Andrew Judde

Sir Andrew Judde (died 1558) was a 16th-century English merchant and Lord Mayor of London.^[1]

He was born in Tonbridge, the youngest son of John Judde, Esq., a landowner from a leading local family.^[2] His mother, Margaret Chiche, was the granddaughter of an earlier Lord Mayor of London, Robert Chichele, and great-niece of Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, and William Chichele, Sheriff of London.^[3] He left for London and apprenticed with the Skinners Company; he was later the master of the company for four terms. He accumulated a large fortune, part of which he used to establish the Tonbridge School in his home town. During his career as a merchant, he personally traveled to Russia, Spain, and the coast of Africa. He served as one of the Sheriffs of London in 1544, and was elected Lord Mayor of London in 1550. As a result of his vigorous opposition to Wyatt's Rebellion, he gained the favor of Queen Mary and Philip II of Spain. He served as Mayor of the Staple of Calais.

Sir Andrew Judde was married three times. His first wife was Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Murfyn, an earlier Lord Mayor of London; by her he had a daughter, Alice, who married Thomas Smythe, collector of customs for London. He married a second time, by 1542, to Agnes, about whom nothing is known. His third and final marriage was to Mary, daughter of Thomas Mathews of Colchester.^[4] Andrew died on September 4, 1558.

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