John Gawen ( – died 1418), of Norrington,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, was an English politician. He was the eldest son of John Gawen and Margaret Jooe. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

for

in 1394 and 1395. He built Norrington Manor in the late 1370s. He had a reputation as an outstanding lawyer and an efficient administrator who served for many years as

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He became one of the leading figures in the county, due largely to his close association with

John Waltham John Waltham (or John de Waltham) was a priest and high-ranking government official in England in the 14th century. He held a number of ecclesiastical and civic positions during the reigns of King Edward III and Richard II, eventually rising to ...

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

, and later with John, 6th

Baron Lovel There have been four baronies and one viscountcy created in the name of Lovel or Lovell. Baron Lovel, of Titchmarsh (England, 6 February 1299) * John Lovel, 1st Baron Lovel (1254–1311) * John Lovel, 2nd Baron Lovel (1289–k.1314), died at B ...

. Both Waltham and Lovel were favourites of King

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

, which no doubt contributed to Gawen's powerful local position. However, the downfall of King Richard and his replacement by Henry IV did not affect Gawen's position: he remained a leading figure in his county until his death in 1418. He married twice, and his family remained at Norrington until the seventeenth century. The family were notable

recusants Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

, and were ultimately forced to sell Norrington to pay the fines imposed for recusancy.

John Gavan John Gavan (1640–20 June 1679) was an English Jesuit. He was a victim of the fabricated Popish Plot, and was wrongfully executed for conspiracy (criminal), conspiracy to murder Charles II of England, King Charles II. He was beatified in 1929 by ...

(died 1679), the Catholic martyr who was executed during the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...

, was probably descended from Gawen. He died shortly before 17 June 1418.

References

14th-century births 1418 deaths English MPs 1394 People from Wiltshire English MPs 1395 {{14thC-England-MP-stub