Ann (Mason) Brett (1668 - 1753)

Born 1668 in Sutton, Surrey, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Charles Gerard MP — married 18 Jun 1683 (to 15 Jan 1698) in London St Lawrence Jewry, Middlesex, England

Died 11 Oct 1753 at about age 85 in St George Hanover Square, Middlesex, England

Biography

Anne was the daughter of Sir Richard Mason and his wife Ann Long. Anne was probably born in Surrey when her father Sir Richard Mason was then clerk comptroller in the royal household to Charles II. ^[1]

At the age of fifteen, on 18 June 1683, at St Lawrence Jewry, she married Charles Gerard, Viscount Brandon, a man nine years her senior and of French descent. ^[2] The marriage between Charles Gerard and Ann Mason was apparently a disaster. After about a year and a half he left her at his father's house vowing never to live with her again. Two weeks later his father turned her out of Gerard House in Soho (Gerrard Street). It is probable that Ann returned to the family home in Sutton.

In the following years, Anne Mason had two illegitimate children, Anne and Richard Savage by Richard Savage the fourth Earl Rivers (c.1654-1712). Anne was born in 1695 and a son Richard two years later. Despite her efforts to conceal the births (she wore a mask while giving birth to her son) rumours reached her husband.

When the earl learned of this he applied to the court of arches for a divorce. In December 1697 he additionally opened proceedings in the House of Lords. This was an unprecedented action, as no marriage had ever been dissolved by parliament prior to a decree from an ecclesiastical court. A bill of divorce was introduced on 15 January 1698.

Anne's fortune, some £12,000 to £25,000, was returned to her on her divorce and she became a lady-in-waiting to Princess Anne (sister of Queen Mary)

Two years after her divorce in 1700 she married Henry Brett (1677/8-1724), a politician^[3]. They had one daughter, Anna (or Anne) Margharetta named after Anne's own mother. The Bretts' daughter, Anna Margharetta allegedly became a mistress of George I shortly after her father's death.

Anne Brett survived her husband by nearly thirty years and her daughter by ten. She died on 11 October 1753 at her home in Old Bond Street, London. She was 85. ^[4] She left a will describing herself as a widow of St George Hanover Square in the county of Middlesex and made bequests to and mentioned:

• Robert Long
• my Lord Tyronnell
• my faithful friend Humphrey Brent, Esq
• the late Lady Leman
• Lady Cust of Grantham

She also made bequests to her maids, cook and other servants. One bequests to servant Thomas is crossed out in the will and a note in the margin says "struck out by me, A Brett, for his wild behaviour"!^[5] Ann requested burial in the family vault at Sutton in the county of Shropshire.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Richard Mason (politician)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikipedia (accessed November 10, 2021).
2. ↑ Marriage: "London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812"
   London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P69/LAW1/A/002/MS06975
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 1624 #10255757 (accessed 10 November 2021)
   Ann Mason marriage to Charles Lord on 18 Jun 1683 in St Lawrence Jewry, City of London, London, England.
3. ↑ https://www.stnicholas.org.uk/2018/08/lady-anne-mason-extraordinary-woman.html
4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Anne Brett," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikipedia (accessed November 10, 2021).
5. ↑ Will: "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"
   The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 807
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 5111 #513767 (accessed 24 March 2022)
   Will of Ann Brett of St George Hanover Square, Middlesex, England, granted probate on 13 Apr 1754. Died Abt 1754.