JOHN VASSALL, the first of his name of whom we have any def inite information, was an alderman of London, and in 1588 f itted out and commanded two ships of war, with which he joi ned the royal navy to oppose the Spanish armada. He was th e descendant of an ancient French family, traced back, it i s claimed, to the eleventh century, of the house of Du Vass all, Barons de Guerden, in Querci, Perigord.