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Robert Brewster (1599–1663) was an English landowner of Parliamentarian sympathies who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1645 and 1659.

The Brewsters at Wrentham

The Tudor brick mansion of Wrentham Hall (now lost) is said to have been built around 1550 by Humphrey Brewster, Esq. (c. 1527–1593), the elder son of Robert Brewster and his wife, daughter of Sir Christopher Edmonds of Cressing Temple, Essex. If so, he did not then hold the manor in chief. The lordship of Wrentham Southall, or Perpounds, belonged to Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre (executed in 1541) and passed from his widow Lady Mary (Neville) to her son Gregory Fiennes, 10th Baron Dacre, who had licence to alienate the manor to trustees in 1571. So it became vested in his cousin Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys, who in 1576 had licence to alienate it to Humphrey Brewster.

Humphrey Brewster appears as lord of the manor of Wrentham Southall in a Chancery action brought by Thomas Butts in the time of Queen Elizabeth. The lordship of Wrentham Northall, or Poinings, belonged to Sir Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, until 1567, when he sold it to Arthur Choute, who sold it to Humphrey Brewster in 1577. Humphrey was granted arms Sable a chevron (ermine) between three estoiles argent with crest A beaver's head erased sable by Harvey, Clarencieux in 1561. He married Alice, daughter of William Forster of Copdock (near Ipswich), and died in 1593, as shown by his brass memorial in Wrentham church. They had two sons, of whom the elder, Francis (1566-1644), succeeded to Wrentham Hall.

Francis Brewster married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Snelling, Esq., of Ipswich; he was a magistrate, and became Deputy Lieutenant for the county. Robert Brewster, their son, matriculated from Pembroke College, Cambridge at Easter, 1617. He married Amy (daughter of Sir Thomas Corbet of Sprowston Hall, Norfolk), with whom he had 2 sons, Francis (died 1671) and Robert (died 1681). Amy Corbet was one of the sisters of Sir John Corbet, 1st Bart. and of the regicide Miles Corbet.

Church, Parliament and Commonwealth

In March 1643 Robert Brewster was at once appointed to the Suffolk Committee for the enforcement of the Ordinance for sequestration of the estates of notorious delinquents, and in June Robert and Francis Brewster were named to an additional Suffolk committee for the raising of money to support the Parliamentary army. In August Robert was appointed one of the representatives for Suffolk to the committee (called "Deputy Lieutenants") for the Associated Counties (Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertford, Huntingdon and Cambridge, and the City of Norwich) for the arrangement of their defence against rebellious or papistical armies, including that of the Earl of Newcastle. He was thereafter concerned with the raising of levies to support the Parliamentary forces, and in June 1646 was named as a deputy to adjudge scandalous offences deserving exclusion from the Sacrament by the Elderships of congregations.

In 1645 Robert Brewster was elected Member of Parliament for Dunwich as a recruiter to the Long Parliament. Dunwich customarily had two Members, and at first he sat with Anthony Bedingfield. In 1644, pursuant to the Act for the appointment of local committees to investigate scandalous ministers, a Suffolk committee consisting of Alexander Bence, Squire Bence, William Blois, Francis Brewster, Robert Brewster, Sir Edward Duke, William Heveningham, Sir William Playters, Edward Read, William Rivet and Sir John Rous (1586-1662) had been appointed. As a result, William Fenn, parson of Theberton, was summoned to appear at the King's Head in Beccles to be inquired into: Sir Robert Brooke (of Cockfield Hall), Robert Brewster Esquire and Francis Brewster, gent., were among the signatories to the warrant, styling themselves "Deputy Lieutenants" and "Committee of Parliament". Numerous charges, mostly of a political nature, were brought against Fenn who was accordingly ejected, and died in 1651.

Following the August 1648 ordinance for congregational organization of parochial worship, Robert's brother Francis Brewster (1600-1657), of Pyes Hall, Wrentham, was one of the twelve who joined in the formation of a Congregational church fellowship at Wrentham in February 1649. He, presumably, was the Francis Brewster recommended to the Lord Protector on 29 May 1653 by the Churches of Suffolk to be advanced to places of public trust for management of the affairs of the Commonwealth. In 1653 Robert Brewster (as magistrate) certified the swearing-in of Parish Registrars for Frostenden and Theberton. Both Robert and Francis were appointed to the Suffolk committee of August 1654 for the ejection of scandalous ministers. In 1654, arising from their petition, Robert and Francis certified, in returns to the Lord Protector, details of the Ministers and the communities supporting them at Walberswick and Dunwich, and at Cookley and Walpole, Sibton, Beccles and Sancroft.

Having survived Pride's Purge, Robert sat alone for Dunwich in the Rump Parliament until 1653. Dunwich was not represented at all in the Barebones Parliament of 1653, but Robert's son Francis Brewster sat for the County in that assembly. In 1654 Robert was elected as sole representative for Dunwich in the First Protectorate Parliament, but in 1656 the seat was occupied by Francis, while Robert himself sat for Suffolk: he supported the move to offer the Crown to Oliver Cromwell. In the Third Protectorate Parliament of 1659 he sat for Dunwich again, with the second seat restored and occupied by John Barrington. Robert's brother Humphrey Brewster (1602-1669), of Hedenham, Norfolk, and later of Beccles, became Lieutenant-Colonel in the Parliamentary Army, raised and commanded a troop of horse, and was Governor of Landguard Fort in 1659–1660.

Hindolveston

Robert Brewster acquired the manor of Hindolveston in Norfolk, which had belonged to the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Norwich. Since the time of Henry VIII, under a long lease, the stewards had permitted the usual manorial fines to be levied at the fixed rate of sixpence per acre. Brewster began to levy fines at arbitrary rates, which the copyholders refused to pay. In 1650-1653 (represented by Mr Bedingfield) he brought Chancery litigation against them under their champion Sir Edward Astley (died 1653) of Hindolveston (represented by Mr Calthorpe): his claim was dismissed. He resumed this against the copyholders in 1655–1658, naming them all in his suit, and accusing them of forming a confederacy to detain the old manorial court rolls, and of having altered the landscape by ploughing to such an extent that the enclosures could not be assessed properly. For their part the copyholders asked the court to uphold the customary usage as of common law, which in November 1658 it did, throwing Brewster's case out of court entirely.

Death and succession

At his death in 1663, Robert Brewster was buried in St Nicholas' Church, Wrentham, where he has a memorial. He was succeeded by his son Francis Brewster (MP), who died in 1671, and was himself succeeded as master of Wrentham Hall by his brother Robert (died 1681).

The Brewster arms are blazoned as sable a chevron ermine between three estoiles argent, and are quartered with Edwards: the crest, a leopard's head erased, azure (elsewhere, a beaver's, or a bear's head), and motto: Verité soyet ma Garde.

References

1. C.H. Firth and R.S. Rait, Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660, 3 volumes as 1 (HMSO London, 1911) passim (British History Online).
2. B. Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, 2 Parts (Harrison, London 1862), I, p. 148 (Google).
3. Calendar of Patent Rolls, Elizabeth I, V: 1569-1572 (HMSO, London 1966), p. 320, no. 2373 (Internet Archive).
4. 'Hundred of Blything: Wrentham', in W.A. Copinger, The Manors of Suffolk: Notes on their History and Devolution, II: Hundreds of Blything and Bosmere and Claydon (Taylor, Garnett, Evans, & Co., Ltd, Manchester 1908), pp. 209-17, at pp. 211-13 (Internet Archive); citing a Fine levied in Hilary Term, 18 Elizabeth.
5. The National Archives (UK), Chancery, Butts v Brewster, ref. C 2/Eliz/B11/53 (Discovery Catalogue).
6. Copinger, Manors of Suffolk, II, pp. 213-17 (Internet Archive); citing a Fine levied in Michaelmas Term, 19-20 Elizabeth.
7. B. Burke, The General Armoury of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales (Harrison & Sons, London 1884), p. 121 (Google). Neither the Hervey nor the Henry Chitting blazons mention ermine, (J.J. Howard (ed.), The Visitation of Suffolke, made by William Hervey, Clarenceux King of Arms, 1561, Vol. I (Samuel Tymms, Lowestoft/Whittaker & Co., London 1866), p. 22), but it is shown so.
8. 'Church of St Nicholas, Wrentham', Historic England, List Entry Number: 1284532.
9. 'No. 236. 1593. Humphrey Brewster Esquire', in H. Haines, A Manual for the Study of Monumental Brasses (John Henry Parker, Oxford 1848), pp. 96-97 (Google).
10. 'The Visitation of Suffolk, 1612: Brewster of Wrentham', in W.C. Metcalfe (ed.), The Visitations of Suffolk, made in 1561, 1577 and 1612 (Metcalfe, Exeter 1882), pp. 117-18 (Internet Archive).
11. J.J. Howard (ed.), 'Brewster. Extracts from the Wrentham Registers relating to the family of Brewster', Miscellanea Topographica et Genealogica New Series, Vol. II (Hamilton, Adams and Co., London 1877), pp. 399-401 (Google).
12. ^ "Brewster, Robert (BRWR617R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
13. Burke, Landed Gentry (1862), I, p. 148 (Google).
14. 'Taverham Hundred: Sprouston', in F. Blomefield, ed. C. Parkin, An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk (William Miller, London 1809), Vol. X, pp. 458-64 (Internet Archive).
15. Acts and Ordinances, pp. 106-17 and pp. 168-71 (British History Online).
16. Acts and Ordinances, pp. 242-45 (British History Online).
17. Acts and Ordinances, pp. 852-55 (British History Online).
18. H.M. Doughty, Chronicles of Theberton, a Suffolk village (Macmillan and Co., London 1910), pp. 117-21 (Internet Archive).
19. Acts and Ordinances, pp. 1188-1215 (British History Online).
20. 'Pyes Hall', Historic England, List Entry Number: 1032119.
21. J. Browne, The Congregational Church at Wrentham in Suffolk: its History and Biographies (Jarrold & Sons, London 1854), pp. 11-15 (Internet Archive).
22. A.I. Suckling, The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk, 2 vols (1845-1847), II, p. 322 (Google).
23. Doughty, History of Theberton, p. 135 (Internet Archive).
24. Acts and Ordinances, pp. 968-90 (British History Online).
25. Gardner, Historical Account of Dunwich, pp. 118, and p. 167 (Google).
26. J. Nickolls, jun., Original Letters and Papers of State, Addressed to Oliver Cromwell: concerning the affairs of Great Britain, from the year MDCXLIX to MDCLVIII: found among the political collections of Mr. John Milton (William Bowyer & John Whiston, London 1743), pp. 155-58 (Google).
27. Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. pp. 229–239.
28. T. Gardner, An Historical Account of Dunwich, Antiently a City, Now a Borough (Author, London 1754), p. 90 (Google).
29. J.H. Leslie, The History of Landguard Fort, in Suffolk (Eyre and Spottiswoode, London 1898), p. 94 (Internet Archive).
30. The National Archives (UK), Chancery Final Decrees, C 78/553, no. 2 (1653), images 278-294. In English.
31. The National Archives (UK), Chancery Final Decrees, C 78/716, no. 16 (1658), rots 38-34. View original at AALT, images 336-344. In English.
32. Burke, Landed Gentry (1862), I, p. 148 (Google). "1671" misprinted as "1761".
33. J. and J.B. Burke, Heraldic Illustrations: comprising the armorial bearings of the principal families of the Empire (E. Churton, London 1846), III, pt. 57-58 and Plate CXLI (Google).

• 1599 births
• 1663 deaths
• Roundheads
• People from Wrentham, Suffolk
• English MPs 1640–1648
• English MPs 1648–1653
• English MPs 1654–1655
• English MPs 1656–1658
• English MPs 1659
• Members of the Parliament of England for Dunwich