Sir Stephen Soame was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

  in 1601. He was Lord Mayor of London.

Soame was the son of Thomas Soame, of Botely, alias Betely Norfolk and his wife Anne Lehunt widow of Richard Lehunt of Little Bradley Suffolk and daughter of Francis Knighton of Little Bradley.

Soame was originally a member of the Worshipful Company of Weavers

Worshipful Company of Weavers

The Worshipful Company of Weavers is the most ancient of the Livery Companies in the City of London. It existed in the year 1130, and was perhaps formed earlier. The Company received a Royal Charter in 1180. At present, the Company retains a connection to textiles through its contributions to the...

, but was ineligible to the office of Lord Mayor "on accounte of belongyng "to an inferior Companie and not one of the twelve greate "Companies," and so petitioned to be admitted to the Worshipful Company of Grocers

Worshipful Company of Grocers

The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London. It is ranked second in the order of precedence of the Companies and, having been established in 1345, is one of the original Great Twelve City Livery Companies....

. He served as Sheriff of London in 1589 and was Lord Mayor of London

Lord Mayor of London

The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...

 in 1598. In 1601, Soame was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for City of London

City of London (UK Parliament constituency)

The City of London was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950.-Boundaries and boundary...

.

Soame made considerable charitable donations. He restored the great north window of St Paul's Cathedral, restored the roof of Grocers' Hall and gave the company £10 for bread for the poor. He built a free school at Little Thurlow

Little Thurlow

Little Thurlow is a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around a mile north-east of sister village Great Thurlow, and four miles north of Haverhill, in 2005 its population was 230.-External links:...

 with maintenance for a master and usher and erected almeshouses for nine poor people.

Soame died at the age of 77 at his mansion house in Little Thurlow and was buried in the church at Little Thurlow..

Soame married married Anne Stone daughter of William Stone, haberdasher of London and his wife Mercy Gray daughter of John Gray of Barley, Hertfordshire. His son Thomas Soame

Thomas Soame

Sir Thomas Soame was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1648.Soame was the son of Sir Stephen Soame and his wife Anne Stone daughter of William Stone, haberdasher of London and his wife Mercy Gray daughter of John Gray of Barley, Hertfordshire. His father was Lord...

was also a Sheriff and MP for London.