{"id":6612,"date":"2013-11-19T15:24:14","date_gmt":"2013-11-19T15:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.britishportraits.org.uk\/?page_id=6612"},"modified":"2019-02-18T16:17:15","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:17:15","slug":"case-study-13-nicholas-spicer-merchant-and-mayor-of-exeter-1581-1647-by-an-anonymous-artist-of-the-english-school-1611","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.britishportraits.org.uk\/resources\/toolkits\/how-to-research-a-portrait-or-portrait-collection\/case-studies\/case-study-13-nicholas-spicer-merchant-and-mayor-of-exeter-1581-1647-by-an-anonymous-artist-of-the-english-school-1611\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study 13: Nicholas Spicer, Merchant and Mayor of Exeter (1581-1647) by an anonymous artist of the English school 1611"},"content":{"rendered":"
“Nicholas Spicer was a merchant and freeman of Exeter who held the office of Mayor in 1603-1604, 1629-1630 and 1644-1645.<\/p>\n
He was the son of Christopher Spicer and his wife Elizabeth (nee Symonds). He was born on 15 July 1581 (1) and christened in St, Martin’s Church, Exeter, two days later (2). His sister, Elizabeth, was born in 1587 and married Thomas Flaye. (See her separate entry under Elizabeth Flaye.) Nicholas Spicer was twice married, first in 1602 to Joan Horsey and, secondly in 1627 to Martha Preistly [sic]. Between them they produced a large family of at least nine children – two sons and seven daughters (3).<\/p>\n
Spicer was a member of the Exeter Society of Merchant Adventurers. Cotton tells us that he served as its Governor (4). His career as a merchant adventurer can be pieced together from his will proved in 1647 (5). He described himself as a merchant of Exeter, giving details of his property in the city, but his interests were firmly rooted in the City of London. He directs that he should be buried in the parish church of St.Mary Aldermary ‘as neere unto my late brother Richard Spicer Dr. of phisicke dec[ease]d. as conveniently may be.’ One hundred pounds of the five hundred he bequeathed to his wife, Martha, would be paid to her ‘immediately after the adventures I have abroad shall come in and my debts be received.’ The reference to his other house at Greenwich hints at his sea-borne interests.<\/p>\n
The will contains some detail of the furniture Spicer bequeathed to his widow and children. To his wife he left ‘the Scratorie [possibly a writing desk], the Chest of drawers, the great spruce chest in my lodging Chamber and a chest in the furthest Chamber of my house at Greenwich.’ His daughter Priscilla was to receive ‘my Pironndes suite of chayres & stooles w[hi]ch was her mothers and a needleworke cushion, and to my daughter Martha one needleworke cushion, with my stamll imbrodred suite of Chayres and stooles. And to my daughter Abigail my greene imbroydered suite of Chayres and stooles.’ Meanwhile his younger son Thomas was to inherit ‘the Tables Bedsteads shelves and other necessaries w[hi]ch my father left in’ the house in Exeter then let to Henry Prigg.<\/p>\n
Nicholas Spicer supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War. The account of his pardon, received posthumously on the payment of a fine in 1648, described his offence as being ‘in Arms against the Parliament’ (6).<\/p>\n
This painting with its symbols and inscriptions of death belongs to a group known as memento mori<\/em> portraits. As a group they have recently been the subject of an extensive study by Dr. Tarnya Cooper of the University of Sussex. The significance of the year 1611 has not been established; his first wife died a few years later, but it is possible that there is a link to Nicholas Spicer ‘the eldest” who died in that year (7). He was a long-serving alderman of the City of Exeter and the founder of Spicer’s Charity, which still exists.<\/p>\n Shortly after the municipal reforms of 1832 the Corporation disposed of the painting, presenting it to ‘representatives of the family’. In 1853 it was said to have ‘been removed to Courtlands [presumably a seat of the Spicers] since 1836’ (8). In 1978 it was purchased by RAMM, prior to which cleaning had found that the arms had been altered (9).”<\/p>\n Author: Stephen Price<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Footnotes<\/em><\/p>\n “Nicholas Spicer was a merchant and freeman of Exeter who held the office of Mayor in 1603-1604, 1629-1630 and 1644-1645. He was the son of Christopher Spicer and his wife Elizabeth (nee Symonds). He was born on 15 July 1581 (1) and christened in St, Martin’s Church, Exeter, two days later (2). His sister, Elizabeth, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6265,"parent":6272,"menu_order":12,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n