BERDE, John (by 1471-1521/22), of Hythe, Kent.

John Berde lived at Hythe from at least 1492 when he was assessed in the east ward for a local tax. In the following year he was assessed in the west ward, and when in 1501 he was appointed a collector of the tax it was again in the west ward, where he had evidently established himself. Between that year and 1520 he was present on 23 occasions at the Brotherhood of the Cinque Ports as one of the delegation from Hythe. On 12 Nov. 1521 he made a will leaving all his property to his wife, whom he appointed one of his executors; the will was proved on 5 Feb. 1522. When his widow died in 1525 her possessions included three herring nets, from which it appears that Berde had been a fisherman.5Hythe chamberlains’ accts. 1483-1509, ff. 36v, 44, 66; Cinque Ports White and Black Bks. 127 seq.; Arch. Cant. xlix. 131-2.