| Dates | ~1553-1621 |
| Lived at | Ridgeacre, Halesowen |
| Father | Thomas Hodgetts of Ridgeacre |
| Mother | Margery d1639 |
| Spouse | Joyce |
| Children | Richard b1576 William b~1577 John 1578-1648 Elinor b1581 Margery b1587 Walter 1590-1644 Thomas Humphrey |
John was only a boy when his father died. He may have spent some time at Handsworth as he was close to his uncle Richard’s family. As an adult he lived at Ridgeacre (now known as Quinton) as did his cousin William (Richard’s son).
In the summer of 1575, Queen Elizabeth passed through Halesowen to visit Dudley Castle. She was accompanied by 1500 members of her court, including Robert Dudley her great favourite (the son of John Dudley who lost his head over Jane Grey).
The queen travelled in style, was entertained by the people enroute, and often stopped to talk with them. John and William would have been among the crowd which gathered to watch this once-in-a-lifetime royal spectacle; they may even have attended the entertainment at the castle that evening.
John married around this time and he and his wife Joyce had eight children over the next seventeen years.
John appears to have been a locksmith. He would have made locks, keys, fittings, latticework, and ornamental items. Locksmiths were master craftsmen who worked for high status customers. Locally, these would have included the church, Sir Edward Sutton (the new baron of Dudley), and Sir John Lyttleton (of Halesowen manor).
Local excitement was caused in 1606 when conspirators from the Gunpowder Plot were captured at nearby Hagley Park and Humphrey Lyttleton (Sir John’s brother) was executed for harbouring them.
John Hodgetts died in 1621. Joyce survived him by eighteen years.
Sources
- Referenced Timeline 4
- Queen Elizabeth’s visit: Edward Chitham, The Story of Dudley, The History Press, 2014, p53; Elizabeth I slept here-a look at the Queen’s summer progresse, British History Online, Rtd 26/4/2021.
- John & Joyce’s children: Baptisms as per timeline plus Administration bond for the will of John Hodgetts 1622 (by sons William and Humphrey, locksmiths). Thomas (no baptism) is clearly another son as he has daughters Joyce and Margery (Humphrey and John also have daughters called Margery).