William de la Pole (Chief Baron of the Exchequer)

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1796 drawing of effigies of Sir William de la Pole and his wife Katherine de Norwich, in Holy Trinity Church, Kingston upon Hull

Sir William de la Pole (died 21 June 1366) was a wealthy wool merchant from Kingston upon Hull in Yorkshire, England, who became a royal moneylender and briefly served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He founded the de la Pole family, Earls of Lincoln, Earls of Suffolk and Dukes of Suffolk, which by his mercantile and financial prowess he raised from relative obscurity to one of the primary families of the realm in a single generation.[1][2] At the end of the 14th century he was described in the 'Chronicle of Melsa' as "second to no other merchant of England" (nulli Angligenae mercatori postea secundus fuit).[3][4] He was the founder of the Charterhouse Monastery, Kingston upon Hull.

Origins

William de la Pole is generally held to be the second eldest of three brothers; he had an elder brother and associate Richard de la Pole (died 1345) who was also a merchant, and a younger brother, John.[5] His date of birth has been estimated from 1290 to 1295 or possibly earlier.[6]

William de la Pole, 19th-century statue, Kingston upon Hull

His early life is obscure, the identity of his parents and of their names are not conclusively known.[7] There is much confusion and differing opinion on William's parentage, though a father William, of either Ravenser or Hull, is referred to in a number of sources. Historical research may have been muddled by the presence of more than one William de la Pole in Hull in the first half of the 14th century, but a younger one was the son of William's brother Richard, therefore William's nephew.[8] A.S. Harvey found no documentary evidence for a man named William de la Pole in either Hull or Ravenser prior to Richard and William, and on the two brothers he stated: "Neither their parentage nor place of origin seem to have been revealed by the brothers and these remain unsolved mysteries."[9] Several Victorian era sources make the statement that his father was called William de la Pole,[10][11][12] as do the 17th century historians William Dugdale and William Camden.[13] Frost (1827) notes that the description of the father's status is subject to contradiction by historians; in some sources he is described as a merchant, in others as a knight.[10] A link to a William de la Pole, merchant of Totnes, has also been suggested but lacks evidence.[11]

1880 portrait of de la Pole by Thomas Tindall Wildridge

A number of sources identify Elena as the mother of William and Richard, and as wife of William the father;[14] Elena is said to have remarried to a John Rotenheryng, merchant of Hull, after the father's death.[10] Harvey (1957) surmises that the identification of Elena as the mother of William is an error, based on a misinterpretation of the text of the will of John Rotenhering;[n 1] Harvey (1957) concludes that the brothers were orphans of an important family, and that John Rotenhering (of Hull) and Robert Rotenhering (of Ravenser), both important merchants, acted as guardians.[16] John Rotenhering appears to have acted as the de la Pole brothers' guardian; much of his property passed to the brothers after his heir Alicia died in 1340 with no descendants.[16]

Fryde states that neither his father's name nor his father's occupation are accurately known.[17]

Frost (1827) proposes that Wiliam's father was Sir William de la Pole of Powysland (d.1305), fourth son of Sir Griffin de la Pole,[n 2] Harvey (1957) suggests that the brothers' parents may have been Sir Lewis (Llywelyn) de la Pole (d.1294) and his wife Sibilla, and their grandfather Sir Griffin de la Pole of London.[16] Circumstantial evidence for a more knightly and less mercantile background is provided by the brothers' tutelage under important merchants and subsequent rapid rise, which included close links to the crown.[18]

Career

Both William and his brother were originally merchants in Ravenser; by the 1310s he had moved to

mayor of the town of Hull, a position he held until 1335; he also represented Hull in Parliament in several years of the 1330s.[19] William and Richard de la Pole formally dissolved their partnership in 1331.[25][26]

William was increasingly in the service of the king during the 1330s, both acquiring supplies as well as providing ships for his wars with the Scots, and commissioning and commandeering ships for the dynastic dispute with France that became known as the

Knight Banneret, and on 26 September 1339 he was made Baron of the Exchequer.[4]

In 1340 William and Richard de la Pole, as well as

Carthusian house dedicated to St. Michael (see Charterhouse, Kingston upon Hull).[33][4][n 4]

Death and burial

He died on 22 June 1366.

Holy Trinity Church, Hull, at the tomb commonly known as the de la Pole tomb.[n 5] Fryde and others state that his final interment was with his wife Katherine (d.1382) in the church of the Carthusian monastery in Hull, which was not established until 1377.[36][37]

Marriage and issue

He married Katherine de Norwich, a daughter of Sir Walter de Norwich.[38] She died on 28 January 1382.[35] They had four sons and two daughters:[n 6][4]

Notable descendants

The descendants of William de la Pole were notable figures in English history for the next 150 years, including several Dukes of Suffolk, and descendants who took part in the actions of the 'Hundred Years' War' with France. The family's fortunes changed with the loss of the English throne by the House of York in the late 15th century. His direct male descendants included:

Notes

  1. ^ Elena wife of John Rotenhering's pre-marriage surname was le Flekere, known in Wyke upon Hull during that period.[15]
  2. ^ This claim contradicts the idea that his father's widow was called Elena, as this William de la Pole's widow was called Gladys (d.1344) and did not remarry.[15]
  3. ^ Kingsford gives a written date of at least 1318,[19] and Fryde gives 1317.[20] Fox Bourne states 1316 and supposed the brothers were operating there several years earlier.[21]
  4. The Charterhouse.[34]
  5. ^ e.g. Fox Bourne 1866, p. 68
  6. ^ Gent mentions only three children; Michael, Margaret and Edmund.[38]

References

  1. ^ Fryde 1988, p. 1.
  2. ^ Fryde 1962, pp. 17–18.
  3. ^ de Burton 1868, p. 48.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Kingsford 1896, p. 50.
  5. ^ Fox Bourne 1866, p. 52.
  6. ^ Fryde 1988, p. 11.
  7. ISBN 978-0-00-716222-2
    .
  8. ^ Harvey 1957, pp. 2–4.
  9. ^ Harvey 1957, pp. 2, 4.
  10. ^ a b c Frost 1827, De la Pole pedigree, note 'e', p. 31; and facing page to p. 31
  11. ^ a b Sheahan, James Joseph (1864), General and concise history and description of the town and port of Kingston-upon-Hull, Simpkin, Marshall & Co., note 'a', p. 35
  12. ^ Kingsford 1896.
  13. ^ Harvey 1957, pp. 2–3.
  14. ^ Kingsford 1896, p. 48.
  15. ^ a b Harvey 1957, p. 3.
  16. ^ a b c Harvey 1957, p. 4.
  17. ^ Fryde 1988, pp. 9–10.
  18. ^ Harvey 1957, pp. 4–5.
  19. ^ a b c d Kingsford 1896, p. 49.
  20. ^ a b Fryde 2004.
  21. ^ Fox Bourne 1866, p. 55.
  22. ^ Fryde 1988, pp. 11, 13.
  23. ^ Fryde 1988, pp. 14–15.
  24. ^ Fryde 1988, p. 17.
  25. ^ Fryde 1988, pp. 21–22.
  26. ^ Frost 1827, Appendix, "Deed of Partition between Richard De La Pole and William De La Pole, dated 12 July 1331, p. 39.
  27. ^ Fox Bourne 1866, pp. 58–60.
  28. ^ Fryde 1988, pp. 25–28.
  29. ^ Fryde 2004, The Dordrecht scheme and its consequences, 1337–1341.
  30. ^ Fox Bourne 1866, pp. 62–3.
  31. ^ a b Fox Bourne 1866, pp. 65–67.
  32. ^ Fryde 2004, Trials and tribulations, 1341–1354.
  33. ^ Gent 1869, pp. 68–70.
  34. ^ Fox Bourne 1866, p. 67.
  35. ^ a b Fox Bourne 1866, p. 68.
  36. ^ Fryde 2004, Last years and family fortunes.
  37. ^ Badham, Sally (August 2012), "A Monument in Holy Trinity Church Hull", Monument of the Month, The Church Monuments Society, retrieved 6 October 2012
  38. ^ a b Gent 1869, p. 67.

Sources

External links

Media related to William de la Pole (d.1366) at Wikimedia Commons

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