John Blacknall (1583 – 21 August 1625) was a landowner and benefactor to
Abingdon-on-Thames
Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically the ...
.
Early life and education
He was born in 1583, son of William Jr. His grandfather William Sr. was a wealthy landowner and owner of the Abbey mills.
William Sr. had originally bought the Abbey land after the
Dissolution of the Monasteries.
He is believed to have been educated at
John Roysse
John Roysse (1500 or 1501–1571) was an English mercer and benefactor of Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
Personal life
John Roysse was probably connected with the Roysse family of East Hagbourne but there are few records appertaining ...
's
Free School in
Abingdon, (now
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...
)
and later studied at
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...
.
Career
He was a barrister-at-law and qualified from
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
but decided not to practice.
[ His grandfather died in 1585 and when his father died in 1613 he inherited the estate. He married a daughter of a gentry family (the Blagraves of Bulmershe) and had little interest in the business selling the mills but continued to acquire more land.][
It is believed that the Blacknall family (and possibly John) commissioned the ]Abingdon Monks' Map
The Abingdon Monks' Map (commonly known as The Monks' Map) is a 16th-century map of the River Thames around the town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire (formerly in Berkshire), England. It is held in the collection of the Abingdon County Hall Museum.
The ...
and Blacknall Map.
Death and legacy
He died of the plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
on 21 August 1625 and has a Monument with effigies in St Nicolas Church, Abingdon.[ By his will dated 9 August 1625 he bequeathed 40 shillings per annum for the schoolmaster of Abingdon School.][ He left £16,000 (a fortune at the time) to his daughter Mary Blacknall.
]
See also
* List of Old Abingdonians
Old Abingdonians are former pupils of Abingdon School or, in some cases, Honorary Old Abingdonians who have been awarded the status based on service to the School. The Old Abingdonians also run the Old Abingdonian Club (OA club) which is an organ ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blacknall, John
1583 births
1625 deaths
People educated at Abingdon School