THORPE, John

Thorpe first appears in the records in Hilary term 1419 when, described as ‘of Scarborough, chapman’, he was sued for a debt of £10 by two merchants of the town, Robert Wardale* and John Dryng.2 CP40/632, rot. 92d. It is unlikely that he is to be identified with a namesake, a smith of Scarborough, involved in 1405 in the illegal seizure of two ships of Hamburg: CPR, 1405-8, pp. 146-7, 150-1, 353. Three years later he was the plaintiff in a less routine action, claiming that John Carter†, one of the leading burgesses, had imprisoned and badly treated him at York. The alleged assailant was required to find surety of the peace to him, and on 26 Nov. 1427 the Exchequer was ordered to proceed against Carter for breaking that surety. Unfortunately, however, nothing more is known of the matter.3 CP40/632, rot. 92d; 645, rot. 78; 650, rot. 143; E159/204, brevia Hil. rot. 24.

Although Thorpe makes few appearances in the records, his election as bailiff and appointment to a royal commission shows that he numbered among the town’s potentiores.4 He is to be distinguished from his namesake, a yeoman of Kingston-upon-Hull, who, as searcher of ships in that port in the late 1420s and 1430s, was indicted for a series of frauds and concealments: CPR, 1429-36, p. 166; E159/204, recorda Mich. rot. 27; 207, recorda Mich. rots. 11d, 22, 23d, 28. His commercial interests were extensive enough to come to the occasional attention of the authorities. In February 1428 he sued out a licence to export 200 quarters of grain, but when summoned into the Exchequer in Michaelmas term 1429 to show that he had not exported the grain to an enemy port he surrendered the licence for cancellation. Later, at an inquisition into concealments on 20 Mar. 1438, he was indicted for exporting from Scarborough wool worth a modest 24s. without the payment of customs. When summoned to answer in the Exchequer, he defaulted and was thus charged with the cost of the wool.5 E159/206, recorda Mich. rot. 24; 215, recorda Trin. rot. 10. Other litigation in which Thorpe was involved probably arose out of his only known term as bailiff. His fellow bailiff in 1436-7 was his former creditor, Wardale, and on 13 Nov. 1437, soon after the end of their term, they jointly took a bond in over £28 from another Scarborough merchant, Alan Wharrom. In the following Hilary term they were themselves sued for £40 by Sir John Constable*.6 CP40/708, rot. 254; 718, rot. 171.

These sketchy details of Thorpe’s career are supplemented by the will he made on 21 Sept. 1443. Describing himself as a burgess of Scarborough, he wanted to be buried in the church of St. Mary. He bequeathed his residence in ‘Newtongate’ to his wife Margaret, and another messuage there to one of his younger sons, Thomas, a chaplain. Both were to hold for life, saving the remainder to his eldest son, Richard, in fee tail. His other son, John, had to content himself with a bequest of 20s. Other property, situated on ‘Paradise’ street and in West Sandgate, were to be sold for the payment of his debts, implying that those debts may have been relatively large. Margaret and two of the sons, Richard and Thomas, were entrusted with the will’s execution and began their task when the will was proved on 6 Nov.7 Borthwick Inst. Univ. of York, York registry wills, prob. reg. 2, f. 69.