CARDEN, William (by 1524-73 or later), of Hythe, Kent.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Apr. 1554

Family and Education

b. by 1524, s. of Edward Carden of Hythe.1

Offices Held

Chamberlain, Hythe 1549-50, jurat from 1550, bailiff 1554-5; bailiff to Yarmouth 1561.2

Biography

On 18 Jan. 1544 Thomas and William Carden of Hythe were granted administration of the estate of their father Edward Carden, also of Hythe. Thomas Carden was to settle at Minster in the Isle of Sheppey, but his brother remained at Hythe, where he played his part in the government of the town and also represented it at the Brotherhood of the Cinque Ports several times from 1547. The brothers were at one time committed to the common gaol at Canterbury by the lord warden Sir Thomas Cheyne on suspicion of having murdered their cousin, another William Carden: when it was proved that the cousin was still alive William Carden was discharged, but his brother had more difficulty in recovering his freedom. By profession a merchant, Carden was sued in the court of requests in 1572-3 for failure to keep a bargain for the sale of wool: in partnership with his brother and others he had bought the wool in England, shipped it to Rouen and gone to France himself to sell it, which he claimed to have done at a loss. The last reference found to him is of his alleged mismanagement, with William Dalmyngton, of the property of the almshouse at Hythe: this was reported to the archbishop of Canterbury on his visitation of Hythe in 1573. Carden’s niece Joan was the second wife of Nicholas Cutler.3

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558

Author: Helen Miller

Notes

  • 1. Assumed to be of age in 1545 when overseer of a will, Arch. Cant. 1. 93. Canterbury prob. reg. C, Act 1, f. 42.
  • 2. Cinque Ports White and Black Bks. (Kent Arch. Soc. recs. br. xix), 240-1, 249, 251, 264; Hythe chamberlains’ accts. 1483-1509, f. 120v.
  • 3. Canterbury prob. rec. C, Act 1, f. 42; Cinque Ports White and Black Bks. 236 seq.; St.Ch.2/26/471; Req. 2/93/56; Arch. Cant. xxix. 293.