Appendix C4: The composition of the Parliament of 1399
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The composition of the Parliament of 1399
Of the 255 Members whose names are recorded, 110 (as much as 43% of the total) were apparently newcomers to the House of Commons, and only 27 (11%) had sat in the Parliament immediately preceding. It is perhaps not surprising that so few of those who had been party to the Acts of Richard II’s last Parliament had secured re-election, given that by September 1399 the news of the King’s imprisonment and imminent deposition by Henry of Bolingbroke must have reached even the most distant parts of the realm. The Commons were overwhelmingly predisposed to support Henry’s usurpation, not only because at least 23 of their number had been retained by him or his father and looked to the duchy of Lancaster to supplement their incomes and provide employment, but also because no fewer than 18 more had been closely attached to the leading Lords Appellant of 1387-8. The latter group was no doubt only too eager to witness the end of the old regime, the restoration to their birthright of the heirs of Gloucester and Arundel, and the rehabilitation of Warwick. In this context it may be of relevance to note that as many as 34 of the Members now entering the House (13% of the total) had sat in the Merciless Parliament of February 1388, when the Appellants had been triumphant. (No doubt they were behind the Commons’ petitions for the Merciless Parliament to be once more considered valid, and its acts enforced, while all that had been done in the Parliament of 1397-8 should be rescinded.)1 Only one Member of the Parliament of 1399 may be said to have ever been particularly close to Richard II: John Colshull I, a ‘King’s esquire’ and purveyor for the Household right up to the preceding midsummer. Otherwise, the local communities had unanimously withheld their votes from anyone associated with the Ricardian court party.
Naturally enough, Henry IV hastened to distribute largesse to his loyal supporters, and as the lists below make clear he was quick to issue letters patent in favour of Members of the Commons who showed by their acclamation where their allegiance lay. Even before he dissolved Parliament on 19 Nov. he handed out to them new, often very substantial, annuities, made grants in their names of land and wardships, confirmed awards authorized by previous kings and by his father and himself under seal of the duchy of Lancaster, and profferred a number of other concessions in response to their petitions. Altogether, 37 Members were thus favourably singled out and their continued support for the house of Lancaster encouraged. Furthermore, ten of this privileged group, along with 20 others, were given royal offices by the new King’s appointment, or else were permitted by virtue of formal letters of confirmation to stay on in posts they already occupied. Seven parliamentary representatives (including the Speaker, John Doreward) made such a commendable impression in the first few weeks of the new reign as to be considered worthy to be members of Henry’s Council, with salaries of up to 100 marks a year. When all these tangible perquisites are taken into account, it transpires that 22% of the Members benefited directly from Henry’s imperative need to be accepted as King. It was, therefore, somewhat hypocritical of the Commons to profess dismay at ‘les outrageous douns ’ made by Henry to ‘undeserving persons’.2 Twenty-one Members who were j.p.s at the time the elections were held were kept on as such when new commissions were issued just after the dissolution; while 14 more were then newly appointed to their local benches. That 43 of the Members were named on the commissions of array set up three weeks later suggests that there were no doubts of their reliability as upholders of the new regime, although only time would tell whether or not this trust was misplaced.
MEMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH JOHN OF GAUNT AND HENRY OF BOLINGBROKE BEFORE PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED
Berney, Sir Robert | *M, R (‘knight bachelor’; £20 p.a. from either Gaunt or Bolingbroke) |
Beville, Robert | *R |
Bispham, William | *O, R (£5 p.a.) |
Blount, John II | *A |
Blount, Sir Walter | *E, M, O, R (c. £148 p.a.) |
Cope, John | M, R |
Curson, John | *A, M, R |
Dabrichecourt, Sir Nicholas | *R (£20 p.a.) |
Hasilden, Richard | *O |
Hoghton, Sir Henry | *O, R (ten marks p.a.); M, R (£20 p.a.) |
Hulle, William I | he and his fellow MP William Walters expressed the support of their city, Salisbury, to Bolingbroke in July 1399, donating £200 to his campaign |
Lambourne, Sir William | *M |
Lucy, Sir William | *M, O, R (£20 p.a. as ‘bachelor’) |
Mandeville, Thomas | *O, R (£6 13s.4d. p.a.) |
Maureward, Sir Thomas | did Bolingbroke ‘good service on his coming to England’ |
Neville, Sir Robert | *M, O, R (£20 p.a.) |
Pelham, John | *O; A, R (100 marks p.a.) |
Preston, John | *O |
Rochford, John | *O |
Skelton, Sir Thomas | *E, O (chief steward south of Trent; £100 p.a.) |
Urswyk, Sir Robert | *O, R (c. £50 p.a.) |
Walters, William | see Hulle, William I |
* Connected with Guant or employed in the duchy of Lancaster administration
Certain of the above-named were to receive payments from Bolingbroke in December 1399 specifically for having brought forces to him at Ravenspur or on his journey south, and for having provided him with a bodyguard at the time of the Parliament:
Bispham, William | £6 13s.4d. |
Blount, Sir Walter | £233 6s.8d. |
Curson, John | £100 |
Neville, Sir Robert | £20 |
The following were associates of Bolingbroke’s friend and companion-in-exile, Sir Thomas Erpingham:
Argentine, Sir William | A, poss. O |
Berney, Sir Robert | A, Att., F, O |
Gurney, John | A, F |
Heveningham, Sir John | A, F |
FORMER ADHERENTS OF THE PRINCIPAL APPELLANTS OF 1387-8
1. Gloucester | |
Braybrooke, Sir Gerard II | A, F; E to Gloucester’s widow; C, E, O to his mother-in-law, the countess of Hereford |
Cheyne, Sir John I | O, prob. C; condemned to death Sept. 1397, but sentence commuted to imprisonment at the Lords’ request |
Coggeshall, Thomas | A, Att., F; F, R to his mother-in-law |
Doreward, John | A, Att.; F for his widow; A of his mother-in-law |
Heveningham, Sir John | A |
2. Arundel | |
Berney, Sir Robert | F |
Burley, John I | F, M, O; A, Att., F, O to his heir |
Doreward, John | R; A of his brother, Archbishop Arundel |
Fitznichol, Sir Thomas | A, F, prob. R |
Gurney, John | O |
Horde, Thomas | ?O — if constable of Clun |
Tiptoft, Sir Payn | E, F, M, R |
Young, Thomas I | E, F, O; close to Earl Thomas |
3. Warwick | |
Euer, Sir Ralph | R (20 marks) |
Ruding, William | O, R |
Spernore, William | A, C, F, M, R |
Trewythenick, Roger | O |
Trussell, Sir Alfred | C, F, R (20 marks) |
The following had received pardons from Richard II specifically for adhering to the Appellants in 1387-8. The Commons now successfully petitioned (RP, iii. 432) that the charters of pardon should remain valid.
Beauchamp, Sir Roger | 18 May 1398 |
Braybrooke, Sir Gerard II | 12 May 1398 |
Coggeshall, Thomas | 7 Nov. 1397 |
Gurney, John | 14 May 1398 |
Maidstone, Thomas | 22 Feb. 1398 |
Spernore, William | 1 May 1398 |
Terry, William II | 15 June 1398 |
Tiptoft, Sir Payn | 30 Apr. 1398 |
Walwyn, Thomas II | 18 Nov. 1398 |
GRANTS MADE TO MEMBERS BY HENRY IV DURING OR SHORTLY AFTER THE PARLIAMENTARY SESSION
1. New Annuities | ||
Bispham, William | 1s. per diem | 18 Nov. |
Blount, Sir Walter | 56 marks | bef. Jan. 1400 |
Cheyne, Sir John I | 100 marks | 26 Nov. |
Curson, John | £20 | 19 Nov. |
Doreward, John | £35 | 10 Dec. |
Durham, John | £20 | 18 Feb. 1400 |
Eure, Sir Ralph | £50 | 30 Nov. |
Francis, Sir Robert | £62 | 3 Nov. |
Grey, Sir Thomas | £16 13s.4d. | 21 Nov. |
Gyles, John | £10 | 8 Nov. |
Hasilden, Richard | 40 marks | 25 Nov. |
Leek, William | ten marks | 20 Nov. |
Lucy, Sir William | 100 marks | 8 Feb. 1400 |
Ludwick, John | £20 | 18 Feb. 1400 |
Maidstone, Thomas | ten marks | 12 Oct. |
Neville, Sir Robert | 40 marks | 5 Dec. |
Shadworth, John | £4 | 10 Nov. |
2. Land, Wardships, etc. | ||
Barbour alias Frye, Thomas | Exchequer lease | Feb. 1400, backdated to Oct. 1399 |
Blount, Sir Walter | property forfeited by Despenser | Jan. 1400 |
Cope, John | excused payment of £40 for purchase of property | 6 Oct. |
Doreward, John | lease of alien priory of West Mersea | 24 Nov. |
Durham, John | lease of Mowbray property | 23 Oct. |
Grey, Sir Thomas | wardship and marriage farm of earl of March’s land | 31 Oct. 17 Nov. |
Hasilden, Richard | lease of Mowbray property | 27 Oct. |
Ludwick, John | lease of Mowbray property | 23 Oct. |
Pelham, John | lordship of Bosham during Mowbray minority land worth £25 p.a. | 11 Dec. Feb. 1400 |
Preston, John | lease of estates of Wilmington priory | 4 Nov. |
Stafford, Sir Humphrey I | land in Som. for life | 28 Oct. |
Walwyn, Thomas II | lease of estates of Abergavenny priory | 22 Oct. |
3. Confirmation of grants made by Edward III and Richard II | ||
Cheyne, Sir John I | Beckford priory estates, worth 100 marks p.a. | 20 Nov. |
Colshull, John I | Huish estates | 20 Nov. |
Courtenay, Sir Philip | annuities of £200 and land worth £39 p.a. | 8 Nov. |
Gateford, John | annuity of £20 | 3 Nov. |
Grey, Sir Thomas | annuity of £50 | 31 Oct. |
Maidstone, Thomas | annuity of £5 | 23 Oct. |
Urswyk, Sir Robert | annuity of £20 | 18 Oct. |
4. Confirmation of grants made previously under seal of the duchy of Lancaster | ||
Berney, Sir Robert | annuity of £20 | |
Bispham, William | duchy offices | |
Blount, Sir Walter | duchy offices and annuities | |
Curson, John | duchy offices | |
Dabrichecourt, Sir Nicholas | annuity of £20 | 18 Nov. |
Hoghton, Sir Henry | duchy offices | |
Lucy, Sir William | duchy offices | |
Mandeville, Thomas | land worth £8 p.a. | |
Neville, Sir Robert | annuity of £20 | 8 Dec. |
Pelham, John | duchy offices | |
Preston, John | duchy offices | |
Rochford, John | duchy offices | |
Skelton, Sir Thomas | duchy offices | |
Urswyk, Sir Robert | duchy fees, offices and leases | |
5. Other concessions | ||
Blickling, Roger | confirmation of the duchess of Norfolk’s grants | 17 Nov. |
Brooke, Sir Thomas | exemption from royal offices | 13 Nov. |
Eure, Sir Ralph | exemption from royal offices | 30 Nov. |
Gyles John | exemplification of ordinance of 1335 on behalf of his constituency, Dover | 22 Oct. |
Neville, Sir Robert | exemption from royal offices marriage of his gdda. to King’s half-brother | 5 Dec. |
Shadworth, John | privilege of having the tronage of wool in London at his own warehouse, for life | 10 Nov. |
Tanner, Thomas | confirmation of letters patent of Bishop Erghum granting manumission to his wife | 3 Nov. |
Wilcotes, John | confirmation of his retaining fee from Despenser | 15 Feb. |
6. Knighthoods | ||
Pelham, John | on the eve of Henry’s coronation | |
Rochford, John | bef. 12 Nov. |
MEMBERS OCCUPYING OFFICES IN THE CROWN’s APPOINTMENT AT THE TIME OF ELECTION
1. Customs officials (kept on in their posts by Henry IV unless noted otherwise) | |
Arnold, John I | collector, Ipswich (removed 15 Oct.); alnager, Suff. (removed 17 Oct.) |
Cuttyng, Thomas | alnager, Wilts. |
Fenn, Hugh atte | collector, Gt. Yarmouth; dep. butler, Gt. Yarmouth |
Gateford, John | alnager, Notts. |
Godstone, Thomas | collector, Ipswich; alnager, Essex and Herts. |
Peyntour, Stephen | collector, Sandwich |
Pound, William | dep. butler, Kingston-upon-Hull |
2. Other | |
Braybrooke, Sir Gerard II | keeper of Salcey forest, Northants. |
Godstone, Thomas | high bailiff of Guînes and victualler of Guînes castle |
Roches, Sir John | surveyor of forests in Wilts. and keeper of Marlborough castle |
Sturmy, Sir William | warden of Savernake forest |
Walwyn, Thomas II | escheator, Herefs. (removed 26 Nov.) |
APPOINTMENTS MADE DURING OR SHORTLY AFTER THE PARLIAMENT
1. Sheriffs | |
Benstede, Sir Edward | Essex and Herts. 3 Nov. |
Cuddington, Ralph | Surr. and Suss. 23 Jan. 1400 |
Gurney, John | Norf. and Suff. 3 Nov. |
Leigh, Sir William | Cumb. 30 Sept. |
2. Escheators | |
Cope, John | Northants. and Rutland 26 Nov. |
Gateford, John | Notts. and Derbys. 28 Nov. |
3. Customs officials | |
Doreward, John | dep. butler, Colchester 15 Sept.-14 Oct. |
Kymer, Eustace | searcher and tronager, Melcombe Regis 10 Nov. |
Pound, William | collector, Kingston-upon-Hull 5 Oct. |
4. Members of Henry IV’s Council | |
Brampton, William I | 1 Nov. |
Cheyne, Sir John I | prob. by Feb. 1400 |
Coggeshall, Thomas | 1 Nov. (100 marks p.a.) |
Curson, John | c. Nov. |
Doreward, John | 1 Nov. (100 marks p.a.) |
Freningham, John | 1 Nov. (100 marks p.a.) |
Shadworth, John | 1 Nov. |
5. Others | |
Arnold, John I | serjeant-at-arms 21 Nov. |
Cope, John | clerk and serjeant-marshal of the Marshalsea 11 Nov. |
Curson, John | keeper of Horston castle, Derbys. 18 Jan. |
Freningham, John | jt. keeper of temporalities abpric. Canterbury 5 Sept.-21 Oct. |
Grey, Sir Thomas | envoy to Scotland 10 Dec. |
Nash, James | coroner and King’s attorney in KB 1 Oct. |
Pelham, (Sir) John | knight of King’s chamber and royal swordbearer 24 Oct. constableship Pevensey castle in tail-male Feb. |
Rochford, (Sir) John | steward, estates forfeited by earl of Kent Feb. |
Tiptoft, Sir Payn | knight of King’s chamber |
6. new appointments | |
Stretch, John | steward, Devon and Som. 18 Nov. |
Urswyk, Sir Robert | master forester, Lancs. c. Oct. |
7. J.p.s appointed by Richard II but retained by Henry IV, 28 Nov. | |
Barantyn, Thomas | Oxon. |
Biere, Walter | Dorset |
Blickling, Roger | Norwich |
Blount, John II | Worcs. |
Brooke, Sir Thomas | Som. |
Burley, John I | Salop |
Curson, John | Derbys. |
Euer, Sir Ralph | Northumb., Yorks. |
Fenn, Hugh atte | Gt. Yarmouth |
Francis, Sir Robert | Staffs. |
Freningham, John | Kent |
Gateford, John | Notts. |
Grey, Sir Thomas | Northumb. |
Hampden, Edmund | Bucks. |
Hardyng, Sampson | Northumb. |
Preston, John | Surr., Suss. |
Rochford, (Sir) John | Lincs. |
Skelton, Sir Thomas | Cambs., Hunts. |
Stafford, Sir Humphrey I | Dorset, Wilts. |
Trewythenick, Roger | Cornw. |
Young, Thomas I | Salop |
8. J.p.s newly appointed on 28 Nov. (unless otherwise indicated) | |
Aston, Sir Thomas | Staffs. |
Belne, Thomas | Worcs. |
Bere, (Sir) Kynard de la | Herefs. |
Berney, Sir Robert | Norf. |
Botkesham, Robert | Bishop’s Lynn Feb. 1400 |
Coggeshall, Thomas | Essex |
Doreward, John | Essex |
Frome, John | Dorset |
Ludwick, John | Herts. |
Musgrave, Sir Thomas | Westmld. |
Pelham, (Sir) John | Suss. Feb. 1400 |
Sturmy, Sir William | Wilts. |
Tiptoft, Sir Payn | Cambs. 9 Nov. |
Walwyn, Thomas II | Herefs. |
9. Commissioners of array appointed Dec. 1399 (unless otherwise noted) | |
Argentine, Sir William | Suff. |
Barantyn, Thomas | Oxon. |
Bere, (Sir) Kynard de la | Herefs. |
Berney, Sir Robert | Norf. |
Blyton, William | Lincoln (Jan. 1400) |
Bonet, John | Surr. (Jan. 1400) |
Bonville, Sir William I | Devon |
Botkesham, Robert | Bishop’s Lynn |
Brockhill, Thomas | Kent |
Brooke, Sir Thomas | Devon |
Coggeshall, Thomas | Essex |
Colshull, John I | Cornw. |
Courtenay, Sir Philip | Devon |
Cuddington, Ralph | Surr. |
Curson, John | Derbys. |
Dayrell, Roger | Bucks. |
Doreward, John | Essex |
Euer, Sir Ralph | Yorks. |
Flore, Roger | Rutland |
Francis, Sir Robert | Staffs. |
Freningham, John | Kent |
Frome, John | Dorset |
Gateford, John | Notts. |
Hampden, Edmund | Bucks. |
Herlyngton, John | Hunts. |
Heveningham, Sir John | Suff. |
Lambourne, Sir William | Cornw. |
Lucy, Sir William | Herefs. |
Ludwick, John | Herts. |
Maureward, Sir Thomas | Leics. |
Musgrave, Sir Thomas | Westmld. |
Pelham, John | Hants |
Roches, Sir John | Wilts. |
Rochford, John | Lincs. |
Sparsholt, Edmund | Berks. |
Stafford, Sir Humphrey I | Dorset |
Stretch, John | Devon |
Sturmy, Sir William | Wilts. |
Tiptoft, Sir Payn | Cambs. |
Trussell, Sir Alfred | Northants. |
Walwyn, Thomas II | Herefs. |
Wilcotes, John | Oxon. |
Young, Thomas I | Salop |