Author: Harold Forster MBE, of Nantwich

Orders of the day, Volume 33, Issue 6, 2001/2002

The first mention of this member of the Brereton family appears in the Register of Christenings at Manchester Collegiate Church for 1604: "William, Son to William Brereton, Esq., of Hamford (Handforth)”.

When only six years of age William was to lose his father but he developed into a worthy descendant of many illustrious ancestors, receiving his education at Brasenose College, Oxford. In 1627, when only 23, he was created a baron by Charles I, the King he was later to so vigorously oppose in battle.

In 1628 he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Cheshire but he relinquished his seat in order to travel, his 'Grand Tour’ taking him to Scotland, Ireland and Holland. While travelling in Holland Sir William took great interest in military matters, and in particular he was intrigued with the art of siege warfare, an interest that was to serve him well in later days. In 1639 he was re-elected to Parliament and immediately came under the notice of several prominent politicians as 'a born leader'.

Sir William married twice. His first wife, Susannah died in 1637, leaving one son, Thomas. His second wife was Cicely, the daughter of Sir William Skeffington of Leicestershire and the widow of Edward Mytton of Weston in Staffordshire. They had two daughters.

Sir William had strong views on the so called ‘Divine Right of Kings' and also objected to the imposition of certain tax demands, and in particular ‘Ship Money’. He was also in dispute with the Mayor and Corporation of the City of Chester for refusing to pay ‘Murage’ a tax levied on townspeople for the repair and maintenance of the city walls.

He owned a town house in Chester, and when in 1642 King Charles raised his Standard at Nottingham, Sir William was in Chester trying to drum up recruits for the Parliamentary Army. The citizens of Royalist Chester chased him out of the city, an action which they were to regret later.

As the Civil War spread over the country, Sir William Brereton quickly became an important member of the Parliamentary Army. He was at first given command of all the Roundhead forces being mustered in Cheshire and later was promoted Major General of Cheshire, Shropshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire. His strong point was not so much as a leader in the field but in the plans he initiated to obtain information about enemy movements and, of course, in siege warfare, gained from the knowledge he obtained form his visit to Holland. It was said that Brereton “had spies under every hedge and friends in every village”. His greatest triumph was his siege and capture of the City of Chester, a project that took over 12 months.

It was in 1643 that Sir William Brereton came to Nantwich. arriving just ahead of Sir Thomas Aston. Both the Royalists and Parliamentarians realised its strategic importance as a road centre. Making Nantwich their headquarters, the Parliamentarian Army surrounded the town with earthworks and trenches sufficient to keep out any assaults.

Nantwich was under siege from December 1643 to January 1644, but in the Battle of Nantwich on 25th January 1644, the Royalist Army, under Lord Byron, was soundly defeated. After the war Sir William Brereton was well rewarded for his efforts. Amongst other ‘gifts' he received the Chief Forestership of the Forest of Macclesfield and the Seneschalship of the Hundred of Macclesfield, both of which would provide him with considerable monetary benefits. In 1652 he was given the tenancy of Croydon Palace, the former home of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He spent the last nine years of his life commuting between his newly-acquired London home and his ancestral home at Handforth, Cheshire.

He died at Croydon in 1661 and a story is told that when on the way from Croydon to Cheadle for burial, his body was washed away in a river. It is generally assumed however that it did reach Cheadle and was buried in the family vault in the church of that Cheshire town.

The Smith Memorial now in Nantwich Church

Sir Thomas Smith was Lord of the Manor of Hough and owner of considerable lands in the area of the Manor. He was Mayor of Chester in 1596 and Sheriff of that city in 1614. He married Anne, daughter of Sir William Brereton of Brereton.

He died on 21st December 1614 and was buried in Wybunbury Church. His wife Anne provided the magnificent canopied monument which has effigies of Sir William and his wife, together with those of their two children, represented as weepers.

In 1978 Wybunbury Church was demolished and the tomb was dismantled and placed 'in store’ where it suffered some damage. Later, after restoration, it was re-erected in the south transept of the Church of St Mary at Nantwich. This was re-dedicated at a special service on Holly Holy Day, 23rd January 1982, in the presence of, among others, members of the Sealed Knot attending the annual commemoration of the Battle of Nantwich.

Sir William Brereton of Handforth, who led the Parliamentary forces in Nantwich during the Civil War and who used Nantwich Church as a prison for captured Royalist soldiers, was a relative of Dame Anne. There is an interesting story that after the Battle of Nantwich Sir William Brereton, the Parliamentary leader, is said to have organised a siege of Brereton Hall, the home of his Royalist relative, whose young son allegedly scratched on a window pane:

'On yonder hill my uncle stands
But he will not come near
For he is a Roundhead
And I’m a Cavalier".