Sir Bernard Brocas, Senior (1330–1395) was a prominent commander in the English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 army during King Edward III

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

's French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 campaigns of the Hundred Years War. He was also a close friend of the Black Prince

Edward, the Black Prince

Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....

 and William of Wykeham

William of Wykeham

William of Wykeham was Bishop of Winchester, Chancellor of England, founder of Winchester College, New College, Oxford, New College School, Oxford, and builder of a large part of Windsor Castle.-Life:...

.

Brocas was the son of Sir John Brocas of Clewer

Clewer

Clewer is an ecclesiastical parish and region of Windsor making up three wards of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire.-History:...

 in Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, a Master of the King's Horse

Master of the Horse

The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...

. He grew up with the Black Prince at Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...

, at a time of rebuilding by the Royal architect William of Wykeham. After a scandalous first marriage, the Prince intended Brocas to marry his cousin, Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent

Joan of Kent

Joan, Countess of Kent , known to history as The Fair Maid of Kent, was the first English Princess of Wales...

 but when Joan said she loved Edward, he decided to marry her himself. As compensation, he found Brocas another great heiress, Mary des Roches, a kinswoman of Peter des Roches

Peter des Roches

Peter des Roches was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. Roches was not an Englishman, but a Poitevin.-Life:...

, Bishop of Winchester

Bishop of Winchester

The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...

.

Brocas fought with Edward at the Battles of Poitiers

Battle of Poitiers (1356)

The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt....

, Crécy

Battle of Crécy

The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...

 and Nájera. After the Peace of Bretigny, he helped to settle Aquitaine

Aquitaine

Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...

 and was appointed Constable

Constable

A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...

 there. It has been claimed that he captured and chopped off the head of a King of Morocco, but the story seems to be apocryphal.

In England, Brocas acted as Queen's Chamberlain to Anne of Bohemia

Anne of Bohemia

Anne of Bohemia was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elizabeth of Pomerania....

. He had residences at Clewer Brocas Manor in Berkshire, and at Beaurepaire

Beaurepaire, Hampshire

Beaurepaire is a country estate near Bramley in Hampshire, England.- History :Beaurepaire was owned by the Brocas family from Aquitaine for approximately 500 years....

 in Sherborne St John

Sherborne St John

Sherborne St John is a village and civil parish near Basingstoke in the English county of Hampshire.-History:The village was named in the Domesday book as Sireburne. It became Shireburna , Schyreburne and Shirebourne Decani, Shireburn St...

 and Roche Court near Fareham

Fareham

The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...

, both in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

. He was a great patron of Southwick Priory

Southwick Priory

Southwick Priory was a priory of Augustinian canons originally founded in Portchester Castle and later transferred to Southwick, Hampshire, England.-Foundation:...

. He served as High Sheriff of Wiltshire

High Sheriff of Wiltshire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.Until the 14th century the shrievalty was held ex officio by the castellans of Old Sarum.-To 1400:*1066: Edric*1067-1070: Philippe de Buckland*1085: Aiulphus the Sheriff*1070–1105: Edward of Salisbury...

 for 1382 and was MP for Wiltshire

Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Wiltshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of England from 1290 to 1707, of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote...

 in 1391 and then MP eight times for Hampshire

Hampshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Hampshire was a county constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832...

.

He married three times and had at least five children, amongst them, Sir Bernard Brocas the Younger

Bernard Brocas (rebel)

Sir Bernard Brocas was an English landowner and knight who was executed for his part in the Epiphany Rising.He was the eldest son of Sir Bernard Brocas of Clewer, now part of Windsor, in Berkshire. He was married at a young age to Joan, the daughter of Sir Thomas Middleton...

, who was executed for treason in 1400.

Brocas died on 20 September 1395 and was buried in St Edmund's Chapel in Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

, where his fine effigial monument

Church monument

A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms, from a simple wall tablet to a large and elaborate structure which may include an effigy of the deceased person and other figures of familial or...

 can still be seen today.

The name Brocas lives on in the name Viscount Brocas, one of the subsidiary titles of the Earl Jellicoe

Earl Jellicoe

Earl Jellicoe is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Brocas, of Southampton in the County of Southampton, on 29 June 1925 for Admiral of the Fleet John Jellicoe, 1st Viscount Jellicoe, on his return from being Governor-General of...

.

External links