Henry Somer (c.1370 – 23 March 1450) was a mediaeval English courtier and

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 ...

who was

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...

. Somer's tenure as Chancellor occurred during the

Great Bullion Famine The Great Bullion Famine was a shortage of precious metals that struck Europe in the 15th century, with the worst years of the famine lasting from 1457 to 1464. During the Middle Ages, gold and silver coins saw widespread use as currency in Euro ...

and the beginning of the Great Slump in England.

Public career

Somer, possibly born in Kent, moved to London as a young man to be a member of the court of

King Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father d ...

. In 1393 he was granted £5 per year as a royal servant. When Richard II was deposed by King Henry IV he kept his position and became one of the first non-ecclesiastical Clerks to the Treasurer. He was rewarded with a number of other offices such as

Keeper of the Privy Wardrobe The King's Wardrobe, together with the Chamber, made up the personal part of medieval English government known as the King's household. Originally the room where the king's clothes, armour, and treasure were stored, the term was expanded to descr ...

(1405–07), keeper of the royal park and custodian of the manor of Kempton (1409–12). In 1408 he was made a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

and Deputy Treasurer to Sir John Tiptoft and then Sir John Pelham. In 1410 he exchanged the position for that of

, which he held until 1437. Between 1411 and 1439 he also held the lucrative position of Keeper of the Exchange and Mint. In 1406 he commenced a long political career by being elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

as the Member for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. He was subsequently re-elected four more times for the same seat in 1407, 1417, 1421 and 1429. When Henry V ascended the throne in 1413 Somer was accused of misuse of public funds but after mounting a stout defence the charges against him were dropped. In 1422 he survived another change of monarch and finally retired in 1439, probably over 70 years of age. He served as an MP for the last time as the member for

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

in 1432.

Private life

In 1402 he married Katherine, the widow and heiress of Mark Le Faire, a wealthy Winchester merchant and MP. He was a friend of both the poet

Thomas Hoccleve Thomas Hoccleve or Occleve (1368 or 1369–1426) was an English poet and clerk, who became a key figure in 15th-century Middle English literature. His ''Regement of Princes or De Regimine Principum'' is a homily on virtues and vices, written for ...

and the writer

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

. During his life he accumulated land in Edmonton and Tottenham in Middlesex and an estate in Grantchester, Cambridgeshire, enabling him to serve as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

for both counties for many years. On his death in 1450 he was buried at St Johns, Cambridge and was succeeded by his grandson James.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Somer, Henry 1450 deaths English MPs 1406 English MPs 1407 Politicians from London Chancellors of the Exchequer Year of birth uncertain English MPs 1417 English MPs May 1421 English MPs 1429 English MPs 1432