RICHARD GRESHAM

Sir 'Richard Gresham' (born 1494, Holt, Norfolk, died 1549) was an English merchant, Lord Mayor of London, and member of parliament. He was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham.

Contents

Family

Career

References

Family

Gresham was born at Holt, Norfolk, a member of an ancient Norfolk family (see the article on his brother John Gresham).
By his first wife, Audrey Lynn, he was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham.

Career

Gresham was admitted a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1507. As a mercer, he was in partnership with his brother, John Gresham, in exporting textiles and in the import of grain from the continent. He supplied King Henry VIII with arras, velvets, and satins. Most of his trade was with the Low Countries, which were the most significant area for English overseas trade for most of the sixteenth century, and he amassed a large fortune. He became Sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1531 and was knighted the same year. On 19 May 1536, he was present at the execution of Anne Boleyn in the Tower of London. He was elected as Lord Mayor of London in 1537, and on his death bed Cardinal Wolsey called him his "fast-friend". Gresham paid for the Cardinal's funeral.
He was elected as member of parliament for the City of London in 1539 and 1545.

References

★ ''Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham'' by J.W. Burgon (London, 1839, new edition 1968)

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