Family and Education

b. 24 Apr. 1547, 1st. s. of Sir Henry Gates of Seamer by his 1st w. educ. Pembroke, Camb. 1562; L. Inn 1565. m. Elizabeth, da. and h. of Richard Cave of Stamford, Lincs. suc. fa. 1589.1

Offices Held

J.p. Yorks. (N. and E. Ridings) from c.1579; constable, Scarborough castle 1584.2

Biography

In contrast to his father, a prominent member of the council in the north, Gates played but a small part in Yorkshire affairs. He inherited a sizeable estate, but the extent of his subsequent alienations suggests financial difficulties. He continued his father’s dispute with Scarborough over the right to hold a market at Seamer, finally losing the verdict in 1602. Both his early seat at Scarborough, which his father had held in 1563, and his return at Thirsk were no doubt obtained through Sir Henry’s influence. Once he had been appointed constable of Scarborough (through the mediation of his father and Sir Francis Walsingham), he would have been able to obtain his own elections for the borough. The continuation of the dispute with Scarborough and his apparent financial difficulties perhaps explain why he did not sit in Parliament after 1593. Although he is not mentioned by name in the parliamentary records, he may have attended committees to which the burgesses of Scarborough were appointed in 1593, concerning cloth (23 Mar.) and the maintenance of weirs (28 Mar.). He died in 1621 and was buried at Seamer.3

Ref Volumes: 1558-1603

Author: W.J.J.

Notes

• 1. Coll. Top. et Gen. i. 396; Dugdale’s Vis. Yorks. ed. Clay, iii. 311; Rylands Eng. ms 302, f. 37.
• 2. HMC Hatfield, xii. 103-4; CSP Dom. 1581-90, p. 109.
• 3. Surtees Soc. cxxi. 140-2; Thoresby Soc. xxxix. 86-7; Rowntree, Scarborough, 222-4; APC, xxviii. 24; xxxi. 5-7; CSP Dom. 1590-4, p. 212; Yorks. Arch. Soc. liii. 218-19; VCH Yorks. N. Riding, ii. 451, 485; D’Ewes, 507, 512; HMC Hatfield, xii. 103-4; CSP Dom. 1581-90, p. 109; Al. Cant. ii. 200.