Thomas Brend
| Thomas Brend | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1516 |
| Died | 21 September 1598 (aged 81–82) |
| Spouse(s) | Margery (surname unknown) Mercy Collet |
| Children | Thomas Brend Nicholas Brend Mary Brend Katherine Brend Judith Brend Mercy Brend Anne Brend 6 other sons 5 other daughters |
Thomas Brend (c. 1516 – 21 September 1598) of West Molesey, Surrey, was a London scrivener, and the owner of the land on which the Globe Theatre was built.
The names of Thomas Brend's parents and his place of birth are unknown. He is known to have had one brother, also named Thomas, who was alive in 1599. Two nephews, Francis Brend, son of his brother, Thomas, and Ralph Baldwin, are mentioned in his will.
Brend was born about 1516. His family's social standing appears to have been modest. In a deposition Brend gave in 1582, the examiner described him first as 'gentleman', and then as 'esquire', both of these being subsequently crossed out and replaced by 'examinant'. From 1580 on, Brend customarily referred to himself in terms denoting his place of residence and profession, 'citizen and writer of the court letter of London', rather than in terms denoting his social status. However he was granted a coat of arms in 1591, and in his memorial inscription is referred to as 'esquire'.
In 1548 Brend was living in London in the house of a scrivener named William Cawkett, and was perhaps Cawkett's journeyman. As was the case with other members of his profession, Brend dealt in the London money market. According to Berry, 'the Close Rolls are littered with the bonds and mortgages with which he secured the borrowings of his clients'. Most of the bonds with which Brend was involved date from the period 1547–1558.
In 1581 Brend guaranteed a loan for Lord Admiral Howard. Brend had been requested to guarantee Howard's loan by Richard Drake, a follower of Howard's and one of the Queen's equerries. Drake in turn gave Brend a bond of £400. When Howard failed to repay the loan, Brend was forced to do so, but for reasons unknown failed to sue Drake for indemnification on the £400 bond. In 1602 or early in 1603 Brend's daughter-in-law, Margaret, then newly widowed, attempted to collect the debt from the Lord Admiral personally at Oatlands Palace. He offered a settlement of £100, which was apparently not accepted, as Margaret's second husband, Sir Sigismund Zinzan, sued Drake's heir in 1606 for the full £400.
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