John Fortescue of Salden

Sir John Fortescue (ca. 1531 or 1533 – 23 December 1607) of Salden Manor, near Mursley, Buckinghamshire,was the seventh Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, serving from 1589 until 1603.

Fortescue was the son of Adrian Fortescue who was martyred and has been beatified. Sir John was a great-grandson of Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, Lord Mayor of London (1457), and thus a second-cousin of Queen Elizabeth I. His mother was Anne Reade, daughter of Sir William Reade. He was descended from Sir Richard Fortescue, 3rd son of Sir John Fortescue (died after 1432), Captain of the Castle of Meaux, of Shepham in the parish of Modbury, Devon.

Fortescue led a largely undistinguished career in Parliament prior to his accession to the chancellorship, serving in several districts (including for Wallingford), and he continued to serve in Parliament after losing that title. Fortescue also held the position of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1601 to his death. Fortescue served under Queen Elizabeth I and was knighted in 1592. When King James I came to the throne in 1603, Fortescue advocated restrictions on his power, in part in order to limit the appointment of Scottish people. These reforms were not implemented, and as a result, James dismissed him from his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He retained, however, his position in Parliament and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, as well as the keeper of the great wardrobe.

Fortescue was buried in Mursley Church in Buckinghamshire, where a monument was erected in his honour.

Fortescue had six children with his first wife Cecilia Ashfield (d. 1571), daughter of Sir Edmund Ashfield of Ewelme. Including:

• Francis Fortescue (1563-1624), who married in 1589 Grace Manners (d. 1624), daughter of Sir John Manners of Haddon Hall, second son of Thomas Earl of Rutland, and of Dorothy Vernon daughter and co-heir of Sir George Vernon. A daughter, Dorothy Vernon (d. 1650), married Sir Robert Throckmorton of Weston-Underwood and Coughton Court.
• William Fortescue of Salden (1562-1629).
• Eleanor Fortescue (1579-1605), who married (1) in 1585, Valentine Piggot (2) Edward Hobart.

He had a daughter with seventh with his second wife, Alice Smith, daughter of Christopher Smith of Annables, Hertfordshire, and widow of Richard Robson:

• Margery Fortescue (d. 1613), who married Sir John Pulteney of Misterton, Leicestershire (1585-1617).

Many of his children followed his path in politics, holding positions in Parliament. In 1621 Alice Fortescue, the widow of John Fortescue, sold Tickford Priory in Newport Pagnell to the royal physician, Dr Henry Atkins for £4,500.

The house he built at Salden was demolished. A chair carved with the Fortescue and Ashfield heraldry, presumably from the house, was found in an antique shop in Aylesbury in 1873 and bought by a descendant, Thomas Fortescue, 1st Baron Clermont.