Robert Bromfield

Robert Bromfield (died 1647) was an English timber merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1624.

Bromfield was described as a "woodmonger", in the diary of Philip Henslowe,[1] of whose will he was one of the overseers in 1616.[2] He leased a wharf in Southwark from 1601.[3]

In 1621, Bromfield was elected Member of Parliament for Southwark.[4] In the same year, he obtained a mortgage of Hammonds Place, Clayton Sussex, which by 1666 was in the hands of Sir Edward Bromfield, 2nd Baronet.[5] He was re-elected MP for Southwark in 1624. In 1625 Bromfield and Thomas Overman bought Montague House and Montague Close, including various wharves and buildings around Southwark Priory, from Anthony-Maria Browne, 2nd Viscount Montagu; Bromfield redeveloped the site to make the buildings "suitable for men of better ability".[6] He purchased Merton Grange, Merton for £2,100 in 1629.[7]

Bromfield probably died in 1647[8] and was buried in Lambourne Church, Essex.[9] He was related to Edward Bromfield, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1636 and was father of the first baronet.[6]

References

1. Henslowe, Philip (1908). Greg, W. W. (ed.). Henslowe's Diary. A. H. Bullen. p. 18.
2. Hunter, Joseph (1845). New illustrations of the life, studies, and writings of Shakespeare. J. B. Nichols and Son. p. 46. Robert Bromfield southwark.
3. Darlington, Ida (1950). Bankside (the parishes of St. Saviour and Christchurch, Southwark). London County Council. p. 44.
4. Browne Willis Notitia parliamentaria, or, An history of the counties, cities, and boroughs in England and Wales: ... The whole extracted from mss. and printed evidences 1750 pp176-239
5. 'Parishes: Clayton', A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7: The rape of Lewes (1940), pp. 140-144. Date accessed: 14 February 2012
6. Questier, Michael C. (13 April 2006). Catholicism and Community in Early Modern England: Politics, Aristocratic Patronage and Religion, C.1550-1640. Cambridge University Press. p. 515. ISBN 978-0-521-86008-6.
7. 'Parishes: Merton', A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4 (1912), pp. 64-68. Date accessed: 14 February 2012
8. The will of Robert Bromfield, Gentleman of Lambourne, Essex was proved at PCC in 1647. At about this time, Bromfield's colleague Thomas Overman had the advowson of Lambourne
9. 'Lambourne: Church', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 4: Ongar Hundred (1956), pp. 81-83. Date accessed: 14 February 2012

Parliament of England
Preceded by Richard Yarward Edward Cox	Member of Parliament for Southwark 1621 With: Richard Yarward	Succeeded by Richard Yarward William Cox