Edward Bromley
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Sir Edward Bromley (1563–2 June 1626) was an English lawyer, judge, landowner and politician of the
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
and Jacobean periods. A member of a
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
legal and
landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...
dynasty, he was prominent at the
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and became a
Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...
. He was elected MP for
Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...
on six consecutive occasions.Hasler: ''BROMLEY, Edward (1563–1626), of Shifnall Grange and Bridgnorth, Salop.'' – Author: W.J.J.
/ref>


Background

Edward Bromley was the second son ofGrazebrook and Rylands, volume 1, p. 78
/ref>Rylands, p.49
/ref> :* Sir George Bromley of Hallon, near
Worfield Worfield is a village and civil parish in Shropshire in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands, England. It is northwest of London and west of Wolverhampton. It is north of Bridgnorth and southeast of Telford. The parish, which includes th ...
, in
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
, the son of George Bromley of
Hodnet Hodnet ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town of Market Drayton lies 5.7 miles (9.2 km) north-east of the village. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1534. History Evidence of a ...
. Sir George, like his father, was an important figure at the Inner Temple and a considerable politician on the regional stage, becoming chief legal officer of the Council in the Marches of Wales and chief justice of
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
.Hasler: ''BROMLEY, George (c.1526–89), of Hallon in Worfield, Salop and the Inner Temple, London'' – Author: N.M. Fuidge.
/ref> His career was, however, overshadowed by that of his younger brother, Edward's uncle,
Thomas Bromley Sir Thomas Bromley (153011 April 1587) was a 16th-century lawyer, judge and politician who established himself in the mid-Tudor period and rose to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was successively Solicitor General for England and ...
, who became
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
. :*Joan Waverton, the daughter of John Waverton of Worfield. The name is also rendered Wannerton, as on her tomb,Randall, p.39
/ref>Grazebrook and Rylands, volume 2, p.492
/ref> and Waterton. The Wavertons had held Hallon (also rendered "Hawne") for probably only one generation. On acquiring it through marriage, George Bromley had made it his seat and the family home. Edward Bromley's elder brother,
Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...
, was the heir to the Bromley estates. He had two more brothers and three sisters, who all married into regionally powerful gentry families. The gentry dominated Shropshire and, generally, its boroughs politically and culturally, as there was unusually no resident aristocracy in the county.


Family Tree


Education and legal training

Edward Bromley was sent to
Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...
in 1577 at about the age of 14. The school was explicitly committed to a Christian and humanist ethos, reflecting
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
principles. The first head Thomas Ashton had established a tradition of using drama to develop students' confidence and self-expression. Bromley was admitted to the Inner Temple by its parliament on 27 November 1580: a special admission, without cost, in recognition of his father's status. An undated note states that he was in debt to the treasurer, Andrew Gray, to the tune of 20
marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
: Gray was treasurer during 1585–6. Bromley's
call to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call t ...
was noted by the parliament on 5 July 1590. The same meeting noted that he was permitted to use a chamber over the buttery, which had been restored by Michael Lowe, and was used also by his nephew, Humphrey Lowe. In 1595 the shared chamber fell into disrepair and the Inner Temple itself was forced to take action, spending £40 on repairs and subsequently billing Lowe and his relative Abney, for 20 marks each. The chamber seems to have become a family institution, with Bromley on a similar footing to Lowe's blood relations. The association was entirely reciprocal: In November 1590 Lowe, a chief clerk of the King's Bench, was accorded a seat next to Bromley and "ancienty" of those under Bromley, i.e. recognised as their co-tutor. Bromley's marriage to Margaret Lowe in April 1593Thrush and Ferris: ''BROMLEY, Edward (1563–1626), of the Inner Temple, London and Hallon, Worfield, Salop'' – Author: Simon Healy
/ref> was one result of this close association. Bromley went on to achieve prominence at the Inner Temple. He was called to the bench on 19 May 1603. Responsibilities, minor at first, quickly followed. In June 1604 it was steward for the Reader's dinner, and in November
auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...
for the steward's accounts, and in April 1605 he and
Sir Edward Coke Sir Edward Coke ( , formerly ; 1 February 1552 – 3 September 1634) was an English barrister, judge, and politician. He is often considered the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into an upper-class family, Coke was ...
were nominated as attendants to the Reader – generally a signal that the appointee was himself to receive this high academic honour in the near future. As expected, on 3 November 1605 the Inn's parliament named Bromley Lent Reader for the following year,Foss, p.265
/ref> attended by Coke and Sir John Jackson Later in the year he was able to nominate students for special admissions, a sign of his greatly enhanced status. After this his career took a turn towards the administration of justice.


Parliamentary career


Elizabethan parliament

Bromley's parliamentary career unfolded alongside his progress at his Inn of Court. He was returned as an MP for
Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...
at every election between 1586 and 1604 – a total of six times. Bridgnorth was a small town, governed by a council of two
bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...
s and 24
aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...
.Hasler: ''Bridgnorth'' – Author: J.J.C.
/ref> Although the council nominally selected the MP, with the consent of the burgesses, the Council in the Marches and local gentry effectively shared parliamentary representation, ensuring that lawyers monopolised the seats.Thrush and Ferris: ''Bridgnorth'' – Author: Simon Healy
/ref> Bromley would have had little difficulty in securing election, as he had leverage on all counts. He was a landowner based very locally and Sir George Bromley, his father, was both acting head of the Council in the Marches, between the death of
Henry Sidney Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586) was an English soldier, politician and Lord Deputy of Ireland. Background He was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst (1482 – 11 February 1553) and Anne Pakenham (1511 – 22 Oc ...
and the arrival of his successor, and recorder of Bridgnorth. In 1586, 1588, 1593 and 1597 Bromley took the first of the two seats, with John Lutwich as his colleague. Lutwich shared Bromley's social and professional background: a Shropshire landowner prominent in London at
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
. In the last of the Elizabethan parliaments, elected in October 1601, Bromley was outranked by Thomas Horde, who had succeeded Sir George as recorder in 1589, and took the second seat. Bromley made no impact on the work of the Elizabethan
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
.


First parliament of James I

In 1604 Bromley was elected to the first parliament of
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334 ...
, which was to last until 1611. This time he took second place to Sir Lewis Lewknor, a colourful scholar of Catholic leanings, who had been appointed the king's Master of the Ceremonies. Lewknor probably owed his election to the influence of his uncle, Sir Richard Lewknor, chief justice of Chester and an influential member of the Council in the Marches. Bromley left some traces in the record of the parliament, but despite his legal qualifications and acumen, was not as active as Lewknor. Bromley was sent to confer with the House of Lords on the king's proposals for a Union of the kingdoms of Scotland and England. He was also instructed to draft a bill to exclude "outlaws" – in this context referring to
recusant Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...
s as well as perjurers and forgers – from Parliament. This was a response to the election of Francis Goodwin to represent
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
, which was challenged by the sheriff and led to a wrangle between king and parliament. The proposed bill was a sop to the king: although Bromley and others were appointed to a committee, it was allowed to fade from attention and no report was ever produced. As he was a trustee of the Worcestershire estates of Thomas Lyttelton, he was made chairman of the committee which prepared a bill to rehabilitate John Lyttelton, Thomas's father, who was
attainted In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...
and died in prison after the Essex Rebellion of 1601. This was business of great importance to the Bromley family, as John Lyttelton's widow and Thomas's mother was Meriel Bromley, Edward Bromley's cousin and a daughter of
Thomas Bromley Sir Thomas Bromley (153011 April 1587) was a 16th-century lawyer, judge and politician who established himself in the mid-Tudor period and rose to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was successively Solicitor General for England and ...
, the former
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
. Sir Henry Bromley, Meriel's brother and a close friend of Edward, sat alongside him on the committee. Bromley was compelled to resign his parliamentary seat in February 1610, when he was made a judge, occasioning a contested by-election – a very rare event.


Continuing political interest

Although Bromley never stood again for parliament, he remained influential at Bridgnorth and at
Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish incl ...
, in both of which he later became recorder. He seems to have avoided direct involvement in a bitterly contested by-election to find his successor at Bridgnorth, although the ultimate victor was Sir Francis Lacon, a Catholic sympathiser who was Bromley's cousin, once removed. His main interest was in the constituency of
Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish incl ...
, which was small and easier to manipulate. Bromley's nephew, Thomas Wolryche of Dudmaston Hall, was returned as MP in 1621, 1624 and 1625.


Judicial career

As late as 23 January 1610 John Chamberlain, the noted letter writer, described Bromley "an obscure lawyer of the Inner Temple." Within two weeks he was promoted to the higher ranks of the judiciary. On 5 February 1610 Bromley, along with
Sir John Denham Sir John Denham FRS (1614 or 1615 – 19 March 1669) was an Anglo-Irish poet and courtier, who wrote an acclaimed pastoral epic in his poem ''Cooper's Hill''.'Denham, 1615-1668', in S. Johnson, ed. P. Cunningham, ''Lives of the Most Eminent En ...
, was made a Serjeant-at-law, one of an elite corps of
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
s. The promotion was for the express purpose of making him a judge. Only Bromley and Sir Edward Coke received the Call to the Coif for this purpose in the reign of James I. He was presented with a purse containing £10 by the treasurer of the Inner Temple. The benchers and fellows of the Inner Temple then accompanied him in procession to
Serjeant's Inn Serjeant's Inn (formerly Serjeants' Inn) was the legal inn of the Serjeants-at-Law in London. Originally there were two separate societies of Serjeants-at-law: the Fleet Street inn dated from 1443 and the Chancery Lane inn dated from 1416. In 1 ...
, where he was robed, and then to Westminster for his inauguration.Inderwick, volume 2, p.47
/ref> Next day, 6 February, Bromley was appointed a
Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...
in place of Edward Heron, who had died after serving only a little over two years. The Barons were judges in the
Exchequer of Pleas The Exchequer of Pleas, or Court of Exchequer, was a court that dealt with matters of equity (law), equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law and Common law#History, common law in England and Wales. Originally part of the , or King ...
, a court which dealt with important equity cases. He was the third in his family to be "adorned with the judicial ermine," after Chief Justice
Thomas Bromley Sir Thomas Bromley (153011 April 1587) was a 16th-century lawyer, judge and politician who established himself in the mid-Tudor period and rose to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was successively Solicitor General for England and ...
, and the Lord Chancellor. When he went to the Exchequer on his first day of service, wearing his judge's ermine, the entire available membership of the Inner Temple and the
Inns of Chancery The Inns of Chancery or ''Hospida Cancellarie'' were a group of buildings and legal institutions in London initially attached to the Inns of Court and used as offices for the clerks of chancery, from which they drew their name. Existing from a ...
preceded him on foot. On 26 February he was knighted at the
Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...
. Bromley held his post at the Exchequer until his death, serving for all but the last year under Sir Lawrence Tanfield, the
Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pres ...
, and sitting alongside Denham from 1617. Bromley and Denham had their patents renewed on the accession of
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
in March 1625. Tanfield died a month after being reappointed and was replaced by Sir John Walter. Alongside his work in London at the Exchequer, Bromley also operated as a justice of
assize The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...
, working on the Northern circuit from 1610 until 1618, when he moved to the Midland circuit. Before his transfer he had been appointed recorder of
Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish incl ...
in Shropshire and thereafter he took recorderships at two more towns in his own county: Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth.


Landowner

As a second son, Edward Bromley can have had little expectation of inheriting substantial estates. He was installed in a modest property of the Bromley patrimony at Shifnal, which became his seat: he was known as “of Shifnall Grange” in his early career. When Sir George Bromley died in 1589, the estates passed to his first son, Francis Bromley, who thus held land at Hodnet, Wistanswick, and Allerton, as well as his mother's estate of Hallon and other lands in the Bridgnorth area. He survived for less than two years. The Bromley estates then passed to his young son, Thomas. Edward Bromley, meanwhile, start to build up his own landholding, in 1593 marrying the coheiress to the small estate of Tysoe, near Enville, in neighbouring
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, who brought a scattering of land across the Midlands. From this point he began to occupy a selection of the local and regional offices that pertained to the landed gentry. By 1595 he was serving as a Justice of the Peace for Shropshire. In 1603 he became steward of Morfa Forest in the west of the county. After the
Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...
he was appointed to the commission which investigated the conspirators' lands in Shropshire. He was a commissioner for the subsidy in 1608. Most of these posts brought some profit as well as responsibility. Only two weeks after Edward Bromley became Baron of the Exchequer, his nephew Thomas died, leaving him as heir to the entailed Bromley estates. However, matters were not so clear-cut at Hallon itself. Francis Bromley also left a daughter, Jane, who had married William Davenport, allegedly after a secret and forbidden courtship. Jane and William Davenport now laid claim to Hallon and the other lands that had been inherited through Edward and Francis's mother, Jane Waverton or Wannerton. Although Bromley now regarded Hallon as his seat, Davenport was described as "of Hawne" in the
Heraldic Visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as the kings' deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulat ...
of 1623. The dispute lasted for decades, with Hallon finally in the hands of the Davenport family and becoming their seat, Davenport House.


Death

Bromley died on 2 June 1626. He was interred in St Peter's church at Worfield. In his will, dated 14 October 1625,Abstract of will in Fletcher, p.71-2
/ref> he asks for a night burial two days after his death "without funeral pompe." It appears that the Inner Temple had already installed a stained glass window displaying Bromley's
armorial bearings A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achie ...
and this was restored some time shortly after his death, presumably as a mark of respect. Bromley left £100 for "a monument to be set up in Shifnall church or elsewhere". He had installed a fine alabaster monument for his parents at Worfield and may have doubted it would be available. In the event, a substantial alabaster tomb was built at Worfield and dedicated to him by his wife. His epitaph reads: :'' Spiritus astra petit. (Latin: The spirit strives for the stars.)'' :''Here resteth the Bodie of Sir Edward Bromley, Knight, second Baron of Exchequer, being second sonne of Sir George Bromley, Knight, and of Dame Jane his wife. Who married Margaret one of the daughters and coheirs of Michael Lowe, of Tymore, in the County of Stafford, Esquire and died without issue, the second of June 1626. Dame Margaret his wife according to his will did dedicate this monument to his memory.'' The tomb stood at the east end of the north aisle, together with his parents' tomb. The Bromley tombs were moved further west in 1866, following major restoration work to the church. The entailed patrimonial lands automatically went to Bromley's younger brother, George. Edward Bromley left plate to the value of £20 to each of his godchildren, Thomas Wolryche and Thomas and Dorothy Cotton. He had hoped to give his wife the use of his possessions during her lifetime but ultimately to have them divided among his godsons and servants. He had thought to secure Hallon and his mother's other lands by paying off Thomas Bromley's creditors with £700 but Jane and William Davenport were still pressing their claim. This affected an arrangement he had made with his wife, assigning her some of the properties as part of her
jointure Jointure was a legal concept used largely in late mediaeval and early modern Britain, denoting the estate given to a married couple by the husband's family. One of its most important functions was providing a livelihood for the wife if she became ...
. Almost at the last moment he had attached a codicil giving all his personal property to his wife in compensation for her likely losses. He appointed as overseers of his will his three sisters, his brother-in-law Cotton and his friends, the judges John Denham and Sir Richard Hutton: both were later to defy Charles I over
ship money Ship money was a tax of medieval origin levied intermittently in the Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed typically on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English monarchs cou ...
. He left small sums for the poor of Worfield, Bridgnorth, Shifnal, Much Wenlock, Shrewsbury and Sheriffhales.


Marriage and family

Edward Bromley married Margaret Lowe, daughter and heiress of Nicholas Lowe of Tymore, in the parish of
Enville, Staffordshire Enville is a village and civil parish in rural Staffordshire, England, on the A458 road between Stourbridge and Bridgnorth. Enville is in the South Staffordshire district. The largest village nearby is Kinver, with the smaller villages of Bobb ...
on 18 March 1593. The marriage was without issue. Bromley cultivated close links with his godchildren, who were the children of his sisters, and with his cousins, the Bromleys of Worcestershire, particularly Sir Henry Bromley and his children. In October 1615 he arranged for the Inner Temple to admit Philip, one of Sir Henry's sons, whom he hoped to adopt as his heir, along with his own nephew, Thomas Wolryche, and, few months later, George Wolryche and John Lyttelton, a son of Meriel Bromley, were similarly admitted. Philip Bromley seems to have predeceased him. After a marriage of 33 years to Bromley, Lady Margaret Bromley was his widow for more than 30: she was buried on 23 March 1657 at
Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...
in Leicestershire, where she had lived in her later years. The austerity shown in her husband's will was amplified in hers, which was dated 6 March 1657. She asked that only one nephew, James Abney, attend her funeral and that even bell ringing be avoided. Most of the bequests relate to Abney and to other nephews and nieces, the Bromskills. Calamy, the historian who collated information about the
Great Ejection The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England following the Restoration of Charles II. It was a consequence (not necessarily ...
, added a supplementary note to his account of Leicestershire for the 1702 edition: :''Loughborough : Mr. OLIVER BRUMSKILL. Add; He was a judicious solid Divine, and excellent Preacher, and holy Liver. He liv'd with that eminent Saint, the old Lady Bromley, Widow to Judge Bromley.''Calamy, p.581
/ref> Bromskill, a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
minister of the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
period, was evidently related to Lady Bromley by marriage and her active support for his ministry, as well as Calamy's encomium, makes clear that she was a committed
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
.


Notes


References

* Edmund Calamy (1727).
A continuation of the Account
of the ministers, lecturers, masters and fellows of colleges, and schoolmasters, who were ejected and silenced after the restoration in 1660, by or before the Act for uniformity,'' Ford. Accessed 21 May 2014 at Open Library. *W.G.D.Fletcher
''Lady Margaret Bromley''
in Transactions of the Leicestershire Architectural and Archaeological Society, volume 8, 1893–4. Accessed at Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 19 May 2014. * Edward Foss (1848)
''The Judges of England, volume VI''
Longman. Accessed 19 May 2014 at Open Library. *George Grazebrook and John Paul Rylands (editors) (1889)
''The Visitation of Shropshire, taken in the year 1623: Part I''
by Robert Tresswell,
Somerset Herald Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an Officer of Arms, officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. In the year 1448 Somerset Herald is known to have served Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, but by the time of the coronation of Henr ...
, and
Augustine Vincent Augustine Vincent (c. 1584–1626) was an English herald and antiquary. He became involved in an antiquarian dispute between his friend William Camden and Ralph Brooke. Life Augustine Vincent was born, presumably in Northamptonshire, in about 158 ...
, Rouge Croix Pursuivant of arms; marshals and deputies to
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...
,
Clarenceux king of arms Clarenceux King of Arms, historically often spelled Clarencieux (both pronounced ), is an Officer of Arms, officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial King of Arms, kings of arms and his juri ...
. With additions from the pedigrees of Shropshire gentry taken by the heralds in the years 1569 and 1584, and other sources, Harleian Society. Accessed 19 May 2014 at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
. *George Grazebrook and John Paul Rylands (editors) (1889)
''The Visitation of Shropshire, taken in the year 1623: Part II''
Harleian Society. Accessed 10 May 2014 at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
. * * Frederick Andrew Inderwick (editor) (1896)
''The Inner Temple: its early history, as illustrated by its records, 1505–1603''
Masters of the Inner Temple and H. Sotheran. Accessed 19 May 2014 at the
Open Library Open Library is an online project intended to create "one web page for every book ever published". Created by Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Hargrave Malamud, Open Library is a project of the Internet ...
. *Frederick Andrew Inderwick (editor) (1896
''A Calendar of the Inner Temple records, volume 2''
Masters of the Bench and H. Sotheran. Accessed 19 May 2014 at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
. *John Randall (1887)
''Worfield and its Townships''
published by the author at
Madeley, Shropshire Madeley is a historic market town and civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The parish had a population of 18,774 at the 2021 census. Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book, having been founded before the 8t ...
. Accessed 19 May 2014 at the
Open Library Open Library is an online project intended to create "one web page for every book ever published". Created by Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Hargrave Malamud, Open Library is a project of the Internet ...
. * William A. Shaw (1906)
''The Knights of England, volume 2''
Sherratt and Hughes. Accessed 19 May 2014 at Open Library. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bromley, Edward 1563 births 1626 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Politicians from Shropshire English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English landowners People educated at Shrewsbury School 16th-century English judges 16th-century English lawyers Lawyers from Shropshire