Thomas Murfyn Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
Thomas Murfyn
Office:Lord Mayor of London
Term Start:1518
Term End:1519
Predecessor:Sir Thomas Exmewe
Successor:Sir James Yarford
Office1:Sheriff of London
Term Start1:1511
Term End1:1512
Predecessor1:John Rest
Successor1:John Brydges
Birth Place:Ely, Cambridgeshire
Death Date:September 1523[1]
Death Place:London, UK
Resting Place:St Paul's Cathedral, London, UK
Spouse:Alice Marshall
Elizabeth Donne
Children:Edward
George
Margaret
Mary
Frances, and others

Thomas Murfyn (or Mirfyn), (died 1523) was a Sheriff and Lord Mayor of London.

Biography

Thomas Murfyn was a native of Ely, Cambridgeshire, and son of George Murfyn. He was a member of the Worshipful Company of Skinners in the City of London, who served as Sheriff of London from 1511 to 1512, and as Lord Mayor of London from 1518 to 1519. Mark Noble claimed that Murfyn was probably not knighted until after his election to the mayoralty. Although Murfyn is often referred to in later documents as Sir Thomas Murfyn, there appears to be no record of his knighthood. It became common practice after Thomas Muryfn's mayoralty for Lord Mayors of London to be knighted and this may be one reason why later documents refer to him as "Sir".[2] The misunderstanding may also be due to the translation of the form of address "Dominus" (a term of courtesy used in reference to an official) as "Sir". In his will, which was made on 2 September 1523 and proved in London on 15 October 1523, Murfyn refers to himself as "Thomas Mirfyn citizein and Alderman of the citie of London". The memorial to the graves lost in the Great Fire of London at St Paul's Cathedral, which lists "Sir Thomas Miryfn", may be perpetuating this error rather than evidence of a knighthood.

Family

Thomas married firstly, Alice Marshall, by whom he had thirteen children:[3]

He married secondly, sometime after 15 October 1519, Elizabeth, only daughter and heiress of Sir Angel Donne. alderman of London, and Anne Hawardine, of Cheshire. By Elizabeth, he had a daughter:

His last wife survived him and subsequently married, in 1524, Sir Thomas Denys by whom she had a son, Sir Robert Denys. Sir Robert married Mary, daughter of William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, by whom he had a son, Thomas Denys.

The arms of the Murfyns were, Or on a chevron sable a mullet argent; those of Donne, Azure semée of cross-crosslets or, a unicorn salient argent.[5]

Mirfyn is listed as one of the graves lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666, on a monument in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, together with several other Lord Mayors.

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Murfyn's will was made on 2 September 1523 and proved 15 October 1523. See The Testator was recorded as Thomas Mirfyn citizen and Alderman of the city of London. See

  2. John Stow in the year 1519, observed that after that time it was usual to knight the lord mayor when elected.

  3. Only four of Thomas Murfyn's fourteen children: Thomas, John, George, Thomas, John, Frances, Richard, John, Robert, Edward, Bartholomew, Margaret, Mary by Dame Alice and Frances by Dame Elizabeth, were beneficiaries of his will. See
  4. Will dated 3 March 1527, proved 11 May 1528. See
  5. cites Lives of Oliver lord protector. Chronicles of Hall, Fabian, and Grafton, Stow's survey of London, Fuller's worthies. Visitation of Huntingdonshire, in 1613, given in the Harl, M.S.S. vol. 1179.

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