Richard Saltonstall (mayor)

Sir Richard Saltonstall (1521–1601[1]) was an English politician and Lord Mayor of London.

Sir Richard Saltonstall- This representational figure was commissioned by Susannah shortly following Richard's death and is likely to be a true likeness.

Richard Saltonstall was descended from Robert de Saltonstall who held lands in Warley, near Halifax, Yorkshire in 1274.[2] He was the son of Gilbert Saltonstall, a cloth merchant of Halifax, who owned lands in Hipperholme. For a time, Richard lived in the Netherlands, where he was a member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London; by 1585, he had become the director of the company. He was also affiliated with the Muscovy Company, the Levant Company, and the English East India Company. Richard had a long political career serving the city of London. He was a member of the city council by 1583, a Member of Parliament in 1586, and an alderman by 1588. He served as Sheriff of the City of London for 1589 and was elected Lord Mayor of London for 1597. He served as master of the Skinners Company in 1589, 1593, 1595–6, and 1599–1600. He was knighted in 1598.[3] Sir Richard's mansions were at "Mynchenlane", London, Moorhall in Hertfordshire, and South Ockendon near Romford in Essex.

Family

He married Susannah Poyntz, only daughter of Thomas Poyntz, Esq. of South Ockendon; together they had seven sons and nine daughters (in addition to at least one illegitimate daughter fathered by Richard).[4] He was the uncle of New England colonist Sir Richard Saltonstall, father-in-law of Richard Wyche (a director of the English East India Company) and Sir Thomas Myddelton (a later Lord Mayor of London),[5] and grandfather of Sir Peter Wyche (Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire), Nathaniel Wyche (president of the English East India Company) and Sir Thomas Myddelton (a general in the English Civil War).

Memorial

Saltonstall Memorial

He is interred at St Nicholas of Myra, South Ockendon. There is a fine Elizabethan monument to Sir Richard by his wife Susannah, located on the north wall of the chapel. The monument is built of variegated marble. Between the columns are two arches forming alcoves for the principal figures of Sir Richard and his wife. Sir Richard can be seen wearing the insignia of the Lord Mayor of London. In the plinth are the figures of their sixteen children.

Sir Richard and Susannah Saltonstall, St Nicholas, South Ockendon

References

1. Saltonstall Memorial, St. Nicholas of Myra, South Ockendon
2. Hoyle, William Dickon (1898). "Ancient Houses Near Halifax". The Journal of the British Archaeological Association. New Series. IV: 23–25.
3. "SALTONSTALL, Richard (d.1601), of London and South Ockendon, Essex. - History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
4. Chester-Waters, Robert Edmond. "Genealogical Memoirs of the Extinct Family of Chester of Chicheley", p.41
5. "MYDDELTON, Thomas (c.1556-1631), of Galch Hill, Denb., Tower Street, London Stansted Mountfichet, Essex. - History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org.

Parliament of England
Preceded by Sir Nicholas Woodroffe William Fleetwood Thomas Aldersey Henry Billingsley	Member of Parliament for London 1586–1588 With: Sir Edward Osborne William Fleetwood Thomas Aldersey	Succeeded by Sir George Barne William Fleetwood Thomas Aldersey Andrew Palmer
Civic offices
Preceded by Thomas Skinner John Ketcher	Sheriffs of the City of London 1589–1590 With: Hugh Ofley	Succeeded by Stephen Soame Richard Gurney
Preceded by Henry Billingsley	Lord Mayor of the City of London 1597–1598	Succeeded by Stephen Soame