Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu
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Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
PC
Privy Council of England
The Privy Council of England, also known as His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England...
(29 November 1528 – 19 October 1592) was an English peer during the Tudor period
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
.
He was the eldest son of Sir Anthony Browne
Sir Anthony Browne (d.1548)
Sir Anthony Browne was an English courtier and Knight of the Shire.He was the son of Sir Anthony Browne, Standard Bearer of England and Governor of Queenborough Castle, by his wife Lucy Nevill, daughter of John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu and widow of Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam...
. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1539, he came into possession of the manor of Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, which remained in his family for 200 years.
Before 1550, he married Lady Jane Radclyffe
Jane Browne, Viscountess Montague
Jane Browne , Viscountess Montague was an English noblewoman born in Sussex, England to Sir Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex and Margaret Stanley...
, daughter of Robert Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Sussex. She died in childbirth on 22 July 1552 after giving birth to twins:
- Mary Browne, who married (1) Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of SouthamptonHenry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of SouthamptonHenry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton was an English noble.Henry was the only surviving son of the 1st Earl and his wife Jane Cheney. His godparents were Henry VIII, Princess Mary, Charles Brandon, and Henry FitzAlan.After his father's death, he lived with his mother, Jane...
; (2) Sir Thomas HeneageThomas HeneageSir Thomas Heneage PC was an English politician and a courtier at the court of Elizabeth I.-Early and personal life:...
; (3) William Hervey, 1st Baron Hervey; and - Anthony Browne, his son and heir, who predeceased him, leaving several children by his wife, Mary Dormer (whose cousin was Robert CatesbyRobert CatesbyRobert Catesby , was the leader of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605....
, of the Gunpowder PlotGunpowder PlotThe Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
).
In 1558 he married Magdalen Dacre, daughter of William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre
Baron Dacre
Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by writ. The first creation came in 1321 when Ralph Dacre was summoned to Parliament as Lord Dacre. He married Margaret, 2nd Baroness Multon of Gilsland, heiress of a large estate in Cumbria centred on...
, by whom he had ten children.
He was elected MP for Guildford
Guildford (UK Parliament constituency)
Guildford is a county constituency in Surrey which returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
in 1545 and 1547 and was knighted in 1547 at the coronation of Edward VI. He was appointed Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex
High Sheriff of Surrey
-List of High Sheriffs 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 -1066-1228:...
for 1553 and elected MP for Petersfield
Petersfield (UK Parliament constituency)
Petersfield was an English Parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Petersfield in Hampshire. It existed for several hundred years until its abolition for the 1983 general election....
in Mar 1553. In April 1554 he was elected knight of the shire for Surrey
Surrey (UK Parliament constituency)
Surrey was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832....
.
On 2 September 1554, Browne was raised to the peerage as Viscount Montagu
Viscount Montagu
Viscount Montagu was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 2 September 1554 for Anthony Browne. It became extinct in 1797.The title Viscount Montagu was chosen from line of descent from John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu. His daughter Lucy Neville was the mother of Anthony Browne...
. That year, he was also sent as one of the ambassadors to Rome to treat for the reconciliation of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
with the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, and in 1555 was made a Privy Counsellor
Privy Council of England
The Privy Council of England, also known as His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England...
and Knight of the Garter. He was lieutenant-general of the English troops at the siege of Saint-Quentin
Saint-Quentin, Aisne
Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....
in 1557.
Upon the accession of Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, Montagu lost his seat on the Privy Council for his Roman Catholicism, and generally opposed the religious measures of Elizabeth. However, he retained her favour through his prudence and loyalty, and was joint Lord Lieutenant of Sussex
Lord Lieutenant of Sussex
This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Sussex. From 1677 until 1974, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Sussex.-Lord Lieutenants of Sussex to 1974:*Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel 1551–? jointly with...
from 1570 to 1585. In 1587, Montagu was one of the commissioners who tried Mary, Queen of Scots, and was one of the first to raise a troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
of horse to muster at West Tilbury
West Tilbury
West Tilbury is a village situated on the top of a river terrace overlooking the river Thames. The modern town of Tilbury is mainly in the traditional parish of Chadwell St Mary.-Location and administration:...
to guard against the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
.