John and Thomas Mayo, cannon makers, in the 1500's

[kerryb]

Hi Jean

I've been reading this thread with interest and can I just chirp in with my bit now.

You might want to bear in mind the villages of Ashburnham, Warbleton and Brightling (all fairly close to Battle) where there were big iron foundrys and furnaces at around that time.  A lot of my family come from that area and I live near by and I will bear the name Mayo in mind when doing any research.

Kerry

[Jean Mayo]

Thank you, Kerry. I am sharing anything I learn with the Royal Armouries in London; with Guernsey Island; and with Pilgrim Hall Museum and Plymouth, MA. public library and historical society. All help would be very much appreciated.
            Jean

[Jane Masri]

Hi Jean,
Just a thought but have you looked through the online National Archives Catalogue?  Some very early stuff there.  The down side is that to research further you would have to do it personally or pay one of their researchers 

jane

[Jean Mayo]

Hi Jane,
   Yes, I have checked that out. I was really hoping that there might be record of the Mayo brothers also at the Guildhall Museum in London, but no luck. I just heard from that Wealden Iron Research Group, and they said that the two Mayo cannons that still exist in England were bronze and he thinks that the Mayo brothers worked with bronze; however, I don't think that the cannon in Plymouth, MA. of their's is bronze. I'll need to check that out. Them being bronze gunfounders may be an important clue. Thanks for keeping me in mind!
        Jean.

[Jean Mayo]

Hi All,
   After researching this morning, all of the Mayo cannons in existence today were made of bronze. So these Mayo brothers were indeed makers of bronze cannons in the 1550's. Now I need to research early Bronze cannon makers in England.
       Jean.

[Stovepipe]

Since my last post in this thread I've been able to check the old volume of the Sussex Archaeological Collections to which I referred.

The article was on a family of gun founders in Heathfield.  Unfortunately their name was Fuller and they were active in the eighteenth century.  So the wrong family and two hundred years too late.  Apologies for raising false hopes.

Stovepipe

[Jean Mayo]

Not a problem. Thanks for checking. I appreciate it.
         Jean.

[Heidi Mayo]

Hi Jean - I live in Plymouth, MA, have seen the cannon, and was thrilled to see John & Thomas Mayo, and think there's a chance I am related to the cannon makers. My forebear, John Mayo, was only 3 when he arrived on the ship "William Francis", May 20, 1633 to Roxbury, MA. Wondering what you've found out about the cannon-making brothers.