Sir William Burcester (died 1407) was an English politician.

Life

Burcester, whose name may have come from the town of

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire, England, north-west of Oxford. The town is a notable tourist attraction due to the Bicester Village shopping centre. The historical town centre � ...

, was originally from

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. At some point before July 1378, Burcester married the twice-widowed Margaret Gisors of London. She died 1 July 1393. On 6 January 1396, he married another widow named Margaret, the widow of the MP Thomas Brewes.

Career

He was a tax-collector and justice of the peace for Kent. He was knighted while fighting in France under the Earl of Stafford in 1378 or 1379 and appointed

Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instru ...

for 1390. He was elected Member of Parliament for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

in 1393. He was apparently loyal to

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Jo ...

Death

Burcester died at his manor house in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. He was buried in the

Minories Minories ( ) is the name of a small former administrative unit, and also of a street in the Aldgate area of the City of London. Both the street and the former administrative area take their name from the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare w ...

. His heirs were his two children from his second marriage, John Burcester and Willelma, the wife of Walter Urry, MP. His widow remarried, to the MP John Berkeley I.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burcester, William Year of birth missing 1407 deaths People from Southwark People from Oxfordshire 14th-century births English MPs 1393 14th-century English politicians Medieval English knights High sheriffs of Kent