Wolstan Dixie
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sir Wolstan Dixie (1524/1525 – 1594) was an English merchant and administrator, and Lord Mayor of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1585.


Life

He was the son of Thomas Dixie and Anne Jephson, who lived at
Catworth Catworth is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Catworth lies approximately west of Huntingdon. The civil parish covers an area of . Catworth village has two parts, Catworth, at the top of the hill, and Little Catworth, at t ...
in
Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...
. Wolstan was the fourth son of his father, and went into business. He appears to have been apprenticed to Sir Christopher Draper of the
Ironmongers' Company The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers is one of the Great Twelve livery companies of the City of London, incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1463. History The Ironmongers, who were originally known as the Ferroners, were incorporated unde ...
, who was lord mayor in 1566, and whose daughter and coheiress, Agnes, he married. Sir Christopher was of
Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...
in
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
, and Dixie later held property in that county. He was a freeman of the
Skinners' Company The Worshipful Company of Skinners (known as The Skinners' Company) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was originally an association of those engaged in the trade of skins and furs. It was granted Royal Charter in 1327 ...
, was elected alderman of Broad Street ward 4 February 1573–4, and became one of the
sheriffs of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...
in 1575, when his colleague was Edward Osborne. In 1585 he became lord mayor, and his installation was greeted by one of the earliest city pageants now extant, the words being composed by
George Peele George Peele (baptised 25 July 1556 – buried 9 November 1596) was an English translator, poet, and dramatist, who is most noted for his supposed but not universally accepted collaboration with William Shakespeare on the play ''Titus Andronicus' ...
. On 8 February 1592 he became alderman of St. Michael Bassishaw ward in exchange for that of Broad Street. He was an active magistrate and charitable citizen, and died on 8 January 1594. After his death, his widow Agnes married William Hickman, the son of
Rose Lok Rose Lok (26 December 1526 – 21 November 1613) was an English businesswoman and Protestant exile during the Tudor period. At the age of eighty-four, she wrote an account covering the first part of her life. Family Rose Lok, born in London on ...
and Anthony Hickman.


Legacy

Agnes Draper is said to have been his second wife; his first was named Walkedon, but he left no family by either. He possessed not only the manor of Bosworth, which he had purchased in 1567 from
Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG, KB (c. 153514 December 1595) was an English Puritan nobleman. Educated alongside the future Edward VI, he was briefly imprisoned by Mary I, and later considered by some as a potential successor to E ...
, but of other lands and tenements in Bosworth, Gilmorton, Coton (Leicestershire), Carleton, Osbaston, Bradley (Leicestershire) and
North Kilworth North Kilworth is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district, in south Leicestershire, England, north of South Kilworth. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 597. Largely bypassed by the A4304 road, the village con ...
. These estates devolved upon his brother Richard, except the manor of Bosworth, which he settled upon Richard's grandson, his own great-nephew, Wolstan. Dixie was buried in the parish church of St. Michael Bassishaw. His heir,
Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna and then Market Bosworth (1576 – 25 July 1650) was the founder of the Dixie Grammar School in Market Bosworth.Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archæological Society, Vol 2 London and Middlesex Archa ...
, was knighted, made High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1614, and elected M.P. for the county in 1625. Sir Wolstan's son, yet another Wolstan, was a well-known royalist and made a baronet on 4 July 1660. Dixie left large charitable bequests to institutions in London: *an annuity to
Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553 ...
, of which he was elected president in 1590; *a fund for establishing a divinity lecture at the church of St. Michael Bassishaw, in which parish he resided; *to the Skinners' Company to lend at a low rate of interest to young merchants; *annuities to
St. Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
and St. Thomas's Hospital; *money for the poor in
Bridewell Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of correc ...
,
Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
and the prisons in Southwark, for the two compters, and to Ludgate and Bedlam; *to the strangers of the French and Dutch churches; *towards building a pesthouse. He had subscribed towards the building of the new
Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...
(1584), and in his will he left £600 to purchase land to endow two fellowships and two scholarships for the scholars of his new grammar school at
Market Bosworth Market Bosworth is a market town and civil parish in western Leicestershire, England. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 1,906, increasing to 2,097 at the 2011 census. It is most famously near to the site of the decisive final battle of ...
, now the
Dixie Grammar School Dixie Grammar School is an independent school in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire. The earliest records of the School's existence date from 1320, but the school was re-founded in 1601 under the will of an Elizabethan merchant and Lord Mayor of L ...
. The school plan was implemented by the second Sir Wolstan Dixie, his grand-nephew, Sheriff of Leicester. The fund for many years supported fellows and scholars, while the surplus was employed in purchasing livings. It was then from 1878 devoted to the foundation of a chair in ecclesiastical history. The Dixie Professorship of Ecclesiastical History is now one of the senior professorships in history at the University of Cambridge.


Portraits

* Portrait 1593, in ceremonial costume in the courtroom of
Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553 ...
, dated 1593, artist unknown. * Engraving 1705, in Guildhall Library Print Room (k1229242)Engraving (1705) of portrait (1585)
/ref>


See also

*
List of Lord Mayors of London List of all Lord Mayor of the City of London, mayors and lord mayors of London (leaders of the City of London Corporation, and Citizen, first citizens of the City of London, Middle Ages, from medieval times). Until 1354, the title held was M ...
*
Dixie baronets The Dixie Baronetcy was created in the Baronetage of England at the time of the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 for Sir Wolstan Dixie (1602–1682), a supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War and afterwards. He was descende ...
; his grand-nephew, the second Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna, knighted 1604, in 1614 Sheriff of Leicester, was father to this line, many of them called Wolstan. *
Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History The Dixie Professorship of Ecclesiastical History is one of the senior professorships in history at the University of Cambridge. Lord Mayor of London in the 16th century, Sir Wolstan Dixie, left funds to found both scholarships and fellowships at ...
*
Appleby Magna Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston. The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...


References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixie, Wolstan, Sir 1520s births Year of birth uncertain Date of birth unknown Place of birth unknown 1594 deaths Place of death unknown 16th-century English businesspeople 16th-century lord mayors of London People associated with the University of Cambridge 16th-century merchants Sheriffs of the City of London People from Huntingdonshire Knights Bachelor