RYKEDON, Thomas

Almost certainly the son of Richard Rykedon, who served Hythe as a jurat, bailiff and MP for nearly 40 years,4 Thomas was probably the eldest of three sons. The other two, William and Robert, both paid maltolts in Hythe and claimed exemption from the parliamentary subsidy in Folkestone hundred, but neither served as a jurat: The Commons 1396-1421, iv. 267; E179/229/139. Thomas came from a well established and important local family. Like Richard, he enjoyed a long career, albeit one not nearly as impressive as that of his putative father. He was active by the later 1430s, for in the autumn of 1438 he sold 40 quarters of wheat to Constance, wife of John Lynde* of Canterbury,5 CIMisc. viii. 122. although his primary occupation was that of a fisherman. In 1443 he claimed exemption from the parliamentary subsidy in the hundred of Heane,6 E179/124/110. and it was in Hythe’s Market Ward that he made his maltolts payment, on herring, mackerel and ‘netfyssche’, in 1446. Later that year, he accompanied the rest of the Hythe fishing fleet into the North Sea, returning with six lasts of herring caught off the coast of Great Yarmouth during the annual herring fair.7 H 1055, ff. 86, 103.

In February 1450 Thomas became a jurat of Hythe, beginning over 30 years of almost uninterrupted service in the government of the town.8 Although there is no extant acct. for 1477-8, his service was probably continuous. In the following year he attended a court of Shepway held by the new warden of the Cinque Ports, Humphrey Stafford, duke of Buckingham, and contributed towards the costs of the Ports’ ships used in the defence of Gascony.9 H 1055, f. 162. In June 1452, perhaps reflecting a professional interest, he attended his first, special meeting of the Brodhull, in this instance one called to discuss the matter of the safe conducts issued to the Ports’ fishing fleet.10 White and Black Bks. of Cinque Ports (Kent Rec. Ser. xix), 30. During the following year Thomas was exempted from the parliamentary subsidy in the hundred of Folkestone,11 E179/234/4/5. It is unlikely that he was the Thomas Rykedon who, as a Portsman of Fordwich, claimed exemption in the city of Canterbury and in Bridge hundred in 1453: E179/234/4/5, 9. and attended another special meeting of the Brodhull, probably also connected with the Ports’ affairs at Yarmouth.12 White and Black Bks. 30. In 1453-4 Rykedon travelled to Canterbury for discussions with Archbishop Kemp about the office of bailiff of Hythe, and participated in a general meeting of the Brodhull. It is also likely that he was at Yarmouth for the herring fair of 1454, for he contributed 6s. 8d. towards the costs of the Ports’ bailiffs there.13 H 1019, f. 16v; White and Black Bks. 33. In September 1456 and May 1458 Rykedon attended special meetings of the Brodhull, to discuss a controversy arising from the seizure by Portsmen of goods belonging to some Norwich merchants and the subsequent arrest of the Ports’ bailiffs at Yarmouth, while meanwhile he contributed to a ship provided by Hythe in the wake of the French raid on Sandwich.14 White and Black Bks. 36, 39; H 1019, f. 79v.

On 6 Nov. 1459 Rykedon and Richard Smallwood* were elected to the so-called ‘Parliament of Devils’, which assembled at Coventry later that month with the principal aim of attainting the Yorkist lords. Unusually, they were both parliamentary novices, but their election may reflect the fact that they were among the richest men in Hythe at this time and able to bear the cost of the long journey to the Midlands. Both returned on 25 Dec. and claimed daily expenses of 2s. 4d. for 41 days, including the ten they had spent travelling, a sum they were able to offset against the payment of their maltolts.15 H 1019, f. 93.

Throughout the next two decades, Rykedon remained involved in the government of Hythe and active in its fishing fleet. He sat regularly in the bailiff’s court hearing local pleas and in February 1463 he himself was chosen as bailiff.16 H 1023, ff. 165-216. As such, he attended meetings of the Brodhull, and in April 1464 it ordered him to arrest Thomasina, widow of William Walton*, so that she might answer one of her late husband’s creditors, John Archer I* of Hastings.17 White and Black Bks. 45, 47-49. In the same period he probably travelled annually to the Yarmouth herring fair (in 1468, for instance, he paid maltolts on 22 lasts of herring caught there),18 H 1058, f. 17v. but appears only rarely to have been employed on Hythe’s communal business. Like many Portsmen, he contributed to the journey northwards that Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, warden of the Cinque Ports, made with the duke of Clarence in 1469 with the intention of joining the rebellion begun by Robin of Redesdale. In 1470 Rykedon attended the first court of Shepway held by the new warden, William Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, and presented a gift of a halibut to the new lieutenant of Dover castle, Sir John Scott†.19 Ibid. f. 52v. It would appear, however, that he played little part in the events of the following year, in the wake of the Ports’ decision to support Warwick and the Readeption regime. In 1475 Rykedon contributed towards Hythe’s ship service for Edward IV’s French campaign and gave a gift of herring to the Canterbury lawyer, Roger Brent†,20 H 1058, f. 170. but during the 1470s he represented Hythe at only four meetings of the Brodhull.21 White and Black Bks. 68, 73, 77, 79. One of the wealthiest inhabitants of the town in the 1480s, he contributed 11s. 11d. to the benevolence levied by the Crown in 1481.22 H 1058, f. 243.

Still serving as a jurat in February 1484, Rykedon probably remained in that office until his death. He drew up his will on 24 Jan. 1486 and was dead by the following 15 Feb. when probate was granted. Seeking burial in St. Leonard’s churchyard in Hythe, he left 20s. to that church and the like sum to the parish church of St. Mary and St. Eanswith at Folkestone. Rykedon, who appears to have died childless, bequeathed portions of his household goods and chattels to his wife, Alice, to Thomas Hogge (perhaps his brother-in-law) and to Hogge’s wife and daughters; he assigned the rest of his moveable goods to his servants to share between them. He also ordered the sale of all his property in Hythe and Folkestone: the money so raised was to be spent on good works and to provide sums for his widow (£6 13s. 14d.) and two female servants (20s. to share between them).23 PRC 32/3, f. 85. Alice Rykedon did not long survive her husband. In her own will, dated 1 Mar. that same year, she asked to be buried beside him and gave 20s. for works at St. Leonard’s. She rewarded her servant, John Borne, and his family with bequests of goods and chattels, including ‘a chest bought in Flanders’ for his daughter, and instructed her executors to dispose of the remainder of her belongings for the benefit of her soul.24 Ibid. f. 87.