Sir Richard Lyons (1310–1381) was a prosperous

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

merchant, financier, and property developer, who held a monopoly on the sale of sweet wine in London, during the 14th century. He was a Privy Counsellor, an Alderman of the City, and a member of the

Worshipful Company of Vintners The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of the oldest Livery Companies of the City of London, England, thought to date back to the 12th century. It is one of the "Great Twelve" livery companies of London, and its motto is ''Vinum Exhilarat A ...

, and served as both as

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

and MP for Essex. Lyons was a lifelong friend of the poet

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

. Lyons was killed by

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (c. 1320/4 January 1341 – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the institution of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms. Wh ...

during the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Blac ...

Family and Friends

Sir Richard was the most famous member of the

Lyons family The Lyons family (originally styled de Lyons, or de Leonne, Lyonne, and also spelled Lyon) is an eminent Anglo-Norman family descended from Ingelram de Lyons, Lord of Lyons, who arrived in England with the Norman Conquest, and from his relation ...

during the 14th century: he was a member of the

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 ...

branch of the family. He was an illegitimate son of a Lyons father and a Flemish mother. Lyons was a lifelong friend of the poet

and Chaucer’s father, a fellow vintner. Lyons employed Geoffrey as his deputy or Comptroller: although Lyons consistently engaged in vast fraud, on an unprecedented scale, of which Geoffrey Chaucer were necessarily aware, Geoffrey Chaucer repeatedly certified to the Exchequer, in 1374 and 1375, that no fraud was being committed by Lyons. Lyons was also a lifelong friend of

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

City of London Career

One of the leading merchants in the

, Lyons was a

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

, merchant (in wine, wool, cloth, iron, and lead), shipowner, and property-developer. He had extensive business interests in Flanders and was extensively involved in overseas trade. He was an Alderman of the

, a member of the

, and served as

. Lyons was knighted and served as

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

and as Edward III's financial agent. He was also the Head of a Commission convened to investigate an attack on Portuguese merchant ships, in 1371, Keeper of the King’s Monies at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, in 1375, Collector of the Petty Customs, in 1373, and Collector of Customs and Subsidies in 1375.

Monopoly on Sale of Sweet Wine

By virtue of his fraudulent engineering on the wine market, Lyons secured a practical monopoly on the London wine market, which lasted until his impeachment: he leased, from the City, the only three taverns in London permitted to sell sweet wines. It has been surmised that he acted as a broker for the Bardi banking family of Florence, from whom he took a large commission.

Prosperity

Lyons was extremely rich: At the time of his death, he owned lands in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Suffolk,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, in addition to several properties in London, including a large house contiguous with the Guildhall of the merchants of the Hanse of Germany, in Thames Street, and property situated in Cosyn Lane in the Ropery. The Elizabethan antiquary John Stow noted that Lyons’s effigy, at

St Martin Vintry St Martin Vintry was a parish church in the Vintry ward of the City of London, England. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and never rebuilt. History The church stood at what is now the junction of Queen Street and Upper Thames ...

, London, featured a large purse: in the words of D. Carlson, ‘the man was a wallet’.

Fraud and Extortion

Together with his close associate and fellow Privy Counsellor, William Latimer, 4th Baron Latimer, the King’s Chamberlain, Lyons was involved in some monumental financial frauds, including extortion, the deliberate retardation of the market at several ports, the engineering of the increase of the prices of foreign imports throughout the kingdom, and the abuse of Lyons’s position as collector of the

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

subsidy to export his wool otherwise than through the staple at Calais, thereby avoiding duties. For this, Lyons and Latimer were impeached by the Good Parliament: this was the first case of impeachment in law. Following his impeachment, Lyons attempted to bribe

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, su ...

, to whom he sent £1000 disguised as a barrel of sturgeon: Edward refused to accept the bribe and imprisoned Lyons. However, Edward died later in 1376, after which Lyons, due to his favour with

, was pardoned. Lyons served as MP for Essex in 1380. Lyons established a perpetual chantry foundation at the Church of St James Garlickhithe, to which he donated vestments embroidered with lions. He is commemorated at the Church.

Death

Lyons was beheaded, at

Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...

, on 14 June 1381, by

during the

Peasants’ Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

of 1381.

Froissart Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: '' Jehan'', – ) (also John Froissart) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meliador'', a long Arthuria ...

suggests that Lyons was killed in revenge for historical mistreatment of Wat Tyler: the chronicler Knighton, in contradistinction, contends that the rebellious Peasants targeted Lyons as a consequence of his associations with fraud and extortion, which had produced his vast wealth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Richard 1310 births 1381 deaths Sheriffs of the City of London Impeached British officials Members of the Privy Council of England Prisoners in the Tower of London 14th-century English businesspeople English MPs January 1380 14th century in London