Sir Thomas Blanke (died 1588) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

politician who served as

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 ...

. He was the son of a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

haberdasher __NOTOC__ In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a men's clothing st ...

, also named Thomas Blanke, and the brother-in-law of

James Altham Sir James Altham (about 1554 - 1617), of Oxhey, Hertfordshire, was an English judge, briefly a member of the Parliament of England, and (from 1607) a Baron of the Exchequer.'Altham, James. B.E. 1607', in E. Foss, ''The Judges of England'', Vol. VI ...

, one of the

Sheriffs 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 ...

in 1557. Like his father, Thomas Blanke followed the trade of a haberdasher. He became an alderman in 1572 and served as one of the Sheriffs of London in 1574. He was elected Lord Mayor of London in 1582. He had the misfortune to be elected during a severe outbreak of the plague; due to the pestilence, there was no pageant celebrating his election, and he was not presented to the

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

until the next May. Much of his mayoralty was spent dealing with the effects of the plague, and his efforts earned him the appellation of "The Good Knight". He died in 1588, at the age of 74, and was buried at

St Mary-at-Hill St Mary-at-Hill is a Church of England parish church in the Ward of Billingsgate, City of London. It is situated on Lovat Lane, a cobbled street off Eastcheap. It was founded in the 12th century as "St Mary de Hull" or "St Mary de la Hulle". It ...

; his wife lived until 1596, being buried in the same tomb. As he had died without issue, his estate at Abbott's Inn passed into the Altham family, who retained it until it was destroyed in the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

.
"Archaeologia: Or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity" pp. 408 - 410

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanke, Thomas 1588 deaths Year of birth unknown Haberdashers 16th-century lord mayors of London