- Richard Gresham
Sir Richard Gresham (1494 – 1549) was an English
merchant ,Lord Mayor of London, andmember of parliament . He was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham.Family
Gresham was born at
Holt, Norfolk , a member of an ancientNorfolk family (see the article on his brotherJohn Gresham ).By his first wife, Audrey Lynn (who died 28 Dec. 1522), he was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham. [Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee (1890). "Dictionary of National Biography." Macmillan, Vol. XXIII, pp. 141-42.]
His daughter Christian married the first Sir John Thynne, steward of
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , who builtLongleat . [Stephen (1890), p. 142.] Gresham is thus an ancestor of the Marquesses of Bath.Career
Gresham was admitted a liveryman of the
Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1507. [Stephen (1890), p. 139.] As a mercer, he was in partnership with his brother,John Gresham , in exporting textiles and importing 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 andMiddlesex in 1531 [Stephen (1890), p. 140.] and was knighted the same year. On 19 May 1536, he was present at the execution ofAnne Boleyn in theTower of London . He was elected asLord Mayor of London in 1537, [Stephen (1890), p. 140.] and on his death bedCardinal Wolsey called him his "fast-friend". Gresham paid for the Cardinal's funeral.He was elected as
member of parliament for theCity of London in 1539 and 1545.References
*"Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham" by J.W. Burgon (London, 1839, new edition 1968)
*1911|article=Sir Thomas Gresham|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Sir_Thomas_Gresham
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