Philip Mede

Philip Mede (c. 1415-1475) (alias Meade, Meede, etc.) of Mede's Place in the parish of Wraxall in Somerset and of the parish of Saint Mary Redcliffe in Bristol, was a wealthy merchant at Bristol, then in Gloucestershire, and was twice elected a Member of Parliament for Bristol in 1459 and 1460, and was thrice Mayor of Bristol, in 1458-9, 1461-2 and 1468-9. Origins He was the son of Thomas atte Mede, and brother of Sir Thomas Mede, Kt Bailiff of Bristol in 1438, and Sheriff of Bristol in 1452. The Mede family, anciently atte Mede, was possessed, before 1461, of an ancient capital messuage with 100 acres of land at Overton, in the parish of Arlingham, still known as 'Medes Land' in 1900. Career Philip was Bailiff of Bristol in 1444, Mayor of Bristol in 1458, succeeding the great William Canynges, and again in 1461 and 1468, and was a Member of Parliament for Bristol in 1460. He was lord of the manor of Barrow, in Tickenham. In 1461 he obtained valuable charters for the City of Bristol from King Edward lV. In 1470 he raised in a single night a contingent of fighting men to support William de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (1426-1492), later created 1st Marquess of Berkeley, of Berkeley Castle (north of Bristol), in his private Battle of Nibley Green. Marriage and children He married Isabel, the daughter of Philip Ricard, of Bristol, merchant. She is identified in an entry of the plea rolls of the Court of Common Pleas in Easter term, 1442: Bristol. Philip Mede; Isabel his wife, formerly Isabel Ricard, daughter of Philip Ricard, burgess and merchant of Bristol. Their children included: