The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-29 00:00:00

MEMOIR OF SIR T. GRESHAM.

The Gresham family were of considerable importance
in the fourteenth century. They are supposed to have
taken their name from the village of Gresham in Norfolk.
John Gresham is mentioned as residing there, and his
son James appears to have been clerk to Sir William
Paston, the judge. James Gresham hid a son named
John, who married Alice Blyth, daughter of Alexander
Blyth, Esq., of Stratton. She brought him a large fur-
tune, and became the mother of four sons, William,
Thomas, Richard, and John. The two younger received
the honour of knighthood from King Henry the Eighth,
and Sir Richard was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham.
Of the four brothers, three devoted themselves to CORI-.
mercial pusuits; the fourth, Thomas, became Prebendary
of Winchester, and in 1.535 was collated to the chan-
cellorship of the cathedral of Lichfield.
The Greshams acted a conspicuous part in the days of
Henry VIII. and Edward VI. To his uncle, Sir John,
Thomas Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange, was
apprenticed, as he writes, " for viii. yeres." His uncle
and master was frequently employed as the agent of
King Henry in Flanders; he made a considerable fortune,
and died of a malignant fever in 1556, leaving to the
Mercers' Company by his will 131. 6s. Sd. for a feast, and
desiring them, after dinner, to " have his soul in remem-
brance with their prayers." Sir Richard, his brother,
the father of Sir Thomas, became an eminent merchant,
and in 1537 was elected Lord Mayor of London. He
was evidently in favour with the King,-from whom he re-
ceived five grants of church-lands. He closed his life
at Bethnal-green, Feb. 21, 1548-9.
His son Thomas was sent to Cambridge, but at an early
period of his career was engaged in important commer-
cial negotiations. We find, in 1543, a license granted
by the Regent of the Low Countries, Margaret, Queen
of Hungary, for the exportation of gunpowder, was de-
livered to :‘ yonge Thomas Gresham, solycitor," to the
King of England.
He married, about the year 1544, Anne, the daughter
of William Ferneley, Esq., of West Creting, in Suffolk,
and widow of William Read, a gentleman of good family,
who is styled by himself in his will " citizen and mercer
• of London," who died early in 1544—the same year
which saw his widow become the wife of Gresham. By
her he had several children, all of whom, with the excep-
tion of a son named Richard, who lived to approach ma-
turity, died in their infancy.
In connexion with his uncle's affairs, he had become
intimately acquainted with the money market of Flan-
ders, and in consequence was appointed agent, or" King's
factor with the trading interest," or " King's merchant,"
a situation of importance and trust, which had formerly
been granted to William de la Pole, father of Michael
Earl of Suffolk. It was on occasion of the disgrace of
Sir William Dansell, who filled the same post in the time
of Edward VI., that Gresham was sent for, about the
close of 1551, and interrogated by the Council as to the
best manner of getting the King out of debt. This
caused him to remove with his wife to Antwerp, where
he took up his abode with the family of the Schetz.
During the-two first years of his being engaged in the
public service, he posted from Antwerp no fewer than
forty times. Between the Ist of March, 1552, and the
27th of July, his payments amounted to 106,3011. 4s. 4d.;
his travelling expenses for riding in and out eight times
1021. 10s. including a supper and a banquet to the
Sehetz and the Fuggers, with whom he had to transact
business-2GI. being equal, Mr. Burgon calculates, to
2501. at the present day. The feast must have been one
of great magnificence, as the guests appear to have been
not more than twenty. On such occasions Gresham
deemed it policy " to make as good chere as he could."
Intwood Hall, near Norwich, built by Sir Richard
Gresham, was his country seat in England, which was
often the scene of elegant hospitality. His London es-
tablishment was in Lombard-street, then the handsomest
street in London, where he had a shop, over the door of
which his crest, a grasshopper, appeared by way of sign,
the common usage of the merchants and bankers of that
time. The site of Sir Thomas Gresham's place of busi-
ness is now occupied by the banking-house of Messrs.
Stone, Martins, and Stone. From the nature of his
engagements, he was compelled, for the greater part of
his time, to reside with his family at Antwerp. His
exertions met with the distinct approbation of his royal
master. He bestowed on Gresham a gift of lands of the
value of one hundred pounds per annum, accompanying
it with the remark, " you shall know that you have
served a king."
When Queen Mary succeeded her brother, Gresham
found himself superseded. This be thought he owed to
the hostility of the Bishop of Winchester. He memo-
rialised Mary, and set forth the valuable services he had
rendered to her brother, which had been requited in the
manner already described. His representations, or the
inefficiency of his successor, led to his being speedily re-
instated. From the correspondence preserved in the
State Paper-office, of which Mr. Burgon has largely
availed himself, it is clear that he used great activity as
well as much skill and prudence, in raising money for
the Queen. It was customary to pay a rate of interest
that would now be regarded as enormous on a loan.
Great difficulty was found in obtaining money; and when
parties were willing tolend, to claim 10, 12, or 14 per
cent. per annum was not thought at all out of the way.
After negotiating several loans, Gresham felt that, in-
stead of sending such larget sums abroad, it would be a
desirable thing to secur for the capitalist at home.
With the eye of a stasm:
wsaw that it would be
more convenient for the borroe tr.whThe still more
profitable system of " repudiation eh borrows and
refuses all payment, never occurred to him.
It is not unworthy of remark, that in all
transactions Sir Thomas seems to have been in
advance
aodan
of the age in which he lived. To serve King Edward
while at Antwerp, he devised a scheme for operating on
the currency, so as to reader the exchanges favourable