Thomas Tesdale (1547–1610) was an English

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

ster, benefactor of the town of Abingdon in the English county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

(now

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

) and the primary founding benefactor of

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

Life and career

Thomas was born in

Stanford Dingley Stanford Dingley is a small village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, between Newbury and Theale. Geography Stanford Dingley fills part of both sides of the valley of the upper River Pang, on the minor roads between the A4 Bath R ...

in Berkshire and attended

John Roysse John Roysse (1500 or 1501–1571) was an English mercer and benefactor of Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Personal life John Roysse was probably connected with the Roysse family of East Hagbourne but there are few records appertaining ...

's Free School in Abingdon (now

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

). He became a rich maltster in the town, where he served as mayor, and purchased the manor of Ludwell in

.John Platt, �
Tesdale, Thomas (bap. 1547, d. 1610)
��, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 30 January 2013] Tesdale grew wealthy as maltster in Abingdon,Crossley, 1983, pages 120–131 and served as Master of

Christ's Hospital of Abingdon Christ's Hospital of Abingdon is a charity with a long history, based in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire). History A royal charter established the Master and Governors of the Hospital of Christ of Abingdon in 1553, the year ...

. In 1581 he was elected mayor, but he did not serve his term as he had left the borough when he bought the manor of Ludwell in

. Soon after 1586 he moved to Glympton near

Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 3,100. Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is next to W ...

, where he rented the manor, raised livestock and grew and milled

woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...

for dyeing.

Death and legacy

He left no children of his marriage to Maud Stone when he died, but gave £5,000 for the education of Abingdon Scholars (seven fellows and six scholars) at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. In 1623, this money was augmented by the Reverend Richard Wightwick of

East Ilsley East Ilsley is a village and civil parish in the Berkshire Downs in West Berkshire, north of Newbury. The village is centred immediately east of the A34 dual carriageway which passes the length of the village from north to south. It has the vast ...

and used instead for the transformation of Broadgates Hall into Pembroke College, named after the Chancellor of Oxford University, William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. He also bequeathed an annual sum of money that allowed Roysses School to employ an Usher (a second master), from 1610-1870. They became known as the Tesdale Ushers.

References

Printed sources

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External links

Royal Berkshire History: Thomas Tesdale

Christ's Hospital of Abingdon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tesdale, Thomas 1547 births 1610 deaths 16th-century English businesspeople 17th-century English businesspeople Founders of English schools and colleges People educated at Abingdon School People from Abingdon-on-Thames People from West Berkshire District People associated with Balliol College, Oxford People associated with Pembroke College, Oxford

Life and career

Death and legacy

See also

References

Printed sources

External links