User:Hughbc/Henry Brandreth

Henry Brandreth Henry Brandreth – it his name is now usually spelt – was a member of the last Parliamentarian Committee of Safety, set up in 1659 to oversee the transition between Commonwealth and Restoration. Born in 1610, son of the Rector of Stanton by Bridge, Derbyshire, he was apprenticed at the age of 14 to Richard Sawtrey of the Clothworkers’ Company in London, and in 1631 made a Freeman of the City of London. By 1635 he had become a Householder, i.e. worth a certain amount and able to contribute his 10 shilling fee to the Company. Henry Brandreth was a committed Cromwellian. His Parliamentary career is mentioned in Pepys and elsewhere. Pepys records him as raging against the insolence of apprentices who had presented a petition.The Civil War gave him the chance to become a country gentleman. In 1652, the small estate of Sewell, near Houghton Regis, was owned by Sir Lewis Dyve, who became a senior officer in the Royalist army. Consequently Sir Lewis's estates were sequestrated by Parliament. Henry Brandreth bought Sewell at a knock down price, and subsequently added neighbouring property to form the estate of Houghton Regis, where his descendents resided until the 20th century. After the Restoration. even high-ranking Cromwellians like Henry Brandreth generally retained their status. However, when what were described as three former Commonwealth radicals – William Kiffin, Slingsby Bethel and Henry Brandreth – were elected as aldermen in the City of London, the Court of Aldermen exercised its prerogative and invalidated the election. Henry Brandreth might also be of interest to postal historians. In 1632, he received a letter from Calais, an early example of cross-channel mail. Another letter sent to him in 1649 is a rare instance of post getting through in the Civil War. There is some disagreement about the identity of his wife, Alice. Some sources call her Alice Bruch.. Others say she was Alice Hawford, the daughter of Theophilus Hawford, predecessor of Henry’s father as Rector of Stanton by Bridge In 1671, he was High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire Henry Brandreth was buried at Houghton Regis on March 11th, 1672..

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