William Gregory, Lord Mayor of London

From Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 23 Gregory, William (d.1467) by James Gairdner

GREGORY , WILLIAM (d. 1467), chronicler, was the son of Roger Gregory of Mildenhall, Suffolk, and must have been born late in the fourteenth or early in the fifteenth century. He was a member of the Skinners' Company, and was lord mayor of London in 1451-2. A city chronicle under this date speaks of the papal indulgence that came from Rome in that year as ‘the greatest pardon that ever come to England, from the Conquest unto this time of my year being mayor of London.’ And, though the chronicle in question is continued in the only known manuscript (in Brit. Mus.) two years beyond Gregory's death, this passage leaves no doubt that he was the author down to the year of his mayoralty. He was a wealthy man, and in 1461 founded a chantry in the parish church of St. Anne and St. Agnes, Aldersgate, out of the rents of some property in the parish which he had purchased of a widow named Margaret Holmehegge and two other persons. On 6 Nov. 1465 he made his will, by which it appears that he had been three times married (his wives were named Joan, Julian, and Joan respectively), and had nine grandchildren, seven by one daughter and two by another. Besides providing for these and other relations he left liberal bequests to various hospitals and churches and other charities in the city, including one to the high altar of St. Mary Aldermary, in which parish he then resided, and also for an obit in Mildenhall Church. To this will he added a codicil on 2 Jan. 1466-7, and he must have died a day or two after, as the will was proved on the 23rd of the same month. He was buried in St. Anne's Church, Aldersgate. His chronicle has been printed in ‘Collections of a London Citizen’ (Camd. Soc.)

[Stow's Survey of London, ii. 121 (Strype's ed.); Herbert's Livery Companies, ii 318; Stowe MS. 958 in Brit. Mus.] J. G.

• Alfred P Beaven, 'Notes on the aldermen, 1240-1500', in The Aldermen of the City of London Temp. Henry III - 1912 (London, 1908), pp. 159-168 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/london-aldermen/hen3-191... [accessed 1 September 2015].
  • 1435 (D) (fn. 19)William Gregory, Skinner Cordwainer, 1435-61 S. 1436-7, M. 1451-2 vice Knolles Auditor 1429-31. Died January, 1467; Will [P.C.C. 15 Godyn] cod. January 2: proved January 23, 1467.
  • 1470. John Croke. Son-in-law of William Gregory, the Chronicler (Mayor 1451–2). His daughter married Sir William Stokker (Mayor 1485).
• The Historical Collections of A Citizen of London in the Fifteenth Century Edited by James Gairdner. This Camden Society volume is in three parts. The bulk of the book is the Chronicle of London by William Gregory, a London skinner and mayor of the fifteenth century. It also contains John Page's poem on the siege of Rouen and Lydgate's verses on the kings of England. Camden Record Society Old Series. Originally published by Camden Society, London, 1876.
  • The introduction ( pp.) describes the manuscript in which these texts are found. Gairdner discusses the evidence for William Gregory’s authorship of the chronicle. He then discusses the other texts in the manuscript, all of which survive in other manuscripts as well. He provides an overview of the events of the Siege of Rouen, the apex of Henry V’s second invasion of France. Gairdner then discusses what is known of William Gregory’s life, and points out some curious features of his will. He discusses some of the important features of Gregory’s chronicle, such as his account of the Jack Cade rebellion, some of the battles he describes, and his depictions of religious culture. Gairdner ends with a brief discussion of his editorial method.
• Medieval London Widows, 1300-1500.  Caroline Barron, Anne F. Sutton A&C Black, 1994 - History - 271 pages. "Margaret Croke.". page 143