By Dame Mary had one dowghter
Thus in the month of September
A thowsande fyve hunderd fyftey
And eyght died this worthie Staplar,
Worshipynge his posterytye.
S’r Andrew Judd Knt.”
Sir Andrew Judd’s daughter by his first wife was named Alice, and married one Thomas Smythe. She, by her will dated in 1592, left considerable bequests for the benefit of the inhabitants of the almshouses founded by her father, and for other purposes connected with the Company. Her second son was the well-known Sir Thomas Smythe, referred to later on.
Other conspicuous Skinners of the sixteenth century were Sir John Champneys, Lord Mayor in 1534 and six times Master of the Company; Sir Richard Dobbs, Lord Mayor in 1551 and four times Master, who took a very active part in the foundation of Christ’s Hospital; Sir Wolstan Dixie, Lord Mayor in 1585 and seven times Master, also President of Christ’s Hospital; Sir Stephen Slaney, Lord Mayor in 1595, Master four times and President of Christ’s Hospital; Sir Richard Saltonstall, Lord Mayor in 1597, Master four times, and Governor of the Merchant Venturers’ Company.
The sixteenth-century benefactors of the Company include Thomas Hunt and Lawrence Atwell, under whose wills, dated respectively in 1557 and 1588, considerable property was bequeathed to the Company for various charitable purposes; and Henry Fisher, under whose benefaction, by deed dated in 1562, an Exhibition at Brasenose College, Oxford, is maintained for a Tonbridge scholar, and remuneration is provided for the preacher of the annual Corpus Christi sermon.
Sir James Lancaster was a successful merchant, trading to the East Indies, and an esteemed naval commander. In 1600 he was appointed the first Admiral of the fleet of the East India Company, of which he was a director. Under his will, dated 1618, certain Exhibitions at the Universities, and stipends for poor preachers, are awarded by the Company.