TISDALL, Richard (1562-1627), of St. Michael Wood Street, London

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010
Available from Cambridge University Press

Constituency

Dates

Family and Education

bap. 28 Mar. 1562, 5th but 1st surv. s. of Thomas Tisdall, Haberdasher, of St. Mary Bothaw and St. Michael Wood Street, London, and his w. Alice.1 m. by 1596, Joan, 2s. (1 d.v.p.). suc. fa. 1610. bur. 13 Sept. 1627.2 sig. Richarde Tysdall.

Offices Held

Servant to clerk of the papers, Wood Street compter, London by 1588, clerk by 1592;3 common counsel, St. Michael Wood Street by 1619-d.4

Biography

Tisdall, or Tisdale as he was frequently known, was born at St. Mary Bothaw, in the heart of London, though his father, resident there since at least 1553, also had ties to Devon. No evidence survives of Tisdall’s education, but he evidently acquired some legal training. In addition to being clerk of the papers at Wood Street compter, he practised as an attorney in the London sheriffs’ court, and subsequently served as common counsel to his home parish. He was wealthy enough to send his son Richard to Oxford University and Gray’s Inn.5 Elected at St. Germans in December 1620 at the behest of the borough’s principal patron, Bishop Cotton of Exeter, he secured his nomination through his close friend John Trott, the bishop’s son-in-law, who had represented St. Germans in the previous two Parliaments. Tisdall had presumably known Trott since childhood, as the latter’s mother was godmother to one of Tisdall’s younger brothers. There is no evidence that he was active in the Commons. In his will, drawn up on 9 Aug. 1624, Tisdall named Trott as one of his overseers. He died in September 1627, and was buried at St. Michael Wood Street. None of his immediate descendants sat in Parliament.6

Ref Volumes: 1604-1629

Author: Paul Hunneyball

Notes

  • 1. GL, ms 4310, ff. 3-4; PROB 11/117, f. 4r-v.
  • 2. GL, ms 6530, unfol.; PROB 11/117, f. 4v.
  • 3. STAC 5/N10/1; APC, 1591-2, pp. 485-6.
  • 4. GL, ms 524, vol. 1, p. 4; ms 6530.
  • 5. GL, ms 4310, f. 3; PROB 11/118, f. 143; 11/152, f. 237v; Al. Ox.; GI Admiss.
  • 6. Mdx. Peds. (Harl. Soc. lxv), 77; GL, ms 4310, f. 5; PROB 11/152, f. 237v.