John Fresshe of King Richard II's ill-fated poll tax within the city from December 1380. It was this tax which was to provoke the outbreak of the Peasants' Revolt in June the next year. Fresshe was one of three such men—along with fellow mercers, John Horn and Adam Karlille—to be sent by the then-mayor, William Walworth, to meet with the army assembled by rebel leader Wat Tyler at Blackheath in June 1381. Juliet Barker suggests that this was a pivotal meeting in the history of the revolt. The Mayor instructed Fresshe and his colleagues to negotiate with the rebels, and, if possible,
Thomas Myddelton (Lord Mayor of London) Thomas Myddelton (Lord Mayor of London) Sir Thomas Myddelton (1550 – 12 August 1631) was the fourth son of Richard Myddelton, Governor of Denbigh, and Jane Dryhurst. As a youth, he was apprenticed to a grocer in London, and made his fortune in trade. He divided his time between London and Wales, and purchased Chirk Castle in 1595 for £5,000. He was a member of the Grocers' Company, a member of Parliament and a founder member of the East India Company, Sheriff of London in 1604 and Lord Mayor of London in 1613. His brother, Sir Hugh Myddleton, was instrumental