While there is no evidence to suggest any connection to my ancestors, it is interesting to look at some of the people through the ages who have carried the name Noers, Norreys, Norris or Nurse.

In this article I describe the life of Sir John Norreys, Keeper of the Wardrobe.

Sir John Norreys was a high ranking Lancastrian. He was born in about 1400 the son of William Norreys Esquire of Ockwells Manor and Christina Stretch. He is said to have been a descendant of the le Norreys (de Noers) family who settled in England after the Norman Invasion. (see “John Norreys (Keeper of the Wardrobe)” 2023)

He married three times and had at least 2 children with each of his three wives.

John rebuilt the family home at Ockwells (Figure 1)¹, which still exists today (see “Ockwells” 2023)

Through his first marriage to Alice Merbrook, John gained ownership of Yattendon Castle, which around that time was just a manor house.

John was a Knight of the Shire (MP) for Berkshire and Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire in 1442 and 1457. In 1439 he was made a Yeoman of the King’s Chamber and then in 1441 Esquire of the Body. From 1444 - 1446 he was Keeper of the Wardrobe to King Henry VI and in 1447 was appointed (until 1452) Treasurer of the Chamber and master of the Queen’s jewels

Sir John died on 1st September 1466 and was buried in the Norrey’s Chapel in Bray Church.

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