George Gale was Member of Parliament for York during the Parliaments of Henry VIII, notably the Reformation Parliament, and of Edward VI. He also held several important offices in the city of York and was the Great Great Grandfather of the antiquarian,

Thomas Gale Thomas Gale (1635/1636?7 or 8 April 1702) was an English classical scholar, antiquarian and cleric. Life Gale was born at Scruton, Yorkshire. He was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow. ...

Life

George was born to Oliver Gale and Ellen Marshall near the North Yorkshire village of

Scruton Scruton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is west of Northallerton. According to the 2001 census the village had a population of 442, decreasing to 424 at the 2011 census. History The nam ...

around 1490, though there is no accurate record of his birth. At some point before 1526, there being no accurate record, he married Mary Lord of Kendall. They had two sons and six daughters. His eldest son, Francis, followed his father in becoming Treasurer of the York Royal Mint. His daughter Isabella married a future Mayor of York, Ralph Hall as did her sister Anne, who married Robert Peacock. His two youngest daughters also married well. Dorothy was wed to Thomas Fairfax, father of

Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron Member of parliament, MP (1560 – 2 May 1640) was an English nobleman, soldier, diplomat, and politician, his title being in the Peerage of Scotland. Life Fairfax was the eldest son of Sir Thomas ...

, and Ursula to Sir William Mallory. He was made a freeman of the city of York around 1514–15 by way of his profession as a goldsmith. This profession led him to have special status as a master of mint. It is unclear whether this was for the Offices of the City, the Church of St Peter in York or for the King. By 1529 he had held the position of Sheriff and Alderman of the city. He was a member of the Corpus Christi Guild in York in 1511. He held the office of

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in 1529, Sheriff 1530–31,

Lord Mayor of York The Lord Mayor of York is the chairman of City of York Council, first citizen and civic head of York. The appointment is made by the council each year in May, at the same time appointing a sheriff, the city's other civic head. York's lord mayor ...

1534–35 and again in 1549–50. His business acumen had led to his prosperity and enabled him to acquire lands, such as the manor of Bardalgarth near Hull in 1530. By 1550, he had also acquired land in Humberton,

Whenby Whenby is a civil parish, and small village, in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. Whenby lies between Sheriff Hutton and Brandsby, on Main Street, and a little to the east of the Howardian Hills. It has an area of , and is sit ...

Hemingbrough Hemingbrough is a small village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England that is located approximately from Selby and from Howden on the A63. The village has a 12th-century former collegiate church (Hemingbrough Mins ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

and

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

. To this he added

Wilberfoss Priory Wilberfoss Priory was a priory in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. A house of Benedictine nuns was founded before 1153 by Alan de Cotton, who granted land and property, and Jordan fitz Gilbert, who granted the church and some land which wa ...

in 1553 along with other lands and rectories in nearby parishes. This last purchase was connected to his sister-in-law, who had been the last Prioress at Wilberfoss. He also acquired Acomb Grange on the outskirts of the village of Acomb near York for his family home. The acquisition was a reversion of lease following the dissolution of the Hospital of St Leonard on those lands and in the city of York. He died in July 1556 in York. Amongst his bequests in his will, he gave a lump sum and annual gift for the poor of the City as well as monies to pay for repair of local roads.

Politics

He was elected to Parliament in a by-election in 1532-33 after the death of Peter Jackson, one of two Members for the Constituency. He was recorded as attending for most of the remainder of the Parliament, and was re-elected for the brief Parliament of 1536. He was not recorded as having sat in the 1539-40 Parliament, but was re-elected for his final term in 1542.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, George Politicians from York Members of the Parliament of England for constituencies in Yorkshire English MPs 1529–1536 English MPs 1536 English MPs 1542–1544 1490 births 1556 deaths