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MANSFIELD, John (1558-c.1601), of Huttons Ambo, nr. Malton, Yorks.
Available from Boydell and Brewer
Biography Detail
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Constituency
Dates
Family and Education
b. 1558, s. and h. of Lancelot Mansfield of Skirpenbeck by Anne, da. of Sir Ralph Eure†. m. (1) Mary Holborn of London; (2) Elizabeth; 1s. 3da.1
Offices Held
J.p. Yorks. (N. Riding) from c.1597, q. from 1601.
Biography
Mansfield’s father was a minor country gentleman who married a sister of the 2nd Lord Eure, a member of the council in the north. Mansfield himself became associated with the lord president of the council, the 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, being variously described as his servant or deputy and acting for him, for example, in disputes with the Mountjoys over copper and alum mines in Dorset. It was obviously these powerful figures in the council in the north who obtained Mansfield his parliamentary seat at Beverley in 1593. The burgesses for the Yorkshire boroughs were appointed to a cloth committee on 23 Mar. 1593, and to a committee concerning weirs (28 Mar.).2
Described as of London in 1582, when he was still in Huntingdon’s service, Mansfield had settled at Huttons Ambo (Hutton-in-Derwent) by 1588. His house was not far from York and he apparently became acquainted with the archbishop. In 1597, when Mansfield offered himself for election at Scarborough, the archbishop recommended him to the bailiffs and burgesses, a recommendation reinforced by that of his prospective fellow burgess, Sir Thomas Posthumous Hoby, who secured the senior seat. But neither he nor the archbishop could prevail upon the borough authorities to accept Mansfield’s nomination.3
Mansfield’s will, which was undated, was proved in July 1601. His estate, which included mills at York and Stamford Bridge, was divided into six parts, two of which passed to the son and heir John, who was apprenticed to a merchant. The remainder were shared between Mansfield’s wife Elizabeth, and his three daughters.4
