Sir John Gresham, Kt.

1. Occupation: Sheriff 1537 London, England
2. Occupation: Lord Mayor 1547 London, England
3. Burial: 25 OCT 1556 St. Micheal Bassishaw, London, England

Sir John Gresham

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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. He was Lord Mayor of London and founded Gresham's School.

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). Biographers have suggested that he probably attended a school kept by Augustinian canons at nearby Beeston Regis.[2] At that time, England was a Roman Catholic country and was largely dependent on the church for education.

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. 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] He also imported traded in silks and spices from the Ottoman Empire and imported timber and skins from the Baltic. He founded the Russia Company to trade with Russia. Meanwhile, he acted as an agent for Cardinal Wolsey,[2] and through him knew Thomas Cromwell.[2]

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. He lived at a great house called Titsey Place at Oxted in Surrey from 1534 until his death.[3]

Gresham was Sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1537–1538 and at the same time was knighted.[2] 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] 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.

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] Both were duly beheaded at Tyburn on 10 December 1541, and their heads were put on display on London Bridge. Queen Catherine Howard was subsequently executed on 13 February 1542.

In 1546, he was one of the King's commissioners to survey the properties of chantries to be dissolved in Surrey and Sussex.[2]

In 1547, Sir John Gresham became Lord Mayor of London,[2] and after the end of his term of office continued to serve as an alderman.[4]

In 1555, a year before his death, he founded Gresham's School in the town of his birth, Holt in Norfolk. 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]

Gresham died on 23 October 1556, ‘of a profuse fever’ and was given "a very grand and very papistical funeral".[5] His tomb is in the City of London church of St Michael Bassishaw.[1]

The Gresham Family

It has been claimed that Sir John Gresham[6] belonged to a Norman family, his ancestor in the male line being 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, a descendant changing his name to "de Gresham". While evidence for this is lacking, it seems very likely that the manor of Gresham is indeed the ancestral home of the Gresham family,[7] and a branch of the family was established at Holt by the fifteenth century.[8] According to Francis Blomefield in An essay towards a topographical history of the county of Norfolk (1808), James Gresham, the grandfather of Sir John Gresham, was "the son of John Gresham, Gent., of Gresham".[9]

A 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. 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][10]

Gresham had brothers called William and Richard. 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.

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.

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. 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. This title died out with Sir John Gresham, sixth and last Baronet, of Limpsfield (who died in 1801). 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. 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. He was also the maternal grandfather of the Elizabethan English Ambassador to France, Henry Neville.

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.[11]

The Gresham Grasshopper

The Gresham grasshopperThe 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. 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. Gresham's original Royal Exchange building (destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666) was profusely decorated with grasshoppers. The grasshopper is also used as a symbol by Gresham College in the City of London, which Sir Thomas also established.

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. 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).

In the system of English heraldry, the grasshopper is said to represent wisdom and nobility.

The Gresham family motto is Fiat voluntas tua ('Thy will be done').[12]

References

1.^ a b c , originated by Greshon Levieux a Huguenot, 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 2.^ 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. G. G. Benson & Martin Crossley Evans (James & James, London, 2002) 3.^ Titsey Place (accessed 9 September 2007) 4.^ Herbert, William, The History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of London (London, Wm Herbert, 1836) pp. 80-81 at books.google.co.uk: By letters patent of 1555, the school Gresham founded at Holt was called in full "The Free Grammar School of Sir John Gresham, knight, citizen and alderman of London". 5.^ The Cabinet Portrait Gallery of British Worthies Vol. 4 (London: Charles Knight & Co, 1845), p. 9 6.^ Descendent of Greshon Levieux a Huguenot, Sir John Gresham (c.1495–1556) in Gresham, Sir Richard (c.1485–1549), 7.^ Burgon, J. W., The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham (London, 1839, new edition 1968) 8.^ Norfolk Archaeology v. 34 for 1966-1969, (1969), p. 36 9.^ p. 173, accessed 4 February 2009 10.^ John Gresham of Aylmerton and Holt (accessed 9 September 2007) 11.^ The History and Register of Gresham's School, 1555-2009(Memphie,2009.) 12.^ Granville William Gresham Leveson-Gower, Genealogy of the family of Gresham (1883) p. 27 Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham by J.W. Burgon (London, 1839)

External links

Felbridge History Group The Titsey Estate Gresham's School online Persondata Name Gresham, John Alternative names Short description Lord Mayor of London, 1547 Date of birth 1495 Place of birth Holt, Norfolk Date of death 23 October 1556 Place of death Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Gresham&oldid=455885793"

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http://www.heathcock.org/genealogy/ps25/ps25_046.html

Sir John Gresham married twice: First in 1521 to Mary Ipswell. They had 12 children between 1522 and 1538. Their children were: William, Mary, Catherine, James, John, Edmund, Anthony, Ellen, Ursula, Cecily, Elizabeth and Richard. Most of their children died without issue. Their eldest son, William Gresham (1522-1579) was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham of Titsey (he died in 1630). Sir Thomas' sons were Sir John Gresham of Titsey (1588-1643) and Sir Edward Gresham of Titsey (1594-1647).

In 1547, Sir John became Lord Mayor of London and after the end of his term of office continued to serve as an alderman.

On 15 July 1553, Sir John married Catherine Sampson, the widow of Edward Dormer.

In 1555, the year before his death, Sir John founded Gresham's School in his hometown of Holt, Norfolk. He placed endowments of land and money under the stewardship of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, who have continued to carry out the task entrusted to them until the present day.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=94953788

https://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=hamptona...

1492 Sir John is born at Holt county of Norfolk fourth son of John Gresham and Alice Blythe of Holt.

1510 John is apprenticed to John Middleton a London mercer. The same man his older brother Richard had served Richard had been admitted into the company of Mercers by the time John began his apprenticeship.

1517 John is admitted to the Company of Mercers.

1519 John was elected to the livery of the company with his elder brother William. As did his brother Richard he acted as agent for both Wolsey and Cromwell.

1522 He married Mary Ipswll before this year for their first child, William was born 21 Apr 1522. 1st child

1522 He was elected to the livery of the company with his elder brother William. As did his brother Richard, he acted as agent for both Wolsey and Cromwell.

1523 Aug 17 Birth of daughter Mary Gresham Rowe 2nd child

1524 May birth of daughter Katherine 3rd child

1526 4th chld James is born 18 July . James died before 1552

1528 5th child John born 14 Mar

1530 Edmund was born 12 Aug 1530 the 6th child

1531 Anthony born 27 Jan 1531 7th child

1533 Ellyn born 21 May 1533 8th child

1534 Ursela the 9th child is born 21 Oct 1534

1537 Elizabeth 10th child born 19 Nov 1537

1538 1 Sept 1538 Henry V11 granted the manor at Titsey to Sir John Gresham and Mary his wife, at an annual rental of 5pds to be held in chief by the twentieth part of a knight's fee.On Sir John's death in 1556 the manor descended to his son, William [b 1522-21 d 1558] [GAWYSI Vol 16 #1 Jan 2001]

[The manor of Titsey was acquired in 1534 by John Gresham, one-time Lord Mayor of London and a member of the most prominent merchant dynasty in Tudor England. His elder brother Richard also became Lord Mayor of London. Born at Holt in Norfolk, like Dick Whittington, the Greshams moved to London in their early teens to seek their fortunes. They were very successful. John Gresham became a member of the Mercers' Company, one of the twelve Great Livery Companies, at an early age in 1517. He was prominent in"the trade with the Middle East (spices and silks) and the Baltic (timber and skins). He founded the Russia Company, to trade with that far-off and then little-known country, an initiative which was to lead later in the century to the signing of a commercial treaty between Elizabeth I and Ivan The Terrible. He was Sheriff of London and was knighted in 1537 and became Lord Mayor in 1547....notes from Titsey Manor ]. 1538 The 11th and last child is born to this couple in this year.

1538 Sir John's 1st wife died this year perhaps in childbirth. Sometime later he remarried 1531 Anthony gresham born 27 Jan 1531 7th child 1533 Ellyn Gresham born 21 May 1533 8th child 1534 Ursela Gresham the 9th child is born 21 Oct 1534 1537 Elizabeth Gresham 10th child born 19 Nov 1537

1538 1 Sept 1538 Henry V11 granted the manor at Titsey to Sir John Gresham and Mary his wife, at an annual rental of 5pds to be held in chief by the twentieth part of a knight's fee.On Sir John's death in 1556 the manor descended to his son, William [b 1522-21 d 1558] [GAWYSI Vol 16 #1 Jan 2001]

[The manor of Titsey was acquired in 1534 by John Gresham, one-time Lord Mayor of London and a member of the most prominent merchant dynasty in Tudor England. His elder brother Richard also became Lord Mayor of London. Born at Holt in Norfolk, like Dick Whittington, the Greshams moved to London in their early teens to seek their fortunes. They were very successful. John Gresham became a member of the Mercers' Company, one of the twelve Great Livery Companies, at an early age in 1517. He was prominent in"the trade with the Middle East (spices and silks) and the Baltic (timber and skins). He founded the Russia Company, to trade with that far-off and then little-known country, an initiative which was to lead later in the century to the signing of a commercial treaty between Elizabeth I and Ivan The Terrible. He was Sheriff of London and was knighted in 1537 and became Lord Mayor in 1547....notes from Titsey Manor ].

1538 The 11th and last child is born to this couple in this year. 1538 Sir John's 1st wife died this year perhaps in childbirth. Sometime later he remarried 1539 January 24 Sir John's daughter Mary Gresham married at St Mary Aldermanbury ti Sir Thomas Rowe, Knight of Hackney. She had seven children and died 18 January 1582 1549 Sir John's son James is admitted of the Inner Temple 1553 July 17 James Gresham, Sir John Gresham's son married Elizabeth Dormer, daughter of Edward Dormer Esq and his wife Katherine Dormer [who afterwards was the second wife of Sir John Gresham]

1556 October 23 Sir John Gresham died of the sweating sickness