Family and Education

m. by 1398, a wid. of a Wells burgess, ?1s.

Offices Held

Keeper of the shambles, Wells Mich. 1399-1401; constable of the peace 1402-4; auditor 1410-12, 1417-18; master 1413-14.2

Tax collector, Som. June 1410.

Biography

Wey was admitted to the freedom of Wells in 1398, by virtue of his marriage to the widow of a former burgess. He served as a juror at an inquiry in Wells in March 1400, regarding the forfeited possessions of adherents of the late King, Richard II. A tailor by trade, he was assessed for payment of subsidies on 43 broadcloths produced in 1402-3, although the alnager confiscated from him four ‘dozens’ of various colours that same year, for a breach of the statutes. Richard Groos*, who was also engaged in the cloth trade, made him a bequest of 20s. in his will in 1407. Wey was always active in the administration of Wells, and eventually achieved the highest office, the mastership. He provided pledges for six new freemen in the course of his career, including, in 1410, William Wey, perhaps a son or brother of his. He is last recorded in 1420.3

Ref Volumes: 1386-1421

Author: L. S. Woodger

Notes

• 1. Walter Dyer* was originally chosen by the burgesses, but Wey had replaced him before the Commons met: Wells Town Clerk’s Office, convoc. bk. 1378-1450, f. 167; C219/10/3.
• 2. Convoc. bk. ff. 135, 139, 150, 155, 186, 193, 200, 215.
• 3. Wells City Chs. (Som. Rec. Soc. xlvi), 131-4, 138; Som. Med. Wills (ibid. xvi), 27; Wells convoc. bk. ff. 131, 195; C145/277/9; E101/344/3, 4.