John Savile

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: of Golcar near Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
• Alternate birth: of Elland, Calderdale, Yorkshire, England
• Alternate death: Bef 23 Sep 1399

Notes:

Sheriff of Yorkshire, 1380, 1383, 1388. Knight of the shire for Yorkshire, 1376, Oct 1382, Apr 1384, Nov 1384, and Jan 1390. Constable of Pontefract Castle for John of Gaunt, by June 1396.

From the History of Parliament:

Most of John Saville’s early life was spent campaigning overseas. He probably first saw action at the siege of Calais in 1346, when Edward III himself commanded the English army. Ten years later he received royal letters of protection pending his departure abroad in the retinue of the Black Prince; and it seems likely that he fought at the battle of Poitiers in September 1357. Just before leaving, he acknowledged a debt of £10 due to a local clergyman, although the money was duly paid and the bond was cancelled. For part of the ensuing expedition, John served in Brittany under the banner of Henry, duke of Lancaster. He subsequently gave evidence on behalf of two English soldiers found guilty of murder there, and was instrumental in securing pardons for them both. At about this time Duke Henry granted John a life tenancy of certain lands at Marsden in the duchy of Lancaster lordship of Pontefract, although, because a royal licence had not first been obtained,John was later obliged to pay a fine of £10 to keep the property after 1361, when his patron died. His involvement in the business of local government began in 1364, when he served on his first royal commission, yet he still took a keen interest in military affairs, and three years later we find him in Spain, again in the retinue of the Black Prince, with whom he fought at the battle of Najera. On his return to England he agreed to act as an attorney for the prior of Monk Bretton in Yorkshire, but once again his stay at home proved short lived. In common with many of the late duke of Lancaster’s retainers, he transferred his allegiance to the new duke, John of Gaunt, becoming a member of the latter’s affinity, at a fee of £20 a year during this period. In return for his annuity he took part in at least three expeditions to France. In April 1373, for example, Gaunt’s receiver was ordered to pay the 30 archers whom Saville and (Sir) Robert Rockley had commanded on one of these recent operations. Sir John probably had the duke to thank for the knighthood which was bestowed upon him in the late 1360s; and he also acquired the marriage of Elizabeth Thornton, one of his patron’s wards, albeit for ‘un grant somme’. His election to the Good Parliament of 1376 may have owed something to Gaunt’s influence as well, although it is important to remember that, notwithstanding his frequent absences abroad, Sir John already possessed considerable administrative experience: he had not only served on the West Riding bench for the best part of five years, but had discharged a term as escheator of Yorkshire, too. During the Good Parliament, he was sufficiently trusted to conduct Thomas Caterton from Queenborough castle for interrogation before Parliament. Caterton had been appealed for treason by Sir John Annesley*, and the court party, including Gaunt, was anxious to protect him from attack. In the event, they were able to hold off the opposition, despite some damning revelations about their conduct of the war-effort. The duke himself was singled out for particular criticism, and during the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 he fled into Scotland, leaving his Savoy palace to be destroyed by the London mob. Gaunt was, understandably, reluctant to cross the border again without the protection of a sizeable bodyguard. In late June, therefore, his leading retainers in the north were instructed to provide an escort for his journey to Knaresborough. Not only did Sir John mobilize a personal retinue of ten men-at-arms and 40 archers; he also helped to suppress the rebellion in the north by serving on two commissions for the punishment of insurgents.

By the date of his second return to the House of Commons, Sir John had spent a few months as sheriff of Yorkshire, a post which he again assumed, this time for the customary term of a whole year, just after the Parliament ended. An increasingly heavy burden of administrative duties may have led him to seek royal letters of exemption from office-holding, but although these were granted in June 1384, he continued to occupy a variety of government posts in the north. Indeed, it was during his third and last shrievalty that he became involved in a dispute with Sir Robert Constable* over the payment of the latter’s parliamentary expenses, which he refused to hand over on the ground that they had already made private arrangements for Sir Robert’s benefit. Meanwhile, in September 1386 he gave evidence at York on behalf of Richard, Lord Scrope of Bolton, in his celebrated dispute with Sir Robert Grosvenor over the right to bear the same coat of arms. All in all, he represented Yorkshire in five Parliaments, being about 65 years old when he last entered the Lower House in 1390. He was then attempting to recover debts of almost £250 from a member of the local clergy, although the defendant’s persistent refusal to appear in court brought the case to a halt. Sir John remained active until his death, when he was probably still in office as constable of Pontefract. Only one reference, dated 1396, now survives to him in this capacity, but it seems likely that he received the post (which lay in Gaunt’s gift) at a somewhat earlier point in his career. Sir John certainly remained loyal—and grateful—to the duke, naming him, along with various members of his own family, as one of the spiritual beneficiaries of the chantry which he founded at Elland towards the end of his life. A royal licence permitting him to alienate extensive estates in the area for the support of a chaplain was accorded in July 1396, upon payment of a £20 fine; and all the necessary arrangements appear to have been made by the time of his death, two or three years later.

John married Margerie. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The History of Parliament article on her son John Savile calls her "poss. da. of Matthew Wood."

John married Margery Rishworth before 1306. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]