ABSTRACT
Biographical Notes. A summary of Browne’s life appears in BROWNE FF and gives further references to material compiled by Mary Edmond now in the House of Lords Record Office. He was the son of Thomas, a grocer residing in London, but his baptism c.1608 has not been traced. Thomas died in 1621 and was buried at St Alphage, London Wall. In a forthcoming article1 David Pinto traces John’s subsequent upbringing to the household of his merchant-taylor uncle, also John (1578-1627), where he undertook copying of largely duplicate copies of vocal music for him and for his mercer partner Richard Fishbourne (d. 1625). Perhaps the instrumental music re-used as fly-leaves of GB-Och, Mus. 423-8 was part of a similar duplicate collection. John was admitted to the Middle Temple on 28 October 1628. Around 1630 he married Temperance, third daughter and sixth child of Sir Thomas Crewe, Speaker of the House of Commons. She died childless on 22 September 1634, aged 25, and her memorial in the Steane Chapel, Northants describes her as ‘a constant lover of the best, of a disposition amiable and chearful and a wit high and pleasant ...’ On 23 January 1636 at St Stephen, Walbrook, Browne married Elizabeth Packer, daughter of John and Philippa Packer of Groombridge Place, Kent. In March 1638 Browne was appointed as Clerk to the Parliaments. The House of Lords was abolished on 19 March 1649 and Browne ceased to act as Clerk. He was re-instated in the post on 25 April 1660. His daughter and heir, Martha, married Sir Roger Cave on 26 March 1676, which may be the reason why many of Browne’s papers and manuscripts came to be at Stanford Hall. A quantity of these was sold at various times in the twentieth century, including at least three music manuscripts. Browne was buried at Eydon, Northamptonshire, on 8 June 1691, aged 83, to be followed by his wife five days later.
