PRESTHEVIDE, William, of Leominster, Herefs.

In the course of a seemingly long career, Presthevide was assigned a variety of trade designations. In 1421 he was described in the modest capacity of ‘webster’ when sued for close-breaking in company with two other of Leominster’s MPs, Reynold Smith† and John Crewe*. In 1425 he was unhelpfully called a husbandman, but, by the 1430s, he had found a new trade, variously appearing in legal records as a wax-maker or wax-chandler. It was, for example, as the latter that he was sued, in 1446, for a debt of £5 by William Hood*. CP40/643, rot. 562d; 656, rot. 448d; 678, rot. 66d; 736, rot. 266d; 741, rot. 295d. These designations confirm the impression that he was not one of the town’s leading burgesses – significantly, he was not among the Leominster men to be sworn to the peace in 1434 – and his election to Parliament, early in an insignificant career, reflects the lack of competition for seats in the town. CPR, 1429-36, p. 377; C219/13/1.