John Dodsley

From Straus: Robert Dodsley, poet, Publisher and Playwright.

There is mention of a ' Dodslye, barbar,' who seems to have broken the law in Nottingham by encouraging ' games before service,' in July 1573. A John Dodsley, who may been a son of the barber, was, in 1615, ' clad in a red gown ' during the entertainment given in honour of the King's visit to the town; and ten years later he is supposed to have ' built a porch upon the town ground - no doubt an encroachment upon the street,’ a proceeding which rendered him liable to the payment of an increased rent. In 1625 he was Sheriff of Nottingham, and in 1631 he was included in a committee of prominent townsfolk appointed ' to see that certain precautionary measures, designed to keep the plague outside the town, were duly observed.'