RYLE, John, of Lincoln.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386-1421, ed. J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe., 1993
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Nov. 1414

Family and Education

Offices Held

Collector of a tax, Lincoln Mar. 1401.

Bailiff, Lincoln Sept. 1407-8; mayor 1412-13.1

Biography

Ryle first appears in September 1395, when he served as a juror at an inquest held in Lincoln on the death of a local man. The accounts of the alnager of Lincoln for the period 1397 to 1400 show that he dealt in cloth in a fairly modest way, although he is subsequently described as a goldsmith by trade. In April 1407 the merchant, Robert Appleby*, left him a bequest of ten marks in his will. Shortly afterwards he became bailiff of Lincoln, and as such was responsible for holding the elections to the Parliament of October 1407. He again supervised the return of MPs in May 1413, this time while in office as mayor; and in March 1416 he stood surety for John Bigge, who was then chosen to represent the city at Westminster. Meanwhile, at some point before January 1412, he began a lawsuit against one Thomas Pygot of Lincoln, although the latter was able to halt proceedings by obtaining a writ of supersedeas.2

Ref Volumes: 1386-1421

Author: C.R.

Notes

Variants: Ryles, Ryll. A John Reyles was one of the four ‘middling subjects’ committed to the Fleet prison in 1393 as a result of the disputes between the ‘high and mighty’ rulers of Lincoln and the rest of the commonalty over the election of civic officers and other matters of privilege. Through the arbitration of John of Gaunt, he and his associates were allowed to return to Lincoln in September of that year. This man may just possibly have gone on to hold office himself and become an MP, but it is debatable whether his intransigence would have been so readily forgiven by the ruling faction (CCR, 1392-6, p. 162).

  • 1. C219/10/4, 11/1.
  • 2. C219/10/4, 11/1, 8; E101/339/29, 340/2; JUST 2/93 m. 2; CCR, 1409-13, p. 308; Reg. Repingdon (Lincoln Rec. Soc. lvii), 110; CFR, xii. 117.