Sir John Say (1415 – 12 April 1478) was an English courtier, MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.

Life

He was the son of John Say (born before 1445) and his wife Maud. His brother, aster William Say, was Dean of the Chapel Royal, Master of the Hospital of St Anthony, London and Dean of St Paul's. Sir John owned land at

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, Broxbourne, Little Berkhamsted and Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, and Lawford,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Sir John Say trained as a lawyer and became a King's Serjeant, Coroner of the Marshalsea,

Yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

of the Chamber and Crown, Keeper of

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, Squire of the Body and Privy Councillor. In 1447 he entered Parliament as MP for

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and was then in 1449 elected Knight of the Shire for

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, when he was also elected Speaker of the House of Commons. In June 1449 he was made Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and in 1449 was appointed sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk. By 1450, he was out of favor and in 1451 the Commons demanded his banishment from the court. However, he was pardoned in 1452. From 1453 to 1478 he represented Hertfordshire in several Parliaments and was chosen to serve as speaker from 1463 to 1465 and again 1467 to 1468. In 1455 (until 1478 in three terms under Henry Bourchier, 1st Viscount Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex) he held the post of under- Treasurer of the Exchequer and from 1476 that of Keeper of the Great Wardrobe. He was made

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1465. He died on 12 April 1478.

Marriage

He married (1st) about 11 Nov. 1446 (grant of the king) Elizabeth, widow of Sir Frederick Tilney of Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, and daughter of Sir Laurence or Lawrence Cheney (or Cheyne), Esq. ( - 1461), of Fen Ditton, Fen Drayton, and Long Stanton, Cambridgeshire, Eaton (in Eaton Socon) and Pavenham, Bedfordshire, Irchester, Northamptonshire, etc., Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, 1429–30, 1435–6, Knight of the Shire for Cambridgeshire, 1431, 1432, 1435, 1442, by Elizabeth, daughter of John Cokayne, of Berwardecote, Brunaldeston, and Hatton, Derbyshire, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, 1401, Justice of the Common Pleas, 1405–29, Chief Steward of the Duchy of Lancaster (Northern parts). His wife, Elizabeth, died 2 September 1473. The couple had issue, including: * Anne Say, who married Sir Henry Wentworth of Nettlestead, ''de jure'' 4th Baron Despenser. * Mary Say * Elizabeth Saye Say married (2nd) before 9 Oct. 1474 Agnes Danvers, widow successively of John Fray, Knt., Chief Baron of Exchequer, and John Wenlock, K.G., Lord Wenlock, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chief Butler of England, Chamberlain of the Duchy of Lancaster, joint Treasurer of Ireland, Lieutenant of Calais, and daughter of John Danvers, Knt., Ipswell and Colthorpe, Oxfordshire.

Death

Sir John and Lady Elizabeth Say are buried together at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. Say had contracted the mason Robert Stowell to extend the south aisle of St Augustine's Church and prepare a tomb in June 1476.Louis Salzman, ''Building in England down to 1540'' (Oxford, 1952), pp. 537-8. They were survived by seven of their eight children (three sons and four daughters). Sir John Say was an ancestor of Jane Seymour, third wife of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

. He was succeeded by his son William, who also became an MP and Sheriff for Hertfordshire.

References

* "The Visitation of Suffolk 1561", part 1, made by William Hervey,

Clarenceux King of Arms Clarenceux King of Arms, historically often spelled Clarencieux (both pronounced ), is an Officer of Arms, officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial King of Arms, kings of arms and his juri ...

, and edited by Joan Corder, FSA ( Harleian Society, London; 1981), p. 166 * "The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215" by Frederick Lewis Weis, et al., 5th edition, Baltimore, Maryland (2002), p. 47 * "Plantagenet Ancestry" by Douglas Richardson, Baltimore, Maryland (2004), pp. 207, 381
Parliament and politics in late medieval England, Volume 2 pp 153–174 By John Smith Roskell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Say, John Year of birth unknown 1478 deaths People from Berkhamsted People from Broxbourne Politicians from Essex Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Speakers of the House of Commons of England English MPs 1447 Members of the Privy Council of England Knights of the Bath English MPs February 1449 English MPs 1453 English MPs 1463 English MPs 1467 Members of the Parliament of England for Hertfordshire English MPs 1465 English MPs 1455 English MPs 1478 1415 births