Constituency Dates
Droitwich 1571, 1586, 1589
Family and Education
s. of William Brace of Doverdale by Margery, da. and coh. of William Porter of Worcs. m. Mary, da. of Robert Purslow of Sidbury, Salop, wid. of one Newport of Rushock, 1s. 1da.1Vis. Worcs. (Harl. Soc. xxvii), 24; Vis. London (Harl. Soc. viii), 342.
Offices Held

Bailiff, Droitwich 1566 – 67, 1570 – 71, 1584–5;2Worcs. RO bulk accession 1006, nos. 437, 440, 445. j.p. Worcs. 1582.

Address
Main residences: Doverdale; Rushock, Worcs.
biography text

Brace claimed that he could trace his family back to the reign of Henry IV. He owned salt-pans in Droitwich, and, at least after his marriage, lived at Rushock. He was involved in a Chancery case during his second term as bailiff, and evidently went abroad soon after, as one Edward Corbett claimed in the Exchequer in 1576 that he had been unable to settle a dispute about the possession of some salt-pans, because Brace ‘left the realm whilst the suit was yet depending, and still remains over seas’. He had probably returned by 1584, when some of his servants were involved in a fatal affray in Worcester, and certainly by 1 Oct. 1586, the date of the Droitwich election return.

In 1588 he entailed Doverdale and another manor, Merrington, on his son Thomas, as part of a marriage settlement. In the event, Thomas predeceased him, leaving three daughters, and the estate passed on Brace’s own death, which took place in London 2 July 1599, to his brother Philip.3VCH Worcs. iii. 70, 109, 204; Worcs. RO loc. cit. C33/41, f. 310b; Flenley, Cal. Reg. Council Marches of Wales, 156; CSP Dom. 1581-90, p. 186; C142/325/186, 350/51; VCH Worcs. iii. 70.

Author
P.H.
Volume
Commons 1558-1603
Notes
  • 1. Vis. Worcs. (Harl. Soc. xxvii), 24; Vis. London (Harl. Soc. viii), 342.
  • 2. Worcs. RO bulk accession 1006, nos. 437, 440, 445.
  • 3. VCH Worcs. iii. 70, 109, 204; Worcs. RO loc. cit. C33/41, f. 310b; Flenley, Cal. Reg. Council Marches of Wales, 156; CSP Dom. 1581-90, p. 186; C142/325/186, 350/51; VCH Worcs. iii. 70.