Roger Thornton

Roger Thornton (died 1430), the Dick Whittington of Newcastle, seems to have been a country boy who sought his fortune in town.

[1] He took the side of Henry IV against the rebel Earl of Northumberland (in whose cause Hotspur had fallen) and received on 28 July 1405 "in consideration of his services and of the losses he had sustained, and the charges he had borne in the late rebellion of the Earl of Northumberland, and others, the Foucher (Fugar) House in Whickham, as well as other estates in Cleveland."

He represented Newcastle upon Tyne in parliament in 1399, 1411, 1417 and 1419, the last being the fifth year of the reign of Henry V.[1] Thornton was a speculator in lead mines, and he was certainly working some in Weardale under lease from the Bishop of Durham in 1401.

He was remembered for his liberality to Newcastle, building a town court and also a Maison Dieu or hospital for poor people in the Sandhill.

It was originally installed in the medieval All Saints' Church, Newcastle upon Tyne nearby, which was later demolished and rebuilt.