Family:Whitney, John (s1379-a1413)
John Whitney, parentage unknown, was born say 1379 and died after 1413.
John Whitney was 'Verger' and Keeper of Sandwich Castle. He was made 'Verger' of the Castle by letters patent from King Henry IV. According to WordNet (r) 1.7 a 'verger' is 'a church officer who takes care of the interior of the building and acts as an attendant (carries the verge) during ceremonies. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) a 'verge' is a rod and from French 'verger' is an emblem of office, specifically: An attendant upon a dignitary, as on a bishop, a dean, a justice; the official who takes care of the interior of a church; a garden or orchard (obscure)
Sandwich Castle.
From Archaeological Studies of Sandwich, Archaelogical Excavations at Sandwich Castle: an introduction
The earliest reference to a castle at Sandwich, the premier port of England at one time, was in the reign of Edward I (1272‚1307 ) when a bailiff or royal official was appointed by the King . The documentary sources say that the castle was ' newly erected' around AD1290. One intriguing possibility, not yet proved, that the 'newly erected' phase could mean that the stone castle was erected on the site of an earlier castle of timber construction, perhaps dating to the Norman conquest.
Documentary sources also indicate that the King himself stayed at the royal chamber at the castle. We know that the King and the court came to Sandwich to buy goods from the merchants and traders that came to the port to sell goods and to buy England's chief export wool.
The prime function of the castle was to defend the town which was vulnerable to attack, usually by the French. They raided in retaliation to attacks by the English on French ports.
The King's accounts usually refer to the refurbishment and the repair of the castle, whose decline mirrored the decline of the port. The importance of the trading centre diminished with the silting up of the port and the Wansume channel which led directly to the sea.
With the construction of the artillery forts of Sandown, Deal and Walmer in the reign of Henry VIII ( 1509-1547 ), the castle of Sandwich may have gone completely out of use. The castle was then demolished, the building stone, usually flint cobbles being used to build and/or refurbish the houses of Sandwich. From the archaeological evidence, or lack of it, the removal of the stone was very thorough.
After the removal of building stone, the castle ditches appear to have been used as the town rubbish dump, probably encouraged by the owners of the property. The ditches were at least 5m wide and 3m deep and once they were filled in the owners could then use the area for growing crops. http://www.sandwich-town.our-place.co.uk/studies/archaeologies.html
References
E 101/43/27 - 5 Henry IV (1404) - Particulars of the account of John Whiteney, keeper of Sandwich castle, of arms and stores.
Calendar of Patent Rolls Prof. G.R. Boynton and the University of Iowa Libraries. 1 Henry V. - Part I. pp. 25; Membrane 17. June 12 (1413) Westminster. Inspeximus and confirmation to John Whitney of letters patent dated 6 July Henry IV, granting to him for life the office of 'verger' of the castle of Sandwich; so that he be not retained with anyone else. By K. & for 26s. 8d. paid in the hanaper.
Copyright © 2007-2010, Adrian Benjamin Burke, Esq. and the Whitney Research Group.
