John Bassano (abt. 1519 - abt. 1570)

Died about 1570 at about age 51 in Venice [uncertain]

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Biography

John Bassano was born about 1519 in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. He is the son of Jeronimo Bassano.^[1]

John was sometimes referred to as Juane, Giovanni, Jouanni, Zuani, Ivan, Evan, or variations of these.

John and three of his brothers (Alvise, Anthony and Jasper) moved from Venice to London in 1531, serving as sackbut players for King Henry VIII, but returned to Venice within a few years. ^[2]

In 1539, John and his brothers (Alvise, Anthony, Jasper and Baptista) returned to England once again, apparently at the request of Henry VIII, to form a recorder consort at the royal court. A letter concerning their travels, written by Henry VIII's agent in Venice, Edmond Harvel, stated that "it shall be no small honor to His Majesty to have music comparable with any other prince or perchance better and more variable. And because these men are poor and could not set forwards in so costly a journey without help of money as well for their own costs as for conveyance of their instruments and other necessaries, I have delivered them 160 crowns of gold and provided besides letters of credit for such money as they might need by the way." ^[3]

In 1545, the five brothers became English denizens (foreigners who were given certain rights of citizenship.) At the same time, Alvise's four sons, and Jasper's one son, were also made denizens. Even after denization, children not born in England could not inherit real estate. ^[4]

When they first arrived in London, the Bassano brothers and their families lived at the Charterhouse, just northwest of the city walls. The Carthusian Monks who had lived there had recently been evicted (and in some cases, executed) for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as head of the church. The place was vacant and mostly used for storage "save for the occupation of some of the cells by a family of Italian court musicians of the name of Bassano." ^[5] A 1549 list of aliens (foreigners) included the five "Bassyan" brothers living at the Charterhouse: Jasper, Lewys (i.e. Alvise), John Baptist, Juan (i.e. John) and Anthony. ^[6] Similar lists exist for other years, with many variations in the spelling of their names.

After the Charterhouse was sold in 1546, the Bassanos continued to live there until they were forced out by the new owner in 1552. ^[7] The list of aliens for 1552 included a note stating that the Bassano brothers had "either departed or gone out" of the area. ^[8] On 24 October of that year, John and two of his brothers, Anthony and Jasper, described as the "King's Musicians," purchased a house formerly called 'The Bell' on Mark Lane in the parish of All Hallows Barking near the Tower of London. The house was on the east side of Mark Lane, second from the south end. ^{[9] [10]}

In addition to being a musician in the royal court in England, John was likely a musical instrument maker, and may have had some type of business arrangement with his brother Jacomo, who lived in Venice. ^[11]

John was back in Venice by 1566, probably to help tie up the affairs of his brother Jacomo, who had recently died there. At that time, he stated that he was a quarter owner of family property in the town of Bassano, along with his brothers, Anthony and Jasper, and Julia, Jacomo's widow. Two years later, while still in Venice, he gave power of attorney to his brother, Jasper, in England, to sell his share of the house in Mark Lane, London, presumably because he didn't plan to return to England.

John Bassano died in 1570, probably in Venice. His heirs were the children of his brother Anthony. ^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ #Middleton Chapter 8: Bassano3
2. ↑ Losocki, David, with Roger Prior. The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665, 1995. Page 7.
3. ↑ Losocki, David, with Roger Prior. The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665, 1995. Page 9.
4. ↑ Losocki, David, with Roger Prior. The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665, 1995. Pages 10-11.
5. ↑ 'Religious Houses: House of Carthusian monks', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1, ed. J. S. Cockburn, H. P. F. King and K. G. T. McDonnell (London, 1969), pp. 159-169. British History Online.
6. ↑ Kirk, R. E. G. and Ernest F. Kirk, editors. Returns of Aliens Dwelling in the City and Suburbs of London, Part 1 (1525-1571), 1900 (page 157).
7. ↑ Losocki, David, with Roger Prior. The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665, 1995. Page 20.
8. ↑ Kirk, R. E. G. and Ernest F. Kirk, editors. Returns of Aliens Dwelling in the City and Suburbs of London, Part 3, Aberdeen, 1907 (page 325).
9. ↑ Losocki, David, with Roger Prior. The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665, 1995. Page 23.
10. ↑ 'Mark Lane (east side)', in Survey of London: Volume 15, All Hallows, Barking-By-The-Tower, Pt II, ed. G. H. Gater and Walter H. Godfrey (London, 1934), pp. 18-20. British History Online
11. ↑ Losocki, David, with Roger Prior. The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665, 1995. Page 211.
12. ↑ Losocki, David, with Roger Prior. The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665, 1995. Pages 25-26.

See Also:

• #Middleton: Carol Middleton's Webpages - research conducted by Carol Middleton (d. 20-SEP-2000).
• Bassano Family of England and Italy
• Anthony Bassano on Wikipedia
• Memorial on FindaGrave.com, accessed 18 Feb 2016