John Bourchier KG (abt. 1415 - 1474)

Born about 1415 in Little Easton, Essex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Berners) Bourchier — married after 10 Oct 1441 in England

Descendants

Died May 1474 at about age 59 in Surrey, England

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Biography

John Bourchier was son of William Bourchier and Anne of Gloucester.^[1][2][3] His birth date is uncertain.

He was knighted in 1426.^[2] He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1459.

He married Margery Berners, widow of John Ferreby and daughter of Sir Richard Berners of West Horsley, Surrey. They were fined in 1441/2 for marrying without royal licence.^[2][3] They had 3 sons and 2 daughters:

• Sir Humphrey Bourchier^[3]
• Sir Thomas Bourchier^[3]
• John Bourchier,^[3] a cleric
• Joan Bourchier, wife of Sir Henry Neville^[3]
• Elizabeth Bourchier, wife of Sir Robert Welles^[3]

On 26 May 1455 he was summoned to Parliament as "Johanni Bourgchier de Berners chivaler", and the summons is regarded as creating the title Baron Berners. He attended Parliaments from then until 1472.^[2][3]

He was itinerant justice for Brecon, Wales.^[3] From December 1461 to his death he was joint Constable of Windsor Castle, along with Lord Fauconberg.^[2][3][4]

He died on 16 or 21 May 1474 and was buried at Chertsey Abbey, Surrey. His will was proved on 21 June 1474.^[2][3]

Research Notes

Birth information: about 1415, at Little Eaton [sic], Essex, England^[5]

Note: Lewis does not include a citation for the information. The entry for John in Richardson's Royal Ancestry (I:484 BOURCHIER 12.) does not include when or where he was born.

Disputed daughter: A profile was created by GEDCOM import for another child, Anne Bourchier, born 1441, died 1442. There appear to be no reliable sources in the profile, and, unless some come to light, there must be questions about the relationship. I have marked the relationship as uncertain but not detached Anne in case there was a child called Anne who died in infancy. - Michael Cayley, 8 March 2019

Berner/Barnes: "'Berners' is spelt 'Barnes' in some sources, including the 1552 Visitation of Essex.^[6] At this date, the 'e' in Barnes would not have been silent, and in some parts of England was pronounced rather like the fill-in word 'er' is today by English speakers who do not roll the letter 'r'.

Sources

1. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume I, pages 482-484 BOURCHIER 11.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, vol.2, p. 153
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011, volume I pp.283-284 BOURCHIER 10.
4. ↑ Christian Steer. The Death of Achilles: The Funeral Brass of Sir Humphrey Bourchier, Transactions of the Monumental Brass Society vol. XIX/5, 2018, p.430, viewable at academia.edu
5. ↑ Marlyn Lewis. Entry for Sir John Bourchier (accessed 21 April 2019).
6. ↑ Visitation of Essex 1552, 1558, 1570, 1612, 1634 Page 3

• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Cokayne, G E.Complete Peerage, new edition revised and expanded by the Hon. Vicary Gibbs, St Catherine Press 1912, vol. II, p.153: BERNERS 1
• Lewis, Marlyn. Entry for Sir John Bourchier, 1st Lord Berners, Constable of Windsor Castle, in "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors and Cousins" database. Note: Listed under "Reliable Sources with Conditions" (see the Magna Carta Project's Reliable Sources page).
• Weis, Frederick Lewis, additions by Sheppard, Walter Lee, Jr. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists, 8th Edition, Genealogical Publishing Company 1999, p.8, line 4-33
• Visitation of Essex 1552, 1558, 1570, 1612, 1634 Page 3
• Weis, Frederick Lewis, additions and corrections by Sheppard, Walter Lee and Beall, William R. The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1999, p.26, line 18-10
• Hope, Sir William Henry St. John. The Stall Plates of the Knights of the Order of the Garter, 1348-1485 (A. Constable and Co., ltd., Westminster, 1901) Plate LXIII
• Wikipedia: John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners
• Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th Edition, Charles Mosley Editor-in-Chief, 1999, p.261
• History of Parliament Online: Sir William Bourgchier (c1374-1420), of Little Easton, Essex (accessed 21 April 2019).

Acknowledgements

This person was originally created through the import of Acrossthepond.ged on 21 February 2011.

Magna Carta Project

John Bourchier appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestor Mary Bourchier to Magna Carta Surety Baron Henry de Bohun (vol. I, pages 277-291 BOURCHIER). This profile was developed in accordance with project standards by Michael Cayley in April 2019 and was badged 5 July 2019 by Noland-165. Additionally, the Bourchier to Bohun trail connected this profile to previously-badged trails to other surety barons including John de Lacy, Saher de Quincy, Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare, Robert de Vere, Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod. These trails are set out in the Magna Carta Trails on the Gateway's profile.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".