BARBER, Hugh, of Rochester, Kent.

An obscure figure, Hugh was presumably a kinsman of Thomas Barber* another local man; several individuals sharing their surname were assessed in 1377 for the poll tax in Rochester. Poll Taxes, ed. Fenwick, i. 415. Having represented Rochester in the Parliament of 1429, he served as a juror at an inquisition post mortem held there in September the following year. Three months later he was present to attest the election of the shire knights for Kent in the county court held in the city. CIPM, xxiii. 457; C219/14/2. In Hilary term 1434 Barber and one John Rysby sued Thomas Person of Chislet, Kent, in the court of common pleas for a debt of £5. The plaintiffs, represented by their attorney, Henry Hickes*, were successful in recovering the debt and were awarded damages of 13s. 4d. CP40/692, rot. 242. On 15 Sept. 1436 he was among the prominent citizens of Rochester who formed a jury which reported to the sheriff of Kent about the identity of the prioress of Higham priory. E199/20/16. The last reference to Barber is in Easter term 1437 when he brought a plea against a husbandman and his wife from Herne, several miles to the east of Rochester, over their failure to pay rent for 40 acres of land there that Barber had leased to them. CP40/705, rot. 258.