Wolstan Dixie
Encyclopedia
Sir Wolstan Dixie, was a merchant and administrator, and Lord Mayor
of London in 1585.
in Huntingdonshire
. Wolstan was the fourth son of his father, and went into business. He appears to have been apprenticed to Sir Christopher Draper of the Ironmongers' Company, who was lord mayor in 1566, and whose daughter and coheiress, Agnes, he married. Sir Christopher was of Melton Mowbray
in Leicestershire
, and Dixie later held property in that county. He was a freeman of the Skinners' Company, was elected alderman of Broad Street ward 4 February 1573–4, and became one of the sheriffs of London in 1575, when his colleague was Edward Osborne
.
In 1585 he became lord mayor, and his installation was greeted by one of the earliest city pageants now extant, the words being composed by George Peele
. On 8 February 1592 he became alderman of St. Michael Bassishaw ward in exchange for that of Broad Street. He was an active magistrate and charitable citizen, and died 8 January 1594.
, which he had purchased in 1567 from Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon
, but of other lands and tenements in Bosworth, Gilmorton
, Coton (Leicestershire), Carleton
, Osbaston, Bradley (Leicestershire) and North Kilworth
. These estates devolved upon his brother Richard, except the manor of Bosworth, which he settled upon Richard's grandson, his own great-nephew, Wolstan. Dixie was buried in the parish church of St. Michael Bassishaw. His heir, Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna
, was knighted, made High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1614, and elected M.P. for the county in 1625. Sir Wolstan's son, yet another Wolstan, was a well-known royalist and made a baronet on 4 July 1660.
Dixie left large charitable bequests to institutions in London:
He had subscribed towards the building of the new Emmanuel College, Cambridge
(1584), and in his will he left £600 to purchase land to endow two fellowships and two scholarships for the scholars of his new grammar school at Market Bosworth
, now the Dixie Grammar School
. The school plan was implemented by the second Sir Wolstan Dixie, his grand-nephew, Sheriff of Leicester. The fund for many years supported fellows and scholars, while the surplus was employed in purchasing livings. It was then from 1878 devoted to the foundation of a chair in ecclesiastical history. The Dixie Professorship of Ecclesiastical History
is now one of the senior professorships in history at the University of Cambridge.
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
of London in 1585.
Life
He was the son of Thomas Dixie and Anne Jephson, who lived at CatworthCatworth
Catworth – in Huntingdonshire , England – is a village near Molesworth west of Huntingdon.Catworth village has two parts, Catworth, at the top of the hill, and Little Catworth, at the bottom....
in Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
. Wolstan was the fourth son of his father, and went into business. He appears to have been apprenticed to Sir Christopher Draper of the Ironmongers' Company, who was lord mayor in 1566, and whose daughter and coheiress, Agnes, he married. Sir Christopher was of Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, and Dixie later held property in that county. He was a freeman of the Skinners' Company, was elected alderman of Broad Street ward 4 February 1573–4, and became one of the sheriffs of London in 1575, when his colleague was Edward Osborne
Edward Osborne
Sir Edward Osborne , was one of the principal merchants of London in the later sixteenth century, and Lord Mayor of London in 1583.-Early life:Osborne was the eldest son of Richard Osborne of Ashford, Kent, by his wife, Jane Broughton...
.
In 1585 he became lord mayor, and his installation was greeted by one of the earliest city pageants now extant, the words being composed by George Peele
George Peele
George Peele , was an English dramatist.-Life:Peele was christened on 25 July 1556. His father, who appears to have belonged to a Devonshire family, was clerk of Christ's Hospital, and wrote two treatises on bookkeeping...
. On 8 February 1592 he became alderman of St. Michael Bassishaw ward in exchange for that of Broad Street. He was an active magistrate and charitable citizen, and died 8 January 1594.
Legacy
Agnes Draper is said to have been his second wife; his first was named Walkedon, but he left no family by either. He possessed not only the manor of BosworthMarket Bosworth
Market Bosworth is a small market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It formerly formed a district known as the Market Bosworth Rural District. In 1974 it merged with the Hinckley Rural District to form a new district named Hinckley and Bosworth...
, which he had purchased in 1567 from Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon
Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon
Sir Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG KB was the eldest son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole.-Ancestry:...
, but of other lands and tenements in Bosworth, Gilmorton
Gilmorton
Gilmorton, a village in South Leicestershire, England with a population of over 900, is near to Ashby Magna & Lutterworth. The town's Anglo-Saxon origin is shown by its appearance in the Domesday book compiled in 1086. with a population of about 140...
, Coton (Leicestershire), Carleton
Carlton, Leicestershire
Carlton is a village in Leicestershire, England, close to Market Bosworth.There are four roads in Carlton: Main Street , Bosworth Road , Congerstone Lane and Shackerstone Walk .- Village...
, Osbaston, Bradley (Leicestershire) and North Kilworth
North Kilworth
North Kilworth is a village in south Leicestershire, England, north of South Kilworth. Largely bypassed by the A4304 road, the village consists of a mix of old and new housing and includes a primary school and the parish church of St...
. These estates devolved upon his brother Richard, except the manor of Bosworth, which he settled upon Richard's grandson, his own great-nephew, Wolstan. Dixie was buried in the parish church of St. Michael Bassishaw. His heir, Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna
Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna
Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna and then Market Bosworth was founder of the Dixie Grammar School in Market Bosworth.He was great-nephew of the first Sir Wolstan Dixie, Lord mayor of London, who endowed the Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge University.He was knighted by...
, was knighted, made High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1614, and elected M.P. for the county in 1625. Sir Wolstan's son, yet another Wolstan, was a well-known royalist and made a baronet on 4 July 1660.
Dixie left large charitable bequests to institutions in London:
- an annuity to Christ's HospitalChrist's HospitalChrist's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
, of which he was elected president in 1590; - a fund for establishing a divinity lecture at the church of St. Michael BassishawSt. Michael BassishawSt. Michael Bassishaw was a church in the City of London located on Basinghall Street, on land now covered by the Barbican Centre complex. Recorded since the 12th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, then rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. The rebuilt church...
, in which parish he resided; *to the Skinners' Company to lend at a low rate of interest to young merchants; - annuities to St. Bartholomew's Hospital and St. Thomas's Hospital;
- money for the poor in Bridewell, Newgate PrisonNewgate PrisonNewgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
and the prisons in Southwark, for the two compters, and to Ludgate and BedlamBedlamBedlam may refer to:* Bethlem Royal Hospital, London hospital first to specialise in the mentally ill and origin of the word "bedlam" describing chaos or madness-Places:* Bedlam, North Yorkshire, a village in England...
; - to the strangers of the French and Dutch churches;
- towards building a pesthouse.
He had subscribed towards the building of the new Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
(1584), and in his will he left £600 to purchase land to endow two fellowships and two scholarships for the scholars of his new grammar school at Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth is a small market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It formerly formed a district known as the Market Bosworth Rural District. In 1974 it merged with the Hinckley Rural District to form a new district named Hinckley and Bosworth...
, now the Dixie Grammar School
Dixie Grammar School
Dixie Grammar School is a school in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire. It is next door to the high school Market Bosworth High School.The earliest records of the School's existence date from 1320, but the school was re-founded in 1601 under the will of an Elizabethan merchant and Lord Mayor of...
. The school plan was implemented by the second Sir Wolstan Dixie, his grand-nephew, Sheriff of Leicester. The fund for many years supported fellows and scholars, while the surplus was employed in purchasing livings. It was then from 1878 devoted to the foundation of a chair in ecclesiastical history. The Dixie Professorship of Ecclesiastical History
Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History
The Dixie Professorship of Ecclesiastical History is one of the senior professorships in history at the University of Cambridge.Lord Mayor of London in the 16th century, Sir Wolstan Dixie, left funds to found both scholarships and fellowships at Emmanuel College, Cambridge...
is now one of the senior professorships in history at the University of Cambridge.
Portraits
- Portrait 1593, in ceremonial costume in the courtroom of Christ's HospitalChrist's HospitalChrist's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
, dated 1593, artist unknown. - Engraving 1705, in Guildhall Library Print Room (k1229242)
See also
- List of Lord Mayors of London
- Dixie BaronetsDixie BaronetsThe Dixie Baronets are the holders of the one Dixie baronetcy, created in the Baronetage of England at the time of the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 for Sir Wolstan Dixie , a supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War and afterwards...
; his grand-nephew, the second Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna, knighted 1604, in 1614 Sheriff of Leicester, was father to this line, many of them called Wolstan. - Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical HistoryDixie Professor of Ecclesiastical HistoryThe Dixie Professorship of Ecclesiastical History is one of the senior professorships in history at the University of Cambridge.Lord Mayor of London in the 16th century, Sir Wolstan Dixie, left funds to found both scholarships and fellowships at Emmanuel College, Cambridge...
- Appleby MagnaAppleby MagnaAppleby Magna is a village and civil parish in the district of North West Leicestershire, England.The civil parish, as well as Appleby Magna, includes the small Hamlet of Appleby Parva and the Villages of Norton-Juxta-Twycross, Snarestone and Swepstone...