in church and university affairs under Edward VI, Queen Mary, and Elizabeth I. He was a University of Cambridge humanist and reformer, and was highly reputed in his tim ...

References

1510s births 1557 deaths 16th-century Royal Navy personnel English admirals 16th-century English knights English MPs 1542–1544 English MPs 1545–1547 English MPs 1553 (Edward VI) English MPs 1555 Military personnel from London Politicians from Norwich Members of the Parliament of England for Norfolk Military personnel from Norwich {{1545-England-MP-stub People from Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby