LOVEDAY, Thomas (by 1513-58), of Gloucester.

Family and Education
b. by 1513, prob. 1st s. of Thomas Loveday of Gloucester by Elizabeth. m. Margaret, 1s. 1da.1Date of birth estimated from first reference. W. Bazeley, Recs. Gloucester Cathedral, i. 129-31.
Offices Held

Steward, Gloucester 1534 – 35, sheriff 1536 – 37, 1541 – 42, alderman 1539 – d., master of the guild of Holy Trinity 1540 – 41, of St. Margaret’s hospital 1543 – 44, coroner 1541 – 42, 1554 – 55, mayor 1546 – 47, 1555–6.2Bristol and Glos. Arch. Soc. Trans. xxxiv. 113–14; Gloucester Guildhall 1300; 1375, ff. 28, 31.

Address
Main residence: Gloucester.
biography text

Thomas Loveday’s father was probably the Gloucester blacksmith who in 1519 leased a tenement there from the abbey. When this Thomas Loveday and his wife renewed their lease in 1530 they added to it the names of their sons, Thomas, Robert and John. Thomas did not follow his father’s trade but became a dyer and a brewer, living in the parish of St. John the Baptist and combining business with a civic career.3Bazeley, i. 129-31; Bristol and Glos. Arch. Soc. Trans. xxxiv. 113-14 (which conflates father and son); PCC 57 Noodes.

Loveday owed his Membership to two coincidental circumstances: Sir Thomas Bell, who had sat for Gloucester in the three preceding Parliaments, was precluded from doing so in the first two of Mary’s reign by his mayoralty, while Sir John Pollard, the new recorder, was found a county seat as Speaker-designate in October 1553 which he retained on the two succeeding occasions. Loveday may not have been a conscientious Member, at least on his second appearance, when his receipt of wages for only 32 days (including travelling time) suggests that he was absent for eight days of that short Parliament.4Gloucester Guildhall 1394, ff. 42, 43.

Loveday made his will on 28 Apr. 1557, asking to be buried in the choir of his parish church. His wife was to enjoy a rent from their daughter Joan on a house in Stroud in exchange for her lands at Linkend in the parish of Eldersfield, Worcestershire. On 10 Aug. 1558, ‘at this time of my sickness’, Loveday added a codicil leaving his wife their dwelling house and making small bequests to kinsmen and servants. He died 18 days later.5Gloucester Guildhall 1375, f. 31; PCC 57 Noodes.

Author
M.K.D.
Volume
Commons 1509-1558
Notes
  • 1. Date of birth estimated from first reference. W. Bazeley, Recs. Gloucester Cathedral, i. 129-31.
  • 2. Bristol and Glos. Arch. Soc. Trans. xxxiv. 113–14; Gloucester Guildhall 1300; 1375, ff. 28, 31.
  • 3. Bazeley, i. 129-31; Bristol and Glos. Arch. Soc. Trans. xxxiv. 113-14 (which conflates father and son); PCC 57 Noodes.
  • 4. Gloucester Guildhall 1394, ff. 42, 43.
  • 5. Gloucester Guildhall 1375, f. 31; PCC 57 Noodes.