John Shaa

Sir John Shaa or Shaw (died c.1503) was a London goldsmith. He served as engraver and later joint Master of the Mint, and as Sheriff and Lord Mayor of London. While Lord Mayor he entertained ambassadors from Scotland, and was among those who welcomed Catherine of Aragon to England. He is mentioned in a poem by William Dunbar.

Sir John Shaa
Diedc.1503
BuriedChurch of St Thomas of Acres, London
Spouse(s)Margaret Ilam
Issue
Edmund Shaa
Reynold Shaa
Thomas Shaa
Audrey Shaa
Juliana Shaa
FatherJohn Shaa
Motherunknown

Family

John Shaa was the son of John Shaa of Rochford, Essex, and the nephew and eventual heir of Sir Edmund Shaa, Lord Mayor of London in 1482, whose son, Hugh Shaa, had died without male issue.[1][2] Shaa was also the nephew of Ralph Shaa (d.1484), noted for having preached a sermon at Paul's Cross impugning the legitimacy of Edward IV's children, including his heir, Edward V.[1]

Shaa had a sister, Elizabeth (d. 21 August 1503), who married William Poyntz (d.1504), esquire, of North Ockendon, Essex, by whom she had four sons and two daughters.[3][4][5][6]

Career
James IV of Scotland, whose ambassadors Sir John Shaa entertained as Lord Mayor
Catherine of Aragon, whom Sir John Shaa, as Lord Mayor, welcomed to London

Shaa was a London goldsmith. From 1462 until 1483 his uncle, Edmund, also a goldsmith, had been engraver to the Royal Mint. Sir John Shaa succeeded him in the post, and served for several years as engraver until on 20 November 1492 he and his fellow goldsmith, Sir Bartholomew Rede, were appointed joint Masters of the Mint.[7]

Shaa's sales of silver and gold plate to Henry VII are recorded in the privy purse expenses, and on two occasions he was also paid for furnishing Georges for the Order of the Garter. His financial dealings with Henry VII were on a considerable scale. On 13 January 1499 he was reimbursed £667 2s 11d for supplying New Year's gifts and for the 'making of divers jewels and setting and polishing of stones', as well as for funds supplied to 'Master Seymour' for the 'works at Windsor'.[8]

Shaa was elected Member of Parliament for City of London in 1495 and Sheriff of London in 1496-7,[9][10] and with his fellow Sheriff, Richard Haddon, was among those dubbed knight in June 1497 by Henry VII at the foot of London Bridge after the Battle of Blackheath.[11]

In 1501 Shaa was elected Lord Mayor. During his term of office, ambassadors were sent from Scotland to arrange the marriage of Henry VII's elder daughter, Margaret Tudor, with James IV, King of Scotland. At a banquet hosted by Shaa for the ambassadors in Christmas week in December 1501, the poet William Dunbar declaimed verses in honour of the City of London which included these lines in praise of Shaa:[12]

London, thou art of Townes A per se . . .
Thy famous Maire, by pryncely governaunce,
With swerd of justice, thee rulith prudently.
No Lord of Parys, Venyce, or Floraunce
In dignytie or honoure goeth to hym nye.
He is exempler, loode-ster, and guye;
Principall patrone and roose orygynalle,
Above all Maires as maister moost worthy:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

During Shaa's term as Lord Mayor, Catherine of Aragon arrived in London as the bride of Henry VII's eldest son, Arthur, Prince of Wales. Shaa was part of the deputation of London civic authorities and members of the livery companies who were instructed to meet her ship 'in their several barges, after their manner accustomed, at Deptford', and to 'hail and salute her in the best manner they can'.[13]

While he was Lord Mayor, Shaa instituted a 'court of requests' in the City of London to administer justice more equitably. It proved unpopular, as it was said to have favoured the poor more than 'justice and good law required'.[14][15]

During his term as Lord Mayor, Shaa caused a kitchen to be added to the London Guildhall. He was said to have been 'the first that kept his feast there'.[16][10] He also instituted another tradition, the procession from the Guildhall to the state barge on which the Lord Mayor travelled to Westminster to be sworn.[10]

Shaa was appointed for a second term as MP in 1503,[9] though as Parliament did not assemble until 25 January 1504 he may have died before attending. He made his will on 26 December 1503, which was proved 14 May 1504, and was buried in the Mercers' chapel in the church of St Thomas of Acres.

Sir John Shaa's arms were Argent, a chevron between three lozenges ermine.[17]

Marriage and issue

In 1479 Shaa married Margaret Ilam, the daughter of a London mercer, Thomas Ilam (d.1482), and Jane Verdon,[18] by whom he had three sons and several daughters, including:[19]

After the death of Sir John Shaa, his widow, Margaret (née Ilam), married, as his second wife, Sir John Raynsford of Colchester and Bradfield Hall, Essex, by whom she had a daughter, Julian Raynsford, who married Sir William Waldegrave of Smallbridge, Suffolk.[28]

See also

Notes
  1. Tucker 2004.
  2. Middleton 1906, p. 54.
  3. Metcalfe 1878, p. 91.
  4. Burke 1836, p. 538.
  5. Richardson IV, 2011 & p-385.
  6. According to Richardson, she was the sister of Sir Edmund Shaa.
  7. Craig 1953, pp. 89, 98.
  8. Laing 1834, p. 300.
  9. "Chronological list of aldermen: 1302-1400". British History Online. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  10. Beaven, Alfred B., The Aldermen of the City of London, Vol. II (London: Eden Fisher & Co. Ltd., 1913 Archived 12 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  11. Shaw 1906, p. 30.
  12. Laing 1834, pp. 272–7.
  13. 1778, pp. 5–6.
  14. Cavill 2009.
  15. Justice in the City Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  16. Wheatley 1811, p. 170.
  17. Metcalfe 1878, p. 486.
  18. Jane Verdon (d. February 1521+), A Who’s Who of Tudor Women: U-V, compiled by Kathy Lynn Emerson to update and correct Wives and Daughters: The Women of Sixteenth-Century England (1984) Retrieved 23 June 2013. Archived 11 Jun 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 Jan 2019. See also: The Ancestry of Oliver Mainwaring: Shaa Retrieved 4 Jan 2019.
  19. Wedgwood 1936, p. 758.
  20. Richardson II 2011, p. 463.
  21. Howard & Armytage 1869, p. 77.
  22. Metcalfe 1879, p. 543.
  23. Howard 1874, pp. 326–7.
  24. French 1865, p. 60.
  25. Collinson 2004.
  26. Harper, George (1503–58), of Sutton Valence, Kent and London, History of Parliament Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  27. Carleton, George (1529–90), of Overstone, Northamptonshire, Wisbech and Coldham, Isle of Ely, History of Parliament Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  28. Richardson I 2011, p. 565.

References
Civic offices
Preceded by
William Remyngton		 Lord Mayor of London
1501-1502		 Succeeded by
Bartholomew Reade
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