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Thomas Graa
Thomas Graa
Member of the England Parliament; for York
	In office; 1376–1379
Preceded by	John de Gisburn/John de Acastre
Succeeded by	William Savage/William Selby
	In office; 1383–1383
Preceded by	William Savage/William Selby
Succeeded by	Thomas Quixley/John Howden
	In office; 1385–1386
Preceded by	Thomas Quixley/John Howden
Succeeded by	Thomas Holme/John Howden
	In office; 1393–1397
Preceded by	William Selby/John Howden
Succeeded by	William Frost/John Bolton
Personal details
Born	Unknown; Unknown
Died	1405; York
Resting place	St. Mary, Castlegate, York
Nationality	English

Thomas Graa was one of two Members of Parliament for the constituency of York. He was the third member of his family to have represented the city in Parliament after his grandfather John Graa and his father William Graa.

Life and politics

Thomas Graa was the son of York merchant, William Graa. The Graa family were a rich and prominent family in the city of York in the fourteenth century. He married Agnes of Woodhall in 1369. He owned land in Sand Hutton and Skelton as well as renting tenements in York, namely in Coney Street and Coppergate. Among his achievements was to sit on several royal commissions in Yorkshire and a term as Lord Mayor of York in 1375.^[1] Thomas was married twice more. Secondly, in 1381, to Maud Multon from Ingleby in Lincolnshire and thirdly, in 1401, to Alice Colthorpe, a widow, from Kingston upon Hull. Thanks to his second wife, he acquired the manors of Ingleby and Frampton in Lincolnshire. He also had interests in estates in Helmsley and the manor of Nunwick near Ripon.^[2] Through his many land dealings, he became a respected authority on property disputes and was retained by many in respect of executing wills and as an arbitrator.

Thomas made his own fortune from the supply and export of wool. His business acumen was recognised when serving in Parliament when he was appointed to a committee to consider changes to the royal household. His reputation was somewhat damaged during unrest among the merchants of York in 1380. Though not directly punished for his role in the rioting that occurred in the city, he was implicated in the local instigation of that summer's Peasants' Revolt. His prowess in international trade led him to be despatched as a negotiator in talks with Conrad Zolver, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in June 1388. He was accompanied by Master Nicholas Stocket, a clerk and two merchants. Their mission was to petition for the release of English merchants and their property that had been seized in Prussia and that English merchants should have the same trading freedoms as the Prussian merchants did in England.^[3]

Following his marriage to Alice Colthorpe, he gradually withdrew from public life. He died at some date in 1405 and was buried before the altar of St. John the Evangelist and St. John the Baptist at the church of St. Mary in Castlegate, next to his second wife.

References

^ "Mayors and Lord Mayors of York". City of York Council. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
^ "Thomas Graa in the History of Parliament". The History of Parliament Trust 1964-2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
^ Liddy, Christian Drummond (2005). War, Politics and Finance in Late Medieval English Towns: Bristol, York and the Crown, 1350-1400. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 137. ISBN 9780861932740.