CUNDY, Peter, of Sandwich, Kent.

The Cundys had been prominent in Sandwich earlier in the 14th century, when Edward III had granted John Cundy (d.1345) the bailiwick of the town, subsequently giving him and his heirs in perpetuity a handsome annuity of £30 in lieu of the office. Following the death of John’s son William in 1368, this royal gift was received by the latter’s five sisters and their issue.CPR, 1340-3, p. 18; CIPM, xii. 223; xiii. 183; xiv. 331, 335. Peter Cundy came from another branch of the family, being the grandson of Peter (d.c.1349) and son of Laurence, the MP of 1378 and mayor of 1378-9.CIPM, xiv. 248; Kent AO, Sandwich deeds Sa/TB1/9.

In November 1389 Peter gave evidence before a committee of the King’s Council about a Hanseatic ship which his father had captured seven years earlier and brought to Sandwich, where he himself had seen it. The cargo of wine was afterwards restored to its Portuguese owners, except for 14 tuns retained by the late Sir Robert Assheton, then warden of the Cinque Ports, and never returned, so far as Cundy knew.PPC, i. 14-16. Also examined on that occasion was John Cundy, who a year earlier had represented Hythe in the same Parliament in which Peter had sat for Sandwich. Their precise relationship has not been discovered.