Robert Large (died 1441) was a London merchant, a member of the
Worshipful Company of Mercers
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 ...
, who was
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current m ...
and a
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 ...
.
He was served as one of the Mercers' four yearly wardens in 1427 and was
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 ...
in 1430-31. In 1437/8, he was the wealthy master to whom the young
William Caxton
William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer to be the first English retailer of printed books.
His parentage a ...
was apprenticed. He was
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 ...
in 1435 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 ...
as one of the two aldermanic representatives and was elected Lord Mayor in 1439-40.
He died in 1441, and his will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
The publication of a 100-page book about him entitled ''The Life and Family of Robert Large, mercer: mayor of London 1439-1440 and first employer of William Caxton'' by David Large was announced in ''Genealogists' Magazine'', journal of the
Society of Genealogists
The Society of Genealogists (SoG) is a UK-based educational charity, founded in 1911Fowler, S School of Advanced Study, University of London. Date unknown. Retrieved 2011-10-30. to "promote, encourage and foster the study, science and knowledge ...
, London, volume 29, number 7, September 2008, and was issued by the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, Oak House, Vowchurch, Hereford HR2 0RB, England.
See also
*
List of Sheriffs of the City of London
*
List of Lord Mayors of London
List of all mayors and lord mayors of London (leaders of the City of London Corporation, and first citizens of the City of London, from medieval times). Until 1354, the title held was Mayor of London. The dates are those of election to of ...
*
City of London (elections to the Parliament of England)
The City of London was a parliamentary constituency of the Parliament of England until 1707.
Boundaries and history to 1707
This borough constituency consisted of the City of London, which was the historic core of the modern Greater London. I ...
References
External links
*http://www.bl.uk/treasures/caxton/merchant.html (Caxton and Large)
*http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45561 (Mayors and Sheriffs of London)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Large, Robert
Year of birth unknown
1441 deaths
Sheriffs of the City of London
English MPs 1435
Members of the Parliament of England for the City of London
15th-century lord mayors of London
15th-century English businesspeople