REYNOLD, Alexander

Of unknown origin and perhaps a fishmonger, Reynold became joint keeper of the fish stalls in Sandwich market in December 1455. ‘Old Black Bk.’, f. 99v. Election to the ranks of the jurats soon followed, and in the wake of the French raid of August 1457 (which left the mayor, John Drury*, dead and the town badly damaged) he quickly emerged as one of the leading townsmen. On 3 Dec. 1459 he was among the unsuccessful candidates for the mayoralty and on 22 Apr. 1460 he attended his first meeting of the Brodhull. White and Black Bks. 41. On the following 18 Sept. he was elected to his only Parliament, alongside another parliamentary novice, Henry Greenshild*. ‘Old Black Bk.’, f. 109v. This Parliament, which assembled at Westminster on 7 Oct., was called in the wake of the Yorkist triumph at Northampton in July and witnessed Richard, duke of York’s assertion of his title to the throne. There is no evidence that the election of Sandwich’s barons was motivated by political considerations, suggesting that the return of two novices and relative newcomers to the ranks of the town’s political elite reflected the reduced circumstances of the town in the aftermath of the raid three years earlier.

Reynold must have returned early from the first session of the Parliament as he was present in Sandwich on 1 Dec. 1460 to be elected to his first and only term as mayor. It is unclear whether he went back to Westminster for the second session, but there are no references in the local records to him acting as mayor between 15 Jan. and 14 Apr. 1461 when he attended a meeting of the Brodhull. He was not present at the next meeting on 21 July, however, when William Fennell* attended as his deputy. ‘Old Black Bk.’, ff. 110v-11; White and Black Bks. 43. In December 1461 Reynold returned to the ranks of jurats, an office he almost certainly retained until his death. Just a little evidence survives for the remainder of his career. In July 1464 he travelled to New Romney for a meeting of the Brodhull as deputy mayor to John Westcliff. In May the following year, along with his fellow jurat, Laurence Cundy, he entered into a recognizance of £200 on behalf of the commonalty of Sandwich in connexion with their dispute with the former mayor, John Green IV*. ‘Old Black Bk.’, f. 118; White and Black Bks. 50, 51. By December 1467 he was also alderman of the town’s second ward, although it is not clear how long he had held this responsibility. In September the following year, acting with Green, he made a grant of property in Sandwich that he held by virtue of an enfeoffment from William Kennyngthorp, probably one of several such transactions in which he was involved during his career. ‘Old Black Bk.’, f. 182. It seems unlikely that he is to be identified with the Alexander Reynold of Monkton on the Isle of Thanet who died in Nov. 1490: E327/36. The last reference to Reynold in the local records was his election as one of the jurats in December 1470 and it is probable that he died before the next elections were held.