William de la Pole (of Hull)
Encyclopedia
Sir William de la Pole of Hull (died 1366) was a wealthy wool merchant in Kingston upon Hull
, a royal moneylender and a Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
wines. From 1317, they were deputies of the Royal Chief Butler
. From 1321, they were collectors of customs and chamberlains of the town. With the accession of Edward III
(then under the tutelage of Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella
), war with Scotland was resumed. They loaned the pair large sums of money in 1327, and in return Richard received the appointment of Chief Butler of England
. When the Bardi
, Edward's Florentine
bankers were unable to lend the king money to pay his troops, the Pole brothers did so. They were owed £13,482 by February 1329.
Contrary to earlier suggestions, they did not lose power with Mortimer's fall, but their wealth meant they could not be totally excluded from the government of Edward III
. Richard continued to attend court at a time when Mortimer's supporters were absent. In July 1331, the brothers divided their assets. Richard was again Chief Butler of England
from 1333 to 1338. He was an alderman of London from 1330 to 1340 (when he was knighted), but died in 1345. His son William is principally known as a Northamptonshire
landowner.
In 1331 Sir William persuaded the king to make Hull into an autonomous borough
, instead of having a royal warden. On the death of the last warden in 1333, the brothers took over the royal property there and Sir William became Mayor of Hull, a post which he filled for the next 4 years. He also represented the city of Hull
in five sessions of Parliament
(March 1332, September 1334, May 1335, September 1336, and February 1338).
He continued financing Edward's Scottish wars but also bought much property in Yorkshire
and Durham
. His trading activities included the large scale export of wool to Dortrecht, but he and his partners abused the right of compulsory purchase that they were granted, smuggling wool, and thus ruined the financing of the king's campaigns in the Netherlands in 1338–40.
As a result of this, he and his associates were arrested after the king's return in November 1340, and deprived of the property. However, he was released in May 1342 and the proceedings were quashed, probably because the king needed his help financially. He organised a new company, which managed the Customs and lent vast sums to the king, also buying up royal debts at a large discount. He withdrew from the company in 1345. The company continued, and financed the Crécy campaign
and the Siege of Calais, but were ruined as a result of the Black Death
. He escaped liability for the debts of the now bankrupt company. However, the prosecution of 1341 was revived, and Sir William only escaped by renouncing all debts due from the crown. This, however, still left him a wealthy man. He died in May 1366, five months after his son Michael was summoned to Parliament as a peer.
ruling house of Powys Wenwynwyn
. However, there is no concrete evidence whatsoever of this alleged relationship, though those princes' descendants used the surname de la Pole (i.e. "of the Pool", referring to their case to Welshpool
). This surname was no doubt not exceptional.
Sir William married Katherine de Norwich. The pedigree of Norwich is obscure and the father of Katherine is disputed. Dugdale and Burke say she was the daughter of Sir John de Norwich. Others state Sir Walter de Norwich of Mettingham, Chief Baron of the Exchequer. If however she was a daughter of Sir Walter, she would be a sister of Margaret, wife of Robert and mother of William de Ufford, the late Earls of Suffolk. But there is no mention of any match with De la Pole in that given in Carthews Launditch Hundred which commences with Sir Walter de Norwich who died in 1329. The heir-ship of the Norwich family seems ultimately to have vested in the descendants of Ufford only, not conjointly with that of De la Pole.
By Katherine, Sir William had three daughters and three sons:
De la Pole Avenue, located in the west of Kingston upon Hull
, is named after Sir William.
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, a royal moneylender and a Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
Life
Sir William and his (probably older) brother Sir Richard de la Pole (died 1345) were merchants at Hull by 1317, importing GasconGascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
wines. From 1317, they were deputies of the Royal Chief Butler
Chief Butler of England
The Chief Butler of England is an office of Grand Sergeanty associated with the feudal Manor of Kenninghall in Norfolk. The office requires service to be provided to the Monarch at the Coronation, in this case the service of Pincera Regis, or Chief Butler at the Coronation banquet.The manor of...
. From 1321, they were collectors of customs and chamberlains of the town. With the accession of Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
(then under the tutelage of Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella
Isabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
), war with Scotland was resumed. They loaned the pair large sums of money in 1327, and in return Richard received the appointment of Chief Butler of England
Chief Butler of England
The Chief Butler of England is an office of Grand Sergeanty associated with the feudal Manor of Kenninghall in Norfolk. The office requires service to be provided to the Monarch at the Coronation, in this case the service of Pincera Regis, or Chief Butler at the Coronation banquet.The manor of...
. When the Bardi
Bardi family
The Bardi family was an influential Florentine family that started the powerful banking company, the Compagnia dei Bardi.Along with the Peruzzi family, the Bardis lent Edward III of England 400,000 Gold Florins, which he never repaid....
, Edward's Florentine
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
bankers were unable to lend the king money to pay his troops, the Pole brothers did so. They were owed £13,482 by February 1329.
Contrary to earlier suggestions, they did not lose power with Mortimer's fall, but their wealth meant they could not be totally excluded from the government of Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
. Richard continued to attend court at a time when Mortimer's supporters were absent. In July 1331, the brothers divided their assets. Richard was again Chief Butler of England
Chief Butler of England
The Chief Butler of England is an office of Grand Sergeanty associated with the feudal Manor of Kenninghall in Norfolk. The office requires service to be provided to the Monarch at the Coronation, in this case the service of Pincera Regis, or Chief Butler at the Coronation banquet.The manor of...
from 1333 to 1338. He was an alderman of London from 1330 to 1340 (when he was knighted), but died in 1345. His son William is principally known as a Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
landowner.
In 1331 Sir William persuaded the king to make Hull into an autonomous borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
, instead of having a royal warden. On the death of the last warden in 1333, the brothers took over the royal property there and Sir William became Mayor of Hull, a post which he filled for the next 4 years. He also represented the city of Hull
Kingston upon Hull (UK Parliament constituency)
Kingston upon Hull, often simply referred to as Hull, was a parliamentary constituency in Yorkshire, electing two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1305 until 1885...
in five sessions of Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
(March 1332, September 1334, May 1335, September 1336, and February 1338).
He continued financing Edward's Scottish wars but also bought much property in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
. His trading activities included the large scale export of wool to Dortrecht, but he and his partners abused the right of compulsory purchase that they were granted, smuggling wool, and thus ruined the financing of the king's campaigns in the Netherlands in 1338–40.
As a result of this, he and his associates were arrested after the king's return in November 1340, and deprived of the property. However, he was released in May 1342 and the proceedings were quashed, probably because the king needed his help financially. He organised a new company, which managed the Customs and lent vast sums to the king, also buying up royal debts at a large discount. He withdrew from the company in 1345. The company continued, and financed the Crécy campaign
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
and the Siege of Calais, but were ruined as a result of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. He escaped liability for the debts of the now bankrupt company. However, the prosecution of 1341 was revived, and Sir William only escaped by renouncing all debts due from the crown. This, however, still left him a wealthy man. He died in May 1366, five months after his son Michael was summoned to Parliament as a peer.
Family
Sir William was the son of William de la Pole, an opulent merchant at Kingston-upon-Hull. His mother Elena remarried John Rotenheryng. Some genealogical tables, such as this one, indicate Sir William was related to the old MathrafalHouse of Mathrafal
The House of Mathrafal began as a cadet branch of the House of Dinefwr, taking their name from Mathrafal Castle which was their principal seat and served as the capital of Powys. Members of this family trace their lineage to Rhodri the Great who had replaced King Cyngen ap Cadell of Powys when he...
ruling house of Powys Wenwynwyn
Powys Wenwynwyn
Powys Wenwynwyn or Powys Cyfeiliog was the southern portion of the former princely state of Powys which split following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1160...
. However, there is no concrete evidence whatsoever of this alleged relationship, though those princes' descendants used the surname de la Pole (i.e. "of the Pool", referring to their case to Welshpool
Welshpool
Welshpool is a town in Powys, Wales, or ancient county Montgomeryshire, from the Wales-England border. The town is low-lying on the River Severn; the Welsh language name Y Trallwng literally meaning 'the marshy or sinking land'...
). This surname was no doubt not exceptional.
Sir William married Katherine de Norwich. The pedigree of Norwich is obscure and the father of Katherine is disputed. Dugdale and Burke say she was the daughter of Sir John de Norwich. Others state Sir Walter de Norwich of Mettingham, Chief Baron of the Exchequer. If however she was a daughter of Sir Walter, she would be a sister of Margaret, wife of Robert and mother of William de Ufford, the late Earls of Suffolk. But there is no mention of any match with De la Pole in that given in Carthews Launditch Hundred which commences with Sir Walter de Norwich who died in 1329. The heir-ship of the Norwich family seems ultimately to have vested in the descendants of Ufford only, not conjointly with that of De la Pole.
By Katherine, Sir William had three daughters and three sons:
- Blanche de la Pole (born 1327), wife of Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton
- Margaret de la Pole (born c. 1330), wife of Robert Neville (c. 1325 - 1413), son of Robert Neville and Joan Atherton
- Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of SuffolkMichael de la Pole, 1st Earl of SuffolkMichael de la Pole, 1st Baron de la Pole, later 1st Earl of Suffolk was an English financier and Lord Chancellor of England.- Life :...
(c. 1330 - 1389) - Sir Edmund de la PoleEdmund de la Pole (Captain of Calais)Sir Edmund de la Pole was an English knight and Captain of Calais.He was the second son of Sir William de la Pole of Hull and younger brother of Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk....
(born bef. 1346) - Katherine de la Pole, wife of Sir Constantine Clifton (d. circa 1374), mother of Sir John Clifton (c.1353-10 Aug 1388).
- John de la Pole
De la Pole Avenue, located in the west of Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, is named after Sir William.