Sir John Mervyn, Kt., MP

MARVYN, Sir John (by 1503-66), of Fonthill Gifford, Wilts. Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982

b. by 1503, 1st s. of John Marvyn of Fonthill Gifford by Elizabeth, da. and coh. of John Green of Stotfold, Beds. m. (1) by 1529, Jane, da. of Philip Baskerville of Sherborne, Dorset, wid. of William Peverell of Bradford Peverell, Som., 5s. inc. James† 8da.; (2) 1559 or later, Elizabeth, da. of John Mompesson of Bathampton, Wilts., wid. of Richard Perkins of Ufton, Berks. suc. gd.-fa. 12 July 1512. Kntd. 18/25 Sept. 1547.1

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From Fasciculus Mervinensis, notes historical, genealogical, and heraldic of the family of Mervyn William Richard Drake (sir.) . 1873. Page 9-12

SIR JOHN MERVYN, of Fountel-Giffard, Knight, 3rd son, succeeded his grandfather Walter. He married twice; his first wife being JANE, daughter of Philip BASKERVILLE, of Sherborne, in the county of Dorset (afterwards of Erdesley, in the county of Hereford), and widow of William Peverell, of Bradford Peverell, in the county of Somerset. By Jane Baskerville, who was buried at Fountel, Sir John had thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters ...

• I. SIR JAMES MERVYN, Knt., of whom hereafter.
• II. EDMUND MERVYN, who married JANE, daughter of Sir Richard CATESBY, Knight, by his first wife, Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Spencer, Knight, of Wormleighton, co. Northampton, * and widow of Robert Gaynesford, of Carshalton, Surrey, at which place they were married 19 February, 1558-9; † and by her Edmund Mervyn, who was living in 1578, ‡ had three sons :-- .... etc.
• III. JOHN MERVYN, stated by Vincent to have died s.p. He was living in 1578. ‡
• IV. PHILIP MERVYN, living 1578, ‡ he also is stated in Vincent's pedigree to had died s. p. He was appointed by his father's will (1566) one of the executors.
• V. AMBROSE MERVYN, fifth son, but thirteenth child, married SUSAN, daughter of Geoffry UPTON, ll of Warmester, in the county of Somerset. He was named in his father's will (1566) as one of the executors, and he was also a legatee under the will and codicil of his brother Sir James Mervyn, dated 1st April, 1610, who requests that his adopted son Henry Mervyn, and his wife Christiana, will in respect of the love and bountye that he had bestowed on them, "bestowe mete, drink, and lodging" upon "his brother Ambrose as he (the testator) had theretofore done."
• 1. ELEANOR MERVYN, Sir John's eldest daughter, was th second wife of Robert HILL, of Yarde, near Taunton, in the county of Somerset, and was living at the death of her father in 1566, at which time she had issue* as follows :--- ....etc.
• 2. EDITH MERVYN, died unmarried.
• 3. MARGARET MERVYN, who married John COOK, of Underbridge, in the Isle of Wight, was living in 1566, and had the following issue:-- ... etc.
• 4. ELIZABETH MERVYN was the wife of John RYVES † of Damory Court, in the county of Dorset, who is referred to in his father-in-law Sir John's will, and appointed by it the guardian of the testator's grandchildren, John, Edmond, and Richard. .... etc.
• 5. MARGARET MERVYN, (a second daughter of this name,) being the tenth child of Sir John Mervyn and Jane Baskerville, is mentioned in her father's funeral certificate, and in his will is referred to as "my daughter Mergarett the younger." She married Francis PERKINS, of Ufton, co. Berks.
• 6. ANNE MERVYN, wife of Edward CORDUROY, of Chute, in the county of Southampton, by whom she had issue a daughter, AMY, who is mentioned in Sir John's funeral certificate.
• Two other daughters (whose Christian names are not given) are stated in Sir John's funeral certificate to have died without issue.

Sir John Mervvn was knighted by Edward the Protector Duke of Somerset, at the camp at Roxburghe, in Scotland, i Edw. VI* He survived his first wife, and married, secondly, ELIZABETH,t daughter of John MOMPESSON, of Bathampton, in the county of Wilts, and widow of Sir Richard Perkins, of Ufton, in the county of Berks, Knt.; but by her Sir J ohn had no issue that lived. In the second Parliament, i Mary J (1554), Sir John Mervyn was returned as one of the Knights of the Shire for Wiltshire, and in the following Parliament (also 1554), he sat as member for Calne.J He died, as appears by his funeral certificate^ "on Tuesday, the 19th day of "June, 1566, in the eighth year of the Queen's reign, at "his house at Fountayne Gifford, in the county of Wilts, "about s o'clock at night."

Sir John Mervyn added to his estates in Wiltshire by the purchase in 1553 for ,£952 3s. 2jd. of the fee of the manor of Compton Bassett, which had previously been held by his family under lease, and which property had formed part of the jointure of Queen Catherine Parr. The purchase of this property gave rise, as will be after seen, to a very bitter litigation between Sir John's eldest son and his mother-in-law.

The manor of Compton Basset was conveyed to Sir John by grant from the Crown, dated at Westminster, 4th February, 7 Edw. VI.IT He made his will, || which is stated to have been dated the 8th June, 1566; but that date would, if the day of his death is accurately stated in the funeral certificate, appear to be incorrect, as in the proceedings connected with the litigation,** the will is said to have been all written in Sir John's chamber on the forenoon of the day on which he died. By it the testator directs his body to be buried at Fountel, by the side of his first wife, and he instructs his executors to see that he and his Lady Elizabeth, "my wief that now ys," are buried " after a worshipfull sorte there, according to our estate." The directions as to the burial were evidently very strictly complied with; no doubt under the supervision of his widow. The Herald's certificate shows that it was attended with all due formalities; it gives a very detailed account of the proceedings previous to and at the funeral, including a note of the sermon preached in the church by Mr. Proctor, the Chancellor of the Bishop of Salisbury, in which the defunct was much commended for " his juste dealinge and for kepynge p'myses." The worthy Knight was followed to his grave by four of his five sons; by five daughters; and by one daughter-in-law. His eldest son James was absent, and his place as chief mourner was rilled by the second son Edmund. The absence of the heir, which unexplained would seem strange, no doubt resulted from his dissatisfaction with his father's will, or rather with the will which, as he maintained, was put forward as Sir John's, but which had in fact been made for him at the time he was almost in extremis, by his wife and the priest.*

• SIR JAMES MERVYN, third child but eldest son of Sir JOHN MERVYN and JANE BASKERVILLE, succeeded on his father's death in 1566 to the Fountel-Giffoard estate. He was born in 1529, .... He married AMY CLARKE, daughter of Valentine CLARKE, by his wife ELIZABETH, daughter and heir of ROLAND BRIDGES. In Sir John Mervyn's funeral certificate, Sir James' wife is described as being, at the time of the marriage, widow of . . . . Horne of Sarsdon in the county of Oxford, pensioner. † ....
• After the death of his first wife, Sir James married DEBORA, daughter of James PILKINGTON, § Bishop of Durham, and widow of Walter Dunche, of Little Wytnam, in the county of Berks. II By this lady he had so issue, and apparently she died before him, as no mention is made of her in his will. .... etc.
• Sir James Mervyn died 1st May, 1611, his only child Lucy having died in his lifetime, as appears by the Inquisition taken on his death. §
• .... etc. _____________________________
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ancestors...
• coat of arms "'Calne: Parliamentary representation', in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 17, Calne, ed. D A Crowley (London, 2002), pp. 100-101 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol17/pp100-101 [accessed 3 June 2015]. "Local landowners who were M.P.s included Sir John Mervyn, the lord of Compton Bassett manor, who was elected in 1554, (fn. 11)"

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