Sir John Leman (1544–1632) was a tradesman from

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is located along the A145 r ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

who became

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

Career

Leman's business interests grew across the district of

Waveney Waveney may refer to: * River Waveney, a river that forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England * Waveney District, a local government district in Suffolk, England * Waveney (UK Parliament constituency) * Waveney class lifeboat, a class ...

, which spans the

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

–

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

border. In the 1580s he moved to London and extended his business interests to trading in dairy products there before becoming a liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Fishmongers The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers (or Fishmongers' Company) is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, being an incorporated guild of sellers of fish and seafood in the City. The Company ranks fourth in the order of precede ...

. He was elected

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, in 1606 served as a

Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

and in 1616 he served as

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

. His agents in London and Essex bought cheese and butter for delivery by sea to London. With a few other tradesmen he cornered the market and this ''de facto'' cartel was able to sell at an inflated price that fomented butter riots in London in the 1590s. In the early 1600s Leman bought Goodman's Fields just outside the

near

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...

. He developed the area as a suburb creating four streets: Leman Street, Ayliff Street, Mansell Street, and

Prescot Street Prescot Street is a street in Aldgate in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Central London. It runs between Goodman's Yard and Mansell Street in the west and Leman Street in the east. The area, including Ayliff Street, Leman Street and Mansel ...

, the last three names being those of some of his close relatives. In 1622 Leman, together with his nephew Robert Leman, and his late brother William's third son William Leman, bought the manor of

Warboys Warboys is a large village and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire non-metropolitan district, district of Cambridgeshire, England, north-east of Huntingdon. Geology Igneous diorite rocks are located around below ground at Warboys. Disco ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

, from Oliver Cromwell. Sir John acquired adjacent land a year later and in 1628 Robert granted his interest in the manor to Sir John and William. The latter inherited full title to the manor on Sir John's death. Leman died unmarried in 1632 and was buried at St Michael's, Crooked Lane, London. Google Books He had retained a strong link with Beccles and provided for a free school in his will of 1631 for the education of 44 pupils from Beccles, two from Ringsfield, Suffolk, and two from Gillingham, Norfolk. The 17th century Leman House in Ballygate, a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

,Listed Buildings in Waveney District Area
''Waveney District Council'', 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-24 was once the John Leman School and its wall still bears the motto: ''Disce aut Discede'' (roughly translated as 'learn or go'). Today the town's museum is situated in Leman House, and the town's high school still bears his name,

Sir John Leman High School Sir John Leman High School is a coeducational 11–18 secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status serving part of the Waveney District, Waveney region in north Suffolk, England. The school is located on the western edge of the ...

References

'Parishes: Warboys', A History of the County of Huntingdonshire: Volume 2 (1932), pp. 242-46.
*
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Leman, John 1544 births 1632 deaths 16th-century English people Knights Bachelor 17th-century lord mayors of London People from Beccles Sheriffs of the City of London