Sir John Gresham (1495 - 23 October 1556) was an English merchant, courtier and financier who worked for King Henry VIII of England, Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - Merchants function as professionals who deal with Trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves in order to produce Profit. A courtier is a person who attends the court of a Monarch or other powerful person. Financier (fɨˈnænsiɚ or finãˈsje in French is a term for a person who handles large sums of Money, usually involving money lending, financing Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of Thomas Cardinal Wolsey (c1470–1471 – November 28 or November 29 1530 who was born in Ipswich Suffolk England was an English Statesman and a cardinal Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl of Essex (c 1485 &ndash 28 July 1540) was an English statesman who served as King Henry VIII 's chief minister He was Lord Mayor of London and founded Gresham's School. The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of (and head of the City of London Corporation. Gresham’s School is an independent
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Life
Gresham was probably born in 1495, at Holt, in Norfolk, and was descended from an old Norfolk family[1] (see section 'Gresham Family', below). Holt is a Market town and Parish in the English county of Norfolk. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. Biographers have suggested that he probably attended a school kept by Augustinian canons at nearby Beeston Regis[2]. The Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430) are several Catholic Monastic orders and congregations Beeston Regis is a village and Civil parish in the North Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. At that time, England was a Roman Catholic country and was largely dependent on the church for education. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
In about 1510, Gresham was apprenticed to John Middleton, a London mercer, and after serving his seven years he was admitted as a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Worshipful Company of Mercers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. In 1519, he and his older brother William Gresham were both elected to the livery of the company. Later, John Gresham was four times Master of the Mercers' Company[2]
Gresham was in partnership with his brother, Richard Gresham, in the export of textiles and in importing grain from Germany and wine from Bordeaux[2]. Sir Richard Gresham (1494 &ndash 1549 was an English Merchant, Lord Mayor of London, and Member of parliament. ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate He also imported traded in silks and spices from the Ottoman Empire and imported timber and skins from the Baltic. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish Baltic Seven Islandsgif|right|thumb|330px|A contemporary transnational Euroregion encompasses the islands of the Baltic countries He founded the Russia Company to trade with Russia. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Meanwhile, he acted as an agent for Cardinal Wolsey[2], and through him knew Thomas Cromwell[2]. Thomas Cardinal Wolsey (c1470–1471 – November 28 or November 29 1530 who was born in Ipswich Suffolk England was an English Statesman and a cardinal Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl of Essex (c 1485 &ndash 28 July 1540) was an English statesman who served as King Henry VIII 's chief minister
Gresham invested his money in land, buying the manors of Titsey, Tatsfield, Westerham, and Lingfield on the borders of Surrey and Kent, as well as properties in Norfolk and Buckinghamshire. Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. He lived at a great house called Titsey Place at Oxted in Surrey from 1534 until his death[3]. Oxted is a Commuter town in Surrey, England situated at the foot of the North Downs north-east of East Grinstead and south of Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties.
Gresham was Sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1537-1538 and at the same time was knighted[2]. For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. He was a member of the Royal household between 1527 and 1550, first as a 'gentleman pensioner' and later as one of the 'esquires of the body' of King Henry VIII[2]. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of In 1539, the king granted Gresham the manor of Sanderstead in Surrey, following the dissolution of the monasteries: it had previously belonged to the Minster of Winchester since the year 962. Sanderstead (ˈsɑːndɚstɛd is a village in London Borough of Croydon, located on high ground at the edge of the built-up area of Greater London. Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. Winchester or Winton ( archaic) is a historic city in southern England, with a population of around 40000 within a radius of its centre Events By Place Europe February 2 — Pope John XII crowns Otto I the Great Holy Roman Emperor.
In 1541, Gresham was one of the jurors who tried Thomas Culpepper and Francis Dereham for treason - that is, intimacy with Queen Catherine Howard[2]. Thomas Culpeper (executed 10 December 1541) was a Courtier of Henry VIII. Francis Dereham (died 10 December 1541) was most famous for his affair with Queen Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII of England For other Catherine Howards see Catherine Howard (disambiguation Catherine Howard (between 1520 and 1525 – 13 February 1542 also called Both were duly beheaded at Tyburn on 10 December 1541, and their heads were put on display on London Bridge. Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V London Bridge is a Bridge between the City of London and Southwark in London, England, over the River Thames. Queen Catherine Howard was subsequently executed on February 13, 1542. For other Catherine Howards see Catherine Howard (disambiguation Catherine Howard (between 1520 and 1525 – 13 February 1542 also called Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed
In 1546, he was one of the King's commissioners to survey the properties of chantries to be dissolved in Surrey and Sussex[2]. Chantry is the English term for the establishment of an institutional Chapel on private land or within a greater church where a priest would chant masses Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex.
In 1547, Sir John Gresham became Lord Mayor of London[2]. The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of (and head of the City of London Corporation.
In 1555, a year before his death, he founded Gresham's School in the town of his birth, Holt in Norfolk. Gresham’s School is an independent Holt is a Market town and Parish in the English county of Norfolk. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. Gresham endowed the school with land and money and placed these endowments in the care of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, which has continued to carry out his trust to the present day[2]. The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers is one
Gresham died on 23 October 1556, ‘of a malignant fever’. Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - His tomb is in the City of London church of St Michael Bassishaw[1]. For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically
The Gresham Family
Sir John Gresham belonged to a Norman family. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. His ancestor in the male line was Ralph de Braunche, one of the knights of William the Conqueror who fought at the Battle of Hastings (1066) under William de Warenne and was later granted lands in Norfolk which included the manor of Gresham. William I of England ( 1027 His reign which brought Norman culture to England had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages The Battle of Hastings was the decisive Norman victory in the Norman Conquest of England. William de Warenne 1st Earl of Surrey, (died 1088 was one of the Norman Nobles who fought at the Battle of Hastings and became great landowners in Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. Gresham is a village in northern Norfolk in the United Kingdom, a few miles south-west of Cromer.
The line from Sir Ralph de Braunche (born before 1031) is through Sir Richard de Braunche (born before 1051), William de Branche, Richard de Branche, Sir Peter de Branche (early 13th century), Roger de Gresham (c. 1230-1259), who first took the name of Gresham, Roger de Gresham (late 13th century), and Edward de Gresham (living 1312). Edward's son John Gresham was baptized in 1340 at Aylmerton, Norfolk, and died there in 1410, owning property in Aylmerton and an interest in the manor of Holt. Aylmerton is a Village in the county of Norfolk, England It is in the area of North Norfolk and lies south of the North Sea, south-west Holt is a Market town and Parish in the English county of Norfolk. His son John Gresham was born in 1390 and died in 1450. In 1414, he was living at Holt. His son, James Gresham, of Holt, Norfolk, Lord of the Manor of East Beckham, lived from 1442 to 1497, and his son John Gresham of Holt married Alice Blyth and was the father of Sir John Gresham[1][4]. Holt is a Market town and Parish in the English county of Norfolk. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. The title of Lord of the Manor arose in the English mediaeval system of Manorialism following the Norman Conquest. East Beckham is a village and a Civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Gresham had brothers called William and Richard. Sir Richard Gresham (1494 &ndash 1549 was an English Merchant, Lord Mayor of London, and Member of parliament. The latter became Sir Richard Gresham and was also a Lord Mayor of London in 1537; he was the father of the famous Sir Thomas Gresham who founded the Royal Exchange and Gresham College, both in the City of London. The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of (and head of the City of London Corporation. Sir Thomas Gresham (c 1519 &ndash 21 November, 1579) was an English Merchant and Financier who worked for King Edward VI of England Gresham College is an unusual institution of higher learning off Holborn in central London. For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically
Sir John Gresham married twice: firstly, in 1521, Mary Ipswell, with whom he had twelve children between 1522 and 1538, and secondly, after Mary's death, Catherine Sampson, the widow of Edward Dormer, on 15 July 1553. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final
Descendants of Sir John Gresham
The twelve children of John and Mary Gresham were William, Mary, Catherine, James, John, Edmund, Anthony, Ellen, Ursula, Cecily, Elizabeth and Richard. Most of them died without issue, but the senior line of Gresham's descendants continued until the early nineteenth century.
Gresham's eldest son, William Gresham (1512-1579), was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham of Titsey (died 1630), whose sons were Sir John Gresham of Titsey (1588-1643) and Sir Edward Gresham of Titsey (1594-1647). The latter's son, Sir Marmaduke Gresham of Limpsfield (1627-1696), was created a baronet in 1660.
The 17th century Greshams sat as Members of Parliament, loyally supported King Charles I throughout the Civil War, and suffered from the victory of Cromwell. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known In 1643 the house at Titsey was commandeered by the Parliamentarians, but at the time of the Restoration in 1660 the new King Charles II created the head of the family, Marmaduke Gresham, a baronet as a reward for the family's support for the Royalist cause. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. A baronet (traditional abbreviation Bart, modern abbreviation Bt) or the rare female equivalent a baronetess (abbreviation Btss) is the holder This title died out with Sir John Gresham, sixth and last Baronet, of Limpsfield (who died in 1801). Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday However, the last Sir John Gresham's daughter and heiress, Katherine Maria Gresham, married William Leveson-Gower, first cousin of the Marquess of Stafford, later the first Duke of Sutherland, and through Katherine Maria the Titsey estate continued to be owned by Sir John Gresham's descendants until the death of Thomas Leveson Gower in 1992. George Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Duke of Sutherland, KG, PC ( 9 January 1758 &ndash 19 July 1833) was the son of the Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) By his will, Leveson Gower set up the Titsey Foundation, a charitable trust with the aim of preserving the estate for the benefit of the nation.
Nevertheless, the first Sir John Gresham's line continues in the descendants of his third son, another John Gresham, who was the ancestor of the Greshams of Fulham, Albury, and Haslemere.
Gresham's School
In 1555, shortly before his death, Gresham founded Gresham's School in his home town of Holt, Norfolk, placing its endowments under the stewardship of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, which has continued to carry out the task entrusted to it until the present day[5]. Gresham’s School is an independent Holt is a Market town and Parish in the English county of Norfolk. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers is one
The Gresham Grasshopper
- The grasshopper is the crest above Sir John Gresham's coat of arms. It can be seen at Titsey Place, his country house, and is used by Gresham's School, which he founded. Gresham’s School is an independent It can also be seen as the weathervane on the Royal Exchange in the City of London, founded in 1565 by Gresham's nephew Sir Thomas Gresham. The Royal Exchange in the City of London was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham to act as a centre of Commerce for the city For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically Sir Thomas Gresham (c 1519 &ndash 21 November, 1579) was an English Merchant and Financier who worked for King Edward VI of England Gresham's original Royal Exchange building (destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666) was profusely decorated with grasshoppers. This article is about the Great Fire of 1666 For other great fires in London see Early fires of London or Second Great Fire of London. The grasshopper is also used as a symbol by Gresham College in the City of London, which Sir Thomas also established. Gresham College is an unusual institution of higher learning off Holborn in central London. For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically Sir Thomas Gresham (c 1519 &ndash 21 November, 1579) was an English Merchant and Financier who worked for King Edward VI of England
- According to an ancient legend of the Greshams, the founder of the family, Roger de Gresham, was a foundling abandoned as a new-born baby in long grass in North Norfolk in the 13th century and found there by a woman whose attention was drawn to the child by a grasshopper. North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, United Kingdom. A beautiful story, it is more likely that the grasshopper is simply an heraldic rebus on the name Gresham, with gres being a Middle English form of grass (Old English grœs). Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. A rebus ( Latin: "by things" is a kind of word puzzle which uses pictures to represent words or parts of words for example H + =
- In the system of English heraldry, the grasshopper is said to represent wisdom and nobility.
References
- ^ a b c Sir John Gresham (c. 1495–1556) in Gresham, Sir Richard (c. 1485–1549), mercer, merchant adventurer, and mayor of London by Ian Blanchard in Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k I Will Plant Me a Tree: an Illustrated History of Gresham's School by S. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 G. G. Benson & Martin Crossley Evans (James & James, London, 2002)
- ^ Titsey Place (accessed 9 September 2007)
- ^ John Gresham of Aylmerton and Holt (accessed 9 September 2007)
- ^ The History and Register of Gresham's School, 1555-1954 (Ipswich, 1955)
- Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham by J. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) W. Burgon (London, 1839)
External links
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