Sir Henry Colet (died 1505) was twice

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 pow ...

Life

He was the third son of Robert Colet of Wendover, Buckinghamshire. He came to London in youth; he was apprenticed to a mercer, and soon became one of the wealthiest members of the

Mercers' Company The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in the order of precedence of the Companies. It is the first of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies. Although of even older origin, the c ...

. He was elected alderman of Farringdon ward without 15 November 1476, and

Sheriff 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 ...

on 21 June 1477. He became alderman of

Castle Baynard Castle Baynard is one of the 25 wards of the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. Features The ward covers an irregularly shaped area, sometimes likened to a tuning fork, bounded on the east by the wards of Queenhith ...

, in exchange for Farringdon ward, 1 February 1483–4, and was removed to Cornhill ward on 7 March 1487–8. He was chosen mayor for the first time on 13 October 1486. During his mayoralty he rebuilt at his own expense the cross in West Cheap, and when Henry VII married Elizabeth of York (13 January 1486–7), Colet was knighted. According to the churchwardens' accounts of the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, he was granted a release from serving the office of mayor for the second time, 20 July 1495, but he was nevertheless re-elected 13 October following, and did not decline the honour. he was also elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the

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 f ...

in 1487 and 1489. He and his wife, Dame Christian Colet, begot 22 children, one of whom,

John Colet John Colet (January 1467 – 16 September 1519) was an English Catholic priest and educational pioneer. John Colet was an English scholar, Renaissance humanist, theologian, member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and Dean of St Paul's C ...

was an English Humanist who founded

St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , h ...

, in 1509. He purchased an estate and a fine house at Stepney, and there he died in 1505, being buried in Stepney Church, of which his son John was at one time vicar. His London residence was situated in the parish of St. Antholin, and Stow states that a painted window containing portraits of himself and his family was erected to his memory in St. Antholin's Church, to which Colet was a great benefactor. His tomb at Stepney was twice repaired by the Mercers' Company, in 1605 and 1697.

References

;Attribution *

Sources

* 1505 deaths People from Wendover Sheriffs of the City of London Members of the Parliament of England for the City of London Year of birth unknown 15th-century lord mayors of London {{Lord-Mayor-of-London-stub

Life

See also

References

Sources