Sir John Pollard, MP, Speaker of the Commons

Family and Education b. by 1508, 1st s. of Walter Pollard of Plymouth by Avice, da. of Richard Pollard of Way, Devon. educ. M. Temple. m. Mary, da. and coh. of Richard Grey of London, s.p. suc. fa. ?1527. Kntd. Oct. 1555/Apr. 1557.2

Offices Held

?Bencher, M. Temple by 1535, Lent reader 1546.

J.p.q. Oxon. 1536-d., Devon 1538-47, Glos., Herefs., Salop, Worcs. 1554-d.; of counsel to Plymouth by 1538-51 or later; commr. musters, Oxon. 1539, relief, Oxon. and Oxford 1550, goods of churches and fraternities, Oxford 1553; under steward, duchy of Lancaster, south parts 15 Jan. 1543-d.; serjeant-at-law ?Jan. 1547-21 Oct. 1550; member, council in the marches of Wales June 1550, v.-pres. by Feb. 1552; justice, Brec., Glam. and Rad. 23 Nov. 1550-d., Chester and Flint, Denbigh and Montgomery 8 Apr. 1557-d.; recorder, Gloucester 1553-6, Oxford by Apr. 1554-d.3

Speaker of House of Commons Oct. 1553, 1555.

Biography On his father’s side John Pollard had as forbears three generations of merchants and mayors of Plymouth, but his mother came from the family at Way which had produced a notable lawyer in Sir Lewis Pollard, a justice of common pleas during Pollard’s early years at the Middle Temple, and another patron in Richard Pollard, client of Cromwell and a power in the west country, who was to make Pollard his executor in 1542.4

Pollard’s return for Plymouth in 1529 is sufficiently explained by his combination of local and legal standing, for the town was perhaps already retaining him as one of its counsel. Their relationship was not to be a smooth one. By January 1535 Pollard and his fellow-Member Thomas Vowell had quarrelled so badly with a part of the corporation that their opponents complained to Cromwell of the misdeeds of ‘certain seditious persons’, among them Pollard and Vowell, whom they described as ‘men without substance and unfit to rule this town’. Pollard at least was substantial enough to have served in Parliament for no more than the 13s.4d. he had originally, if rashly, agreed to accept, and the charge of unfitness was unlikely to be sustained against a man of his connexions. The entry in the Plymouth accounts for 1536-7 of a payment of 20s. to Pollard ‘for his attendance at the late Parliament’ can thus probably be taken to mean that the town complied with the King’s request for the return of the previous Members to the Parliament summoned for June 1536: if so, the corporation doubtless acted on the advice of Sir Peter Edgecombe and Andrew Hillersdon the recorder, whom it had consulted in the matter.5

This was the end of Pollard’s occupancy of a seat for Plymouth, and although he was to be named to the Devon bench in 1538, remaining on it until 1547, and to continue as one of Plymouth’s counsel longer still, his main interests shifted elsewhere. It is not known whether his translation to Oxfordshire was the cause or the result of his marriage with Mary Grey, stepdaughter to Sir William Barentyne, a leading gentleman of that county. In July 1538 Pollard was recommended to Cromwell as a suitable under steward of the lordship of Abingdon, being called by the bailiff, John Welsborne, ‘an honest gentleman, well learned in law and the Latin tongue, a man of judgment and substance’. Four years later the 1st Earl of Sussex, chief steward of the south parts of the duchy of Lancaster, made Pollard his deputy, and in January 1543 he was formally appointed under steward: he was to be succeeded at his death by Edmund Plowden, another Middle Templar and a relation of his by marriage.6

Pollard’s association with Plowden, who preserved some of his dicta in the Commentaries, raises the question how far his career was affected by his evident conservatism in religion. His absence from the remaining Henrician Parliaments (in so far as their Membership is known) may have been connected with his removal to Oxfordshire, although a successful lawyer such as he had become need scarcely have lacked a seat, and before the first Edwardian Parliament was summoned he had been made a serjeant, an achievement which the corporation of Plymouth, old scores seemingly forgotten, celebrated with a present of wine. Whether he cut any figure in the upheavals of 1549, either in his native county or at court, is not known, but in June 1550 he was given a seat (afterwards becoming vice-president) on the council in the marches of Wales and later in the year he was released from his serjeancy and made justice of the counties of Brecon, Glamorgan and Radnor in place of (Sir) John Pakington. It may be that in forsaking the prospect of a judgeship at Westminster Pollard thought it too remote to cling to, there being a string of serjeants ahead of him, but perhaps he also preferred to remove himself from an atmosphere he found uncongenial. In the event he probably evaded the dilemma in which so many of his brethren were to find themselves two-and-a-half years later, and it is not surprising that he seems to have been absent from the Parliament of March 1553 which prefaced the succession crisis of that summer.7

If his attitude before July 1553 remains obscure, Pollard clearly welcomed the Marian regime and in turn enjoyed its confidence. He was by then firmly based in Oxfordshire. He had inherited property in Exeter and Plymouth and his wife brought him land at Kingston-upon-Thames and in London. He had probably owned a house in Oxfordshire since 1536, and in 1543 and 1544 he bought further property in that county, including the manor of Nuneham Courtenay, some five miles south of Oxford, for £818. In the following year he and William Byrte paid over £1,600 for former monastic property in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, and in partnership with George Rithe he added numerous parcels of land in Oxfordshire and elsewhere. Many of these properties he must have sold or released to his partner; his own he concentrated around Nuneham Courtenay.8

Thus qualified by property and residence to gain the knighthood of his adopted shire, Pollard must have owed his election in the autumn of 1553 to the support of the crown, which had chosen him for the Speakership. When the House assembled on 5 Oct. 1553 Sir Thomas Cheyne nominated him; he is said to have made an ‘excellent oration’ on 9 Oct. and appears to have acquitted himself well in the session which followed. On 17 Nov. the House ordered that Councillors who were Members should have ‘copies of the articles whereof Mr. Speaker made relation to the Queen’s highness by word’ and on 2 Dec. the Speaker was required to obtain such documents as would further the passage of the bill revoking the attainder of the 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Re-elected for Oxfordshire to the next two Parliaments, Pollard had a number of bills committed to him. It was doubtless he, and not his namesake the Member for Barnstaple, who in April 1554 handled a bill for the election of university scholars and was called upon with another Member to attend to a case of privilege raised by William Johnson I. In the next Parliament Pollard had no namesake, and it was indubitably he who made a vehement speech in defence of King Philip on a bill, which the House nevertheless rejected, to punish those who wrote or spoke against the King and Queen. His loyalty, ability and experience led the Council to take the unusual course of nominating him as Speaker for the second time in the autumn of 1555. In what looks like a gesture of protest by the freeholders of Oxfordshire Pollard was on this occasion denied the knighthood of that shire and a seat had to be found for him at Chippenham, almost certainly after an attempt in the meantime to have him elected at Gloucester. Yet on the first day of the Parliament he was chosen Speaker ‘by the entire voice’ and made an oration which was considered excellent by James Bassett and by Cardinal Pole, who wrote a few days later to King Philip expressing the hope that the Commons would ‘show the same mind in matters relating to religion and the honour and advantage of the crown as evinced by their Speaker’. On the contrary the House was to prove practically unmanageable, with a group of Members doing their utmost to block the government’s measures. High-handed action was necessary to secure the passage of a bill renouncing the crown’s right to first fruits, but Pollard was in turn coerced into abetting the defeat of the bill threatening Protestant refugees abroad with heavy penalties. The knighthood conferred on him, probably at the close of the session, seems less a reward than a consolation.9

In April 1557 Pollard was appointed justice of Chester and Flint for life and of two other Welsh counties during pleasure, but by the summer he had been taken ill, perhaps with the infection then widespread, and on 2 Aug. he made a second and final will. As he had no children his property was to descend in tail male, on the death of his wife and the extinction of her life interest in Nuneham Courtenay, to his much younger brother and heir Anthony, who had already had certain lands settled on him at his marriage six years earlier to Philippa, daughter of William Sheldon; in the event of Anthony’s death without male issue the inheritance would pass to William, younger son of Sir Richard Pollard, whom the executors were to ‘find to learning in Latin’ for two more years and then to put to some good master. To his wife Pollard left the household stuff at Nuneham, with farm stock, money and plate, to his brother Anthony his books, a sum of £20 and all his apparel at Ludlow, and to kinsfolk and friends, including his mother, smaller bequests: the residue was to go to pay debts and damages and to support charities. The executors were his brother, Ralph Ferne and Thomas Mynd, and the overseer Sir John Williams, Lord Williams of Thame.10

Pollard died on 12 Aug. 1557 and was buried in London on the 25th. His wife, who by 1561 had married one Thomas Norris, outlived him by nearly half a century and Anthony Pollard, despairing of getting possession of Nuneham Courtenay, entered into an agreement in 1577, the year of his own death, by which his interest passed to the sons of Sir Richard Pollard.11

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558 Author: Roger Virgoe Notes 1. Plymouth receivers’ acct. bk. 1536-7. 2. Date of birth estimated from first reference. Vis. Devon, ed. Vivian, 597; Vis. Oxon. (Harl. Soc. v), 305; Plymouth black bk. f. 135v; CPR, 1555-7, pp. 214, 468. 3. Plymouth receivers’ acct. bk. 1538-9 to 1549-50; CPR, 1547-8, p. 75; 1549-51, pp. 211-12, 228; 1550-3, pp. 395, 423; 1553, p. 357; 1555-7, p. 468; Williams, Oxford M.Ps, 41; Gloucester Guildhall 1394, ff. 41-54; Oxf. Recs. 216, 267; Somerville, Duchy, i. 432; LP Hen. VIII, xiv. 4. R. N. Worth, Plymouth, 212-13; CIPM Hen. VII, iii. 705; J. A. Youings, ‘The disposal of monastic property in land in the county of Devon 1535-58’ (London Univ. Ph.D. thesis, 1950), 109-10; Foss, Judges, v. 228; PCC 27 Pynnyng. 5. LP Hen. VIII, viii; Plymouth receivers’ acct. bk. 1530-1, 1535-6, 1536-7. 6. LP Hen. VIII, xiii; Somerville, i. 432. 7. E. Plowden, Commentaries (1816), 17-18; Plymouth receivers’ acct. bk. 1546-7. 8. Plymouth black bk. f. 135v; PCC 37 Wrastley; VCH Oxon. v. 241; vii. 20; LP Hen. VIII, xix, xx; E150/821/6. 9. CJ, i. 27, 30, 32, 35, 38, 40-42, 44; CSP Span. 1554-8, p. 125; CSP Ven. 1555-6, pp. 225, 233, 283. 10. PCC 37 Wrastley. 11. E150/821/6; Machyn’s Diary (Cam. Soc. xlii), 148; VCH Oxon. v. 241.

Birth: 1527 Devon, England Death: 1575 Combe Martin Devon, England

Son of Sir Richard Pollard (1505-1542), MP for Taunton (1536) and Devon (1539, 1542) and grandson of Sir Lewis Pollard (c. 1465-1526); Justice of the Common Pleas from 1514 to 1526[2] and served as MP for Totnes in 1491 and was a JP in Devon in 1492.

Knighted on 10 Nov. 1549.

He was J.p. Devon 1558/59-d., q. by 1569, j.p. Som. by 1569; commr. eccles. causes 1559; visitor, diocese of Exeter 1559; pres. council of Munster 1568. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/

Marriage: "Catherine, at least 3 da.; at least 1 s. illegit. suc. fa. 10 Nov. 1542." Source: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/

CHILDREN: 1. dau. 2. dau. 3. dau. 4. Illegitimate Son: ROBERT? by Prudence; died 1593?***

• **UNDERGOING RESEARCH 07/2016***** The mystery continues....

CONCERNING A ILLEGITIMATE SON from "History of Parliament" show 3 daughters and an illegitimate son:

Sir John Pollard Family and Education b. 1527/28, 1st s. of (Sir) Richard Pollard of Putney Surr., London and Forde Abbey by Jacquetta, da. John Bury of Colliton, Devon. m. Catherine, at least 3da.; at least 1s. illegit. suc. fa. 10 Nov. 1542. Kntd. 10 Nov. 1549.

SEE:http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/po...

• **Illegitimate Son of Sir John Pollard 1527-1575 of "Combe Martin" by recorded "Prudence"; died 1593?? Is this illegitimate son the "Robert Pollard of Ways I" the father of Robert II that migrated to Virginia Colony ca. 1630-40's?? The dates don't bare this out. However, the date of birth for Robert I could be wrong.

Robert Pollard born 1580? d. 1640 in Pollard Castle, Devon, England, Great Britain (Way)Married?? Lady Margaret Barrett?Bassett?Ayring (de Ayring) b. 1582 d. 1639 Pollard Castle, Devon, England / Way(e) Wales - Memorial# 119279800 ??

• ***Recorded in the Sir George Amorye (d. 1598) (Amory, Amery, Emery) family concerning Whitechapel manor that a one woman named "Prudence" was quote "widow of Sir John Pollard of Combe Martin" married Robert Damore; brother of George Amorye. George Amory's wife Margery was of the Ayre or Eyre family of Atherington. There is also family BASSETT involved. All names from the Bishop's Nympton area and all very well known to each other. i.e. Pollards, Amory, Bassett (NOT Barrett) and Ayre/Eye. Sir John so far has only been found to have married a one "Cathrine" and no one else and had no male heirs.
  • *"Robert Damorie = Prudence; relict of Sr. Johannes Pollard of Combe-martin in Devon, Kt. bur. 12 April 1593 at North Tawton." SOURCE: The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Herald's Visitations ...By College of Arms (Great Britain)
    • Prudence (?) Burial: 12 APR 1593, North Tawton S3 Family 1: Sir Johannes Pollard Family 2: Robert Damorie SOURCE: Visitations of the County of Devon: AMORY OF CHAPELL

OTHER SOURCE: National Archives, North Devon Record Office, South Molton Records B264, Whitechapel Estate and the families associated with it 1609–1990

Family links:

Parents:

 Richard Pollard (1505 - 1542)

Children:

 Robert Pollard (1580 - 1640)*

• Calculated relationship

Burial: Unknown Specifically: UNKNOWN

Created by: W. Pollard Record added: Oct 31, 2013 Find A Grave Memorial# 119625964

Family and Education b. 1527/28, 1st s. of (Sir) Richard Pollard of Putney Surr., London and Forde Abbey by Jacquetta, da. John Bury of Colliton, Devon. m. Catherine, at least 3da.; at least 1s. illegit. suc. fa. 10 Nov. 1542. Kntd. 10 Nov. 1549.1

Offices Held

J.p. Devon 1558/59-d., q. by 1569, j.p. Som. by 1569; commr. eccles. causes 1559; visitor, diocese of Exeter 1559; pres. council of Munster 1568.2

Biography John Pollard’s father provided for his boyhood governance by his uncles Sir Hugh Pollard and (Sir) Hugh Paulet, but in August 1543 his wardship and marriage were granted to Sir John Russell, Baron Russell. Russell’s defection from the Duke of Somerset was followed by Pollard’s knighting on the same day as his friend Arthur Champernon; the wardship grant was formally cancelled in December 1550 but Pollard was not licensed to enter upon his inheritance until nine days before the death of Edward VI.3

Pollard had by then sat in his first Parliament as senior Member for Plympton Erle. One of his relatives, the archdeacon of Barnstaple, was lessee of some property there from the family of the other Member, Richard Strode II, but Russell, now Earl of Bedford, was doubtless responsible for his nomination. His next appearance was in Mary’s second Parliament when with another of the earl’s protégés, George Ferrers, he sat for Barnstaple. His grandfather had been, and his uncle Sir Hugh Pollard still was, recorder of the borough, while he had more than one marital link with (Sir) John Chichester, its chief patron. As the owner of property there he also went some way towards satisfying the crown’s request for resident Members, although he is to be distinguished from a kinsman and namesake who lived at Barnstaple. It was doubtless yet another John Pollard, then knight of the shire for Oxfordshire and Speaker in the Parliaments of October 1553 and 1555, who in April 1554 was concerned with a bill for the election of university scholars and with a case of privilege raised by William Johnson I.4

Neither noble patronage nor local ties procured Pollard a seat in the second Parliament of 1554, but in the following year he was elected senior Member for Exeter. Not without connexions there, for the recorder was his cousin and an uncle was a prebendary in the cathedral, he must again have been a nominee, especially as he did not meet the city’s recent requirement that only resident freemen could be elected. The new Earl of Bedford was abroad, so that the nomination was probably made by Cecil, whom Bedford had empowered to act for him during his absence. The corporation did what it could to regularize Pollard’s position by making him a freeman immediately after his election. It was in this Parliament that he sat under the Speakership of his namesake, to whose difficulty in controlling the House he made his contribution. A member of Cecil’s parliamentary dinner-party and of the group which met to discuss the tactics of opposition, he voted against one of the government’s bills.5

Pollard seems to have remained in London after the Parliament was dissolved and by mid February 1556 he is known to have become involved in the Dudley conspiracy. He was one of those sent to the Tower on 29 Apr. but it was not until 4 Nov. that he was indicted and within another month he was released. His service in the French campaign of the following year doubtless helped him to obtain a pardon on 30 Jan. 1558 and to recover some of his property. While abroad he had witnessed the will of Sir William Courtenay II, who had been imprisoned and freed with him.6

The description of Pollard in the pardon as ‘late of Forde, Dorset alias late of Horton, Gloucestershire’ may reflect losses of property otherwise than by escheat. Forde itself had passed to his cousin Amias Paulet† by 1558 and other possessions were sold piecemeal to meet debts which had probably originated with the wardship. Pollard’s lease of the manor of Trelawne, Cornwall, in 1561 gave him his new home. He sat in the first two Elizabethan Parliaments and it may have been the ill-health that prevented him from taking up his appointment to the presidency of Munster which kept him out of the next two. He did not die, however, until 1575.7

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558 Author: A. D.K. Hawkyard Notes 1. Date of birth estimated from age at fa.’s i.p.m., C142/65/25. Vis. Devon, ed. Vivian, 598; PCC 27 Pynnyng, 47 Pyckering. 2. CPR , 1560-3, p. 345; 1566-9, p. 350; 1569-72, pp. 222-3; N. M. Fuidge, ‘Personnel of the House of Commons of 1563-7’ (London Univ. M.A. thesis, 1950), 269; CSP Ire. 1509-73, pp. 392-3, 410, 429. 3. LP Hen. VIII, xviii, xxi; CPR, 1553, p. 7; PCC 27 Pynnyng; Docquet bk. f. 21. 4. NRA 4154, p. 156; LP Hen. VIII, xviii; PCC Admins. ed. Glencross, i. 107; N. Devon Athenaeum, Barnstaple, 1712; 3972, ff. 20v, 42(2), 45(2), 55(2) et passim; CJ, i. 35. 5. HMC Exeter, 362; Trans. Dev. Assoc. lxi. 194; Exeter Freemen (Devon and Cornw. Rec. Soc. extra ser. i), 81; Exeter act bk. 2, ff. 142v, 143; F. Peck, Desiderata Curiosa, i. 19; SP11/8/7, 35; Guildford mus. Loseley 1331/2. 6. Strype, Eccles. Memorials, iii(1), 488; Machyn’s Diary (Cam. Soc. xlii), 104; CSP Dom. 1547-80, p. 84; CPR, 1555-7, p. 456; 1557-8, p. 89; D. M. Loades, Two Tudor Conspiracies, 223-34. Loades, 212 and C. Read, Cecil, 109-10 confuse him with the Speaker. 7. CPR, 1557-8, p. 89; 1560-3, pp. 153, 368; Devon and Cornw. N. and Q. xxix. 302-4.