Family and Education

b. by 1504, prob. s. of Robert Batenore of Lewis. m. Elizabeth, 2s. 2da.1

Offices Held

Churchwarden, St. Andrew’s, Lewes 1531, 1540, 1547; constable, Lewes 1545.2

Biography

John Batenore was a mercer who lived in the parish of St. Andrew in Lewes. In 1524-5 he was assessed for the subsidy on goods worth £10. Not long afterwards he helped to dispossess John Mason and his wife of a house called ‘the Vine’ in Lewes: this action was deplored by the local justices, but despite their support Mason was imprisoned in the castle by the town officials. Although he was not one of its wealthier inhabitants, Batenore became one of the leading figures in the town’s affairs, and his Membership of the Parliament of 1529 was a stepping-stone in his career. Presumably he sat for the town again in its successor of 1536, in compliance with the King’s wishes for the return of the previous Members, and he may have continued to do so in the remaining Parliaments of the reign, for which the names of the Members for Lewes are nearly all lost. Nothing has been discovered about his part in the Commons.3

Batenore made his will on 11 Nov. 1551. He left £6 for distribution to the poor in Cliffe, Lewes and Southover, and his house, jewels, plate and an annuity to his wife. His brother William received 40s. and some clothes, while his children had small sums of money and shared the household goods of gilt and brass. He appointed his elder son John sole executor and John Stempe an overseer. The will was proved on 3 Feb. 1552 and not long afterwards Batenore’s son John brought an action in the common pleas for the recovery of over £90 owed to his father by a former London grocer, who was ordered to pay. The writ ordering payment was delivered two days after the death of Edward VI and the grocer used this as a pretext in Chancery to avoid settlement: the final outcome is unknown.4

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558

Author: R. J.W. Swales

Notes

• 1. Date of birth estimated from first reference. PCC 21 Holder, 3 Powell.
• 2. Suss. Arch. Coll. xlv. 45-47; Suss. Rec. Soc. xlviii. 2.
• 3. Suss. Arch. Coll. xlv. 42-57; Suss. Rec. Soc. xvi. 71; lvi. 98.
• 4. PCC 3 Powell; C1/1345/22.