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Joan Cooke (died 1544/5) was the founder of
She married John Cooke and they lived in the area of Gloucester known as Mary le Crypt. He was a wealthy brewer and mercer of Gloucester and like her brother one of the city's aldermen. John was the sheriff in 1494 and 1498 and mayor in 1501, 1507, 1512 and 1518. He was the richest person, and a significant benefactor, in the city. He died in 1528 and he requested that Joan should not remarry and that a grammar school should be built.
The scheme was given effect by Joan, who survived him by 17 years and who became his heir and the new landlord. She continued to collect the rents until her death and resisted requests that the lands should be transferred in her lifetime.
Joan created a tripartite deed of 1539, deemed to be the school's founding charter.
Living Gloucester, 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011. A full account of the couple and their good works is described in the book by Roland Austin published in 1939 "Crypt School". A portrait of the pair painted after Joan's death in about 1598 exists. It shows her and her husband in his mayoral robe. It is in the collection of Gloucester City Council.
The Crypt School
The Crypt School is a grammar school with academy status for boys and girls located in the city of Gloucester. Founded in the 16th century, it was originally an all-boys school, but it made its sixth form co-educational in the 1980s, and moved ...
in Gloucester following a bequest and request by her husband who died 17 years before her.
Life
The date and place of Joan Massinger (or Messenger)'s birth is not known but she was close to her family for all of her life. Her brother, Thomas, was an alderman and in time sheriff and mayor of Gloucester. Her nephewWilliam Massinger
William Massinger (1514/15–1593/94) was an English politician.
Life
He was the eldest son of Thomas Massinger, who was a sheriff and mayor of Gloucester. The family were close and his father's sister was Joan Cooke who founded the Crypt Schoo ...
became an MP.
She married John Cooke and they lived in the area of Gloucester known as Mary le Crypt. He was a wealthy brewer and mercer of Gloucester and like her brother one of the city's aldermen. John was the sheriff in 1494 and 1498 and mayor in 1501, 1507, 1512 and 1518. He was the richest person, and a significant benefactor, in the city. He died in 1528 and he requested that Joan should not remarry and that a grammar school should be built.
The scheme was given effect by Joan, who survived him by 17 years and who became his heir and the new landlord. She continued to collect the rents until her death and resisted requests that the lands should be transferred in her lifetime.
Joan created a tripartite deed of 1539, deemed to be the school's founding charter.
Death and legacy
The school remains today the most ancient in Gloucester.John and Joan Cooke.Living Gloucester, 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011. A full account of the couple and their good works is described in the book by Roland Austin published in 1939 "Crypt School". A portrait of the pair painted after Joan's death in about 1598 exists. It shows her and her husband in his mayoral robe. It is in the collection of Gloucester City Council.
References
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Joan 1540s deaths People from Gloucester School founders Landlords