William Browne

Sir William Browne (died 3 June 1514) served as Master of the Worshipful Company of Mercers from 1507 to 1514, and as alderman, auditor, Sheriff and Lord Mayor of London. He died in office on 3 June 1514 while serving his term as Lord Mayor. Family William Browne was the son and heir of Sir John Browne by his second wife, Anne Belwode. His father, Sir John Browne, was Lord Mayor of London in 1480. His cousin, another Sir William Browne, was Lord Mayor of London in 1507. His father's family was from the north of England; in his will William Browne left a bequest 'to my poor kinsfolks on my father's side in Northumberland'. Career Browne inherited Flambards in Cold Norton, Essex, as well as other property, from his father in 1498. By 1506 he had augmented his landed inheritance with the purchase of Porters at Southend, Essex, from Jasper Tyrrell. Browne was a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and Master of the Company from 1507 to 1514. He was Sheriff of the City of London in 1504, alderman of Cordwainer Ward from 1505 to 1514, and auditor from 1510 to 1512. In 1513 he was elected Lord Mayor. On 14 May 1514, as Lord Mayor, he was present during the state ceremonies which took place when Leonardo Spinelli, emissary of Pope Leo X, presented Henry VIII with a 'sword and cap of mystic value'.