John Isham

John Isham/Hessam was instituted as vicar of Stoneleigh parish on 21 October 1545¹ after his presentation by Thomas Ryley, prominent draper, warden, sheriff, mayor, and alderman of Coventry.^2,3,4 John may have been vicar of Stoneleigh until as late as 1564, when a new vicar was instituted.^?

From the time of King Henry I, and prior to its dissolution in 1538, the nearby Abbey of Kenilworth held the right to appoint the vicar of Stoneleigh parish (the so-called "advowson").^5? In the period just before its dissolution, Thomas Ryley had financially supported the Abbey.^? In return, the Abbot of Kenilworth agreed to grant to Thomas the right to appoint the next vicar of Stoneleigh.^? This right was acknowledged by the vicar general on the institution of John Hessam.^?

By 1561, John also had an appointment as curate of Staverton parish, some 17 miles southeast of Stoneleigh.^? He was likely the primary clergyman in Staverton until 1564, when the advowson for the parish was purchased from King Henry VIII's college by Edmund Downinge and a new vicar was instituted.^6,7

In his later life, John lived in Staverton.^? He witnessed the will of prominent Staverton citizen Robert Watson in 1571, signing as "John Hessam, clarke".^8,9 John died in 1573 and was buried in Staverton on 26 March 1573 as "John Isham, clarke".¹⁰

John leaned Protestant.^? Thomas Ryley, who appointed John as vicar of Stoneleigh, was a Protestant sympathizer who tried to protect Coventry Protestants from martyrdom.^? Richard Sampson, Bishop of Coventry and Litchfield at the time of John's appointment as vicar of Stoneleigh, was a prominent Protestant and one of King Henry VIII's chief agents in the royal divorce proceedings.^? Edmund Scambler, Bishop of Peterborough when John Hessam was curate of Staverton, was also strongly Protestant, having been a pastor to a covert Protestant congregation in London during the reign of Queen Mary I.^?

John was probably married before his appointment as vicar of Stoneleigh, as there is evidence that he had at least two sons: Laurence Isam, who was curate of Kenilworth (adjacent to Stoneleigh) in 1558; and Robert Isham, who married not far from Staverton in 1559.^? Although we do not have a record of John Hessam being deprived of his office for being married during the purges of 1554/5 under Queen Mary, he also does not appear on clergy lists during her reign.^?

The name "Hessam", which John used during his clerical career, is likely a Latin-influenced phonetic spelling for how "Isham" was pronounced in the mid-16th century.^?