Sir John Vavasour Timeline

👑1429 - 1471

Reign of Henry VI (November 1429 - June 1461; October 1470 - May 1471)

1431

• John Vavasour, the elder, was the eldest son of John Vavasour of Hazlewood Castle and Isabella de la Haye of Spaldington.  His parents married circa 1431 [1]

c.1440

• John Vavasour the elder was born in Spaldington, c.1440.  Described as the Vavasour family's 'most notable careerist' [4], John became an English judge, having studied law at Inner Temple.

1456

• John's father, John Vavasour, husband of Isabella (nee de la Hay) died in this year.

👑1461 - 1483

Reign of Edward IV (28th June 1461 - October 1470; May 1471 -April 1483)

1467

• John's first employment in court recorded in the year-books took place in Trinity term 1467.  [6]

1472

• John Vavasour served as MP for Bridport in this year. [5]

1478

• In Trinity term 1478 he was invested with the order of the coif.  [6]  This made him a Serjeant-at-Law.

• He was granted this position by Richard, brother of Edward IV and this was retained when Richard became Richard III.  His service was then transferred to Henry VII on his accession in 1485.  [5]

1482  

• In a charter dated 1st May 1482, John Vavasour the elder, Esq., was granted a messuage in Willitoft and a rent in Bubwith, to hold for life.  Also mentioned in this charter were John's brothers, Richard, William and Henry.  Following John's death, the property passed to Peter Vavasour, the son and heir of John's brother, William, being the only living heir at the time.  [2]

1483

• In June 1483, in the last fortnight of the reign of Edward IV, John was nominated a king's serjeant, an appointment renewed by Richard III and Henry VII.

• He was appointed a King's Serjeant in 1483. [3]

Because of the instability of the Borders the northern counties were more highly militarized than those of the Midlands and South.  The greater knights who held lands in distant counties usually found it necessary to establish a second residence as a centre for the estate, and a political presence for its protection. Sergeants-at-law and other leading lawyers from northern gentry families, like John Vavasour, operated at Westminster, accumulated fees and retainers from many sources, and served on a variety of royal commissions. [5]

• His name occurs in peace sessions and commissions of enquiry at York from 1483 onwards. [4]

👑1483 - 1485

Reign of Richard III (6th July 1483 - 22nd August 1485)

c.1484

• John's marriage to Elizabeth ended in separation.  Elizabeth was the daughter of Sir Robert Talboys/Tailboys, who was a member of Gloucester's (Richard III) circle. [5]  Could one reason for the separation have been conflict caused by John's perceived disloyalty to Richard III in his move across to the court of Henry VII?

👑1485 - 1509

Reign of Henry VII (30th October 1485 - 21st April 1509)

1485 - 1490

• On 23 Sept. 1485 he was appointed one of the justices of pleas within the duchy of Lancaster.  [6]

• In this first year of Henry's reign the post of recorder of York was contested by candidates nominated by the king and by the Earl of Northumberland, and the corporation took advantage of the rivalry to elect Vavasour. He ingratiated himself with the king during a royal visit to York in April 1486, and afterwards as the bearer of despatches in regard to the complicity of John de la Pole, earl of Lincoln [q. v.], in Simnel's rebellion. He was knighted, and on 10 April 1489 was appointed on the commission to make inquest in the city of York concerning the insurrection. On 14 Aug. 1490 he was appointed puisne justice of the common pleas. [6]

• On 24th February 1489-90 Sir John Vavasour, by now listed as 'late Recorder', was made one of the Kings Judges.  William Fairfax took his place as Recorder of York.  [10]

1493-4  

• John Vavasour's will, (Prob11/15/16 [7]), made on 11th January 1493-4, seems to confirm stories that he was a miserly man.  One such story, which seems to refer to John relates:

"A rude man who never loved to spend money went on a circuit in the North, having agreed that the sheriff should pay money for his expenses, so at every inn and lodging house that he stayed at he paid the charges himself.  At one lodging place, he instructed his servant, Turpin, to save any food that was left over and to carry it with him to serve at the next stop.  Turpin took the left-over bread, meat and everything else that was left and put it in his master’s cloth sack.  The wife of the house saw what he took, so she went and fetched the soup that was left in the pot and, when Turpin had turned his back, she poured the soup into the cloth sack.  It ran over his scarlet robe and other garments.  Turpin ran to his master and told him what she had done.  Vavasour called the woman and shouted at her, “What have you done?  Why have you poured soup in my cloth sack and ruined my clothes?”  The wife replied, “Oh sir, I know you are a judge of the realm and that you want to do what is right and to have all that is your own, to have everything that you have paid for.  As your servant took the meat and put it in your cloth sack, I have also put the soup that you left in there because you have well and truly paid for it.  If I should keep anything from you that you have paid for, you’d be bound to trouble me in the law another time.”!  

• He names various places where he could be buried, depending on where he died - possibly in an effort to save money!  If he happened to die at Spaldington, then he wished to be buried at Ellerton Abbey.

• John directed his executors to make, found and ordain one chantry at Spaldington with his land that he had at Newland.  They should put aside £200 for this.  (2017 equivalent: £133,191.40 .  This could pay for 6666 days of a skilled tradesman).  The chantry was subsequently founded by his nephew, Sir Peter Vavasour, and licensed in 1510.

• John left £100 to the Prior of Ellerton, but directed that the the costs of the books and vestments that he had previously given to them should be removed from this sum. If he was not buried there, the Prior should only be given £60.  

• He also left £200 for prayers for his soul, to be paid as soon as he was buried, plus a priest was to sing for him for 30 years where he should be buried, for which he was to be paid 8 marks.

• If his servant, John Turpin was still with him at his death, he should be given 5 marks and another £20 should be shared amongst his servants.

• Regarding bequests to his wife (Elizabeth Talboys (born 1477), daughter of Robert Talboys of Kyme), he states that, if she makes any demands, then she shall have 40 marks of his lands.  But if she doesn't make any demands, she should get no part of his goods, nor of his lands.  The reason he gives for this is for 'taking away' £700, presumably on leaving the marital home.  

• John left 100 marks to the children of his brother, William.  This will be because William, died before him - he was buried in the choir of Bubwith on 5th July 1495.  William left his wife, Alice, 100 marks and her portion of his goods.  To his daughter, Isabel, 40 marks.  To his other 4 daughters, £80.  He also left £6.13s.4d. to his daughter, Dorothy, so that she may become a nun in Swine Monastery.

• The Executors of John's will were the Prior of Ellerton, the Prior of Thornholme and John Warner, Alderman of London.  Each Executor was to receive £10. [2]

• Part of John’s goods were kept in a chest at the London Charterhouse; a chest of gold and silver were in the Armourer’s House of William Warner, Alderman; and a chest of fair plate was kept at The Cardinal’s Hat in Gracious Street, London.  Further research (by Gary!) suggests that the pub might actually have been in Lombard Street.  [2]

1494

• He was promoted to Third Justice of Lancaster in 1494 and served as such until 1504.  [3]

1495

• In 1495 he was promoted to Chief Justice of Lancaster. [3]

• In the same year, John's brother and heir, William Vavasour, died.  

1505 - 1506

• From a memorial dated 1505–6 it appears that John was concerned in Sir Richard Empson's lawsuit against Sir Robert Plumpton and that he suffered himself to be influenced by Empson. [6]

1506 

• John was discharged as a judge on 16 October 1506. [3]

• John Vavasour the elder died on 21st November 1506.  [2]   He was buried at Austin Friars. [7]

• John died childless and was by this time estranged from his wife. [4]

• At his death, John left the staggering sum of £800 in gold. (Worth over £600,000 nowadays!) [4]  Part of John’s goods were kept in a chest at the London Charterhouse; a chest of gold and silver were in the Armourer’s House of William Warner, Alderman; and a chest of fair plate was kept at The Cardinal’s Hat in Gracious Street, London.  Further research (by Gary!) suggests that the pub might actually have been in Lombard Street.  [2]

• When John died the bulk of his wealth went to William's son, Peter Vavasour.  Peter was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew, Lord Windsor.   Apart from Peter, no other family member demonstrably benefited from John’s success. [4]

👑1509 - 1547

Reign of Henry VIII (24th June 1509 - 28th January 1547)

Sources:

1. Miscellanea genealogica et heraldica , 1868, Series 1, Vol. 1-2, Pg.133, https://archive.org/details/miscellaneagenea112unse/page/132/mode/2up?q=spaldington

2. A Selection of Wills from the Registry at York Vo.l 4, by Surtees Society, Durham

3.  Carlyle, E. I. (2004). "Oxford DNB article:Vavasour, Sir John". In Horrox, Rosemary (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28167. Retrieved 21 October 2008. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.), cited at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Vavasour 

4. 'A Social History of England, 1200-1500', 2006, pg.120, Philippa C. Maddern, edited by Rosemary Horrox, W. M. Ormrod.

5. Cited in 'The Plumpton letters and papers'

6. Dictionary of National Biography

7. 'English Aristocratic Women and the Fabric of Piety, 1450-1550'

8. 'Withering on the Vine', thesis.

9. Testamenta Eboracensia

10. https://archive.org/details/YASRS103/page/54/mode/2up?q=Vavasour