YORKE, Sir John (c.1634-63), of Gouthwaite and Richmond, Yorks.

Yorke was descended from a merchant of the Staple who sat for York in 1472. Although the estate was based largely on successful speculation in ex-monastic property in Tudor times, Yorke’s father and sisters were Catholic recusants. His marriage brought him an interest at Richmond, for which he was returned in 1661. An inactive Member of the Cavalier Parliament, he was classed as a friend by Lord Wharton, and appointed to ten committees, including the committee of elections and privileges in the first three sessions. In 1661 he was nominated to committees for confirming public Acts and considering the shortfall in the revenue. On 25 Feb. 1663 he was appointed to committees on bills against pluralities and for the better observation of the Lord’s day. He died on 1 Apr. 1663, aged 29, and was buried at Gouthwaite under a Catholic inscription.C. H. D. Howard, Sir John Yorke of Nidderdale, 10, 11; C. Clarkson, Hist. Richmond, 330, 332; H. Aveling, Northern Catholics, 320.