Sir Henry Colet (died 1505) was twice Lord Mayor of London.
He was the third son of Robert Colet of Wendover, Buckinghamshire. He came to London in youth; he was apprenticed to a mercer, and soon became one of the wealthiest members of the Mercers' Company. He was elected alderman of Farringdon ward without 15 November 1476, and Sheriff of London on 21 June 1477. He became alderman of Castle Baynard, in exchange for Farringdon ward, 1 February 1483–4, and was removed to Cornhill ward on 7 March 1487–8. [1]
He was chosen mayor for the first time on 13 October 1486. During his mayoralty he rebuilt at his own expense the cross in West Cheap, and when Henry VII married Elizabeth of York (13 January 1486–7), Colet was knighted. According to the churchwardens' accounts of the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, he was granted a release from serving the office of mayor for the second time, 20 July 1495, but he was nevertheless re-elected 13 October following, and did not decline the honour. [1] he was also elected Member of Parliament for the City of London in 1487 and 1489. [2]
He and his wife, Dame Christian Colet, begot 22 children, one of whom, John Colet was an English Humanist who founded St Paul's School, London, in 1509. [3] He purchased an estate and a fine house at Stepney, and there he died in 1505, being buried in Stepney Church, of which his son John was at one time vicar. [1]
His London residence was situated in the parish of St. Antholin, and Stow states that a painted window containing portraits of himself and his family was erected to his memory in St. Antholin's Church, to which Colet was a great benefactor. [1] [4] His tomb at Stepney was twice repaired by the Mercers' Company, in 1605 and 1697. [1]
Richard Whittington of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale Dick Whittington and His Cat. He was four times Lord Mayor of London, a member of parliament and a Sheriff of London. In his lifetime he financed a number of public projects, such as drainage systems in poor areas of medieval London, and a hospital ward for unmarried mothers. He bequeathed his fortune to form the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington which, nearly 600 years later, continues to assist people in need.
Sir Hugh Clopton was a Lord Mayor of London, a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers and a benefactor of his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.
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Sir Richard Gardiner was, in 1478, elected Lord Mayor of London. He was Alderman of Walbrook Ward, and had been Sheriff of the City of London in 1469. He was also elected in 1478 a Member of Parliament for the City of London, one of the two aldermanic representatives of the city.
Farringdon Without is the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Its suffix Without reflects its origin as lying beyond the City's former defensive walls. It was first established in 1394 to administer the suburbs west of Ludgate and Newgate, including West Smithfield and Temple. This was achieved by splitting the very large, pre-existing Farringdon Ward into two parts, Farringdon Within and Farringdon Without. The large and prosperous extramural suburb of Farringdon Without has been described as having been London's first West End.
Sir Henry Barton was twice Lord Mayor of London in the 15th century.
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Sir William Purdie Treloar, 1st Baronet was an English businessman who was Sheriff of London in 1889–1900 and Lord Mayor of London in 1906–1907. He established an active "Cripples' Fund" as his mayoral appeal.
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