Sir William Cann (1600-57)
William Cann was a prosperous Bristol merchant and leading Parliamentarian, who in the seventeenth century became an Alderman.
1632-58 Member of the Common Council of Bristol
1635-36 Sheriff of Bristol
1645 Master of the Society Merchant of Venturers
1648-49 Mayor of Bristol
1648-58 Alderman for St Thomas Ward.
1650 The Canns own land in Stoke Bishop and have become prominent in the section that lies closest to the Downs.
1657 Death of Sir William Cann.
1626
'In 1626, William Cann was fined £2 for purchasing a parcel of figs before they were landed and brought into Spicers Hall, commonly called The Back Hall of Bristol, in conformity with the Ordinances. He claimed he was ignorant of regulations and pleaded for tender treatment and promised future fidelity! The £2 (along with £40 fined from others with him) was distributed amongst the poor of the city.'
Latimer, 19031649
William Cann earns a dubious fame by formally proclaiming at the High Cross the abolition of the monarchy, and on April 13th, he is admonished in a letter from the Council of State for refusing to take into his custody a vessel captured by the frigate President. He is urged to punish disaffection, take charge of prizes, and preserve the authority of the Commonwealth.
1656
In the 1650s, the Cann family moved to Bristol from the adjacent countryside. William Cann bought the estate from Sir Ralph Sadlier who had received Suffnop Stoke (Stoke Bishop) from Edward VI. Records show that a Mr. Cann was paying a tithe on a property in Stoke Bishop in 1656.
Bibliography
J. Latimer, The History of the Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol (Bristol: Arrowsmith, 1903).