# Edward Latymer

Edward Latymer (c.1557– January 1627) was a wealthy legal official in London. His will established both Latymer Upper School and The Latymer School and is associated with Godolphin and Latymer School.

## Life

Edward was the older son of William Latymer, a cleric who later became Dean of Peterborough. When the Catholic Mary I of England came to the throne, his father's position became untenable, and he retired to Ipswich close to the family estates at Freston. This is where Edward was born in 1557. In the next year, Elizabeth I of England came to the throne and William Latymer was restored to his former positions, and became the Treasurer of Westminster Abbey. Edward was educated living in the Deanery at Peterborough. He went to study at St John's College, Cambridge at the age of fourteen and left in 1575 (there is no record of his graduation). There is a following gap in his records for twenty three years.
Latymer was a clerk in the Court of Wards and Liveries, a position involving collecting debts. Over the next 25 years he became a man of wealth from his fees, particularly from complex inheritance cases. He lived most of his adult life at 'the Signe of the Cocke' in Ramme Alley in the Parish of St Dunstan's in the City of London. In 1615, he purchased a small country property in Edmonton. In 1622, he purchased the Manor of Butterwick in Hammersmith; it consisted of 120 acres (49 ha) of land including meadows, pasture, and woods, the manor house, two houses on Brook Green, and four cottages.

## Bequest and death

Latymer never married and did not have children, and made his will in 1625 (but it was dated 1624). He gave most of his wealth to the people of Hammersmith and the Parish of St Dunstan's, today Latymer Upper School, and a less generous bequest for the Parish of Edmonton, today The Latymer School. This provided, amongst other things, clothing and education for eight poor boys of Edmonton and eight of Fulham (which then included Hammersmith). The clothing, which incorporated a red cross on the left sleeve, was to be distributed twice a year on Ascension Day and All Saints' Day, and the boys were to learn reading in English and 'God's true religion' at existing petty schools, until the age of thirteen. Separate groups of trustees administered the property on behalf of the boys in the two parishes.
The main source of this income was the rental from his property situated at Pymmes Brook on the main road to Scotland, which later became a coaching inn The Bell, and was renamed The Angel in 1780. It was demolished in 1968 through a compulsory purchase order for the widening of the North Circular Road.
Edward died in January 1627 and was buried in the south aisle of St Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street on the 20th. His relations challenged his will in the Court of Chancery, resulting in a seven-year delay before the bequests could take effect while the case was fought.
Latimer Road, a road in Kensington, and the nearby tube station, are both named after Edward Latymer, as are Latymer Road and Latymer Way in Edmonton.

## Sources

* ↑ Wheatly, William (1936). Edward Latymer and his Foundations. Cambridge University Press. pp. 40–44.
* ↑ "Latimer, Edward (LTMR571E)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
* 1 2 Cockburn, J. S.; King, H. P. F.; McDonnell, K. G. T., eds. (1969). "Schools: Latymer and Godolphin Schools". A History of the County of Middlesex. Vol. 1. London: British History Online. pp. 305–306. Retrieved 2 July 2024. (Public Domain)
* ↑ Cockburn, J. S.; King, H. P. F.; McDonnell, K. G. T., eds. (1969). "Bradmore House". A History of the County of Middlesex. Vol. 1. London: British History Online. pp. 305–306. Retrieved 9 November 2024. (Public Domain)
* ↑ According to the Old Style or Julian Calendar the year began on 25 March. This was changed in 1752 when the New Style or Gregorian Calendar was adopted. The eleven days between 2 September and 14 September were omitted and the beginning of the year was moved to 1 January. One year should therefore be added to all dates between 1 January and 24 March inclusive although on old registers, etc., the historical year 1627. To avoid confusion January 1626 should be written as January 1626/7, or 1626/7. Similarly the will, although dated 1624, really belongs to the historical year 1625.
* ↑ London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P69/Dun2/A/001/Ms010342
* ↑ Bebbington, Gillian (1972). London Street Names. Batsford. p. 193.