Ralph Clark (died 1660) was an English

tanner Tanner may refer to: * Tanner (occupation), the tanning of leather and hides People * Tanner (given name), * Tanner (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *The Tanner Sisters, also referred to as "The Harbingers of Weir ...

, notable for being the first

Mayor of Chesterfield The office of Mayor of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, has existed since 1598 when Queen Elizabeth issued a charter to the town, granting the town the right to have a mayor. The first holder of this position was Ralph Clarke. This charter is on disp ...

. Clark came from the prominent Clark family of

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

and was elected to the post of Mayor on 21 April, 1598 following the Elizabethan charter issued that same year, which granted the town the right to elect a mayor. In 1641 when

Poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

was paid, Ralph paid the highest amount in the town. At the time of his death in 1660, he was living in

Cutthorpe Brampton is a civil parish in North East Derbyshire, England, with a population of 1,201 in 2011. Lying north west of London, north of Derby, and west of the market town of Chesterfield, Brampton encompasses part of the Peak District nationa ...

, outside of Chesterfield.

References

People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire Mayors of Chesterfield 1660 deaths {{England-mayor-stub