Family and Education

m. by 1390, Edith,1 1da. d.v.p.

Offices Held

Bailiff, Bridport Mich. 1386-7, 1396-7, 1398-9, 1400-1, 1402-3, 1406-7, 1409-10, 1413-14, 1416-17, 1418-19, 1420-1; cofferer 1391-3, 1394-6, 1397-8.2

Biography

Palmer, who traded in woollen cloth in Bridport, was probably a native of the town. From 1390 he leased from the commonalty a shop near St. Andrew’s church and later acquired property in ‘Stake Lane’ and in South Street, where he lived.3 A man of considerable local standing, he was elected bailiff as many as 11 times in all, and in 1390, along with Simon atte Ford*, he formally represented the burgesses in the court of King’s bench in their dispute with Dorchester over tolls. He served as executor of the wills of Gilbert Draper* and Edward Tite, the father-in-law of Henry Rauf*. In 1422 he was associated with Sir Humphrey Stafford II* of Hooke in a deed of assignment of personalty by a Bridport man, and a year later he was involved in a conveyance of property in the town and elsewhere to John Burgess^†. Meanwhile, he had frequently figured among the delegates reporting to the county court at Dorchester the outcome of the Bridport elections to Parliament. In 1421, furthermore, he was party to the election of the knights of the shire.4

In his will, made on 14 Nov. 1427 and proved a fortnight later by the archdeacon of Dorset, Palmer requested burial in St. Mary’s cemetery. His monetary legacies, which amounted to no more than £2, included 3s.4d. for the fabric fund of Salisbury cathedral. As his daughter, Joan, had predeceased him, he left his property to his widow, Edith, and her heirs, only for it to be settled in October 1430 on their son-in-law, Henry Baker of Netherbury.5

Ref Volumes: 1386-1421

Author: L. S. Woodger

Notes

Date of Death: Dorset RO, B3/Y6.

• 1. Ibid. B3/S222.
• 2. Ibid. B3/D2, ff. 89, 90; M11, ff. 7, 9, 10, 12, 15, 19, 21, 32, 50, 76, 84, 88, 92, 95.
• 3. Ibid. B3/S114, 222; C146/2784, 4605; E101/343/29.
• 4. C260/103/23; Dorset RO, B3/CD4; D2, f. 132v; X7; CAD, ii. C2097; vi. C5822; C219/11/3, 5; 12/2-5; 13/1, 3, 4.
• 5. Dorset RO, CD22, f. 2; S41; Y6. John’s relationship to John Palmer junior, who with his wife, Joan, joined two local fraternities (CD11, f. 2v, 16, f. 2v), is not known.