CLITHEROE, William (d.1454), of Hythe, Kent.

The Clitheroes were one of the leading families of the Kentish Cinque Ports in this period. William’s great-uncle, Richard Clitheroe†, had moved from Lancashire to London in the 1390s, establishing himself permanently in Kent in the early years of the fifteenth century, and had become involved in the administration of Calais, rising to the office of deputy-treasurer and victualler under Henry IV. Richard’s brother, William† (our MP’s grandfather), had established himself in New Romney by the mid 1390s and served as bailiff of the town from 1397 until 1414, and had also sat as a parliamentary baron on six occasions. That William’s eldest son, also Richard, followed in his father’s footsteps, serving as jurat, bailiff and MP for New Romney from 1414 (indeed he represented the Port in at least 13 Parliaments), and his second son, John, entered the Church and served as bishop of Bangor from 1423 until 1435. Despite his background and important connexions, William remains an obscure figure. A ‘William’ Clitheroe was distrained for failing to take up knighthood in 1439, although it is seems likely that this was a scribal error and it was his father’s cousin Roger Clitheroe (d.1454), who was meant to be fined on this occasion. Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Canterbury consist. ct. wills, PRC32/1, f. 71.

It was not until August 1449 that William made his first appearance in the records of Hythe. In that month, described as ‘gentleman’, he brought a plea of trespass in the bailiff’s court. Hythe ct. bk. 1449-67, H 1023, f. 3. In October Richard Sellyng, whose wife was the daughter of the important local landowner, Thomas Brockhill, demised certain property in the town to him for three years, but his interest in this property was disputed by Nicholas Brockhill*, the bailiff of Hythe, who claimed the property in gavelkind as Thomas’s brother and heir. Hythe ct. of piepowder, c.1399-1603, H 1028. Clitheroe had thus acquired property in Hythe and was a freeman of the Ports at the time of his election to the Parliament which assembled at Westminster on 5 Nov. that year. On 28 Oct., before the bailiff and the assembled jurats, he and Robert Berde* were elected as the parliamentary barons by the ‘whole commonalty’. Berde, who came from Sevenoaks and was clerk of Dover castle, was elected at the ‘special request’ of James Fiennes*, Lord Saye and Sele, warden of the Cinque Ports, his lieutenant, Gervase Clifton*, and the Dover man, Ralph Toke*. This unusual request was granted provided that it did not mark a precedent, and Berde agreed to serve for only 1s. a day, only for the Portsmen to learn, shortly afterwards, that he had also been elected for Rye, and preferred to represent that Port. In Berde’s place Hythe chose a local man, the experienced parliamentarian Richard Rykedon*, to accompany Clitheroe to Westminster. The entry in the jurats’ book does not suggest that the intervention of Saye and his servants also secured Clitheroe’s election. Like Rykedon he accepted 1s. 6d. a day in wages, rather than the usual 2s. Jurats’ acct. bk. H1055, f. 28v.

Following his return from Parliament Clitheroe remained involved in the affairs of Hythe and on 2 Feb. 1451 he was elected as one of the jurats. As such, he sat frequently in the bailiff’s court hearing pleas alongside his fellow jurats until 29 Jan. 1452, four days before his period in office ended. Hythe ct. bk. H1023, ff. 20-29v. He also began to pay maltolts in Market Ward from this year. On 7 Mar., along with his wife, he appeared before his fellow jurats to render account. That he appeared with his wife suggests that his entrée into the community of Hythe had been through marriage, although Agnes’s identity remains unclear. His maltolts were assessed on £30-worth of ‘divers merchandise’, as well as small quantities of vinegar and salt. He also declared rents worth 41s. p.a. From these he claimed allowance for £10 19s. in parliamentary wages, representing 86 days spent at the sessions at Westminster and Leicester. He also claimed for 13s. 4d. in expenses at a court of Shepway to welcome Saye’s successor as warden, the duke of Buckingham. A further 8s. was claimed for ‘divers expenses’ detailed on a bill submitted to the jurats. This suggests that he also had some legal experience and was employed by the Portsmen of Hythe in a professional capacity. Clitheroe’s formal involvement in the affairs of Hythe proved short-lived. For reasons that are not clear, he was not re-elected as a jurat the following year, but remained in the town and continued to pay maltolts in Market Ward. In 1452-3 he was still owed £6 6s. 7¼d. from the previous year’s expenses and this deficit was only slowly reduced over the next two years before his death. Jurats’ acct. bk. H 1055, ff. 154, 161v, 179, 191.

Clitheroe had in fact made a last will on 13 Apr. 1450, shortly before setting out for the final parliamentary session at Leicester. In it he asked to be buried in the north end of the chapel of St. Leonard at Hythe, opposite the image of the Virgin. All his lands, tenements and rents were left to his widow, with remainder to his son and heir, Richard. Should Richard die without issue, then the properties were to revert to the testator’s sister, Margaret, and her husband, John Chenew*. Finally, if this couple died without heirs the properties were to be sold and the proceeds employed to pay a poor priest to sing for Clitheroe’s soul and those of his parents at St. Nicholas’s church, New Romney. He also provided £20 for the marriage of his daughter, Cecily. On 12 Feb. 1454, from his deathbed, Clitheroe renewed the terms of this will before John Rochford, chaplain at St. Leonard’s, and other witnesses. It seems that this was done in haste as no record of Clitheroe’s provision for his burial or his soul was recorded. Canterbury consist. ct. wills, PRC32/1, f. 70. The execution of the will also proved troublesome and its terms were disputed. Some ten years after his death his two younger sons, William and Matthew, presented a petition in Chancery against their late father’s feoffees, including Sir John Scott†, in an attempt to recover property in New Romney and Dymchurch. C1/33/340.