William Canynge
Encyclopedia
William II Canynges was an English
merchant and shipper from Bristol
, one of the wealthiest private citizens of his day and an occasional royal financier. He served as Mayor of Bristol five times and as MP
for Bristol
thrice. He was a generous patron of the arts in Bristol, particularly concerning the church of St Mary Redcliffe
in Bristol, "The crown of Bristol architecture". Following the death of his wife Joan in 1467, he renounced civic and commercial life and was ordained a priest in 1468, in which capacity he remained until his death six years later. His tomb effigy in St Mary's later inspired the boy poet Thomas Chatterton
(d.1770) to write the romantic poem "The Storie of William Canynge"
in 1399 or 1400, a member of a wealthy family of merchants and cloth manufacturers in that city. He was one of the younger of seven children of John Canynges, who died as a young man in 1405, by his wife Joan Wotton. William's eldest brother Thomas Canynges
was Lord Mayor of London
in 1456-7, having been elected Alderman
for Aldgate
ward in 1445, and was a Grocer
. William's grandfather William I Canynges(d.1396) was also a great Bristol merchant and was also 5 times Mayor of Bristol and 3 times MP for Bristol
, in 1383, 1384 and 1386. His 2nd son John Canynges, the father of William II, was also prominent in Bristol civic life, serving twice as mayor and as MP for Bristol
in 1383. His wife Joan Wotton survived him and married secondly in about 1408 Thomas Young, twice mayor of Bristol, by whom she had two successful sons, John Young, Alderman of London
, Grocer
and Lord Mayor of London in 1466, and Thomas Young(d.1476) a lawyer of the Middle Temple
, Recorder
of Bristol from 1441 and MP for Bristol
almost continuously, with one break in 1453, between 1435 to 1455. Thomas Young served as the other of Bristol's two MP's during his half-brother William II Canynges's terms as MP in 1450 and 1455, and before 1450 entered into the household of Richard, Duke of York(d.1460), the Yorkist contender for heirship to the Throne then occupied by Henry VI
(1422-1461).
, yet both predeceased him, and thus ended the Canynges dynasty in Bristol. Joan died in September 1467, following which traumatic event William renounced his former life and entered the priesthood.
, a key post in the wool export trade, and became a Grocer
in 1441, like his half-brother John Young.
seeking to break the Italian monopoly
in trade with the Orient and to set up an English trading post in the Levant. His investors, including Canynges, financed the fitting out of 3 ships carrying cargoes of cloth, tin and lead. The fleet traded successfully in the Levant but was attacked by Genoese
pirates near Malta
which resulted in the loss of 2 ships, "Katherine" and "Marie". Sturmey himself lost his life during the incident but his main partner John Heydon managed to returned to Bristol. The king fined the Genoese traders in England £6,000 in damages, and imprisoned them and seized their assets until the fine should be paid. This put a stop to further English adventures in the Mediterranean for many years, but prompted a new look to westward lands, which bore fruit under John Cabot
in 1497.
he enjoyed for some time a monopoly
of the fish trade between Iceland
, Finland
and England, and he also competed successfully with the Flemish merchants in the Baltic Sea
, obtaining a large share of their business.
of Bristol and in 1438 as Sheriff
. He was five times mayor
of Bristol, first in September 1441 when still aged under 40. He served as Mayor also in 1449, 1456, 1461 and 1466. He was elected three times as MP for Bristol
, in 1439, 1450-1 and 1455.
, consort of the Lancastrian
King Henry VI
(1422-1461). William's half-brother Thomas Young, whilst serving with him as the Bristol MP's in 1450, had proposed a motion in Parliament for the recognition of his Yorkist royal patron Richard, Duke of York(d.1460) as heir to Henry's throne, for which action he was imprisoned. Canynges appears to have shared his half-brother's support for the Yorkist cause as in 1450 during his third term as mayor he prevented the sale in Bristol of gunpowder intended for use against the Duke. He also occupied Bristol Castle on the Duke's instructions, holding it against his rival Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
(d.1455). Whilst mayor in September 1461, following Henry's deposition in that year, Canynges received in Bristol the Duke's son, the new Yorkist King Edward IV
(1461-1483), to whom he loaned 500 marks.
, and for a long time had a hundred workmen in his regular service for this purpose. He added to its jewels and equipment, and founded two chantries
in 1466 and 1467 to which were attached two priests. He created an endowment of £340 to re-establish the two "St Mary priests" and three clerics. His house in Bristol with a fine Perpendicular Gothic
oak roof was still standing in 1884. His contemporary John Shipward(d.1473), a fellow Bristol merchant was a similarly generous patron of Bristol arts, having financed the building of the tower of St Stephen's Church
. Both followed in the footsteps of Walter Frampton(d.1357), thrice Mayor of Bristol, who funded the building of the Church of St John the Baptist, Bristol
.
Bristol was within the Diocese of Worcester, and it was under the care of Bishop John Carpenter of Worcester(d.1476) that his transformation to the clergy occurred. He first obtained the post of rector
of St Alban's, Worcester, and was admitted by the bishop on 19th September 1467 to the order of acolyte
, and ordained priest by him on 16th April 1468. He was appointed a canon
of the Collegiate Church of Westbury-on-Trym and prebendary
of Goodringhill. He said mass for the first time in St Mary Redcliffe, the church to which he had been a generous patron, the following Whitsuntide. He moved his residence from Redcliffe to Westbury where he became dean
in June 1469, and where he remained until his death 5 years later in 1474.
and was buried in St Mary Redcliffe
Church, Bristol, where a canopied stone tomb was erected in the south aisle in his memory containing his effigy in red velvet mayoral robes, next to that of his wife Joan. A funeral service was held at Westbury-on-Trym, where a very high quality sculpted alabaster
effigy of him was placed, dressed in clerical attire. Following the Dissolution
of Westbury, the effigy was moved to St Mary Redcliffe Church, where it is now situated adjacent to the original monument, against the south wall of the south aisle. The tombstone of Canynges's cook is set into the pavement nearby, decorated with incised cooking utensils of knife and sieve.
, and Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe
, were descendants of his family.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
merchant and shipper from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, one of the wealthiest private citizens of his day and an occasional royal financier. He served as Mayor of Bristol five times and as MP
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 Bristol
Bristol (UK Parliament constituency)
Bristol was a two member constituency, used to elect members to the House of Commons in the Parliaments of England , Great Britain and the United Kingdom . The constituency existed until Bristol was divided into single member constituencies in 1885.-Boundaries:The historic port city of Bristol, is...
thrice. He was a generous patron of the arts in Bristol, particularly concerning the church of St Mary Redcliffe
St Mary Redcliffe
St. Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican parish church located in the Redcliffe district of the English port city of Bristol, close to the city centre. Constructed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, the church is a Grade 1 listed building, St...
in Bristol, "The crown of Bristol architecture". Following the death of his wife Joan in 1467, he renounced civic and commercial life and was ordained a priest in 1468, in which capacity he remained until his death six years later. His tomb effigy in St Mary's later inspired the boy poet Thomas Chatterton
Thomas Chatterton
Thomas Chatterton was an English poet and forger of pseudo-medieval poetry. He died of arsenic poisoning, either from a suicide attempt or self-medication for a venereal disease.-Childhood:...
(d.1770) to write the romantic poem "The Storie of William Canynge"
Background
He was born at BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in 1399 or 1400, a member of a wealthy family of merchants and cloth manufacturers in that city. He was one of the younger of seven children of John Canynges, who died as a young man in 1405, by his wife Joan Wotton. William's eldest brother Thomas Canynges
Thomas Canynges
Thomas Canynges was Lord Mayor of London in 1456-7, having been elected Alderman for Aldgate ward in 1445, and was a Grocer.-Background:...
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 1456-7, having been elected Alderman
Court of Aldermen
The Court of Aldermen is an elected body forming part of the City of London Corporation. The Court of Aldermen is made up of the twenty five Aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor...
for Aldgate
Aldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
ward in 1445, and was a Grocer
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....
. William's grandfather William I Canynges(d.1396) was also a great Bristol merchant and was also 5 times Mayor of Bristol and 3 times MP for Bristol
Bristol (UK Parliament constituency)
Bristol was a two member constituency, used to elect members to the House of Commons in the Parliaments of England , Great Britain and the United Kingdom . The constituency existed until Bristol was divided into single member constituencies in 1885.-Boundaries:The historic port city of Bristol, is...
, in 1383, 1384 and 1386. His 2nd son John Canynges, the father of William II, was also prominent in Bristol civic life, serving twice as mayor and as MP for Bristol
Bristol (UK Parliament constituency)
Bristol was a two member constituency, used to elect members to the House of Commons in the Parliaments of England , Great Britain and the United Kingdom . The constituency existed until Bristol was divided into single member constituencies in 1885.-Boundaries:The historic port city of Bristol, is...
in 1383. His wife Joan Wotton survived him and married secondly in about 1408 Thomas Young, twice mayor of Bristol, by whom she had two successful sons, John Young, Alderman of London
Court of Aldermen
The Court of Aldermen is an elected body forming part of the City of London Corporation. The Court of Aldermen is made up of the twenty five Aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor...
, Grocer
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....
and Lord Mayor of London in 1466, and Thomas Young(d.1476) a lawyer of the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
, Recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
of Bristol from 1441 and MP for Bristol
Bristol (UK Parliament constituency)
Bristol was a two member constituency, used to elect members to the House of Commons in the Parliaments of England , Great Britain and the United Kingdom . The constituency existed until Bristol was divided into single member constituencies in 1885.-Boundaries:The historic port city of Bristol, is...
almost continuously, with one break in 1453, between 1435 to 1455. Thomas Young served as the other of Bristol's two MP's during his half-brother William II Canynges's terms as MP in 1450 and 1455, and before 1450 entered into the household of Richard, Duke of York(d.1460), the Yorkist contender for heirship to the Throne then occupied by Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
(1422-1461).
Marriage
At some time before 1429 William married Joan Burton, from a prominent Bristol family. Her sister Isabel became the wife of William's half-brother Thomas Young, with whom he served jointly for two terms as MP for Bristol. William and Joan had two sons, who were encouraged by their father to become members of the Gloucestershire gentryGentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
, yet both predeceased him, and thus ended the Canynges dynasty in Bristol. Joan died in September 1467, following which traumatic event William renounced his former life and entered the priesthood.
Mercantile career
Although Canynges benefitted from the wide trade connections of his forebears and a large inheritance, he does not seem to have followed them in the cloth manufacturing industry as his name was never recorded in the aulnage returns, but rather specialised in the shipping of cloth to south-west Europe. In 1436 he served as Constable of the Merchants of the StapleMerchants of the Staple
The Merchants of the Staple, also known as the Merchant Staplers, was an English company which controlled the export of wool to the continent during the late medieval period....
, a key post in the wool export trade, and became a Grocer
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....
in 1441, like his half-brother John Young.
Invests in John Sturmey's expedition
He was an investor in the disastrous 1457 Mediterranean venture of fellow Bristol mayor and merchant Robert Sturmey. This was an expedition to the Aegean SeaAegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
seeking to break the Italian monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
in trade with the Orient and to set up an English trading post in the Levant. His investors, including Canynges, financed the fitting out of 3 ships carrying cargoes of cloth, tin and lead. The fleet traded successfully in the Levant but was attacked by Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
pirates near Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
which resulted in the loss of 2 ships, "Katherine" and "Marie". Sturmey himself lost his life during the incident but his main partner John Heydon managed to returned to Bristol. The king fined the Genoese traders in England £6,000 in damages, and imprisoned them and seized their assets until the fine should be paid. This put a stop to further English adventures in the Mediterranean for many years, but prompted a new look to westward lands, which bore fruit under John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
in 1497.
Acquires large fleet
He appears to have started to specialise in shipping the goods of others rather than trading on his own account. He owned a fleet of at least ten ships, as is stated in William Worcester's "Itineraries", one of the largest known in England at that time, and is said to have employed 800 sailors. Three of his ships exceeded 200 tons, then considered large: The "Mary Canynges"(400 tons), "Mary Redcliffe"(500 tons) and the "Mary and John"(900 tons). The latter was considered by Worcester "a monster" and had cost £2666 13s. 4d. to build. His combined tonnage was almost 3,000 tons.Trade with Scandinavia
Canynges also traded towards Scandinavia, exporting cloth and filling his homeward bound ships with fish. By special license from the king of DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
he enjoyed for some time a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
of the fish trade between Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and England, and he also competed successfully with the Flemish merchants in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, obtaining a large share of their business.
Political career
Canynges's civic career started in 1432 with his appointment as bailiffBailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
of Bristol and in 1438 as Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
. He was five times mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Bristol, first in September 1441 when still aged under 40. He served as Mayor also in 1449, 1456, 1461 and 1466. He was elected three times as MP for Bristol
Bristol (UK Parliament constituency)
Bristol was a two member constituency, used to elect members to the House of Commons in the Parliaments of England , Great Britain and the United Kingdom . The constituency existed until Bristol was divided into single member constituencies in 1885.-Boundaries:The historic port city of Bristol, is...
, in 1439, 1450-1 and 1455.
Interaction with royalty
At Bristol in 1456 he entertained Queen Margaret of AnjouMargaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
, consort of the Lancastrian
Lancastrian
Lancastrian is an adjective describing:* A native or inhabitant of Lancashire* A partisan on the side of the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses.* A person associated with Lancaster University....
King Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
(1422-1461). William's half-brother Thomas Young, whilst serving with him as the Bristol MP's in 1450, had proposed a motion in Parliament for the recognition of his Yorkist royal patron Richard, Duke of York(d.1460) as heir to Henry's throne, for which action he was imprisoned. Canynges appears to have shared his half-brother's support for the Yorkist cause as in 1450 during his third term as mayor he prevented the sale in Bristol of gunpowder intended for use against the Duke. He also occupied Bristol Castle on the Duke's instructions, holding it against his rival Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, KG , sometimes styled 1st Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War...
(d.1455). Whilst mayor in September 1461, following Henry's deposition in that year, Canynges received in Bristol the Duke's son, the new Yorkist King Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
(1461-1483), to whom he loaned 500 marks.
Patron of Arts
Canynges undertook at his own expense the great work of rebuilding the great Bristol church of St Mary RedcliffeSt Mary Redcliffe
St. Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican parish church located in the Redcliffe district of the English port city of Bristol, close to the city centre. Constructed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, the church is a Grade 1 listed building, St...
, and for a long time had a hundred workmen in his regular service for this purpose. He added to its jewels and equipment, and founded two chantries
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
in 1466 and 1467 to which were attached two priests. He created an endowment of £340 to re-establish the two "St Mary priests" and three clerics. His house in Bristol with a fine Perpendicular Gothic
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
oak roof was still standing in 1884. His contemporary John Shipward(d.1473), a fellow Bristol merchant was a similarly generous patron of Bristol arts, having financed the building of the tower of St Stephen's Church
St Stephen's Church, Bristol
St Stephen's Church in St Stephens Avenue, is the parish church for the city of Bristol, England.It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.- History :...
. Both followed in the footsteps of Walter Frampton(d.1357), thrice Mayor of Bristol, who funded the building of the Church of St John the Baptist, Bristol
Church of St John the Baptist, Bristol
The Church of St John the Baptist, Bristol is a former Church of England parish church at the lower end of Broad Street Bristol, England.-Design and construction:...
.
Takes Holy Orders
The death of his wife Joan in September 1467 was a turning point in Canynges's life, for he gave up his commercial and political life for the cloister. Before the Dissolution of the MonasteriesDissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
Bristol was within the Diocese of Worcester, and it was under the care of Bishop John Carpenter of Worcester(d.1476) that his transformation to the clergy occurred. He first obtained the post of rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of St Alban's, Worcester, and was admitted by the bishop on 19th September 1467 to the order of acolyte
Acolyte
In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone who performs ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In other Christian Churches, the term is more specifically used for one who wishes to attain clergyhood.-Etymology:...
, and ordained priest by him on 16th April 1468. He was appointed a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of the Collegiate Church of Westbury-on-Trym and prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
of Goodringhill. He said mass for the first time in St Mary Redcliffe, the church to which he had been a generous patron, the following Whitsuntide. He moved his residence from Redcliffe to Westbury where he became dean
Dean
-Title:* Dean * Dean , persons in certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy* The head of a Bar association or equivalent body in some jurisdictions...
in June 1469, and where he remained until his death 5 years later in 1474.
Death & burial
Canynges died on 17th or 19th November 1474and was buried in St Mary Redcliffe
St Mary Redcliffe
St. Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican parish church located in the Redcliffe district of the English port city of Bristol, close to the city centre. Constructed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, the church is a Grade 1 listed building, St...
Church, Bristol, where a canopied stone tomb was erected in the south aisle in his memory containing his effigy in red velvet mayoral robes, next to that of his wife Joan. A funeral service was held at Westbury-on-Trym, where a very high quality sculpted alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
effigy of him was placed, dressed in clerical attire. Following the Dissolution
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
of Westbury, the effigy was moved to St Mary Redcliffe Church, where it is now situated adjacent to the original monument, against the south wall of the south aisle. The tombstone of Canynges's cook is set into the pavement nearby, decorated with incised cooking utensils of knife and sieve.
Descendants
The statesman, George CanningGeorge Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
, and Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe
Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe
Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe KG GCB PC , was a British diplomat and politician, best known as the longtime British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire...
, were descendants of his family.
Sources
- Pryce, George. Memorials of the Canynges Family and their Times, Bristol, 1854
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004, Vol. 9, pp.970-971
Further reading
- Williams, E.E., The Chantries of William Canynges in St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, with a Survey of Chantries in General and some Events in the Lives of the Canynges Family, 1950
- Sherborne, J., William Canynges 1402-1474, 1985
- Carus-Wilson, E.M., The Overseas Trade of Bristol in the Later Middle Ages, 2nd Ed., 1967
- Carus-Wilson, E.M., Medieval Merchant Venturers, 1954
- Harvey, J.H., (Ed.), Itineraries of William Worcestre, 1969
- Dellaway, Rev James. Antiquities of Bristow in the Middle Centuries Including the Topography by William Wyrcestre and the Life of William Canynges, Bristol, 1834, pp.166-212