William Brieguerre

- 1226

• Name	William Brieguerre  [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Died	1226  [2]
  Notes	William Brewer (or Briwere) (died 1226) was a prominent administrator and justice in England during the reigns of Richard I, King John, and Henry III. He was also notable as a founder of a number of religious institutions. Life William Brewer's ancestry is unclear, but he was probably the son of Henry Brewer and the grandson of William Brewer, forester of Bere, who founded the nunnery of Polsloe in Exeter. William began his own career as forester of Bere, which appears to have been a hereditary title, and by 1179 had been appointed High Sheriff of Devon. Under Richard I he was one of the justiciars appointed to run the country while the king was on crusade. He was present at Worms in 1193, to aid in the negotiations for Richard's ransom. It was around this time that Brewer began his career at the Exchequer, where he was to sit until the reign of Henry III. Under King John William was one of the most active figures in government, next to Henry Marshal and Geoffrey fitz Peter in terms of the number of royal charters he witnessed. In this period, he was appointed High Sheriff of Berkshire, Cornwall, Devon, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and High Sheriff of Dorset, Sussex and Wiltshire. He was often unpopular with the people of his counties, and the men of Cornwall, Somerset, and Dorset paid money to the king for his removal. Brewer was adept at acquiring lands, and built himself a substantial barony from relatively humble beginnings. By 1219 he was assessed for scutage on over sixty knights' fees scattered over several shires. He was able to found and endow three monasteries: Torre Abbey in Devon in 1196, Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire in 1201, and Dunkeswell Abbey in Devon in the same year. In 1224 he retired from the world to live as a Cistercian monk at Dunkeswell, where he was buried with his wife before the high altar on his death in 1226. Family and children He married Beatrice de Valle (d. before 1220), previously the mistress of Reginald de Dunstanville, Earl of Cornwall (d. 1175) and mother of Henry fitz Count (d. 1221), and they had several children, including: William Brewer (d. 1232), married Joan, daughter of William de Redvers, Earl of Devon. Richard Brewer (d. 1215). Graecia, married Reginald de Braose. Margaret, married three times, lastly to Geoffrey de Saye William Brewer, Bishop of Exeter, was one of Brewer's nephews.
  Person ID	I3594	Bosdet Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 May 2013

  
  

  Family	Beatrice de Vaux
  Children	1. Grecia Brieguerre
  Family ID	F1017	Group Sheet

  
  

• Sources

  [S179] The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed, G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, (Name: Alan Sutton Publishing; Location: Gloucester, U.K.; Date: 2000;). [S174] Wikipedia.