Ralph Sandwich
Lord Mayor of London
Sir Ralph Sandwich (1235–1308) (also known as Rauf de Sanduiz, Ralph de Sandwich and Ralph of Sandwich), of Dene (in Margate), Ham, and Ripple, Kent, Winchfield, Hampshire, etc., was an English administrator and justice. He was Steward of the King's Demesne, Constable of Canterbury (1278), and Royal Warden (Lord Mayor) of London (1286, 1288–1293).
Biography
He was the son of Simon of Sandwich, the brother of clergyman Henry of Sandwich, and Gillian Sandwich. His family had close connections with Simon de Montfort, and his uncle's links with Montfort's administration is most likely what brought Ralph into government. By September 1264 he had become part of the captive King's household, and on 1 January 1265 he became Master of the Great Wardrobe. On 7 May he was made Keeper of the Great Seal, although without the governmental position which accompanied it. He was only allowed to use it for routine writs, otherwise the presence of Peter de Montfort and two others was required.
On 4 August 1265, Sandwich was captured at the Battle of Evesham fighting on the losing side for de Montfort. His lands were confiscated and given to Roger de Leybourne and his father's lands awarded to Leybourne's son William, who also married Juliana de Sandwich (1245-1327) on 16 October 1265; she was the daughter of Sir Henry de Sandwich (died c. 1249).
“Ralph Sandwich” enters the record as lord Mayor of London. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ralph, Sandwich and Lord can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ralph Sandwich” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.