John Dane abt 1480 – abt 1530
Born: About 1480, most likely in the Bishop’s Stortford
area, Hertsfordshire, England
Died: about 1530, most likely in the Bishop’s Stortford
area, Hertsfordshire, England.
Spouse: Alice
(Peppercorn) Dane.
Children: Richard Dane
William Dane (See below)
Occupation: Pulter or Poulter (Seller of
Poultry)
Father’s name: Thomas Dane, most likely in the
Bishop’s Stortford area, Hertsfordshire,
England. (See below)
Mother’s name:
Siblings:
There are numerous
references to John Dane in the parish records
of St. Michael’s in Bishop’s Stortford.
- 1499, receives a payment from the church, “de
John Dane apud le Wrestlers…20d” (There was a
sepulcher for the church and other payments were made for drinks and
candles. Best guess is that the
Wrestlers were part of the entertainment.)
- 1506, Church receives a payment for rent for the
sidechurch from John Dane who lives at the end
of South Street.
- 1506, Church pays out to John Dane for use of 3
horses for moving 5 bells to London.
- 1519 & 1520, payment of 25s by the church
for a couple heavy grates for the church yard.
- 1520, payment received by church from John Dane,
Pulter.
- 1530, in the 21st year of the reign of Henry VIII,
an accounting of John Dane for a watercourse at South Street. There is also the mention of Thomas Whepill for his house on South Street that was
formerly Dane’s.
Photo of St. Michaels as it appears
today.
Son William Dane, Ironmonger Alderman, 1517 - 1573
The
General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (By Sir Bernard Burke, published in London, 1884.)
mentions a William Dane of Stortford, co. Hereford,
as an Alderman of London in 1568. t also states that William Dane is the son of John
Dane. I’ve found more regarding William
Dane the Alderman…In Peter
Wilson’s article about Alderman Ironmongers, we
learn that Hereford and Somerset were areas of important iron forges since
Saxon days. These areas are also where
we are finding the Dane family. William
Dane is noted as an Ironmonger who served London as an Alderman from 1568
through 1573.
The history of Bishop’s Stortford (Available at: http://www.stortfordhistory.co.uk/index.html)
tells the story of a Grammar School attributed to the bequest of Margaret Dane,
wife of William Dane, a wealthy London Merchant of the Company of
Ironmongers. William, born in Bishop’s Stortford in 1517, was the son of John and Alice (Peppercorne) Dane.
William died while in office in 1573.
Parish records in a 1692 in a review
of charities belonging to the church confirms the story for the school:
“5p per anm pd
from Ironmongers Hall.
And
that there is five Pounds by the yeare paid by the
master and wardens of Ironmongers Hall in London halfe
yearely, viz., att Lady day
and Michaelmas, and was given by Mr. Dane for ye use
of ye poore till there should be a ffree Schoole settled in the said
towne of Bishopp Stortford, and then to goe
towards ye maintenance of the said Schoolemaster.”
Father of John Dane is most
likely Thomas Dane. Parish records make
a reference to his work as a smith in 1484 for making a lock to the chest in
the stepill.
The payments noted above by the church for working with the bells and
then grates for the church yard suggest the help of a smith, since normally
such work would not be performed by a seller of poultry, I’m going to say that
John Dane had the help of his father Thomas, a smith. This relationship also can assist in the understanding
of how John’s son William may have gotten a start in Ironmongering.
St. Michael’s Church chest.
This artifact was examined by Tree Ring Services
in 2006 during an analyses of archaeological timbers.
However, I’ve come to learn that
this chest is from a different St. Michael’s, not the one in
Bishop’s Stortford.
It is from the same time period, so it is a fair representation.
Thomas Dane is likely the
son of an earlier John Dane referred to in the parish records as having helped
with repairs to the church and homes between 1431 and 1440. The records at that time are in Latin and
spell his name as Johanni Dane.
And
from the notes
of Bishop's Stortford's foremost historian J.L.
Glasscock (held at Bishop's Stortford Museum)
comes the following:
A deed witness in 1465 was John Dane at Coyses, with
John Dam in occupation.
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