Sir William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu

Male 1374 - 1420  (~ 46 years)


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  • Name William Bourchier 
    Title Sir 
    Suffix 1st Count of Eu 
    Birth 0___ 1374  Halstead, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Gender Male 
    Death 28 May 1420  Troyes, France Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Burial Llanthony Priory, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Person ID I46936  The Hennessee Family
    Last Modified 24 Feb 2017 

    Family Anne of Gloucester,   b. 30 Apr 1383   d. 16 Oct 1438, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 55 years) 
    Marriage ~ 1405  [1, 3
    Children 
     1. Sir Henry Bourchier, KG, 1st Earl of Essex,   b. ~ 1404   d. 4 Apr 1483 (Age ~ 79 years)
     2. Sir John Bourchier, Knight, 1st Baron Berners,   b. ~ 1415, Little Eaton, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 0May 1474 (Age ~ 59 years)
    Family ID F17231  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 30 Apr 2023 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 0___ 1374 - Halstead, Essex, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 28 May 1420 - Troyes, France Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Llanthony Priory, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu (1374-28 May 1420), was an English knight created by King Henry V 1st Count of Eu, in Normandy.

      Origins

      He was born in 1374, the son of Sir William Bourchier (d.1375), (the younger son of Robert Bourchier, 1st Baron Bourchier (d.1349), of Halstead, Essex, Lord Chancellor) by his wife Eleanor de Louvain (27 March 1345 – 5 October 1397), daughter and heiress of Sir John de Louvain (d.1347)[1] (alias Lovayne etc.), feudal baron[2] of Little Easton in Essex. The arms of Louvain were: Gules billety or a fess of the last, often shown with varying number of billets and on occasion with a fess argent, for example in stained glass at Hengrave Hall, Suffolk: Gules, a fess argent, between fourteen billets or.[3] Eleanor was descended from Godfrey de Louvain (d.1226), feudal baron of Little Easton,[4] son of Godfrey III, Count of Louvain (1142-1190), by his 2nd marriage, and half-brother of Henry I, Duke of Brabant (1165-1235).[5] His inheritance from his mother's Louvain lands included the Suffolk manors of Bildeston, Hopton, Shelland and "Lovaynes" in Drinkstone, and in Essex Little Easton, Broxted and Aythorpe Roding.[6]

      Career

      He fought at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In 1417 he was in the retinue of King Henry V during his second expedition to France, and played a significant role in the capture of Normandy. In 1419 he was appointed Captain of Dieppe and was granted powers to receive the submission of the town and Comtâe of Eu. The French count of Eu had refused to pay homage to the conquering English king and thus had been held prisoner in England since Agincourt. In June 1419 King Henry V awarded six captured French comtâes to certain of his more significant English supporters, and the Comtâe of Eu was granted to William Bourchier, thus making him 1st Count of Eu.[7]

      Marriage & progeny

      Arms of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu (1374-1420) (Quarterly Bourchier and Lovain, feudal barons of Little Easton, Essex) impaling arms of his father-in-law Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1355-1397), youngest son of King Edward III (Royal Arms of England, a label of three points argent for difference). Stained glass, west window, Tawstock Church, Devon. The Count's son William Bourchier, 9th Baron FitzWarin (1407-1470) was the first to be connected with the manor of Tawstock, having married the heiress of that manor
      He married Anne of Gloucester, Countess of Stafford, the daughter of the Plantagenet prince, Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1355-1397) (youngest son of King Edward III) by his wife Eleanor de Bohun elder daughter and coheiress of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (1341-1373), Earl of Essex and Northampton. The Wrey baronets who were the heirs of the Bourchier Earls of Bath quartered the arms of Wrey with those of Bourchier, the Royal Arms of England and Bohun. They had the following progeny:[8]

      Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (1404 – 4 April 1483), eldest son
      William Bourchier, (25 Oct 1415-1474), jure uxoris 9th Baron FitzWarin, 2nd son.
      John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners (c.1416 – 16 May 1474), 3rd son
      Thomas Bourchier, (ca. 1418 – 30 March 1486), Archbishop of Canterbury and a cardinal, 4th son
      Eleanor Bourchier, (ca. 1417 – November, 1474), wife of John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk

      Death & burial

      He died at Troyes, France on 28 May 1420 and was buried at Llanthony Priory, Gloucestershire.[9]

      *

  • Sources 
    1. [S10119] "Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester" biography, accessed & downloaded Thursday, December 8th, 2016 by David A.

    2. [S10456] "William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu" biography, which was abstracted, downloaded and published Friday, February 24th, 20.

    3. [S10122] "Anne of Gloucester" biography, accessed & downloaded Thursday, December 8th, 2016 by David A. Hennessee, https://en.wik.