Appendix VI: Merchant Members

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010
Available from Cambridge University Press

Merchant Members

These lists are limited to known merchants and those whose primary source of income was probably commerce; they exclude Members who no longer traded or whose trading activities were not the major source of their income. Brief details of each man’s trade and constituency are provided, as are dates of admission where entry to the Commons occurred after Parliament began. Dates of death are given where a man expired while still a Member.

The Parliament of 1604-10

Askwith, Robert (draper)

York

Bagg, James I (tin merchant, inter alia)

Plymouth

Barfoot, Thomas (cloth exporter; d. May 1610)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Barwicke, William (master of local merchant guild)

Carlisle

Benson, Richard (ironmonger; d.1609)

Ludlow

Berkeley, Roland (clothier or weaver; entered House 1605)

Worcester

Billingsley, Sir Henry (haberdasher)

London

Bogans, John (d. Feb. 1606; mentioned in port books

in early 1580s; moneylender)

Helston

Breres, Henry (draper)

Coventry

Brooke, Giles (importer/exporter)

Liverpool

Brooking, Christopher (silk and canvas importer/

cloth exporter)

Totnes

Bucking, Robert (d. Aug. 1604: exported cloth and pots;

imported salt and wine)

Bridgwater

Burges, Thomas I (tin exporter)

Truro

Byng, George (brewer)

Dover

Carveth, Richard (vintner)

Tregony

Chapman, Henry (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Cole, Anthony (served apprenticeship; possibly a clothier;

Hull d.1607)

Coucher, John (clothier or weaver)

Worcester

Cownden, William (goldsmith; d. Jan. 1610)

Southwark

Cradock, George (wool merchant)

Stafford

Dighton, Christopher (d. Aug. 1604)

Worcester

Dottyn, Walter (importer/exporter)

Totnes

Ferrers, Edward (mercer; returned Apr. 1610)

Tewkesbury

Field, Joseph (exported lead and cloth; elected 1607)

Hull

Fisher, Richard (apothecary; elected Dec. 1609)

Ludlow

Godfrey, Richard I (fishmonger)

Salisbury

Gore, Richard (clothier)

London

Gourney, Thomas (merchant and brewer)

Dartmouth

Hamon, Thomas (d. July 1607)

Rye

Hawes, Thomas (brewer)

Bedford

Hassard, John (vintner?; d. Feb. 1610)

Lyme Regis

Heyricke, Sir William (goldsmith and financier;

entered House 1605)

Leicester

Holland, Thomas (nature of activity unknown)

Dartmouth

Hurdman, Walter (mercer)

Hereford

Hurt, Richard (mercer and salt mill owner)

Nottingham

Jackson, Anker (mercer)

Nottingham

James, Richard (owned shop in Newport)

Newport I.o.W.

James, Thomas (traded with Spain; calfskin monopolist)

Bristol

Jeffrey, Sir John (general merchant?)

Southampton

Jenvey, Richard (draper; perhaps also an innkeeper)

Portsmouth

Lasher, James I (innkeeper; possibly also a merchant;

entered 1605)

Hastings

Lowe, Sir Thomas (haberdasher; importer/exporter;

entered House Dec. 1606)

London

Lyffe, Richard (d. Aug. 1605; fishmonger)

Hastings

Man, Edward (probable merchant)

Poole

Mayhew, William (brewer; entered House 1610)

Southwark

Mercer, Edward (linen-draper)

Northampton

Michell, Barnard (from June 1610; exporter foodstuffs)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Middleton, Robert (skinner)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Myddelton, Hugh (goldsmith)

Denbigh Boroughs

Noyes, John (clothier)

Calne

Peake, Edward (d.1607)

Sandwich

Peter, Henry (imported salt and wine)

Fowey

Provis, Thomas (mercer; traded overseas; d.1609)

Penryn

Pettus, John (?tailor)

Norwich

Pitt, John (nature of activities unknown)

Bridport

Prowse, John (clothier)

Exeter

Rogerson, John (draper)

Coventry

Roberts, John (nature of activities unknown)

Chippenham

Sherston, William (clothier)

Bath

Sleigh, Edmund (wool merchant)

Derby

Smith, George (tin merchant)

Exeter

Smythe, Sir Thomas (leading member of various

trading companies; sat from 31 Mar. 1604)

Dunwich

Spicer, John (tailor)

Dorchester

Stone, John (nature of activities unknown)

Bodmin

Swaddon, William (d.1606; clothier)

Calne

Swinarton, Sir John (wine importer)

East Grinstead

Trott, John (draper)

St. Germans

Wallis, Robert (coal and rye merchant)

Cambridge

Warden, John (possibly a brewer; entered House 1610)

Hereford

Wheeler, John (herring importer)

Great Yarmouth

White, Adam (jurat; possibly a merchant)

Winchelsea

White, Robert (owned a ship 1602)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Whitson, John (entered 1605; importer/exporter)

Bristol

The 1614 Parliament

Adams, Lawrence (cloth merchant)

Totnes

Askwith, Robert (draper)

York

Anderson, Sir Henry (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Banister, Henry (goldsmith)

Preston

Bateman, Robert (skinner)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Browne, John I (brewer)

Gloucester

Burges, Thomas II (importer/exporter; traded with

France and Spain)

Truro

Burgis, Richard (importer/exporter, trading in wine,

salt and cloth)

Hull

Cranfield, Sir Lionel (general merchant and financier)

Hythe

Chettle, Thomas (clothier)

Worcester

Clarke, Matthew (wine merchant and brewer)

King’s Lynn

Coxe, Edward (clothworker)

Southwark

Delbridge, John (overseas trader)

Barnstaple

Gauntlett, Roger (silk and woollen cloth)

Salisbury

Gourney, Thomas (merchant and brewer)

Dartmouth

Hardware, George (probable merchant as he was

a leading townsman)

Great Yarmouth

Holland, Thomas (nature of activity unknown)

Dartmouth

Hopkins, Sampson (draper)

Coventry

James, Thomas (traded with Spain;

enjoyed calfskin monopoly)

Bristol

Jenison, William (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Lasher, James I (innkeeper; possibly also a merchant)

Hastings

Lowe, Sir Thomas (haberdasher; importer/exporter)

London

Machen, Thomas (mercer; and involved

in wheat/malt trade)

Gloucester

Martin, Thomas (cloth exporter)

Exeter

Michell, Barnard (exporter foodstuffs)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Middleton, John (gunfounder)

Horsham

Middleton, Robert (skinner)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Myddelton, Hugh (goldsmith)

Denbigh Boroughs

Pierse, John (shopkeeper and mercer)

Bridgnorth

Prowse, John (clothier)

Exeter

Rashleigh, Jonathan (gentry, but seems to

have done some trading)

Fowey

Roy, John (importer/exporter;

traded with northern France)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Sherwill, Thomas (clothier trading with France)

Plymouth

Smythe, Sir Thomas (leading member of

various trading companies)

Sandwich

Snelling, Robert (Eastland merchant)

Ipswich

Staples, Robert (cordwainer)

Nottingham

Synge, Richard (tanner and gent)

Bridgnorth

Trott, John (draper)

St. Germans

Warden, John (possibly a brewer)

Hereford

Whitson, John (importer/exporter)

Bristol

Yearwood, Richard (grocer and brewer)

Southwark

The 1621 Parliament

Abbot, Maurice (draper; investor)

Hull

Anderson, Sir Henry (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Askwith, Robert (master of York Merchant Taylors,

but family business probably run by mother and brother)

York

Bacon, Robert (steward of London glasshouse)

St. Ives

Bateman, Robert (skinner)

London

Brandling, Robert (coal merchant)

Morpeth

Bromfield, Robert (timber merchant)

Southwark

Browne, John I (brewer)

Gloucester

Catcher, Sir John (member of tin consortium)

Truro

Clarke, Matthew (wine merchant and brewer)

King’s Lynn

Cooper, Benjamin (probable merchant,

being a leading townsman)

Great Yarmouth

Cranfield, Sir Lionel (general merchant and financier;

sat to July)

Arundel

Delbridge, John (grain importer; investor)

Barnstaple

Doddridge, Pentecost (cloth exporter)

Barnstaple

Ferrar, John (multiple trading interests)

Tamworth

Gauntlett, Roger (silk and woollen cloth)

Salisbury

Guy, John (traded overseas)

Bristol

Heyricke, Sir William (goldsmith and financier)

Leicester

Hicks, Sir Baptist (mercer and financier)

Tavistock

Hopkins, Sampson (draper)

Coventry

Jourdain, Ignatius (cloth exporter)

Exeter

Keightley, Thomas (skinner)

Bere Alston

Lasher, James II (ironworker)

Hastings

Lister, John (lead exporter)

Hull

Lowe, Sir Thomas (importer/exporter)

London

Mathew, Roger (merchant shipowner)

Dartmouth

Middleton, John (gunfounder)

Horsham

Myddelton, Hugh (goldsmith)

Denbigh Boroughs

Mynne, George (various interests)

Old Sarum

Owner, Edward (shopowner and exporter)

Great Yarmouth

Parkins, John (cloth exporter)

Dorchester

Peirce, Francis (possible merchant)

Minehead

Pitt, Matthew (traded with France and N. America)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Pope, Lewis (merchant)

Taunton

Prowse, John (clothier)

Exeter

Rashleigh, Jonathan (gentry, but seems

to have done some trading)

Fowey

Ratcliffe, John (brewer)

Chester

Riddell, Sir Thomas (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Rodd, James (mercer)

Hereford

Rodd, Richard (cloth exporter)

Totnes

Robinson, Anthony (merchant)

Gloucester

Sewell, Henry (draper)

Coventry

Sherwill, Thomas (clothier)

Plymouth

Smalman, Francis I (merchant, moneylender

and property developer)

Leominster

Smythe, Sir Thomas (leading member of

various trading companies)

Saltash

Snelling, Robert (Eastland merchant)

Ipswich

Towerson, William I (skinner)

London

Wallis, John (merchant shipper)

King’s Lynn

Weaver, Richard (mercer)

Hereford

Whitson, John (importer/exporter)

Bristol

Yearwood, Richard (grocer and brewer)

Southwark

The 1624 Parliament

Roger Mathew (grocer), returned for Dartmouth, is excluded from the following list as, being elected in December 1624, he never sat in this Parliament.

Abbot, Maurice (draper; investor)

Hull

Anderson, Sir Henry (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Barker, John (shipowner/exporter)

Bristol

Bateman, Robert (skinner)

London

Bence, John (status as merchant

unclear due to namesakes)

Aldeburgh

Bond, Martin (haberdasher)

London

Bromfield, Robert (timber merchant; sat from Mar.)

Southwark

Browne, John I (brewer)

Gloucester

Bushrod, Richard (haberdasher)

Dorchester

Cooper, Benjamin (probable merchant,

being a leading townsman)

Great Yarmouth

Daniel, Richard (perhaps now retired)

Truro

Delbridge, John (overseas trader)

Barnstaple

Doddridge, Pentecost (cloth exporter)

Barnstaple

Doughty, William (brewer)

King’s Lynn

Ferrar, Nicholas (Virginia settlement/tobacco trade)

Lymington

Gauntlett, Roger (silk and woollen cloth)

Salisbury

Giear, Thomas (traded with France)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Guy, John (multiple interests)

Bristol

Hardware, George (probable merchant

as he was a leading townsman)

Great Yarmouth

Harwell, Henry (mercer)

Coventry

Hicks, Sir Baptist (mercer and financier)

Tewkesbury

Ive, William (vintner)

Leicester

Lister, John (entered House mid March; lead exporter)

Hull

Marlott, William (merchant, but dealings unclear)

New Shoreham

Middleton, John (gunfounder)

Horsham

Myddelton, Hugh (goldsmith)

Denbigh Boroughs

Myddelton, Sir Thomas I (grocer; importer/exporter)

London

Mynne, George (various interests)

West Looe

Pitt, Matthew (d. Apr.; traded with France and N. America)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Plumleigh, William (traded with Newfoundland,

France and Spain)

Dartmouth

Prowse, John (clothier)

Exeter

Riddell, Sir Peter (coal merchant)

Newcastle

Robinson, Anthony (merchant)

Gloucester

Sherwill, Thomas (clothier)

Plymouth

Snelling, Robert (Eastland merchant)

Ipswich

Wallis, John (merchant shipper)

King’s Lynn

Weaver, Richard (mercer)

Hereford

Whiteway, William I (member of three trading companies)

Dorchester

Yearwood, Richard (grocer and brewer)

Southwark

The 1625 Parliament

Abbot, Maurice (draper; investor)

Hull

Anderson, Sir Henry (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Banister, Henry (goldsmith)

Preston

Barker, John (shipowner/exporter)

Bristol

Bateman, Robert (skinner)

London

Bond, Martin (haberdasher)

London

Browne, John I (brewer)

Gloucester

Burges, Thomas II (importer/exporter;

traded with France and Spain)

Truro

Capell, Christopher (mercer)

Gloucester

Coteel, Thomas (known to have traded 1622)

Penryn

Coxe, William (clothworker)

Southwark

Crowe, Sackville (iron ordnance manufacturer

and possibly also grain merchant)

Hastings

Delbridge, John (grain importer; investor)

Barnstaple

Doddridge, Pentecost (cloth exporter)

Barnstaple

Gollop, George (shipowner; importer/exporter)

Southampton

Gurlyn, Thomas (brewer and corn merchant)

King’s Lynn

Harwell, Henry (mercer)

Coventry

Hicks, Sir Baptist (mercer and financier)

Tewkesbury

Jourdain, Ignatius (cloth exporter)

Exeter

Lister, John (lead exporter)

Hull

Lowe, George (draper; cloth exporter)

Calne

Maplesden, Edward (probable brewer and innkeeper)

Maidstone

Marlott, William (merchant, but dealings unclear)

New Shoreham

Mathew, Roger (merchant shipowner)

Dartmouth

Michell, Barnard (exporter foodstuffs)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Middleton, John (gunfounder)

Horsham

Myddelton, Hugh (goldsmith)

Denbigh Boroughs

Myddelton, Sir Thomas I (grocer; importer/exporter)

London

Owner, Edward (shopowner and exporter)

Great Yarmouth

Rashleigh, Jonathan (gentry, but seems

to have done some trading)

Fowey

Riddell, Sir Thomas (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Sherwill, Thomas (clothier)

Plymouth

Snelling, Robert (Eastland merchant)

Ipswich

Stanley, Thomas (brewer)

Maidstone

Weaver, Richard (mercer)

Hereford

Whiteway, William I (merchant)

Dorchester

Whitson, John (importer/exporter)

Bristol

Whiteway, William I (member of three trading companies)

Dorchester

Yearwood, Richard (grocer and brewer)

Southwark

The 1626 Parliament

Abbot, Maurice (draper and investor)

London

Anderson, Sir Henry (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Bateman, Robert (skinner)

London

Browne, John I (brewer)

Gloucester

Bushrod, Richard (haberdasher)

Dorchester

Capell, Christopher (mercer; returned by 13 May)

Gloucester

Coxe, William (clothworker)

Southwark

Crossing, Francis (clothier)

Mitchell

Delbridge, John (overseas trader)

Barnstaple

Doughty, John (traded in iron; shipowner)

Bristol

Gamull, William (wine importer)

Chester

Gollop, George (shipowner; importer/exporter)

Southampton

Gurlyn, Thomas (brewer and corn merchant)

King’s Lynn

Harwell, Henry (mercer)

Coventry

Haselock, John (apothecary)

Worcester

Hayne, John (clothier)

Exeter

Hicks, Sir Baptist (mercer and financier)

Tewkesbury

Holditch, Philip (described as merchant on election return)

Totnes

Johnson, Thomas (importer/exporter)

Great Yarmouth

Jourdain, Ignatius (cloth exporter)

Exeter

Lowe, George (draper; cloth exporter)

Calne

Lister, John (lead exporter)

Hull

Marlott, William (merchant, but dealings unclear)

New Shoreham

Mathew, Roger (merchant shipowner)

Dartmouth

Michell, Barnard (exporter foodstuffs)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Middleton, John (gunfounder)

Horsham

Myddelton, Hugh (goldsmith)

Denbigh Boroughs

Myddelton, Sir Thomas I (importer/exporter)

London

Pringle, John (baker)

Dover

Riddell, Sir Peter (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Rolle, John (luxury goods importer)

Callington

Roper, Lancelot (from March 1626; overseas trade)

Hull

Sherwill, Thomas (clothier)

Plymouth

Snelling, Robert (Eastland merchant)

Ipswich

Walden, Isaac (draper)

Coventry

Weaver, Richard (mercer)

Hereford

Whiteway, William II (merchant;

former factor; sat from 19 Apr.)

Dorchester

Whitson, John (importer/exporter)

Bristol

Yearwood, Richard (grocer and brewer)

Southwark

The Parliament of 1628-9

Bradshaw, Joseph (brewer)

Westminster

Browne, John I (brewer)

Gloucester

Bunce, James (linen-draper)

London

Clitherow, Christopher (ironmonger)

London

Coxe, William (clothworker)

Southwark

Crossing, Francis (clothier)

Camelford

Crowe, Sackville (iron ordnance manufacturer;

possibly also a grain merchant)

Bramber

Daniel, Richard (draper; perhaps now retired)

Truro

Day, Edmund (dyer)

Ipswich

Delbridge, John (overseas trader)

Barnstaple

Doughty, John (traded in iron; shipowner)

Bristol

Doughty, William (brewer)

King’s Lynn

Evelyn, John (gunpowder manufacturer)

Bletchingley

Gleane, Sir Peter (wine and timber seller)

Norwich

Gollop, George (shipowner; importer/exporter)

Southampton

Haselock, John (apothecary)

Worcester

Hanbury, John (goldsmith)

Gloucester

Hicks, Sir Baptist (mercer and financier,

ennobled May 1628)

Tewkesbury

Hill, John (ironmonger)

Dorchester

Hoyle, Thomas (clothier; entered House Apr. 1628)

York

Jennens, Owen (merchant)

Portsmouth

Jenner, Robert (goldsmith)

Cricklade

Jourdain, Ignatius (cloth exporter)

Exeter

Lister, John (lead exporter)

Hull

Lowe, George (cloth exporter)

Calne

Lynne, John (clothier)

Exeter

Major, John (cloth exporter)

Southampton

Marlott, William (merchant, but dealings unclear)

New Shoreham

Mathew, Roger (merchant shipowner)

Dartmouth

Middleton, John (gunfounder)

Horsham

Morice, Thomas (grocer)

Westminster

Moulson, Sir Thomas (cloth, silk and gold importer)

London

Myddelton, Hugh (goldsmith)

Denbigh Boroughs

Potter, Thomas (dyer; unseated 9 Apr.)

Coventry

Prestwood, Thomas (cloth importer, inter alia)

Totnes

Ratcliffe, John (brewer)

Chester

Rawdon, Marmaduke (wine merchant and shipowner)

Aldeburgh

Riddell, Sir Peter (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Riddell, Sir Thomas (coal merchant)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Rolfe, William (vintner and scrivener)

Heytesbury

Rolle, John (luxury goods importer)

Callington

Sherwill, Thomas (clothier)

Plymouth

Tookie, Bartholomew (clothier)

Salisbury

Towerson, William I (shipowner and E.I. Co. merchant)

Portsmouth

Walden, Isaac (draper; unseated 9 Apr. 1628)

Coventry

Waller, Henry (draper)

London

Waltham, Henry (cloth and fish exporter)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Watkinson, James (member of Hull merchants’ company)

Hull

Yearwood, Richard (grocer and brewer)

Southwark

Ref Volumes: 1604-1629

Author: Andrew Thrush

End Notes