During the reign of King Edward III, Sir John Brocas and Thomas Foxley were two of the busiest men in England.

Both were about ten years older than the King.

John Brocas had grown up with him after his own father had died in battle. The family came from Gascony in Aquitaine (France) and were expert horsemen. John settled in England and bought Clewer Brocas Manor, near Windsor.

Thomas Foxley was the son of an important  London judge. The  family's country estate was Foxley Manor at Touchen End in Bray.

For 32 years, Thomas was the Constable of Windsor Castle. This means he was in charge of the castle and everything that went on there. During his time, there was a lot going on, especially preparation of the Hundred Years War against France.

At the same time, John was Master of the King's Horse. This means he was in charge of all the Royal war horses around the country. He spent lots of time at the Royal stud farms (horse farms) at Windsor, Swallowfield and Stratfield Mortimer. He also spent lots of time abroad fighting the French.

The two became good friends and eventually relatives. Their children grew up together. Thomas' son fell in love with John's daughter. They secretly got married when they were only 14. John had other children, including Sir Bernard.

King Edward could not have carried on the War without these two men. Later they helped William of Wykeham rebuild Windsor Castle. Thomas also used the Windsor workmen to built his own castle at Bramshill in North-East Hampshire.