Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet

Sir
William Brereton
Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet
Member of Parliament
for Cheshire
1628
In office
November 1640 – April 1653
English Council of State
In office
December 1652 – February 1653
Personal details
Born13 September 1604
Handforth
Died7 April 1661(1661-04-07) (aged 56)
Croydon Palace
Resting placeSt John Baptist Churchyard, Croydon Minster
Spouse(s)Susanna Booth (1623–1637)
Cicely Mytton (1641–1649)
RelationsWilliam, Baron Brereton (1611–1664)
ChildrenOne son, three daughters
Parent(s)William Brereton (1584–1610); Margaret Holland (1585–1609)
Alma materBrasenose College, Oxford
OccupationLandowner and soldier
Military service
Allegiance England
Years of service1643 to 1646
RankMajor-General
CommandsCommander, Parliamentarian forces Cheshire
Battles/wars

Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet (13 September 1604 – 7 April 1661), was an English religious Independent, author, and landowner from Cheshire. He was Member of Parliament for Cheshire at various times between 1628 and 1653, and during the First English Civil War, commander of Parliamentarian forces in the North Midlands.

In the 1630s, he travelled extensively through France, the Dutch Republic, Scotland, and Ireland; his travel journals from 1634 and 1635 were published in the 19th century. His records and letters from the Civil War are a primary source for Parliamentary local administration in the period, as well as the internal divisions that led to the Second English Civil War.

Despite a lack of prior military experience, he proved an energetic and capable soldier, and was one of the most powerful men in England when the First Civil War ended in 1646. However, he gave up his local offices, and although nominated as a judge, refused to attend the trial of Charles I in January 1649. He was elected to the English Council of State in 1652 and 1653 but rarely attended, living in semi-retirement in London. He resumed his seat for Cheshire when the Long Parliament was reinstated in 1659, until its dissolution in March 1660, and died on 7 April 1661.