SKINNER, John II

Skinner is to be distinguished from the man of the same name who lived at Ockham near Guildford, and whose daughter, Margaret, married William Weston I*.2 The Commons 1386-1421, iv. 816-18. The MP’s family was well established in Reigate by the fifteenth century.3 Surr. Arch. Collns. xxxviii. 58. His father, also named John, was clearly a prominent resident and in May 1434, not long before his death, was listed among the Surrey gentry required to take the general oath against law-breakers.4 CAD, vi. C4090; CPR, 1429-36, p. 381. Almost nothing is known of Skinner’s early career or education, but he may have received some legal training that qualified him for the later tenure of the under shrievalty of his county. His marriage to Joan Calcoke was to prove a fortunate one, for by the time it took place Joan’s father had disinherited his elder daughter, Eleanor (after she wed a bondman of the duke of Norfolk), leaving Joan the sole heiress to the family’s property at Chipstead and Woodmansterne, namely ‘Beauchamps’ and two other manors. Other lands were, however, to pass to a half-brother.5 Harl. 897, f. 140; VCH Surr. iii. 192, 203; iv. 249; Surr. Arch. Collns. xvi. 3-4, 22.

Skinner’s interests remained centred on Reigate throughout his career, but his election as an MP for the borough in 1450 probably reflected less his standing as a burgess than a connexion with Reigate’s lord, John Mowbray, duke of Norfolk. In the charged atmosphere of that summer, Norfolk made common cause with Richard, duke of York, in securing the return of a number of their retainers to the Commons, and it is likely that it was ducal patronage that also accounted for Skinner’s return. He went on to serve as one of the constables of Reigate in 1452-3, and in that capacity attested the borough’s parliamentary election to the Reading Parliament.6 C219/16/2; L.E. Moye, ‘Estates and Finances of the Mowbray Fam.’ (Duke Univ. Ph.D. thesis, 1985), 438. He also attested the county election that year, an indicator of his standing in the county as a whole, and his services as a feoffee were drawn upon on several occasions by men such as John Arderne of Warwickshire, who had acquired lands at Flanchford by 1453. In 1454 he acted in a similar capacity regarding property in Southwark which belonged to John, Lord Berners, while in 1457-8 he was retained as counsel by the former soldier Sir John Fastolf at a small fee of 3s. 4d. He was also active as a witness to local transactions, and in 1449 had been one of the recipients of a gift of goods and chattels made by a draper from Dorking.7 C219/16/2; Surr. Arch. Collns. xi. 146; CP25(1)/232/74/61; CCR, 1441-7, pp. 377, 383; 1447-54, pp. 172, 244, 498; Baker, ii. 1407.

Skinner’s later career is difficult to distinguish from that of his younger son, John, who also lived at Reigate and who attested the county election of 1472. Which of the two men attested that of 1467 is less certain, although the father was certainly still alive.8 C219/17/1, 2. Given his experience, it is probable that it was the former MP who was appointed to a royal commission in 1465 and was for a short time added to the quorum of the county bench. Skinner’s successful career also seems to have benefited his elder son and heir, Richard, who may have shared in his father’s professional practice.9 CCR, 1461-8, pp. 363, 409; CP40/837, rot. 13d. Skinner survived at least into the autumn of 1470. He was by this date evidently in some degree of difficulty, for he was being pursued in the law courts for debts of varying magnitude by a number of plaintiffs, including Sir Thomas Cobham of Sterborough, who sought the substantial sum of 500 marks.10 CP40/837, rots. 4, 13, 51d, 60, 139. Like later members of his family, the MP may have been buried in Reigate church where a monument survives to his son John, incorporating the Skinner and Calcoke arms.11 Surr. Arch. Collns. xi. 194-6; xii. 70; xvi. 3-4; xxxii. 63; VCH Surr. iv. 249.