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John Thomson (fraudster)
John Thomson was warehousekeeper to the Charitable Corporation, but participated in a fraudulent scheme that deprived it of the bulk of its assets. Background John Thomson was a Scot, the son of another John Thomson. Charitable Corporation The Charitable Corporation was a pawnbroking enterprise, making loans against goods at "lawful interest" (then 5%) and "reasonable charges" (amounting to another 5%). John Thomson was appointed the keeper of their main warehouse in Fenchurch Street, London on 15 November 1725, he was appointed warehouse keeper and Mr Clarke was appointed surveyor. Six months later, Clarke was instructed to report on the deficienicy in securities (goods pledged) there, but this was followed by Thomson procuring Clarke's removal from office. His key to the warehouse was then delivered to a menial servant of the company. This gave Thomson unrestricted access to the warehouse. The Partnerships of Five and of Four Thomson joined with the banker and broker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charitable Corporation
The Charitable Corporation was an institution in Britain intended to provide loans at low interest to the deserving poor, including by large-scale pawnbroking. It was established by charter in 1707. Its full title was "Charitable Corporation for the relief of the industrious poor by assisting them with small sums upon pledges at legal interest". It became dishonest, and Tobias Smollett, Smollett called it a "''nefarious corporation''". Certain of the directors speculated wildly and lost most of the shareholders' money. Origin The original object was that small tradesmen might obtain loans by depositing a pledge in the corporation's warehouse, so that they might not have to sell goods at an undervalue when suffering cash flow difficulties. The initial capital was £30,000.''The nature of the Charitable Corporation and its relation to trade, considered'' (1732: copy in University of London, Goldsmiths' library; available from Eighteenth Century Collections Online – subscription n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fenchurch Street
Fenchurch Street is a street in London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of many corporate offices and headquarters. The name "Fenchurch" means "church in the fenny or marshy ground" and presumably refers to St Gabriel Fenchurch, which stood at the junction of Fenchurch Street and Cullum Street until it was destroyed by the Great Fire. To the south of Fenchurch Street and towards its eastern end is Fenchurch Street railway station, a mainline terminus with services towards east London and Essex. Other notable sites include the commercial buildings at 20 Fenchurch Street and 30 Fenchurch Street (formerly known as ''Plantation Place''). Streetscape Fenchurch Street is home to many shops, pubs and offices, including 20 Fenchurch Street, a 525 ft tall skyscraper completed in 2014. Located at No. 71 is Lloyd's Register, where th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Robinson (swindler)
George Robinson was an English stockbroker and swindler in the 1720s and early 1730s. A banker in Lombard Street, he was appointed the circulating cashier of the Charitable Corporation. In 1727 he was one of the Corporation's 'Partnership of Five' (with Sir Alexander Grant, William Burroughs, William Squire and John Thomson) who began buying up shares. He and several officers of the Corporation obtained money from it by pawning false pledges, and proceeded to engage in a large scale speculation in the shares of that company and York Buildings Company, also borrowing against the shares purchased so that his partners failed to get what they bought. Robinson obtained a seat in the House of Commons when he was elected MP for Great Marlow in 1731, but was unable to sit before the affair began to come to light. He fled to France with Thomson, the warehouse-keeper, in October. They were both declared bankrupt. Robinson was back by 25 November and appeared before the General Court of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Archibald Grant, 2nd Baronet
Sir Archibald Grant, 2nd Baronet (25 September 1696 – 17 September 1778), of Monymusk, Aberdeen, was a company speculator and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1732. He was expelled from the House of Commons for his involvement in the frauds on the Charitable Corporation, and returned to Scotland where he devoted his time to improving his estate. Background Grant was the eldest son of Sir Francis Grant, 1st Baronet, of Cullen of Buchan, Banff, and his first wife Jean Meldrum, daughter of Rev. William Meldrum of Meldrum, Aberdeen. His father, a Lord of Session, with the judicial title of Lord Cullen, had purchased the estate of Monymusk in 1713 after selling his ancestral estate in Banffshire.R. H. Campbell, ‘Grant, Sir Archibald, of Monymusk, second baronet (1696–1778)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200 accessed 30 Oct 2009. Grant succeeded to Monymusk and the Grant baronets, baronetcy on his father's d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
York Buildings Company
The York Buildings Company was an English company in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Waterworks The full name of the company was The Governor and Company for raising the Thames Water at York Buildings. The undertaking was established in 1675 and incorporated in 1690 with a capital of £4,800 (), but obtained a private bill, private act in 1691 to increase its capital and enable it to buy lands. As might be expected this provided the company with a steady, but unspectacular income from the rents paid by the householders supplied with water. Water supply was its sole business until 1719. The company was technologically advanced for its time. It tried the steam pump of Thomas Savery, a precursor of the steam engine, though this proved a failure. In 1726, a Newcomen engine was installed at York Buildings Water Tower, York Buildings but when the company fell into financial difficulties in 1732 the engine was broken up, cylinders being sold to the London Lead Company and Sir J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Gazette
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as ''Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city#National capitals, Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national Government of the United Kingdom, government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the Counties of England, counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rome
, established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption = The territory of the ''comune'' (''Roma Capitale'', in red) inside the Metropolitan City of Rome (''Città Metropolitana di Roma'', in yellow). The white spot in the centre is Vatican City. , pushpin_map = Italy#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Italy##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = yes , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Italy , subdivision_type2 = Region , subdivision_name2 = Lazio , subdivision_type3 = Metropolitan city , subdivision_name3 = Rome Capital , government_footnotes= , government_type = Strong Mayor–Council , leader_title2 = Legislature , leader_name2 = Capitoline Assemb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. The structure was once the tallest building in Rome. Hadrian's tomb The tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian, also called Hadrian's mole, was erected on the right bank of the Tiber, between AD 134 and 139. Originally the mausoleum was a decorated cylinder, with a garden top and golden quadriga. Hadrian's ashes were placed here a year after his death in Baiae in 138, together with those of his wife Sabina, and his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, who died in 138. Following this, the remains of succeeding emperors were also placed here, the last recorded deposition being Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Sutton (diplomat)
Sir Robert Sutton (167113 August 1746) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1741. Early life Sutton was the elder son of Robert Sutton of Averham, Nottinghamshire, and his wife, Katherine, the daughter of the Revd William Sherborne of Pembridge, Herefordshire. He was great-nephew of the 1st Baron Lexinton. He was admitted to Trinity College, Oxford in 1688 and went on to the Middle Temple in 1691. Diplomat Sutton was ordained a deacon and became chaplain to his cousin Robert Sutton, 2nd Baron Lexinton, English Envoy in Vienna in 1694. In 1697, he was appointed as secretary to the British legation there, and upon the departure of his cousin, became the English resident there. Lexinton then secured for him the nomination for English ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople on 5 December 1700, and he arrived in Adrianople on 7 January 1702. Sutton asked to be recalled on 6 May 1715. He remained there until the summer o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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