John Leversegge

John Leversegge was a prominent member of the mercantile community of Hull. He first appears in about 1391, when he was shipping cloth and wool overseas and importing wine from Gascony. He dealt regularly in these commodities and was able to further his commercial interests through his appointment as a collector of the royal customs at Hull.

In 1393 Leversegge became bailiff of Hull and had from then on played a notable part in the life of the borough, discharging no less than six terms as mayor (1394, 1395, 1396, 1399, 1403, and 1407). He was also a Member of Parliament in 1407. Leversegge was one of the most experienced administrators of Hull, for as well as serving on a number of royal commissions, and spending many years as a customs official, he had been singled out by the two most influential landowners in the area, Thomas Arundel, archbishop of York and Sir Michael de la Pole, to assist them in the running of their estates. Leversegge was himself a landowner of some consequence, either through his wife, Helen, or because of his own investment in property.