BROWN, ---

The first name of the ‘Broun’ returned to the Parliament of 1455 for Marlborough, as written on the indenture, is now illegible.1 C219/16/3. It might be thought that the MP was the Thomas Brown who had been returned for the same borough to the Parliament of November 1449, but even if so his identity is still less than certain. A strong case might be made that the man elected in 1449 was Thomas Brown II*, until recently under treasurer of England. But that Thomas Brown was knighted in 1453, and the MP of 1455 was not designated knight. Another possibility, that the MP on both occasions was Thomas Brown III*, who had made his name as second prothonotary in the court of common pleas, may be ruled out on the grounds that although the prothonotary may have sat in 1449, even despite his age and infirmity,2 CPR, 1446-52, p. 263. he died in 1454.