![John Whitson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/John_Whitson.jpg)
John Whitson (c. 1558 – 1629) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
merchant and politician who sat in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
at various times between 1605 and 1626. He also founded
Redmaids School for girls. Later it became Redmaids High School for Girls when it joined Redland high a school founded by nuns in the 19th century. It also had a junior school founded.
Life
Whitson grew up in
Clearwell
Clearwell (anciently "Clower-Wall" etc.) is a village and former ancient manor in the Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England. A recent survey indicated that the population of Clearwell is approximately 350.
There are mines locally that ...
in the Forest of Dean, and came to Bristol to start his career. Apprenticed to Nicholas Cutt, a member of the
Society of Merchant Venturers in 1570, he lived in a house on Corn Street.
[McGrath, P, ''John Whitson and the Merchant Community of Bristol'', The University of Bristol, 1970] Cutt died in 1582, and it is presumed Whitson continued to work for his widow, Bridget, whom he married in 1585. They had their first child 8 months later. Following the wedding, John Whitson became a wealthy merchant in his own right.
[
Whitson was a merchant and alderman of ]Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. He was Sheriff in 1589 and became Lord Mayor of Bristol
The position of Lord Mayor of Bristol was conferred on the city in June 1899 (effective 15 November 1899) as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours and was confirmed by letters patent dated 1 April 1974. Prior to November 1899 the position of M ...
for the first time in 1603.[ Whitson had shares in two ships, the ''Maryflower'' and the ''Seabrake'' (which would later give their names to houses at The Red Maids' School), that brought home enemy prizes in the 1590s. Whitson decided that the prize cargo had belonged to poor sailors attempting to supplement their income with extra trade, so rather than stealing from the poor, he sold his share of the prize and gave the money to the almshouses of Bristol.][ In 1605, he was elected ]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 o ...
for Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
in a by-election to replace Sir George Snigge who was raised to the Bench.
During this time, Whitson also helped to re-establish and govern the Society of Merchant Venturers which had become moribund in the later sixteenth century.[ Whitson’s first wife died in 1608 and he remarried within the year to Magdalen Hynde, the widow of a London merchant, ]William Hynde
Sir William Hynde (c. 1558 – 28 March 1606), of Madingley, Cambridgeshire, was an English politician.
Family
Hynde was born the eldest son of the MP, Francis Hynde and educated at Queens' College, Cambridge and Gray's Inn, 1577. He inherited ...
.[ He was re-elected MP for Bristol in 1614 and he was Mayor of Bristol in 1616. Whitson married his third wife (and third widow), Rachel Aubrey, in 1617, she outlived him.][ In 1621 he was re-elected MP for Bristol. He was elected MP for Bristol again in 1625 and 1626. In 1627 he gave a charity of £500 to be divided between five young men being "meer merchants", and an unspecified number of handicraft tradesmen and freemen of Bristol.][ W R Williams Parliamentary History of the County of Gloucester]
/ref>
Whitson was hurt by a fall from his horse, his head hitting an upturned nail by a Blacksmiths,[ which was the supposed cause of his death at the age of 71. He was buried at St Nicholas' Church on 9 March 1629 and, as he was Captain of the trained bands of the city, they attended his body to the church and the musketeers fired three volleys over his grave. His monument in St Nicholas described him as "a worthy pattern to all who came after him".][
Whitson’s will gave specific instructions for provision for "one woman … and forty poor women children" who were to be taught English and sew, to attend church, and were bound to their teacher for eight years. Each child was to "go appareled in red cloth", as per the boys educated at the ]Queen Elizabeth's Hospital
Queen Elizabeth's Hospital (also known as QEH) is an independent day school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1586. QEH is named after its original patron, Queen Elizabeth I. Known traditionally as "The City School", Queen Elizabeth's Hos ...
school, thus founding The Red Maids' School as the oldest girls’ school in the country.[
]
Archives
Archival material relating to John Whitson's charities, including minute books, account books and records of the Red Maids School, are held by Bristol Archives
Bristol Archives (formerly Bristol Record Office) was established in 1924. It was the first borough record office in the United Kingdom, since at that time there was only one other local authority record office (Bedfordshire) in existence. It ...
(Ref. 33041/BMC/6)
online catalogue
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitson, John
1550s births
1629 deaths
High Sheriffs of Bristol
English merchants
Year of birth uncertain
Mayors of Bristol
Members of the Parliament of England for Bristol
17th-century merchants
English MPs 1604–1611
English MPs 1614
English MPs 1621–1622
English MPs 1625
English MPs 1626
Deaths by horse-riding accident in England
People from Forest of Dean District
Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers
Businesspeople from Bristol