Adrian Fortescue was born around 1480, the son of Sir John Fortescue of Punsborne, Herts. He was made a Knight of the Bath in 1503 & was high in the Favour of King Henry VIII, taking part in the Wars of England against France in 1513 & 1523. His personal Piety is attested by his Book of Hours which survives with devotional maxims in his own hand. As a cousin of Anne Boleyn, he was present when she was Crowned as Queen in 1533. Sir Adrian was twice married & had 7-children. He became a Confrater of the Dominicans of Oxford in 1533. In 1539 he was Attainted of High Treason without Trial, by an Act of Parliament which condemned 50-Persons opposed to Henry VIII’s Ecclesiastical Policies. Adrian Fortescue was Beheaded on Tower Hill, London on Wednesday 9th July 1539, together with the Venerable Sir Thomas Dingley, a Knight of the Order. The Order of St John of Jerusalem has considered Sir Adrian as a Martyr & has promoted Devotion to him at least since the early-17thC as a Member of the Order. Leo XIII declared him Blessed on 13th May 1895. His Book of Hours was recently presented to the Grand Priory of England by his Descendants.
Sir Adrian Fortescue‘s House at Brightwell Baldwin probably stood in Brightwell Park (2-miles WNW of Watlington). His 1st wife was Anne Stonor, who Inherited Stonor Park (5-miles SE of Watlington). Sir Adrian Fortescue, Owner of Parks Manor, latterly also Resided, perhaps at the Cottesmore’s Manor House & in 1538 reportedly brought his 1st wife’s remains from Bisham Priory (Berks) for re-Burial at Brightwell. The Fortescues moved into Stonor in 1499. This led to a long dispute with the Stonor Family, which was Settled by Henry VIII about the time of his break with Rome. Under the terms of the Settlement, Sir Adrian had to surrender Stonor House but retained part of the Estate. He also gained all the Stonor Lands in Glos, Devon & Kent. These were much greater in size than Stonor Park itself. Sir Adrian Fortescue, Owner of Parks Manor, latterly also Resided, perhaps at the Cottesmore’s Manor House & in 1538 reportedly brought his 1st wife’s remains from Bisham Priory (Berks) for re-Burial at Brightwell.
Presumably Sir Adrian had let his House at Brightwell Baldwin, because he moved from Stonor to the 14thC Moated Castle at Shirburn (1-mile NNE of Watlington). This belonged to the Chamberlain Family. Shortly after the move to Shirburn Castle, Sir Adrian’s 2nd wife, Anne (née Reade), gave Birth to their 2nd son. The child’s Godparents included Thomas Reade, probably he of Barton, Abingdon, whose daughter Catherine married Thomas Vachell, son of the Commissioner who suppressed Reading Abbey. Although he was Anne Boleyn’s cousin, Sir Adrian Fortescue did not agree with the King’s Religious Policies. The month after Anne’s marriage, he became a Lay Brother of the Oxford Dominicans. He had already Joined the Order of St John of Jerusalem which Led to his Arrest and Imprisonment for about 6-months in the Marshalsea Gaol at Southwark. His Wife & 2-Servants lived with him in Prison. One of the Servants was John Horseman, probably a Member of the Oxon Horseman Family who remained Catholic into the 17thC. In 1536, Sir Adrian inserted in his Missal (Mass book) a Leaflet that had been Issued by the King Commanding certain Prayers be said by all his Subjects. Sir Adrian struck out a reference in the Leaflet to the King being Supreme Head of the Church in England. Sir Adrian’s Missal, complete with Leaflet & Deletion, is still in existence.
One of Sir Adrian’s sons-in-law, Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare, was hanged, drawn & quartered at Tyburn in 1537 for his part in a Rebellion in Ireland. The following year, Sir Adrian had to buy back his 1st wife’s Anne’s Tomb & Pay for its Transfer from the suppressed Bisham Abbey to Brightwell Baldwin Church. He was Arrested again in February 1539. This time, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London & Attainted by Parliament for Treason, Sedition & refusing Allegiance to the King. It seems that there was no Trial & no further details were given of his Alleged Crimes. In July 1539, he was Beheaded on Tower Hill. When Sir Adrian Fortescue was Executed, the Suppression of the Abbeys & Priories had been Proceeding for several years. The King’s main Aim was to replenish his Treasury while reinforcing his Claims of Supremacy over the Church.
1st the smaller Houses had been Closed, including Studley Priory on the edge of Otmoor & a string of Establishments on the Thames: Rewley Abbey in Oxford, Dorchester Abbey, Goring Priory, Medmenham Abbey, Hurley Priory, Bisham Priory (reinstated briefly as an Abbey), Little Marlow Priory & Ankerwick Priory, near Slough. Then it was the turn of the larger Establishments: Thame Abbey, the Friary at Donnington near Newbury & a Series of Religious Houses on or near the Thames
Aston Rowant & Chilterns Spring Line Villages 