Thomas Savage (–1611) of

Rufford, Lancashire Rufford is a village in West Lancashire, England, where the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway, the A59 road, A59 and the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas meet. Rufford is also a civil parish, which incl ...

, was a member of the

Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of Londo ...

and one of the ten seacoal-meters in London. Together with William Leveson, he was one of two trustees used by the original shareholders of the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

in the allocation of their shares in 1599. He was an associate of the actor and editor of the

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

John Heminges John Heminges (bapt. 25 November 1566 – 10 October 1630) was an actor in the King's Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. Along with Henry Condell, he was an editor of the First Folio, the collected plays of Shakespeare ...

, and of John Jackson, both of whom were

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

trustees in the purchase of the Blackfriars Gatehouse. Savage amassed a considerable fortune, at the time of his death owning five houses in London and an inn called the George.

Family

Thomas Savage, born about 1552 in

,. was the son of Jeffry or Geoffrey Savage and Jenett or Janet Hesketh, who according to the parish register were married in the church at

Croston Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917. History Croston was founded in the 7th century when ...

on 9 August 1551.. Savage may have had a younger brother, Peter Savage, and had at least one sister, as well as a female cousin, the widow of Thomas Hesketh of Rufford.

Career

At some time Savage moved to London, where he lived from about 1580 until his death in 1611 in the parish of St Albans Wood Street. At an unknown date he gained admission to the

. The Company records are missing for the date of his admission; however surviving Company records indicate that he took on nine apprentices from the 1580s until his death, and that his son, Richard, was taken on as an apprentice in 1601. According to Hotson, however, he 'no doubt gained most of his income from his office as one of the ten seacoal-meters of London'. officials appointed to measure coal brought into the port of London by sea.. According to Hotson, he was a 'man of substance', and Honigmann notes that, 'starting with nothing', he 'amassed a very considerable fortune'. At the time of his death Savage owned at least five houses in the City of London, one of which was occupied by the actor and editor of the

(bap. 1566, d.1630), also one of London's seacoal-meters, from whom Savage had purchased it. Another of the houses owned by Savage was in the parish of

St Olave Silver Street St Olave's Church, Silver Street was a church on the south side of Silver Street, off Wood Street in the Aldersgate ward of the City of London. It was dedicated to St Olaf, a Norwegian Christian ally of the English king Ethelred II. The churc ...

; Hotson notes that

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

lodged for a time in Silver Street at the house of the London tire-maker (head-dress-maker) Christopher Mountjoy. After Savage's death, his son, Richard, sold the latter house to

. Savage also owned an inn called the George in the parish of St Sepulchre, London.. In 1599 Savage, together with William Leveson, was one of two trustees used by

William Kempe William Kempe (c. 1560–c. 1603), commonly referred to as Will Kemp, was an English actor and dancer specialising in comic roles and best known for having been one of the original players in early dramas by William Shakespeare. Roles associat ...

Thomas Pope Sir Thomas Pope (c. 150729 January 1559), was a prominent public servant in mid-16th-century England, a Member of Parliament, a wealthy landowner, and the founder of Trinity College, Oxford. Early life Pope was born at Deddington, near Ban ...

(d.1603),

Augustine Phillips Augustine Phillips (died May 1605) was an Elizabethan actor who performed in troupes with Edward Alleyn and William Shakespeare. He was one of the first generation of English actors to achieve wealth and a degree of social status by means of his ...

(d.1605),

and

to allocate shareholdings in the

. Savage was a friend of John Jackson (c.1574–1625) gentleman, of

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

and London, whom Heminges had taken as his deputy in the office of seacoal-meter soon after December 1608. Both Jackson and Heminges were later

trustees in the purchase of the Blackfriars Gatehouse in March 1613. In his will Savage appointed his 'very loving friend, John Jackson', as overseer. Savage made his last will on 3 October 1611, leaving, among other bequests, £10 to his mother, Janet, a silver spout pot and £8 for a dinner to his fellow members of the Goldsmiths' Company, and forty shillings to the poor of his birthplace, Rufford, in the parish of Croston. According to Honigmann, the opening lines of Savage's will suggest that he held strong religious convictions, and his bequests to the parson and churchwardens of his parish of St Albans, Wood Street were 'unusually generous'. The will was proved 26 October 1611.

Marriages and issue

Savage married two wives and had five children.. One of his wives, Alice, had four children by her own two previous marriages, as revealed in a bill of complaint dated 10 September 1605. According to Honigmann, the maiden name of one of Savage's wives may have been Wotton, as in his will he mentions 'my mother-in-law, Mrs Wootton' as well as a 'Mr John Wotton, gentleman', now resident in one of his houses in London.

Notes

References

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External links

Will of Thomas Savage, goldsmith of London, proved 26 October 1611, National Archives
Retrieved 15 April 2013
Will of William Leveson, proved 21 June 1621, National Archives
Retrieved 15 April 2013
Will of John Jackson, gentleman, of St Thomas the Apostle, London, proved 12 April 1625
Retrieved 15 April 2013
Reference to the George Inn in Stow's ''Survey of London''
Retrieved 15 April 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Thomas 1550s births 1611 deaths 16th-century English people 17th-century English people People from Rufford, Lancashire