| Constituency | Dates |
|---|---|
| London | [1423], 1425, [1426], 1427, 1433 |
Attestor, parlty. elections, London 1419, 1420, 1421 (Dec.), 1429, 1431, 1432, 1437, 1442.
Common councilman, London by 24 May 1417; alderman of Langbourn Ward Dec. 1420 – Aug. 1436, Cheap Ward c. 1436 – d.; auditor 21 Sept. 1421–4, 1425 – 27; sheriff, London and Mdx. Mich. 1420–1; mayor 13 Oct. 1431–2.
Master, Grocers’ Co. July 1426–7, 1429 – 31, 1434 – 36, May 1441–2.
Commr. of gaol delivery, Newgate Dec. 1431 (q.);1 C66/431, m. 10d. inquiry, London Oct. 1432; oyer and terminer Oct. 1433, Oct., Nov. 1434, Jan. 1442; to distribute a subsidy allowance Dec. 1433, Feb. 1434.
Ambassador to treat for a truce with the envoys of John V, duke of Brittany, 24 Mar. 1433.
Keeper and escheator of Norwich 15 July – 29 Nov. 1437.
More may be added to the earlier biography.2 The Commons 1386-1421, iv. 802-5.
It may have been during the Parliament of 1423, when Welles sat for London, that he promoted a petition to the Commons seeking exoneration for himself and his fellow sheriff, John Boteler, for the escape of a Welsh prisoner, brought about by the intervention of Thomas Chaucer*.3 SC8/149/7446.
It is not clear why, probably during the course of his mayoralty in 1431-2, Welles chose to present a ceremonial sword to his counterpart at Bristol, Richard Trenode*, or one of his successors.4 Gothic Art for Eng. ed. Marks and Williamson (Victoria and Albert Museum cat.), 266-7.
If Welles acquired a posthumous reputation as a great builder and public benefactor, some of his individual legatees nevertheless experienced difficulties in securing their bequests. On his deathbed, so Joan, wife of Henry Archer (one of Welles’s household servants who had cared for him in his last illness) claimed, the grocer had asked one of his executors, Master William Clyff, to reward her appropriately for her faithful service. Clyff had done so by delivering to her a bond for money owing from the Northampton dyer Nicholas Golafre, but had subsequently taken steps to ensure that she could not secure payment of her legacy.5 C1/28/519.