Sir Bartholomew Reade (or Rede; died 1505) was an English goldsmith and politician who served as

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

Family

Reade was born in Cromer,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. His parents were Roger Reade (d. 1470) and his wife Catherine, and he had at least two siblings, John and Simon. He was already well-established in

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 majo ...

by 1486, when he is mentioned in his mother's will as a "citizen and goldsmith of London". Rye, Walterbr>"Cromer, Past and Present"
pg. 51

Offices

Reade, a goldsmith, was for several years the Master of the Mint. Along with Lord Daubeney, he was commissioned to mint the first gold sovereigns in 1489. He was one of the

Sheriffs of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

in 1497. Two years later, he was alderman of the ward of

Aldersgate Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City. The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix denot ...

. He was elected Lord Mayor of London in 1502, succeeding fellow goldsmith

John Shaa Sir John Shaa or Shaw (died c. 1503) was a London goldsmith. He served as engraver and later joint Master of the Mint, and as Sheriff and Lord Mayor of London. While Lord Mayor he entertained ambassadors from Scotland, and was among those who ...

. During his mayoralty, he used

Crosby Place Crosby Hall is a historic building in London. The Great Hall was built in 1466 and originally known as Crosby Place in Bishopsgate, in the City of London. It was moved in 1910 to its present site in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea. It now forms part of a ...

, which he had acquired in 1501, as his hall. He is recorded as throwing extravagant feasts for ambassadors sent by Emperor Maximilian. Chaffers, Williambr>"Gilda Aurifabrorum"
pg. 35-36

Death

Reade died in 1505. He and his wife were interred at the church of

St John Zachary St John Zachary (meaning "St John, son of St Zachary", i.e. John the Baptist) was a church, first mentioned in official records in 1181, within the City of London, England, on the north side of Gresham Street, Aldersgate. Its vicar from 25 May ...

, the burial place of many of the city's prominent goldsmiths.

Stow, John John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles'', ''The C ...

br>"A Survey of London"
pg. 305 In his will, he established a free school in his home town of Cromer, under the management of the Goldsmiths' Company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reade, Bartholomew 15th-century births Year of birth unknown 1505 deaths Sheriffs of the City of London 16th-century lord mayors of London English goldsmiths