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 William Norreys, Esquire of the Body to King Edward IV.

William Norreys was the eldest son of John Norreys and his first wife Lady Alice Merbrook. William was probably born at Yattendon Castle in about 1441. (“William Norreys” 2023)

Like his father, William was a Lancastrian soldier during the Wars of the Roses. He was knighted by King Henry VI at the Battle of Northampton on 10^th July 1460 when he was about 20 years old. He was also present at the Battle of Towton on 29^th March 1461, the largest and bloodiest battle of the wars, and was one of few Lancastrians to survive.

William adjusted to the new Yorkist monarchy. By August 1461 he was appointed Steward of both the Royal manors of Cookham and Bray, adjoining his own family estate of Ockwells.

He was appointed Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire in 1468. In 1467 he became a Justice of the Peace for Berkshire and in 1469, Sir William was made Squire of the Body to King Edward IV. He remained loyal to Edward IV during the rebellion of 1470 which briefly re-instated Henry VI as king, but in 1483 shortly after King Richard III’s coronation he joined the Duke of Buckingham’s rebellion and was forced to escape to Brittany when it was defeated.

He returned to England as part of the forces of Henry Tudor and commanded a troop at the Battle of Bosworth on 22^th August 1485.

He was reinstated by Henry as Justice of the Peace and added a number of Royal Stewardships as well as becoming Bailiff for Queen Elizabeth in 1488.

He died about 10^th Jan 1507.

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