Bailiff of Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England, under the reign of King Edward IV.

• 1469: Robert Basset, William Aldryche.
• 1475 John Russe, William Aldryche

Under the reign of Henry VII

• 1486 William Aldrych, William Watson
• 1506 Thomas Banyard, William Aldrych

Depending upon when William Sr. died, some or all of these were his son also named William.

Source: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=78800

-------------------------------

Charles John Palmer, The Perlustration of Great Yarmouth, Vol. I, p. 108

William Aldrich was first bailiff in 1468. His grandson, Alderman Thomas Aldrich of Norwich, who "lyeth buried in our Lady's chapel in St. Michael's church at ye plee, had sixteen children. He was the ancestor of the Aldrichs of Norwich, and Mangreen in Norfolk. They bore or. a fesse vert, charged with a bull passant arg.

----------------------------------

The following from Allen D. Aldridge of Durham, NC: <ADASR@worldnet.att.net>, sent to Pam Wilson in 1997

Notes from Norwich, England
Summer 1980 Connie Aldridge Service

The Norwich Library has a historical section in which documents referring to the Aldridges can he found. Some ancient wills are on file there, and the "Mayors of Norwich" by Cozens, Hardy and Kent, which contains information I have excerpted. The coat of arms is authenticated in The Visitations of Norfolk. A trip to St. Clements Church, close to the Tourist Office, is very worthwhile. The Aldridges apparently attended church and were buried there. The Aldrich home, now the Labor Exchange, is next door to the church. Over the doorway are the dates of John's terms as Mayor of Norwich in the 1500's. On the other side of the church is a tavern, which was formerly the home of another mayor, Alexander Thurston, who married John Aldrich's daughter. The mantelpiece in the tavern is the original one from the home and bears on one side the merchant's seal of the owner, on the other the Aldrich (later Aldridge) coat of arms, which is a "fess vert, bull passant". The coat of arms is very simple. I am told that the older the coat of arms, the simpler. As more and more people were declared eligible, the coats of arms became more complicated so they would be distinctive.

The change from Aldrich to Aldridge in the 1500's is easily explained since Norwich is pronounced Norridge. Aldrich obviously went the same way. The spelling change, as you can see, appeared in 1553.

Quotes from Cozene, Hardy and Kent: The Mayors of Norwich, 1403-1835

Thomas Aldrich, a draper, was sheriff in 1497 and mayor in 1507 and 1516. During both years of his mayorality he went to London on city business. His merchant's mark (dated 1510) is recorded by Ewing. His father and grandfather, each named William, had been bailiffs of Yarmouth.

[Notes continued in individual records of subsequent generations]