Family and Education
b. bef. 1341, s. and h. of Sir Richard Wydeville (c.1310-aft. 1378) of Grafton Regis, by his 1st w. m. (1) bef. 1364, Katherine, prob. da. and h. of Sir John Frembaud of Biddenham, Beds. and Bow Brickbill, Bucks., at least 3s. inc. Thomas, 2da.; (2) bef. 1379, Isabel, wid. of Robert Passelow of Drayton Parslow, Bucks., at least 1s. Richard Parslow.CP, xi. 15-17; VCH Beds. iii. 36, 386; VCH Bucks. iii. 346; iv. 209; G. Lipscomb, Bucks. iv. 52-53; J. Bridges, Northants. i. 332. We do not know which of Wydeville’s wives was the mother of his two daughters, Elizabeth and Agnes (C1/19/330-2), although it seems more likely that they were the children of his first marriage.
Offices Held

Escheator, Beds. and Bucks. 5 Nov. 1379 – 18 Oct. 1380, Northants. and Rutland 12 Dec. 1382–1 Nov. 1383.

Sheriff, Northants. 18 Oct. 1380 – 1 Nov. 1381, 20 Oct. 1385 – 18 Nov. 1386, 7 Nov. 1390 – 21 Oct. 1391, Beds. and Bucks. 1 Nov. 1383–11 Nov. 1384.

Commr. to suppress the rebels of 1381, Northants. Dec. 1381, Dec. 1382; seize into the King’s hand the revenues of the prebend of Sutton, Bucks. Nov. 1383; of oyer and terminer, Northants. Feb. 1384 (charges of extortion against the abbot of Croyland), Dec. 1391 (attack on Sulbv abbey), Bucks. Feb. 1392 (disorder at Ravenstone); inquiry, Northants. Sept. 1384 (estates of Henry Conquest), Bucks. Feb. 1385 (obstruction of the King’s highway), Northants. Feb. 1386 (the administration of St. Andrew’s priory), Aug. 1387 (forgery), Rutland, Northants. Aug. 1388 (estates of William Wingfield), Northants. Dec. 1392 (repairs to the highway at Towcester), Northants., Rutland July 1393 (breaches of statutes concerning weights and measures); array, Northants. Apr. 1385, Mar. 1392, Dec. 1399, Sept. 1403; to make arrests Dec. 1385, May 1393; hold a special assize Feb. 1392 (property dispute at West Stratford).C66/334 m. 20d.

J.p. Northants. 20 Dec. 1382 – Mar. 1397.

Main residence: Grafton Regis, Northants.
Widevyle, Wodevile, Woodville
Notes

The CP (xi. 16-17) creates unnecessary confusion between our MP, who was certainly dead by February 1401 (CCR, 1399-1402, p. 311; JUST 1/1514 rot. 12), and his own younger son, John. The latter seems to have died quite young, and was not the recipient of a commission of array dated September 1403 (CPR, 1401-5, p. 287) which was issued posthumously to the subject of this biography, and not to anyone else of the same name. Although described as a knight by the CP (loc. cit.), John Wydeville is not thus designated in any contemporary sources.

Author
Volume
Commons 1386-1421
Web Title

WYDEVILLE, John (bef. 1341-c.1400)

Will
Estates
Oxford 1644
No
Addresses
Religion
Image