John Newth (abt.1597-abt.1629) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

John Newth

Born about 5 Jun 1597 in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, England

Son of John Newth and [mother unknown]

[sibling(s) unknown]

Husband of Joane (Burges) Newth — married 15 Nov 1624 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England

Descendants

Father of Robert Newth and Joseph Newth

Died about 29 Sep 1629 at about age 32 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England

[uncertain]

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Profile last modified 31 May 2023 | Created 25 Jul 2021

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Biography

John Newth was baptised son of John 5 Jun 1597^[1], Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, England. All following events happened in the nearby town of Malmesbury.

His first son John was baptised 11 Oct 1618^[2].

His son Gabriel was baptised 3 Oct 1619^[3], his son William baptised 4 Mar 1620^[4] and his son Thomas baptised 28 Dec 1622^[5]. Sadly, son Thomas was buried 11 Feb 1623 followed two days later by his mother, John’s wife Anne being buried 14 Feb 1623^[6].

John remarried to Joane Burges on 1 Nov 1624^[7] and they had a son Robert baptised 18 Sep 1625^[8]. John’s son Gabriel was then buried 15 May 1626^[9].

John and Joane had a second son Joseph baptised 9 Feb 1628^[10]. Sadly Joseph was buried 12 May 1628^[11].

John then died and was buried himself 29 Sep 1629 (unverified ^[12]). His recorded occupation was as a glazier.

Research Notes

John Newth was christened (born?) in Wootton Bassett but was married and lived in Malmesbury which is about 12 miles away. Why might that be? The clue is that he ended up working as a glazier in Malmesbury.

In Wootton Bassett, a smallish town, there was a fairly flourishing cloth manufacturing industry, whereas Malmesbury was a centre of the wool industry^[13]. The names of nine Malmesbury clothiers of the later 16th century and the earlier 17th are known^[14]. Between them they apparently occupied most of the mills on the outskirts of the town. The most notable clothier in the town in the earlier 16th century was William Stumpe, who used the buildings of the dissolved monastery to house perhaps as many as 20 looms. Malmesbury Abbey presumably used glaziers until its dissolution by King Henry VIII and surrender in December 1539. With wealthy merchants starting to require glass windows, glaziers presumably lost one type of business and gained another.

As demand for domestic glazing increased, glaziers capable of carrying out repairs, and cutting and leading clear glass became established in small towns. For example, in 1608, a Guild representing craftsmen working in the city of Chichester contained four glaziers, but by 1650 their numbers had risen to 21 ^[15].

At the same time as the world of the master glazier had been turned upside down, the Crown had been taking steps to break the Continental monopoly on window glass manufacture and establish glass furnaces on English soil. In 1567, Elizabeth I had brought two Continental glassmakers (Jean Carré of Antwerp and Giacomo Verzelini of Venice) to London to teach the English how to make the fine-quality glass necessary for window glazing. The industry took off, initially predominantly in the south of England (including Woodchester in Gloucestershire ^[16], not far from Malmesbury), with furnaces fired by wood ^[17]. One of the earliest references to the Glasshouse at Yartleton Hill in Gloucestershire is for the year 1598, when Sir Jeremy Bowes obtained letters patent which said: "In Gloucestershire one Houx a Frenchman hath built a glasshouse and furnace and doth make great quantities of glass".

In 1610, a Patent was granted to Sir W. Slingsby for making glass by burning coal in furnaces. This innovation was destined to have far-reaching results. This Patent was revoked in 1615, when James I granted patent rights to Sir Richard Mansell, connected with the Admiralty, to manufacture glass by a method he had devised, using coal for the purpose. At the same time a Royal Proclamation appeared, dated May 23rd, 1615, prohibiting the importation of all foreign glass, while the manufacture of home-produced glass by the use of wood was forbidden, so that Mansell had every possible advantage afforded him at the outset. (It is certain that Glass-Houses working away from the towns were obliged to suddenly close down altogether, or to be removed to the towns.) To do him justice Mansell appears to have conscientiously striven for the good of the glass manufacture, and provided glass by his patent which satisfied the Glaziers and Painters of Glass Guild, as is apparent from a State Paper of April 4th, 1621, reign of James I, which says :— “ The Glaziers’ Company of London to the Council. Certify that Sir Robert Mansell’s glass is cheap, of good quality, and plentiful, and that it is superior to the glass brought out of Scotland. Are better served now than before when Bungard and others used to buy up all the glass and sell it at high prices. ^[18]

So window glass was becoming cheaper and cheaper, driving up demand. An ambitious father would want his son to become an apprentice in such an up and coming industry, even if he had to move 12 miles to Malmesbury.

John was a glazier ^[19] (unverified) and it seems from wills and probate records that many subsequent Newths were glaziers as well. For example John Newth of Faringdon in 1686 ^[20].

The record of John’s second marriage is not easy to decipher and in the past his bride’s name was taken to be ‘Joan BUNGNE’ but there are no plausibly releveant records for the surname Bungne. Visually it looks more likely that the name was ‘Joane Burges’ and there are other records for the name of Burges in Malmesbury at that time, eg. Burial of John son of Jo: Burges 7 Mar 1623^[21].

Note that sometimes the family name of Newth was written Nuth and sometimes the names and words are latinised as in ‘baptizabatrus Josephus filius Johis Newth vitiare’.