He studied at Oxford, possibly at New College, where he became friends with Thomas Beckington (later Bishop of Bath and Wells).
Brunce entered the Church and held a number of posts in Lincolnshire, being collated Archdeacon of Stow in 1419.
[citation needed] He also undertook diplomatic missions on the Continent for King Henry V.[1] In 1427 he was collated Archdeacon of Berkshire[citation needed] and in 1429 was elected Bishop of Chichester, although the latter position was given to Simon Sydenham instead.
[4] On 19 September 1437, he was transferred to the see of Norwich,[5] where he is remembered for upholding the rights of the Cathedral over the townsfolk and for erecting the great rood loft.
Executors of Thomas Brouns, former bishop of Norwich, are listed in 1460 as litigants in the Court of Common Pleas.