Guy Bryan, 1st Baron Bryan

Guy Bryan, 1st Baron Bryan, KG was an English landowner, military and naval commander, courtier, diplomat, and administrator.

Origins

Born sometime before 1319, he was the son of Sir Guy Bryan, of Walwyn's Castle in Pembrokeshire and Torbryan in Devon, and his wife Joan Carew, daughter of Sir John Carew and his wife Joan Talbot. His paternal grandparents were Guy Bryan and his wife Sibyl Sully.

Career

He served on the English side in the Second War of Scottish Independence and in France and Flanders during the Hundred Years' War. In 1339 he was made Steward of “Haveral” Castle in Pembrokeshire, followed in 1341 by appointment as Warden of the Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire, and Governor of St Briavel's Castle, the seat of the Warden, which offices he held until his death. The year 1341 also saw additional lands in Devon being granted, in particular the port town of Dartmouth, of which he was recognised as lord in 1343. He was also granted rights over the taxation of trade in London.
On 26 August 1346 he was named a Knight Bachelor. In 1349, he was temporarily Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and in 1350 was granted an annuity of 200 marks for bearing the King's Standard against the French at Calais. From 25 November 1350 onwards, he was regularly summoned to Parliament, by which he may be held to have been created Baron Bryan. Also in 1350, he was given free warren over his lands at Torbryan and Slapton. On 1 March 1356 he was appointed Admiral of the West, a post he held till 18 July 1360. In 1359 he acquired the manor of Northam and was also appointed Lord Steward of the Royal Household.
In 1361, he was England's ambassador to Pope Innocent VI. From 1366 onwards he was regularly a justice of the peace for Devon and extended his landholdings into Dorset, acquiring the manor of Woodsford in 1367 and later that of Hazelbury Bryan. Following the death of Sir John Chandos on 31 December 1369, he was made a Knight of the Garter. On 3 May 1370 he was once again appointed Admiral of the West, until 6 October 1372. A further appointment in 1377 saw the failure of a proposed expedition against the French, to which he was to contribute 60 men-at-arms and 60 archers, cancelled when King Edward III died.
He died on 17 August 1390 and his tomb is in Tewkesbury Abbey.

Marriages and children

Before 1344, he may have married Ann Holway, daughter of William Holway who lived at Northlew, and with her may have had two daughters:

Elizabeth Bryan, who married Robert Grey, 1st Baron FitzPayn, and had a daughter Isabel FitzPayn
Philippa Bryan, who married first Edward Bohun, secondly Sir Nicholas Bonham, and thirdly Sir John Chandos.

Before 10 July 1350, he married Elizabeth Montagu, widow of Hugh Despenser, 4th Baron Despenser and before him of Giles Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere. Her parents were William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury and his wife Catherine Grandison. They had four known children:

Margaret Bryan, who married Hugh Courtenay, son of Sir Hugh Courtenay, KG, and grandson of Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon.
Sir Guy Bryan, who married Alice Bures, daughter of Sir Robert Bures and his wife Joan Sutton. They had two daughters: Philippa Bryan and Elizabeth Bryan.
Sir William Bryan, who married Joan FitzAlan and died childless.
Sir Philip Bryan, who married Joan Chudleigh and died childless.

His executrix was his daughter-in-law Alice and, according to the Complete Peerage, his heiresses were her two children, Philippa and Elizabeth. Any hereditary barony that may be held to have been created by the writ of 1350 fell, according to later doctrine, into abeyance. Sir Thomas Bryan assumed his arms at a later date.