General Notes

William was only 12 when his father died.  The wardship of William and the de Braose lands were granted by Henry III to Peter des Rievaux.  On his fall in 1234 these custodies were passed on to the king's brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall.  When William came of age he took control of the Braose lands in Gower, Bramber and Tetbury.  He confirmed the grants made by his father of the rents of cottages in Tetbury (they are still there) to the priory at Aconbury, founded in the memory of Maud de St Valery by her daughter Margaret.

He was plagued throughout his life by a series of legal battles over land rights with his female relatives.

See Cottages of Tetbury.


William de Braose, in the 41st Henry III [1257], when Llewellyn ap Griffith menaced the marches of Wales with a great army, was commanded by the king to defend his own marches about Gower, and the next year he had a military summons to attend the king Chester. In two years afterwards, he was again in arms under Roger de Mortimer against the Welsh, and was one of the barons who became pledged for King Henry, abiding the award of Louis, King of France. He d. in 1290, leaving by Isabel de Clare, his first wife, a son, William de Braose. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 72, Braose, Baron Braose, of Gower]

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Peter de Braose, half-brother of William, Lord Braose, of Gower. Peter's son, Thomas, was found heir to his grandmother, Mary de Ros (his grandfather, William de Braose's 2nd wife). [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage Ltd, London, England, 1883, p. 73, Braose, Barons Braose]

NOTE: From the above information it is certain which William de Braose was Peter's father, for only this one William was summoned to parliament as a baron. However, in attempting to connect Mary de Ros to William, there are some pretty glaring date inconsistencies. e.g., William died in 1290, and Mary wasn't born until around 1298. It's possible the approximated year of birth for Mary is somewhat off, but surely not that far off. According to Burke, her father, William de Ros, was b. 1255, thus, she could have been born as early as perhaps 1271. Her father d. in 1316, and her grandfather died 16 June, 1285. Her 2nd husband, Thomas of Brotherton, was born 1 June, 1300. Had she been born as early as 1271, she would have been 29 years older than her 2nd husband. It's almost as if there had been two separate individuals named Mary de Ros, yet Burke says "Mary m. 1st, to William Braose, and 2ndly, to Thomas de Brotherton, Duke of Norfolk."