| Constituency | Dates |
|---|---|
| Northampton | 1407 |
Bailiff, Northampton Mich. 1405–6.
During his term as bailiff of Northampton Rivell witnessed a conveyance of property made by his fellow burgesses, Thomas Overton and John Stotesbury. He also offered sureties for the attendance of the Members returned by the borough to the Parliament of 1406, and stood himself at the next elections held in the following year. He once again cast his vote in 1410, but no more is heard of him between then and February 1424, when his name appears among the ‘venerable company of discreet men’ who witnessed an enrolment in the town records on behalf of the Carmelite priory of Northampton.1Northampton Recs. ed. Markham and Cox, i. 361; ii. 557; Add. Ch. 730.
Given his occupation as a local dyer, it seems unlikely that this MP was the John Rivell who, in 1394, was arraigned with John Tyndale* at the Northampton assizes on a plea of novel disseisin. Three years later this John Rivell received a royal commission for the recruitment of workmen in Northants., although he actually lived across the country border in Rutland. In 1408, he and Tyndale offered a joint recognizance of pound;26, leviable upon their property in Rutland to a Yorkshiremen (JUST 1/1501 rot. 23; CPR, 1396-9, p. 192; CCR, 1405-9, p. 387).
- 1. Northampton Recs. ed. Markham and Cox, i. 361; ii. 557; Add. Ch. 730.