John Melhuish was an English merchant and politician. He was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

1554 to 1555. John Melhuish was a tin merchant from Truro. After a municipal career as a Mayor of Truro he was elected to Parliament along with Nicholas Randall. In 1553 they aligned with Queen Mary and voted against the Protestant opposition to the Crown. In 1554 Melhuish abandoned Parliament without a licence and evaded summons to the

King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of commo ...

. For three years in a row, 1555 to end of 1557, he was fined for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

''in absentia''. Officers of the

Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...

pressed their own charges against Melhuish.

Bankrupted Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, he fled his home town and sought protection from his creditors, which was granted by the Crown in 1558. He settled near

Buckfastleigh Buckfastleigh is a market town and civil parish in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway ( A38) at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. It is part of Teignbridge and, for ecclesiastical purposes, lies within the Totnes Deanery. ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, styled himself "late of Truro" and retired from politics.Bindoff, Stanley T. et al. (1982).
The House of Commons: 1509 - 1558; 1, Appendices, constituencies, members A - C, Volume 4
'. Boydell & Brewer. . p. 595.

Notes

People from Truro Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Year of birth missing English merchants Year of death missing Mayors of places in Cornwall English MPs 1553 (Mary I) English MPs 1554–1555 {{16thC-England-MP-stub