John Shaa was the son of John Shaa of Rochford, Essex, and the nephew and eventual heir of Sir Edmund Shaa, Lord Mayor of London in 1482, whose son, Hugh Shaa, had died without male issue.[1][2] Shaa was also the nephew of Ralph Shaa (d. 1484), noted for having preached a sermon at Paul's Cross impugning the legitimacy of Edward IV's children, including his heir, Edward V.[1]
Shaa had a sister, Elizabeth (d. 21 August 1503), who married William Poyntz (d. 1504), esquire, of North Ockendon, Essex, by whom she had four sons and two daughters.[3][4][5][6]
Career
Shaa was a London goldsmith. From 1462 until 1483, his uncle, Edmund, also a goldsmith, had been engraver to the Royal Mint. John Shaa succeeded him in the post, and served for several years as engraver until, on 20 November 1492, he and his fellow goldsmith, Sir Bartholomew Rede, were appointed joint Masters of the Mint.[7]
Shaa's sales of silver and gold plate to Henry VII are recorded in the privy purse expenses, and on two occasions he was compensated for furnishing the gold heraldic knots and roses for the Order of the Garter. His financial dealings with Henry VII were considerable. On 13 January 1499, he was reimbursed £667 2s 11d for supplying New Year's gifts and for the 'making of divers jewels and setting and polishing of stones', as well as for funds supplied to 'Master Seymour' for the 'works at Windsor'.[8]
In 1501 Shaa was elected Lord Mayor. During his term of office, ambassadors were sent from Scotland to arrange the marriage of Henry VII's elder daughter, Margaret Tudor, with James IV, King of Scotland. At a banquet hosted by Shaa for the ambassadors in Christmas week in December 1501, the poet William Dunbar declaimed verses in honour of the City of London which included these lines in praise of Shaa:[12]
London, thou art of Townes A per se . . .
Thy famous Maire, by pryncely governaunce,
With swerd of justice, thee rulith prudently.
No Lord of Parys, Venyce, or Floraunce
In dignytie or honoure goeth to hym nye.
He is exempler, loode-ster, and guye;
Principall patrone and roose orygynalle,
Above all Maires as maister moost worthy:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.
During Shaa's term as Lord Mayor, Catherine of Aragon arrived in London as the bride of Henry VII's eldest son, Arthur, Prince of Wales. Shaa was part of the deputation of London civic authorities and members of the livery companies who were instructed to meet her ship 'in their several barges, after their manner accustomed, at Deptford', and to 'hail and salute her in the best manner they can'.[13]
While he was Lord Mayor, Shaa instituted a 'court of requests' in the City of London to administer justice more equitably. It proved unpopular, as it was said to have favoured the poor more than 'justice and good law required'.[14][15]
During his term as Lord Mayor, Shaa caused a kitchen to be added to the London Guildhall. He was said to have been 'the first that kept his feast there'.[16][10] He also instituted another tradition, the procession from the Guildhall to the state barge on which the Lord Mayor travelled to Westminster to be sworn.[10]
Shaa was appointed for a second term as MP in 1503,[9] though as Parliament did not assemble until 25 January 1504 he may have died before attending. He made his will on 26 December 1503, which was proved 14 May 1504, and was buried in the Mercers' chapel in the church of St Thomas of Acres.
In 1479, Shaa married Margaret Ilam, the daughter of a London mercer, Thomas Ilam (d. 1482), and Jane Verdon,[18] by whom he had three sons and several daughters, including:[19]
Edmund Shaa of Horndon on the Hill, Essex, eldest son and heir, who married Lora Wentworth, the daughter of Sir Roger Wentworth (d. 9 August 1539) and Anne Tyrrell, by whom he was the father of Alice Shaa, wife of William Poley.[17][20][21]
After the death of Sir John Shaa around 1503, his widow, Margaret (née Ilam), married, as his second wife, Sir John Raynsford of Colchester and Bradfield Hall, Essex, by whom she had a daughter, Julian Raynsford, who married Sir William Waldegrave of Smallbridge, Suffolk.[30]
Howard, Joseph Jackson; Armytage, George John, eds. (1869). The Visitation of London. Vol. I. London: Harleian Society. p. 77. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
Howard, Joseph Jackson, ed. (1874). "The Visitation of Surrey". Surrey Archaeological Collections. VI. London: Wyman & Sons: 326–7. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
Laing, David (1834). The Poems of William Dunbar. Vol. I. Edinburgh: Laing and Forbes. pp. 272–7, 297–300. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
Metcalfe, Walter C., ed. (1878). The Visitations of Essex. Vol. XIII. London: Harleian Society. pp. 91, 486. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
Metcalfe, Walter C., ed. (1879). The Visitations of Essex, Part II. Vol. XIV. London: Harleian Society. p. 543. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
Middleton, Thomas (1906). "Sir Edmund Shaa". Legends of Longdendale. Hyde: Fred Higham. pp. 49–54. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Vol. I (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. p. 565. ISBN978-1449966379.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Vol. II (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN978-1449966386.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Wedgwood, Josiah C. (1936). History of Parliament: Biographies of the Members of the Commons House 1439–1509. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 758.