0 @IHL1718@ INDI
1 SUBM @SIHL1@
1 NAME William /Briwere/
1 SEX M
1 DEAT
2 DATE 24 NOV 1226
1 NOTE A great man, in the confidence of four successive monarchs. 26 Henry II (1180) he was entrusted with the sheriffalty of Devonshire, which he continued to hold till1 Richard I. His judicial career commenced in 33 Henry II (1187) when he was
2 CONC associated with two others in fixing the tallage in Wiltshire. He acted in the same character in 1 Richard I in Cornwall and Berkshire, and in 9 Richard I in Nottingham and Derby. After the intorduction of fines his name is found among the
2 CONC justiciers before whom they were levied at Westminster and other places, during the last four years of Richard I's reigh and most of the years of that of John; and he is mentioned as a baron of the Exchequer as late as 5 Henry III (1221).
1 NOTE That he attained an early character for wisdom and prudence may be inferred from the fact that King Richard, on his embarkation to the Holy Land, although he exacted from him a fine for not joining in the crusade, named him as one of the
2 CONC council to assist the Bishops of Durham and Ely in the government of the kingdom. Acting against the latter when the king's letter authorized the council to assume the government, he was included in the sentence of excommunication which the
2 CONC bishop induced the pope of pronounce against the supporters of the Earl John. All doubt of his loyalty, however, was removed by the hearty assistence he gave to release his sovereign from captivity; and the king's confidence in him is proved by
2 CONC his being sent to make a league with the King of France. In this and subsequent rigns he was sheriff of several counties. The rolls also teem with grants of all kinds - of manors, lands, markets, custodies, wardships, licenses for building
2 CONC castles, and of various other privileges, besides presents of wie, and on one occasion of a captured ship.
1 NOTE In frequent attendance on King John, he accompanied him to Ireland, dined with him at table, and adhering to him in all his troubles, he was a witness to his renunciation of the crown to the pope. In 15 John he was made seneschal to the king,
2 CONC and when the king marched northwards in 1215 he was one of those entrusted with the command of one of the forces left to check the barons remaining in London; and on several occasions till the end of the reign justified the royal confidence by
2 CONC the exertions which he made on behalf of his sovereign.
1 NOTE These exertions were continued on the accession of Henry III till Prince Louis was forced to retire from the kingdom. Rewards still flowed upon him, and at various times he was appointed governor of the casltes of Bolsover, Lidford, Devizes,
2 CONC and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
1 NOTE His career of prosperity was only terminated by his death, which occurred in 1226, 11 Henry III. He was buried in the abbey of Dunkeswell in Devonshire, which he had founded for Cistercia monks. His riches and his piety may be estimated by the
2 CONC following works. Besides the abbey of Dunkeswell, he founded that of St. Saviour at Torre, in the same county, for Praemonstratensian canons; the priory of Motisford, in Hampshire, for canons regular of St. Augustine; and a hospital for twelve
2 CONC poor people, besides religious and strangers, at Bridgewater in Somersetshire, where he also built a castle, constructed a haven, and began a handsome bridge.
1 SOUR Vivian. The Visitations of Cornwall. p. 323.
1 SOUR Clay. The Extinct and Dormant Peerages of the Northern Counties of England. pp 158-167.
1 SOUR Halsbury, Earl of. The Pleasures of Scale. Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art. Vol. XCII (1960) pp 19-35.
1 SOUR Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the advancement of Science, Literature and Art. v 50 pp 1-169.
1 SOUR Foss. A Biographical Dictionary of the Judges of England. p 103-104.
1 SOUR Weis. 143-27.
1 FAMS @FHL898@
1 FAMC @FHL905@
1 CHAN
2 DATE 1994

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