Aldermen

Analytical Index to the Series of Records Known as the Remembrancia 1579-1664. Originally published by EJ Francis, London, 1878.

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'Aldermen', in Analytical Index to the Series of Records Known as the Remembrancia 1579-1664, (London, 1878) pp. 1-10. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/index-remembrancia/1579-1664/pp1-10 [accessed 25 April 2024]

Aldermen.

I.86. Letter from Sir Richard Martyn, Master of the Mint, to the Lord Mayor, stating that being compelled to serve the office of Alderman on pain of imprisonment in Newgate, the Court of Aldermen had agreed to respitc him from serving the office of Sheriff, and to move the Common Council to confirm the same, and requesting that this might be carried into effect, or that he might be released from the office of Alderman.
Dated from his house in Cheapside, 11th February, 1579.

I. 200. Letter from William Box the Elder (fn. 1) to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen touching his resignation of the office of Alderman on account of his infirmities.
2nd May, 1581.

I. 218. Letter from the Lord Mayor to Mr. William Rowe, (fn. 2) Ironmonger, informing him that the inhabitants of Castle Baynard ward had presented to the Court of Aldermen four persons to represent that ward in the room of Mr. Bowier, (fn. 3) Alderman, deceased, and that the Court, according to custom, had proceeded to the election, and had chosen him to that office, and directing him to repair to a meeting of the Court of Aldermen on the Tuesday afternoon next, at Guildhall, to take upon himself the said office.
27th June, 1581.

I. 577. Letter from the Aldermen of London to....................., acknowledging his letter desiring to resign his office of Alderman.
14th December, 1587.

II. 156. Letter from the Aldermen to Mr. Alderman Skinner, (fn. 4) informing him of Her Majesty's desire that Mr. Alderman Billingsley (fn. 5) should not be elected to the office of Lord Mayor for the following year, and requesting him to repair to London not later than the 7th or 9th of September, to confer with them touching his election to that office.
1st September, 1596.

II. 201. Letter from King James I. to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, complaining of their conduct in committing Thomas Middleton (fn. 6) to Newgate, for refusing to serve the office of Alderman, to which he had been chosen, and directing them to release him immediately, as he was employed in an important service for the State, which privileged him from private service.
11th June, the first year of his reign (1603),

II. 223. Letter from the Lord Mayor (Sir Robert Lee) (fn. 7) and the Aldermen to the Lord High Treasurer, upon the removal of Sir Richard Martin, Knight, (fn. 8) from his Aldermanship, on account of his unfitting demeanour and carriage.
20th December, 1602.

II. 237. Petition of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen to the King (James I.), informing him that Thomas Middleton, having been elected an Alderman of the City, had refused to take the oath of office, alleging that he was privileged and exempted by virtue of his office of Surveyor of Customs, and that they had committed him to Newgate, according to their oath and the customs of the City.
Sans date.

II. 238. Petition of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty to the King (James I.), in answer to His Majesty's letter to dispense with the services, both now and hereafter, of Sir Thomas Hayes, Knight, (fn. 9) who had been lately elected an Alderman, upon the payment of a fine, and informing him that it was not usual to dispense with the services of any one elected to the office of Alderman, unless on account of inability of body or estate, which they knew not to be the case with this gentleman, and begging His Majesty to confirm their proceedings.
Sans date.

II. 253. Letter from the Lord Mayor and the Court of Aldermen to the King (James I.), stating that being before required by him to spare Sir Baptist Hickes, Knight, (fn. 10) from nomination or election to the place of Alderman in the City, they had obeyed, but at this time the Commons of a Ward where an Alderman was wanting had nominated him, as having a special liking of him, and urged it the more because he had promised two years ago, if spared, he would be willing to serve, which time having expired, they were desirous of electing him to that office, and praying His Majesty's permission to do so.
Sans date.

II. 293. Letter from the Lord Mayor to Mr. Alderman Blinckoe, (fn. 11) informing him that the inhabitants of the Ward of Aldgate had lately nominated him, amongst others, for Alderman of that Ward, and that the Court of Aldermen had chosen him thereto, and directing him to appear before the next Court, to take upon him that office.
3rd July, 1607.

II. 334. Letter from the Lord Mayor to the Alderman elect of Farringdon Ward, (fn. 12) commanding him to attend the Court of Aldermen, to be sworn in, notwithstanding the excuse he had lately offered.
29th November, 1608.

III. 29. Letter from Roger Aston (fn. 13) to Sir Thomas Lake, (fn. 14) stating that the King had been informed that the Lord Mayor and Aldermen had elected Sir Baptist Hicks, His Majesty's servant, to be an Alderman, contrary to a letter long since written to them by the King; and that now, on the renewing of the matter, the King directed him to acquaint them with his desire that Sir Baptist Hicks should be no further proceeded with, now or hereafter, and the rather that he had not moved them for any in that kind heretofore, and did not intend to do so again.
13th November, 1611.

Note in margin.—Upon this letter Sir Thomas Lake came in person to the Court of Aldermen, and there signified His Majesty's pleasure to have the said election forborne, putting them in mind of the King's former letter.

III. 30. The Letter of King James I. to the Court of Aldermen (referred to in the preceding letter), requiring them to take measures not only to have his servant, Sir Baptist Hicks, excused now, but on any future occasion.
Dated from Hampton Court.
(The date and conclusion of letter are illegible.)

V. 106. Letter from Mr. Augustine Skinner (fn. 15) to the Lord Mayor with reference to his election as an Alderman, excusing himself on account of bodily infirmity, and praying that such favour might be shown him as his case required.
West Farley, Kent, 12th May, 1621.

V. 107. Answer of the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, expressing their regret that the impediment to his attendance before them arose from infirmity of body, and reminding him that he did not absolutely accept or refuse the office, which they required him to do, and either by himself or by some one deputed by good warrant under his hand to deliver his submission for his fine (in case he refused) to the grace and favour of the Court.
Sans date.

V. 124. Letter from the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen to Sir Francis Jones, Knight, (fn. 16) with reference to his continued absence from the City, and neglect of his duties as an Alderman, and requesting him to signify in writing whether he intended to continue to hold the office and perform its duties, that they might take such steps as should appear best for His Majesty's service and the good government of the City.
15th January, 1621.

V. 140. Letter from the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen to Mr. Franklyn, (fn. 17) stating that the Ward of Bishopsgate, having returned him with others to the election of the Court for an Alderman of the City, according to ancient custom, the election had fallen upon him, and requiring him to appear before the Court.
Sans date.

VI. 81. Letter from the Earl of Pembroke (fn. 18) (Lord Treasurer), intimating the King's desire that Gideon de Lawne, (fn. 19) one of His Majesty's Apothecaries, who had been in the service of the Crown, without interruption, for twenty years, should be discharged from the office of Alderman, to which he had lately been chosen.
Withehall, 20th January, 1626.

VI. 112. Letter from the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen to ("Mr. Secretary Conway" (fn. 20) in margin), acknowledging the receipt of a letter from him, forwarding a petition intended to be presented to the King by Mr. Coxe, (fn. 21) and stating that he had been duly chosen according to custom, first to be Alderman, and afterwards Sheriff, which he had vehemently opposed, and alleged disability of estate. This they had refused to admit. The matter had been heard before the Lords in the Inner Star Chamber, who had ordered him to become bound by recognizance to conform himself to the City within five days, which he afterwards did. Upon his suit he was subsequently discharged, for a fine of £400, by Act of Common Council, from being ever chosen Alderman or Sheriff.
Sans date.

VI. 184. Letter from the Lord Mayor to Mr. Edmund Wright, (fn. 22) Grocer, informing him that he had been elected Alderman of Cordwainer Ward, and requiring his attendance on the next day.
Guildhall, 23rd June, 1629.

VIII. 77. Letter from the King to the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, requesting them to excuse Robert Mildmay (fn. 23) from serving the office of Alderman, because he was entirely settled in the country, where the King might charge him with services wherein other gentlemen of estate resident in the country were usually employed; or, if this could not be done without very much inconvenience, that his fine might be so moderated that it might appear the King's request had not been fruitless.
11th October, 1626.

VIII. 80. Letter from Lord Keeper Coventry (fn. 24) to the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen with reference to the case of Mr. Francis Pember, (fn. 25) who had been elected Alderman, and so consequently would be chosen Sheriff at the next election, requesting them, in consequence of the insufficiency of his estate, and the fact that he had the last year served the office of Sheriff of Herefordshire, where he resided, and that his accounts had not then been passed at the Exchequer, to discharge him, or moderate his fine.
24th April, 1626.

IX. 7. Letter from the King to the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council, stating that by the passing of the Act of Indemnity (fn. 26) many of the Aldermen had been rendered incapable of continuing in office, and recommending them to restore into such vacant offices those who had been in times past removed for their affection to His Majesty, many of them having submitted to be fined rather than take office against their consciences, and further recommending that such fines should be returned to them.
4th September, 1660.

IX. 8. Letter from Sir John Langham (fn. 27) to the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, informing them that he had received a copy of the vote of the Common Council of the 4th of September, declaring his election to the office of Alderman, and requesting to be excused on account of his advanced age (77), and stating that he had been laid aside about twelve years since, and imprisoned in the Tower by the Rump Parliament on the 24th of September, 1647, chiefly to prevent his being chosen Lord Mayor, the following Michaelmas, and had been released on the 6th of the following June, and removed from office with Sir John Gayre, (fn. 28) Alderman Adams, (fn. 29) and Alderman Bunce (fn. 30) by the remains of a House of Commons that presumed to sit as a parliament.
Crosby House, 18th September, 1660.

Footnotes

  • 1. Grocer, elected Sheriff, August 1st, 1570. Chosen Alderman of Billingsgate, December 14th, 1570; subsequently removed to Queenhithe; resigned, June 1st, 1581.
  • 2. Ironmonger, Son of Thomas Rowe, of Penshurst, Kent, elected Alderman of Castle Baynard, June 27th, 1581; Sheriff, August 1st, 1582; Lord Mayor, 1592. He was sworn into office at the Tower of London, the customary pageantries being dispensed with on the occasion, on account of the Plague then raging in London. He was five times Master of the Ironmongers' Company between 1583 and 1590; President of Bridewell Hospital, 1593. Peter Houghton, Grocer, elected Alderman of Castle Baynard loco Sir W. Rowe deceased, November 20th, 1593. Stow says Sir W. Rowe was buried in the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry. Other members of the Rowe family also served the office of Lord Mayor, and were buried in Old Hackney Church. For Pedigree, see Nicholls's History of the Ironmongers' Company,' second edition, page 530.
  • 3. Grocer, chosen Alderman of Castle Baynard, July 12th, 1576; elected Sheriff, August 14th, 1577.
  • 4. Sir Thomas Skinner, Clothworker, elected Alderman of Bishopsgate, 27th September, 1587; Sheriff, 1587; removed to Cripplegate, July 26th, 1596; Lord Mayor, 1596. He died in office, December 31st, 1596. Robert Hampson, Merchant Tailor, was elected Alderman in his stead, February 10th, 1597.
  • 5. Haberdasher, elected Alderman of Tower, November 16th, 1585; Sheriff, 1584; removed to Candlewick, February 17th, 1592. Lord Mayor loco Sir Thomas Skinner, Knight, deceased, December 31st, 1596. He was presented and sworn before the Lieutenant of the Tower, January 11th, 1597. Died, November 22nd, 1606. Sir John Garrard, Knight, elected Alderman in his stead, December 22nd, 1606. President of St. Thomas's Hospital, 1594, till his death. He was the son of Roger Billingsley, of the City of Canterbury. Was educated at Cambridge University, and studied for some time at Oxford, but never graduated. Was an excellent mathematician, and was assisted in his scientific pursuits by the celebrated Dr. John Dee. He was the first translator of Euclid into English. A copy of the original edition, dated 1570, and "printed by John Daye, dwelling over Aldersgate beneath St. Martin's, and sold at his shop under the gate," is in the Guildhall Library. He resided at Blanchappleton, near Aldgate. Was one of the Queen's four "Customers," or farmers of the Customs of the Port of London. Married firstly Elizabeth Boorne, by whom he had a numerous family; secondly, Bridget, second daughter of Sir Christopher Draper, Lord Mayor in 1566. He was buried in the Church of St. Catherine Coleman, to the poor of which Parish he left 200l. He founded and endowed three Scholarships at St. John's College, Cambridge.
  • 6. Grocer, elected Alderman for the Ward of Queenhithe, May 24th, 1603; ordered to be committed to Newgate for refusing to take the oath of an Alderman, June 10th, 1603; sworn into office, June 21st, 1603; chosen Sheriff, June 24th, 1603; Knighted at Whitehall, July 26th, 1603; Lord Mayor, 1613; removed to Coleman Street Ward, March 22nd, 1613; President of Bridewell and Bethlem Hospitals, 1613; M.P. for London, 1624–5. Sir Maurice Abbott elected Alderman of Coleman Street, loco Sir T. Middleton, deceased, September 13th, 1631. His pageant, on his accession to office as Lord Mayor, entitled "The Triumphs of Truth," was written by Thomas Middleton: a copy is preserved in the Guildhall Library. He was the eldest Son of Richard Middleton, Esq., Governor of Denbigh Castle during the reigns of Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth. He was the founder of the family of Myddleton, of Chirk Castle, from whom are descended Robert Myddleton Biddulph, Esq., formerly M.P. for Herefordshire, and Major-General Sir Thomas Myddleton Biddulph, K.C.B., Privy Purse to the Queen. The New River, of which his younger brother, Sir Hugh, was the projector, was completed and opened with great ceremony on the day of his election as Lord Mayor, 29th September, 1613. He was a liberal benefactor to the Grocers' Company, as was also his wife, Dame Anne Middleton. For an account of the Family of Myddleton, see Smiles's 'Engineers,' vol. i.
  • 7. Merchant Taylor, elected Alderman of Walbrook, October 18th, 1593; Sheriff, 1594; removed to Cordwainer, July 31st, 1599; Lord Mayor, 1602; removed to Langbourn, April 20th, 1602; Knighted, May 22nd, 1603. Sir John Watts removed to Langbourn, loco R. Lee, Knight, deceased, January 28th, 1605. He was the Son of Humphrey Lee, of Bridgenorth, Salop, and was Lord Mayor when James I. was invited to assume the Crown of England. Chamberlayne, in his 'Present State of Great Britain,' says he subscribed first before all the great Officers of State and Nobility, being said to be, on the death of the Queen, the prime person of England. James addressed a letter from Holyrood, dated March 28th, 1603, to him and the Aldermen and Commons, thanking them for proclaiming him. This is given in Nichols's Progresses of King James I.,' vol. i., page 41. Sir Robert Lee, as Mayor, with the Aldermen, Chief Officers, and Common Council of the City, and 500 Citizens of London, well mounted, clad in velvet coats, and chains of gold, met the King at Stamford Hill, on the 7th of May, 1603, and conducted him to the Charterhouse. He attended, with the Aldermen and twelve of the principal Citizens, at the King's Coronation at Westminster, July 25th, 1603. He left 100l. to the poor of his native place.
  • 8. Goldsmith, elected Alderman of Farringdon Within, May 29th, 1578; Sheriff, 1581; Lord Mayor for remainder of the year, on the decease of Sir Martin Calthorpe, May 5th, 1589; again on the decease of Sir Cuthbert Buckle, July 1st, 1594; President of Christ's Hospital, 1593–1602; removed to Bread Street Ward, loco Barnham, May 2nd, 1598; displaced from office, August 31st, 1602. The reasons assigned were his poverty and imprisonment for debt; that 1,000 marks had been previously given to him, on condition of his surrendering his office, and that, notwithstanding the receipt of the money, he had refused to resign. He had a residence at Tottenham, where, in October 1581, he entertained Mr. Recorder Fleetwood, when that officer was inquiring into a Riot on the River Lea. His daughter Dorcas married Sir Julius Cæsar, Master of the Rolls, February 26th, 1582.
  • 9. Draper, Knighted by King James I. at Whitehall, July 26, 1603; elected Alderman of Bishopsgate, December 22nd, 1603; served the office of Sheriff, 1604; Lord Mayor, 1614; removed by prerogative to Cornhill, loco Sir Henry Rowe, January 7th, 1612. John Leman removed to Cornhill, loco Sir Thomas Hayes, deceased, October 8th, 1617. He was the Son of Thomas Hayes of Westminster. He died in 1617, and was buried in St. Mary's, Aldermanbury, September 29th. For the inscription upon his monument, see Stow, edit. 1720, book 3, page 72. He was twice married; Martha, his second wife, subsequently married Sir Richard Young, Knight. His daughter Mary married Sir Henry Boothby, Bart., ancestor of Sir Brooke Boothby, of Broadlow Ash, Derby, the present Baronet. His daughter Margaret married Peter, fourth Son of Sir John Egerton, of Egerton and Oulton, in the County of Cheshire. His daughter Elizabeth married John Ireland, Esq., of the Hutt, Lancashire.
  • 10. Knighted by James I., 1607; elected Alderman of Bread Street, November 12th, 1611; created a Baronet, 1st July, 1620, and afterward made Viscount Campden by Charles I., 1628. See Burke's Peerage; Orridge's Citizens and their Rulers,' pp. 171–4 and 196–9.
  • 11. Nicholas Blincoe, Leatherseller, served the office of Master of his Company, 1602–3; elected Alderman of Aldgate, July 2nd, 1607. Richard Farrington, elected Alderman of Aldgate, loco Blincoe, discharged October 13th, 1607.
  • 12. Probably addressed to Henry Violet, Fishmonger; elected Alderman of Farringdon Without, November 22nd, 1608.
  • 13. Appointed, in 1587, Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King James I. He was made Master of the Great Wardrobe in England, in 1608; and died 23rd May, 1612, at his official residence in Blackfriars. A descendant of a Cheshire family. His first wife, Mary Stuart, Daughter of Lord Ochiltree, was a kinswoman of the King. He was buried in the Church of Cranford, Middlesex, where a monument to his memory exists.
  • 14. Of Canons, Middlesex; educated at Clare Hall, Oxford; Amannensis to Sir Francis Walsingham; sent to Scotland, in 1603, to inform King James I. of the state of the kingdom, by whom he was Knighted, May 20th, 1603; made a Privy Councillor, March 29th, 1614; Secretary of State, January 3rd, 1616; tried in the Star Chamber, February 13th, 1619, for calumnies against the Countess of Exeter, and committed to the Tower, with his wife Mary (eldest Daughter of Sir William Rider, Lord Mayor in 1600) and his daughter. He acknowledged his guilt, and was subsequently restored to favour, 1620. The story is given in Burke's 'Extinct Peerage,' edit. 1866, page 312. He died September 17th, 1630. He was the ancestor of General Lord Lake. See Orridge's 'Citizens and their Rulers,' page 201.
  • 15. Ironmonger, elected Alderman of Farringdon Within, April 19th, 1621; discharged, upon his own request, May 18th, 1621. He was a Turkey Merchant.
  • 16. Haberdasher, the Son of John Jones, of Claverley, in the County of Salop. Chosen Sheriff, June 25th, 1610; Alderman of Aldgate, July 18th, 1610; Lord Mayor, 1620; resigned, January 22nd, 1621. The Pageant performed at the cost of his Company, upon his taking office, was written by John Squire, and entitled "Tes Irenes Trophæ," or "The Triumphs of Peace": a copy is preserved in the Library of the Corporation.
  • 17. Merchant Taylor, elected Alderman of Bishopsgate, September 24th, 1622; discharged upon payment of a fine of 500 marks, September 30th, 1622.
  • 18. William Herbert, third Earl, K.G., Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and Lord Chamberlain of the Household; succeeded his father, Henry, second Earl, in 1601; died without issue, 10th April, 1630.
  • 19. Apothecary, one of the first Assistants of that Company after their separation from the Grocers in 1617. He resided in Blackfriars. Chosen Alderman of Dowgate, January 17th, 1625–6. On his making oath that he was an alien, born at Rheims, and on the King's request, signified by the Earl of Pembroke, he was excused; he thereupon freely promised to give 30l. for the relief of the poor in Christ's Hospital, which the Court of Aldermen accepted. A Bust and Portrait of him are preserved at Apothecaries' Hall.
  • 20. Sir Edward Conway, knighted by Robert, Earl of Essex, at the sacking of Cadiz, 1596; made one of the Secretaries of State by James I., January 14th, 1622–3; raised to the Peerage as Baron Conway, March 22nd, 1624; appointed Captain of the Isle of Wight, November 30th, 1624; created Viscount, June 6th, 1626, and made President of the Council shortly afterwards. He died in 1630.
  • 21. Richard Coxe, Grocer, elected Alderman of Castle Baynard, November 20th, 1621; chosen Sheriff, June 24th, 1622, but did not serve, on the ground of the insufficiency of his estate. Sir II. Handford, Grocer, elected Alderman in his room, August 13th, 1622.
  • 22. Grocer, elected Alderman of Cordwainer, June 23rd, 1629; Sheriff, June 24th, 1629; Lord Mayor, 1640. Sir William Acton had been elected Mayor for this year, but he was discharged by the House of Commons, and Sir E. Wright appointed in his room. Thomas Culham, Draper, elected Alderman, loco Wright, Knight, deceased, August 3rd, 1643.
  • 23. A member of the Grocers' Company. Elected Alderman of Vintry, September 19th, 1626; refused to serve, and was fined 500l.
  • 24. Appointed Recorder, November 16th, 1616; Solicitor-General, 1616; AttorneyGeneral, 1620; Lord Keeper, November 1st, 1625; created Lord Coventry of Aylesborough, April 10th, 1628; died at Durham House, Strand, January 14th, 1640. His Father, Sir Thomas Coventry, was one of the Justices of the Common Pleas in 1606. The family descended from John Coventry, Citizen and Mercer, Lord Mayor in 1425, one of the Executors of Sir Richard Whittington.
  • 25. Ironmonger, elected Alderman of Castle Baynard, March 7th, 1625; discharged upon payment of fine, April 27th, 1626.
  • 26. The Act of Indemnity and Oblivion, 12 Charles II., c. II, forgiving all but those who sat in judgment upon the late King.
  • 27. Grocer, elected Alderman of Portsoken, January, 11th, 1641. Committed to Newgate for refusing to be sworn, February 1st, 1641. He took the oath, and was discharged from imprisonment, May 12th, 1642. Chosen Sheriff, 1642; removed to Bishopsgate, August 29th, 1648; impeached, with Sir John Gayre and Mr. Alderman Bunce, for abetting force and tumult against the House of Commons, in 1647; committed to the Tower; discharged from his office of Alderman by order of the House of Commons, April 7th, 1649, and Nathan Wright, Skinner, elected in his room, April 26th, 1649; summoned by letter from King Charles the Second to resume his office of Alderman, when, at his own request, on account of his great age and infirmity, he was discharged, September, 18th, 1660. He was a Turkey Merchant, and was descended from an ancient family seated at Langham, Rutlandshire. He married the daughter of Alderman Bunce. Was M.P. for London, 1654; for Southwark, 1660; created a baronet, June 7th, 1660; died in 1671. His descendant, Sir John Langham, of Cottesbrooke, Northampton, by his will, dated August 31st, 1764, left to the Court of Aldermen £6,000 for the relief of distressed soldiers and seamen, which charity is still administered by them. The present representative of this family is Sir James Hay Langham, eleventh baronet.
  • 28. Fishmonger, elected Alderman of Aldgate, October 27th, 1636; chosen Sheriff, June 24th, 1635; Lord Mayor, September 29th, 1646; ordered to attend the Lords in Parliament upon his election (the entry of the approval of the Lords in Parliament is recorded in the Common Hall Book); committed to the Tower, with Aldermen Gurney, Adams, Langham, and Bunce, September 25th, 1647. The order of Parliament to the Lord Mayor to call a Common Hall for the purpose of electing a Lord Mayor in the room of Sir John, impeached for high treason, September 27th, 1647, is entered in the Corporation Records; he was elected President of Christ's Hospital in 1648; discharged from his Aldermanship by order of Parliament, April 7th, 1649; and on the 21st of April, Sir Thomas Andrews, Lord Mayor, removed to Aldgate Ward, as Alderman in his room.
  • 29. Draper, elected Sheriff, 1639, chosen Alderman of the Ward of Portsoken, October 8th, 1639; removed to Billingsgate, November 23rd, 1641; Lord Mayor, September 29th, 1645; removed to Cornhill, September 16th, 1646; M.P. for London, 1654. A Royalist, was imprisoned in the Tower; he remitted £10,000 to King Charles II. during his exile; at the Restoration he was created a baronet, June 12th, 1660; was deputed by the City to accompany General Monk to Breda, to bring back the King. He endowed several schools, particularly that of Wem, Salop, where he was born. In 1632 he founded the Professorship of Arabic in the University of Cambridge, of which he had been a member. President of St. Thomas's Hospital from 1643 till 1649, and again from 1660 till his death, 24th February, 1668, aged 82; he was buried in the church of Allhallows Staining; John Jurin Succeeded him as Alderman of Cornhill, April 21st, 1668.
  • 30. Captain James Bunce, Leatherseller, chosen Alderman of Bread Street, August 20th, 1642; Sheriff 1643; Master of his Company, 1643–4; impeached with Sir John Gayre, &c., before the House of Commons for countenancing and abetting force against the House, 1647; Mark Hildsley, vintner, elected Alderman of Bread Street in the room of Bunce, November 3rd, 1649. He was of Ottringden, Kent, and was the son of James Bunce, of Gracechurch Street, who was buried at St. Benet's, in that street. For pedigree, see Le Neve's 'Knights,' Harleian Society's Publications, pp. 42, 43.