John Clere

Who was John Clere?

Sir John Clere, of London, Norwich and Ormesby St Margaret, Norfolk, was an English politician and naval commander.

He was eldest surviving son of Sir John Clere of Ormesby, and his second wife Alice, daughter of Sir William Boleyn, of Blickling Hall, Norfolk. He had succeeded to his father's estates in 1529 and in 1538 he came into possession of about 20 manors, mostly on the Norfolk coast, following his mother's death.

He married, by 1531, Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Tyrrell of Gipping, Suffolk, with whom he had three sons and two daughters.

He was knighted in 1539.

He was a Member of Parliament for Bramber 1542 and 1545, Thetford March 1553 and Norfolk 1555.

He served in the Royal Navy as captain of the ships Peter Longanarde and Swepestake. He served in France as treasurer of the English army stationed there from November 1549 to April 1550. In 1556 he was appointed Vice-Admiral at Portsmouth. His first mission was to escort the abdicated Emperor Charles V to retirement in Spain, receiving a golden chain from him. His second assignment was to command an English naval expedition against Scotland; he was drowned in August 1557 in battle with a Scots fleet in the Orkney Islands.