Lionel Duckett

Sir
Lionel Duckett
Born1511
DiedAugust 1587 (aged 76)
Occupation(s)Lord Mayor of London, four times Master of the Mercers' Company
Spouses
  • Mary Leighton
  • Jane Baskerville (née Pakington)
    (m. 1564⁠–⁠1587)
Children
  • George Duckett
  • Thomas Duckett
Parents
  • William Duckett
  • Jane Redman

Sir Lionel Duckett (1511 – August 1587) was one of the merchant adventurers of the City of London. He was four times Master of the Mercers' Company, and Lord Mayor of London in 1572.

He was born in 1511 to William Duckett of Flintham, Nottinghamshire and his wife Jane (née Redman), of Harwood Castle, Yorkshire. He served an apprenticeship with John Colet, of the Mercers' Company of the City of London, and was granted the freedom of the Company in 1537.

He became enormously wealthy through his trading. He subscribed to Martin Frobisher's three voyages in search of the Northwest Passage, and to John Hawkins' voyage of 1562 which led to the formation of the Africa Company, paving the way for the Atlantic slave trade in later centuries.[1]

In 1553, he acquired monastic and chantry lands in Surrey, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. In 1556, he acquired lands in Somerset and Devon. In 1572, he bought the manor of Calne, Wiltshire.[2] He later acquired property in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, and Kent.

In 1565 he served as a Sheriff of London. The next year he became Master of the Mercers' Company, a position he also held in 1571, 1577, and 1583. In 1572–1573 he was Lord Mayor of London.

He died in August 1587 and his will was proved on 20 February 1588.[3]

  1. ^ Connell, Tim (7 December 2011). "The City Livery Companies". Gresham College. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  2. ^ Crowley, D. A., ed. (2002). "Calne: Parliamentary representation". A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 17. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 100–101. Retrieved 21 March 2022 – via British History Online.
  3. ^ Duckett, T.E.; "The Duckett Family History"; Privately published: 1960, Bristol, UK