MYNGAYE (MINGAY, MINGEY), Francis (d.1632), of the Bridgehouse, St. Olave Southwark, Surr. and the Inner Temple, London.

Myngaye was the grandson of William Myngaye, mayor of Norwich in 1561. His father was a younger son who married the sister of the future lord chief justice, (Sir) Edward Coke*. Palgrave-Moore, 127. In July 1592 he was admitted to the Inner Temple. Coke was the summer reader that year and the following January requested that the special admission that was part of his reward for his reading should be granted to his nephew, although already a member, presumably Myngaye’s admission fee was then reimbursed. CITR, i. 386.

Myngaye was elected for Dunwich at Coke’s nomination in 1601. HP Commons, 1558-1603, ii. 116. His professional career also benefited from his connection with his uncle, by now attorney-general. In 1605 Myngaye was, at Coke’s request, appointed to the City of London’s counsel, and the court of aldermen ordered that he ‘shall be ... employed ... in such causes ... as they shall have with ... Mr. Attorney-General’. CLRO, Reps. 27, f. 51r-v. In addition to his legal earnings Myngaye also owned property in north-east Suffolk. This was presumably inherited from his father who had resided in the area. He conducted an extensive money-lending business, probably started with the capital he acquired with his marriage to the daughter of a prosperous member of the Norfolk gentry. PROB 11/98, f. 39; 11/161, f. 513; C2/Chas.I/M6/48; M. Slayer, ‘Eynsford fams. 1550-1700’, Norf. Gen. iv. 40-1.

Coke was also responsible for Myngaye’s next advancement in 1615. Since 1606 the City of London had been exercising its previously unused right to nominate a member of the Surrey bench to provide a resident justice for Southwark. Their appointee received a fee of £20 a year and accommodation at the Bridgehouse in that borough. The holders of the office subsequently became known as the justice of the Bridge Yard, although their powers were no different from any other Surrey justice of the peace. D.J. Johnson, Southwark and the City, 229-30. In early 1615 the court of aldermen appointed a committee to consider whether the position was worth the expense. However, by 8 Feb. the corporation had received a letter from Coke, by now lord chief justice, requesting the post for his nephew. The aldermen agreed to nominate Myngaye, although he was not added to the bench until 4 April. CLRO, Reps. 32, ff. 46v, 56v.

It is not clear why Myngaye sought re-election to the Commons in 1624. He stood for Southwark, but was opposed by Robert Bromfield and both were returned. Myngaye seems to have been able to persuade Bromfield to abandon his claims to the seat. Consequently, according to the diarist (Sir) Walter Earle, it was Myngaye who on 26 Feb. ‘moved to the committee [of privileges] on behalf of the borough of Southwark’, although he had not been appointed to this committee. Myngaye produced two witnesses who testified that he had had the greatest support at the election, however a further witness testified in Bromfield’s favour, moreover it emerged that a request for a formal poll had been rejected. The committee concluded that Bromfield was powerless to relinquish his seat, but split evenly between those who wanted the election declared void and those who wanted to seat Bromfield. After Glanville reported to the Commons on 2 Mar. Coke successfully moved for a writ for a fresh election, presumably in the expectation that his nephew would be elected, but in the event it was Bromfield who was returned. ‘Earle 1624’, f. 31-v; J. Glanville, Reps. of Certain Cases (1775), pp. 7-11; CJ, i. 724b.

Myngaye made his will on 28 Apr. 1632, in which he appointed his wife and his only surviving son, also called Francis, his executors. According to his wife he died in the following June, certainly before the 19th when the corporation appointed his replacement. The will was proved on the 28th but his widow and son soon fell out and by the end of the year were disputing the inheritance in Chancery. The son died early in 1633, apparently childless, and none of Myngaye’s descendants are known to have sat in Parliament. PROB 11/161, f. 513-v; C2/Chas.I/M6/48; R63/94; Holy Trinity Bungay par. reg. (Soc. Gen. microfiche SF/REG/72668/3).