Sir John Leman (1544–1632) was a tradesman from

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fli ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

who became

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

Career

Leman's business interests grew across the district of

Waveney Waveney may refer to: * River Waveney, a river that forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England * Waveney District, a local government district in Suffolk, England * Waveney (UK Parliament constituency) * Waveney class lifeboat, a class ...

, which spans the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

–

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

border. In the 1580s he moved to London and extended his business interests to trading in dairy products there before becoming a liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Fishmongers The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers (or Fishmongers' Company) is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London, being an incorporated guild of sellers of fish and seafood in the City. The Company ranks fourth in the order of precede ...

. He was elected

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, in 1606 served as a

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

and in 1616 he served as Lord Mayor. His agents in London and Essex bought cheese and butter for delivery by sea to London. With a few other tradesmen he cornered the market and this ''de facto'' cartel was able to sell at an inflated price that fomented butter riots in London in the 1590s. In the early 1600s Leman bought

Goodman's Fields Two 18th century theatres bearing the name Goodman's Fields Theatre were located on Alie Street, Whitechapel, London. The first opened on 31 October 1727 in a small shop by Thomas Odell, deputy Licenser of Plays. The first play performed was G ...

just outside the

near

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

. He developed the area as a suburb creating four streets:

Leman Street Leman Street, once known as Lemon Street, is a street in Tower Hamlets. It was built in the seventeenth century as part of the development of Goodman's Fields. It is named after John Leman who was responsible for this development, which also in ...

, Ayliff Street,

Mansell Street Mansell Street is a street in East London, which is part of the London Inner Ring Road. For most of its length from the north, this street marks the boundary between the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. However, the southern ...

, and

Prescot Street Prescot Street is a street in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It runs between Goodman's Yard and Mansell Street in the west and Leman Street in the east. The area, including Ayliff Street, Leman Street and Mans ...

, the last three names being those of some of his close relatives. In 1622 Leman, together with his nephew

Robert Leman Robert Orgill Leman (1799–1869) was an English painter of landscapes and a member of the Norwich School of painters. Life Robert Orgill Leman was born on 12 April 1799 as Robert Orgill, the son of Naunton Thomas Orgill and his wife Henriett ...

, and his late brother William's third son William Leman, bought the manor of

Warboys Warboys is a large village and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, north-east of Huntingdon. Geology Igneous diorite rocks are located around 171–217 meters below ground at Warboys. Discovered in the ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

, from Oliver Cromwell. Sir John acquired adjacent land a year later and in 1628 Robert granted his interest in the manor to Sir John and William. The latter inherited full title to the manor on Sir John's death. Leman died unmarried in 1632 and was buried at St Michael's, Crooked Lane, London. Google Books He had retained a strong link with Beccles and provided for a free school in his will of 1631 for the education of 44 pupils from Beccles, two from

Ringsfield Ringsfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is south-west of Beccles in the East Suffolk district. The parish had a population of 323 at the 2011 United Kingdom census. It borders the parishes of Beccles, W ...

, Suffolk, and two from Gillingham, Norfolk. The 17th century Leman House in Ballygate, a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

,Listed Buildings in Waveney District Area
''Waveney District Council'', 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-24 was once the John Leman School and its wall still bears the motto: ''Disce aut Discede'' (roughly translated as 'learn or go'). Today the town's museum is situated in Leman House, and the town's high school still bears his name,

Sir John Leman High School Sir John Leman High School is a coeducational 11–18 secondary school with academy status serving part of the Waveney region in north Suffolk, England. The school is located on the western edge of the town of Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market ...

References

'Parishes: Warboys', A History of the County of Huntingdonshire: Volume 2 (1932), pp. 242-46.
*
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Leman, John 1544 births 1632 deaths 16th-century English people 17th-century English people Knights Bachelor 17th-century lord mayors of London People from Beccles Sheriffs of the City of London