VII. FROM THE TRANSFER OF THE HARBOUR.
1606 TO 1682.
The transfer of the Harbour from the Corporation to Harbour Commissioners by Charter of James I. in 1606 made great changes in Dover, by delivering the Harbour over to a Baord on which only one Burgess of Dover had a seat. If the seafaring community of Dover were best qualified to manage the Harbour for the benefit of the Town and the Kingdom, then the transfer was a calamity; but if, as some suggested, the men of Dover were not broad-minded enough to use the Harbour and its unrivalled position on the coast for local and national advantage, then the constitution of a new authority of wider influence was a blessing, although it was then in disguise:-
1606 John Toke (120)
(120) John Toke, Mayor in 1606, presided over the first Council meeting held in the new Court Hall, 22nd May 1607. The Harbour Charter of James I. was granted in that Mayoralty.
1607 Henry Steede (121)
(121) Henry Steede, Mayor in the years 1607 and 1622, is not otherwise mentioned.
1608 Robert Garrett 122)
(122) Robert Garrett, who was Mayor in the years 1605, 1614 and 1621, kept the "George Tavern," now the "Shakespeare" Hotel, and he also rented St. Nicholas' Tower in Bench Street from the Corporation. This Mayor was committed for a short time to Marshalsea Prison, London, for not arresting a foreign privateer which came into Dover Harbour.
1609 Robert Austin (123)
(123) Robert Austin was Mayor in 1609. He refused to comply with a mandate to join with the County of Kent in raising a subsidy for knighting Prince Henry, eldest son of James I., his reason being that it was contrary to the Charters of the Cinque Ports.
1610 William Leonard
1611 William Leonard
1612 Edward Kempe, ob.
1612 William Warde (124)
(124) William Warde was Mayor four times, in the years 1612, 1613, 1618 and 1619. He was Deputy Lieutenant of the Castle, and on each occasion that he was elected Mayor a salute of three guns was fired from the Castle.
1613 William Warde
1614 Robert Garrett
1615 John VVaade (125)
(125) John Waade was Mayor in the years 1615, 1623 and 1624. In hib first Mayoralty there was a Select Baud and a General Uand trained in the town. In his third Mayoralty, in December, 1624, his Worship was called upon to enforce martial law in Dover, and to call out the Select and the General Bands for active t>crvico. In reply to a report, made by the Mayor and the Committeo of Defence, the Privy Council sent to the Mayor the following letter (No. 743, fol. 56, of Stowe's MSS., British Museum) : — " Our hearteo com iriendacions. Whereas we understand by the accompt which you give, as well as by your letters to this Boarde, as in particular to our very good Lord, the Earl of Montgomery, His Majesty's Lieutenant of that County, how carefully you have laboured to discharge your ducties both in repressing the disorders and outrages of the soldycrs and for the prevcncion of the lyke insoloneies, wo have thought it fit to signifie unto you that we approve of and commend the care and paines which you have taken herein, and doe withall expect and require that as you have already given good testimonie of your diligence in that behalfe, so ye shall carefully continue the same for the good of His Majesty's service, and for the ease and quiet of Ilis Majesty's loving subjects, the inhabitants of those parts, and that you may do this vvilh the more assurance and autoritie, we eend you herewith a Commission under the Great Seal whereby you have power to pi rform that service efl'ectually ; and if you shall find requisite you may increase the number of the Trained Bands which you have ordered before to draw together, thereby to reduce all to order by punishing the ofTonders and mayntaining the publiquo peace, and every particular man in his own private interest, and as in this we are confident of your tender care not to err in the severe way of sh(<Iding blood, without great cause; so we rely so farrc upon your wisdom and justice, that by want of applying the sovraigne rem:-dy of tho executing of some for example, you will not give way to insoloneies which may otherwise spread themselves to a general mischicfe, and for the better facilitating this we have thought good to direct you to procure that the market may be served at reasonable prices, and that all nccessarie provisions may be brought in with safety; and that the Count Mansfeldt be dealt withall so that the C<jlonclR and Captaincs may be furnishrd with money weekly, so as tho soldyers may bo now payed at such rates as they shall be continually payed with; and we do further require you to charge tlic saide Captaines and OtBcers that they see the soldycrs duely payed, or else duo payment made to thow with whom thoy lodge, and publiquo notice given that no man trust any eoldyer more than the value of his weekly pay. Last, we will and require you to advise with the Count of Mansfeldt and the Officers how these things may be ordered in the best manner and withall to reformo the soldyers, and also, if need be. to constraine them to rest eatisficd with the pay that is allowed thorn and in all things to be obe^lient to fheir officers. And so we bid you hoartilv farewell; frrm Whytehall, the last of December, 1624. Tour loving frier'l< >; " (signed by G. Cantuar and twelve other members of the Privy Council). Addressed, "To our loving friendes, the Mayor of Dover (John Waade) and the Committee of Defence, 31st December, 1624. Letters of Ye Counsell Commission of Martial Law att Count Mansfeldt's being att Dovor." Dover at this time was greatly disturbed by the presence of about 12,000 undisciplined soldiers, who had been seized by press-gangs throughout England and marched to Dover under the command of a foreigner. Count Ernefst Mansfeldt and his officers, to be embarked for the expedition to recover the Palatinate, which the Austrians had taken from Frederick Palatine, the son-in-law of James I. These pressed men when they arrived at the Port of Dover objected to leave the country under the control of a foreigner, and they, being an undisciplined mob, became mutinous, and the Mayor had to resort to extrenle measures, which the Royal Commission under the Great Seal was sent down to cover. The main effort of the Dover authorities was to get the ragged and mutinous army shipped off as soon as possible. This was accomplished early in January, 1625. The men left Dover, packed like herrings in the little ships, and on arriving at Calais they were not allowed to land. They sailed up the coast to Holland, and when, after much delay, they landed there, most of the men deserted, while the remnant, who followed Count Mansfeldt to the Palatinate, were slaughtered by superior forces. Count Mansfeldt was so worn by work and worry that he died the year following his departure from Dover. It is supposed that Mansfield's Corner, near St. James's Church, was named after this troublesome adventurer.
1616 Thomas Foord (126)
(126) Thomas Foord was Mayor in the years 1616 and 1625. In his second Mayoralty, 1625, Charles I. met Henrietta of France at Dover Castle.
1617 Nicholas Eaton (127)
(127) Nicholas Eaton, who was Mayor in the years 161 7, 1630 and 1631, was a wealthy merchant.
1618 William Warde
1619 William Warde
1620 John Brounger (128)
(128) John Brounger was Mayor for one year only.
1621 Robert Garrett
1622 Henry Steede
1623 John Waade
1624 John Waade
1625 Thomas Foord
1626 John Pringle (129)
(129) John Pringle was chosen Mayor in September, 1626, and at the same time he was a Burgess of Parliament. In the early part of his Mayoralty there was an invasion " scare," arising out of the dissatisfaction of the French with the treatment which the Queen Henrietta received from the English Protestants. At that time, at Archcliffe Bulwark, the cliff was cut sheer to prevent any passage up or down. Fortifications were erected at the sluice near the bottom of Snargate Street, and a watch house was built at Mansfield's Comer, near St. James's Church, where the great market bell was ordered to be hung up "until the fear of danger shall be passed." The French were engaged in other wars at that time, and could not attend to the affairs of their countrywoman who was then Queen of England ; so " the fear of danger," on account of which the market bell was hung up near St. James's Church, passed.
1627 Stephen Monin (130)
(130) Stephen Monin was Mayor in the years commencing September 8th, 1627, 1628, 1629, 1636 and 1637. The first was the most eventful year. About three months before that Mayoralty commenced, Charles I., on the advice of the Duke of Buckingham, then Lord Warden, had sent from Portsmouth an expedition to Rochelle to relieve the Huguenot Protestants there. Tlie force, which consisted of one hundred ships and 7,000 land troops, was under the command of the Duke of Buckingham; but when they arrived at Rochelle the authorities refused them a landing, but suggested that they should take possession of the Isle of Rhe, about two miles off the Port of Rochelle. They landed there but were soon compelled by the French to return to their ships with great loss, without accom plishing anything. Hoping to win some laurels before returning, the Duke sailed along the Prench coast and summoned Sir John Hippesley, the Lieutenant of Dover Castle to consider a scheme for making an attack on Calais with the object of recovering it as an English possession. Eventually that project was abandoned and the troops were landed at Dover and the other Cinque Ports, where they were billeted, pending arrangements to employ them again for the relief of the Huguenots at Rochelle. The troops became so trouble some to the inhabitants that a commission for enforcing Martial Law was issued to the Mayors of the Cinque Ports. The original Commission was lecently presented to Dover Corporation by the Recorder, Mr. Bodkin. The Mayors of the several Ports were not only authorised, but urged to erect gallows and jibbets in public places and hang the ringleaders, to over-awe the others. At Dover this unthankful office, devolved on Mr. Stephen Monin in his first Mayoralty. Eventually Dover and the other Cinque Ports were relieved of those undesirable visitors, who were marched away to Portsmouth, where, in September, 1628, they were to embark again for Rochelle ; but on the morning of the intended embarkation the the Duke of Buckingham, the Lord Warden, who was going to lead the expeflition, was assassinated by John Felton, and the expedition was abandoned. Sir John Hippesley, the Lieutenant of Dover Castle, who was standing beside tlie Duke when he was assassinated, was an M.P. for Dover. His public conduct was attacked in Parlia ment and he retired from public life. Under the next Lord Warden, Stephen Monin, the Mayor, became the Lieutenant of the Castle.
1628 Stephen Monin
1629 Stephen Monin
1630 Nicholas Eaton
1631 Nicholas Eaton
1632 Thomas Teddiraan (131)
(131) Thomas Teddiman was Mayor in the years 1632, 1633 and 1640. He was a Captain in the Navy during the Common wealth. After the Restoration he was made what was called the Dover Admiral, and in 1662 and 1664 he distinguished himself in naval actions against the Dutch. Of Teddiman, in 1661;, according to Pepys, "the King and all the world spoke highly"; he was knighted for valour, his portrait was painted by Lilly for the Duke of York, and in 1667 he was appointed Port Admiral of Dover. In May, 1668, he died in London and was honoured with a public funeral.
1633 Thomas Teddiman
1634 Luke Pepper (132)
(132) Luke Pepper, Mayor in the years 1636 and 1637, was of the same family as earlier and later Mayors of that name.
1635 Luke Pepper
1636 Stephen Monin
1637 Stephen Monin
1638 Thomas Day (133)
(133) Thomas Day, Mayor in the years 1638, 1639 and 1648, saw gloomy times. lu his first Mayoralty the Plsgue visited Dover, and in his last he had to proclaim the execution of the King to the inhabitants.
1639 Thomas Day
1640 Thomas Teddiman
1641 Thomas Cullen (134)
(134) Thomas Cullen was Mayor in the years 1641 and 1642. It was during his second Mayoralty that Dover Castle was seized for the Cromwellian party.
1642 Thomas Cullen
1643 Luke Braylsford (135)
(135) Luke Braylsford, Mayor in 1643, is not otherwise men tioned.
1644 John Colder (136)
(136) John Golder, was Mayor in the years 1644, 1645, 1646, and 1661. He was a Doctor.
1646 John Colder
1647 Nicholas Roberts (137)
(137) Nicholas Roberts was Mayor only once — in 1649 — and maxie no figure in hiBtory.
1648 Thomas Day
1649 William Richards (138)
(138) William -Richards, Mayor in 1649, had a resivhace called the Green House at the Pier and when Isaac Minct, as a b^-y, made a Slay of two years in Dover to get a knowledgs of the English language in 1674-5, ^e then lodged with this William Richards.
1650 John Broome, ob. (139)
(139) John Broome, Mayor in 1650, was a royalist who re gai'ding the t'ommonwealth as a eoUlod form or Govrnment, accepted office under it. He died during hie Mayoralty.
1650 Edward Prescott (140)
(140) Edward Prescott, Mayor in 1650 and 1653, took the office of Mayor when John Broome died, and he was. Mayor twice during the Commonwealth. Edward Prescott held tlis Manor of Guston as his ancestors and his descendants did. The Preecotts had been Y^omon in the parishes of Guston and Whitfield in the time of the "".Var? of the Roses.
1651 William Cullen (141)
(141) William Cullen, Mayor in 1651, and three years later. He caused the Royal Arms to be taken down from the front of the Court Hall, and the Arms of the Commonwealth were put in their place.
1652 William Cullen
1653 Edward Prescott
1654 Valentine Tatnell (142)
(142) Valentine Tatnell, Mayor in 16^4, was very active in promoiing good order, especially on Sunday's, it being decreed by the Common Assembly "That the Mayor, one Jurat, two Common Councilmen, two Constables and a Churchwarden, shall every Lord's Day, forenoon and afternoon, in turn walk through the town, visit Inns, Ale houses, and other houses, and take notice of disorders."
1655 Thomas White (143)
(143) Thomas White, asked the Common Council to order that the three small maces should be sold and one large one obtained instead. The small maces were sold, but the new large one was not bought until after the Restoration.
1656 Thomas White
1657 Nathaniel Smith (144)
(144) Nathaniel Smith died on the 23rd August, a fortnight before the date when his Mayoralty would have closed. The death is recorded in the minutes thus : — " Memorandum, that on Monday the three and twentieth day of August, 1658 it pleased God to take unto Himself, Nathaniel Smith, Mayor of this town — that good Magistrate."
1657 William Cullen
1658 William Cullen
1659 Thomas Broome (145)
(145) Thomas Broome was a Sergeant at Law. At the time of his election there was some expectation of the restoration of the Monarchy and it is understood that this Mayor saw the coming event. On the landing of Charles II. at Dover, on the 25th of May, 1660, it is recorded in the Corporation minutes : " That on coming ashore, the Mayor of this town, Thomas Broome, Esq., made a speech to his MajCiCy on his knees, and that Mr. John Reading, Minister of the Gospel, presented His Majesty with the Holy Bible, as a gift from the town, and his gracious Majesty, laying his hand upon his breast, told the Mayor, nothing should be more dear to him than the Bible."
1660 John Loome (146)
(146) John Loome, the first Chief Magistrate, chosen after the Re?!tr:at;ct:, was a royalist, and had been on the Register of Sus pected xCiions in Dover during the Interregnum.
1661 John Colder
1662 Richard Jacob (147)
(147) Richard Jacob, chosen Mayor in 1662 and again in the years 1672 and 1673, was a French Huguenot. During his last two Mayoralties the Corporation farmed from the Warden and Assist> ants the Harbour Droits and Ballastage at a rent of £60 a year.
1663 William Eaton
(148) William Eaton, Mayor in 1663 was a Notary connected with the Custom House.
1664 Nicholas Eaton (149)
(149) Nicholas Eaton, Mayor in 1664 was the last Mayor's brother.
1665 George West (150)
(150) George West, Mayor in the years 1665, 1683 and 1687, was a Maltster, and during the Commonwealth had been " a suspected person."
1666 William Stokes (151)
(151) William Stokes, chosen Mayor in 1666, was subsequently elected to the ofl&ce six times. He was a Captain in the Fleet and had charge of the ship in which the King came to Dover at the Restoration. In his last Mayoralty the Charter of Charles II. was abrocated by proclamation.
1667 William Stokes
1668 John Matson (152)
(152) John Matson, Mayor in 1668, was elected to the oflSce twice afterwards, but his last election in 1670 was declared void owing to an informality in the nomination.
1669 John Matson
1670 John Carlisle (153)
(153) John Carlisle, Mayor in September 1670, held the oflSce only a few weeks, his election also being informal. He was the Clerk of the Passage.
1670 Richard Barley (154)
(154) Richard Barley, who was Mayor in 1670 and 1672, had hia election in 1670 disputed, but in a second election the same year he gained the office. In 1678 he attempted to upset the established mode of election by an unauthorized blowing of the town horn, for which he was fined £200.
1671 Richard Barley
1672 Richard Jacob
1673 Richard Jacob
1674 John Bullack (155)
(155) John Bullack was Mayor twice in the Stuart Period and once in the reign of William III. In his second Mayoralty the Mayor and Jurats were appointed to remove the Harbour Bar, the money being granted by the Crown.
1675 John Bullack
1676 WilHam Stokes
1677 William Stokes
1678 WilUam Stokes
1679 Nicholas Cullen (156)
(156) Nicholas Cullen, Mayor, ordered the seats of the Corpor ation to be re-erected in the east end of St. Mary's Church. He was Mayor four times.
1680 Nicholas Cullen
1681 Nicholas Cullen
1682 Nicholas Cullen