John Norreys (Keeper of the Wardrobe)

Sir John Norreys (c. 1400 - 1 September 1466) was a high ranking Lancastrian, and the head of the branch of the Norreys family who became prominent under the reign of the House of Tudor. He served as Keeper of the Wardrobe for King Henry VI of England.

Family

John was the son of William Norreys (born c. 1375) Esquire of Ockwells Manor and Christina Stretch, daughter and heiress of William Stretch of Ruscombe. William Norreys was the son and heir of Roger Norreys of Bray. The Norreys family were descendants of the prominent le Norreys family, who are said to have come to England soon after the Norman Invasion.

Marriages and children

John married Alice (c. 1405 - c. 1450), daughter and heiress of Sir Richard Merbrook of Yattendon, around 1425. Alice was created a Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in 1448. The couple had four children:

*Sir William Norreys (1433 - 4 January 1507)
*John Norreys, Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire
*Agnes Norreys, married William Bulstrode of Upton in Buckinghamshire
*Lettice Norreys, married Sir John Harcourt of Stanton Harcourt in Oxfordshire

After Alice's death, John married Eleanor Clitherow, daughter and heiress of Roger Clitherow of Colderstone, Kent. The couple had two sons and one daughter.

His third marriage, in September 1459, was with Lady Margaret Chedworth (1436-1494), daughter of Sir John Chedworth, a Sussex knight. Margaret was the widow of Nicholas Wyfold (1420-1456), Lord Mayor of London. The couple had no children. Within a year of Sir John's death, Margaret married John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk.

Property

John began rebuilding the family home of Ockwells in 1446. The windows of its great hall still contain the fine stained glass he plaed there, showing the arms of his friends, including the King and Queen, the Bishop of Salisbury and the Dukes of Warwick, Somerset and Suffolk.

Through his first marriage, to Alice, John gained ownership of Yattendon Castle around 1440, then just a manor house. He received a Royal license to crenellate Yattendon Castle on 20 January 1448 and to empark some 600 acres. In 1450 he purchased the manor of Hampstead Ferrers, which soon beame renamed Hampstead Norreys. He then began buying many neighbouring estates, consolidating his extensive landholding in the county of Berkshire.

Royal association

John made a life for himself at the royal court. He was a Knight of the Shire (MP) for Berkshire and Sheriff of Oxfordshire & Berkshire in 1442 and 1457. He was made an usher of the Chamber, and then Esquire of the Body in 1445, before finally being made Keeper of the Wardrobe to King Henry VI. He was later made a Knight of the Bath.

Later life

Sir John died on 1 September 1466. He was buried in the Norreys Chapel (of St. Nicholas) in Bray Church, in a marble tomb. His tomb has not survived, but the Norreys arms, which are carved in stone and located on the walls, still exist.

Descendants

John's descendants all served at court. His great grandson Sir John Norreys served as Esquire of the body of King Henry VII, and later usher to King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, and Queen Mary. Another of his great grandsons, Sir Henry Norreys served under King Henry VIII and was beheaded for his suppossed adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn.

Great-great-grandson Sir Henry Norris was a life-long friend of Queen Elizabeth's, serving as Ambassador to France, and eventually was made 1st Baron Norreys. Henry Norris' 6 sons all served with distinction in the military under Queen Elizabeth. One, Sir John Norreys, was considered the most acclaimed soldier of his time.

References

* [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/jnorreys_ockwells.html David Nash Ford's Royal Berkshire History: Sir John Norreys (d. 1466)]