William Sevenoke (died 1432) was a grocer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

in 1418, and as warden of London Bridge,

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of Bishopsgate Ward, alderman of Tower Ward, Warden of the Grocers' Company, Sheriff of London, Member of Parliament for the City of

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 ...

and Surveyor of the King's works at Isleworth.

Life

Sevenoke is said to have been an

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

, found in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

, Kent and adopted by William Rumschedde. Apprenticed to Henry Bois as an

ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...

, in 1397 he successfully petitioned to be readmitted as a

grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food preservation, packaged ...

, since Bois had actually belonged to the Grocers' Mystery. He rose to prominence, being appointed Warden of

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

for 1404–06 and serving as Auditor of London in 1399, 1409–11 and 1414. He became an alderman in 1412 and

for 1418–19. He was selected, as one of the two aldermanic representatives, the M.P. 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 fr ...

in 1417. Upon his death and resulting from a will dated 4 July 1432 he donated funds for the foundation of almshouses and a school in the town of

. These are still in existence and are now known as

Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks School is a highly selective coeducational independent school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. It is the second oldest non-denominational school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432, only behind Oswestry (1407). Over 1,000 day pupils ...

and Sevenoaks Almshouses.Sevenoaks Almshouses
/ref>

William Lambarde William Lambarde (18 October 1536 – 19 August 1601) was an English antiquarian, writer on legal subjects, and politician. He is particularly remembered as the author of ''A Perambulation of Kent'' (1576), the first English county history; ''E ...

gave an account of the life of Sevenoke and the foundation of the school and almshouses in ''A Perambulation of Kent'' (1576), suggesting that his decision to establish the institutions may have been inspired by his early history.

John Stow 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 ...

refers to William Sevenoke's civic roles and the founding of the school and almshouses in his ''Survey of London'' (1603), as does

Anthony Munday Anthony Munday (or Monday) (1560?10 August 1633) was an English playwright and miscellaneous writer. He was baptized on 13 October 1560 in St Gregory by St Paul's, London, and was the son of Christopher Munday, a stationer, and Jane Munday. He ...

in ''A Brief Chronicle'' (1611). A fictional account of the life of Sevenoke, as a famous Londoner who rose from

rags to riches Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popula ...

, is given by

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

Nine Worthies of London ''Nine Worthies of London'' is a book by Richard Johnson, the English romance writer, written in 1592. Borrowing the theme from the Nine Worthies of Antiquity, the book, subtitled ''Explaining the Honourable Excise of Armes, the Vertues of the ...

(1592).

References

External links

The History of Parliament
* Dictionary of National Biography 1885-1900
History of Sevenoaks School
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sevenoke, William English MPs 1417 15th-century lord mayors of London 15th-century English businesspeople English philanthropists Members of the Parliament of England for the City of London 1370s births Year of birth uncertain 1432 deaths

Life

See also

References

External links