Thomas Savage (–1611) of Rufford, Lancashire, was a member of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and one of the ten seacoal-meters in London. Together with

William Leveson William Leveson (died 1621) was a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers and of the Company of Merchant Adventurers. Together with Thomas Savage, he was one of the trustees used by the original shareholders of the Globe Theatre in the all ...

, 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, John Heminges, 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 Rufford, Lancashire,. 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 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 Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. 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 First Folio, John Heminges (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 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 John Heminges. Savage also owned an inn called the George in the parish of St Sepulchre, London.. In 1599 Savage, together with

, 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 (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), John Heminges and William Shakespeare to allocate shareholdings in the

. Savage was a friend of John Jackson (c.1574–1625) gentleman, of Kingston upon Hull 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 Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child actor ...

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