Robert Geffrye
Sir Robert Geffrye(also spelledGeffreyorGeffery) (1613–1703) was an English merchant, slave trader,[1]andLord Mayor of Londonfor 1685/86.[2]
Life
[edit]Geffrye was born to poor parents atLandrake,nearSaltash,Cornwall,and moved toLondon,where he became an eminentEast Indiamerchant.Later residing in a townhouse onLime Streetin theCity of London,he twice served asMaster Ironmonger,[3]wasknightedin 1673, becameSheriff of Londonin 1674 and was electedLord Mayor of Londonfor 1685/86.[4]
ElectedPresidentofBridewell and Bethlehem Hospitalsin March 1692–3, Geffrye was a significant trader in tobacco,[2]part of whose investment was in theAtlantic slave tradeas well as partial ownership of aslave ship,theChina Merchant.[5]
Married in 1651 to Priscilla (died 1676), daughter of Luke Cropley, a City lawyer and brother ofSir John Cropley,Sir Robert and Lady Geffrye had no children.[6]
On his death Geffrye left about £10,000[7]divided in legacies to friends, relatives, hospitals and clergymen's widows, and in establishing certain trusts under the charge of theWorshipful Company of Ironmongers.A service was to be provided twice daily in thechurch of St. Dionis Backchurch,a school to be maintained at Landrake, and the poor ofSt Erney and Landraketo be relieved.[2] The remainder was dedicated to 14almshouses,mainly for widows of ironmongers, being constructed in 1715 atShoreditch.These buildings were sold in 1910 and now house theMuseum of the Home(formerlythe Geffrye Museum), which has displays scenes of domestic life from 1600 to the present day.[8][9] New almshouses were built atMottinghamin Kent, sold in 1972 to theGreater London Council. Sir Robert Geffrye's Trustcontinues to maintain two almshouses in Hampshire – one at Hook, built in 1976 and enlarged in 1987, and one at Basingstoke that opened in 1984; they give sheltered housing to 125 retired people of limited means.[10]There is also a Sir Robert Geffrye's School in the village ofLandrake,Cornwall.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Salisbury, Josh (17 November 2021)."Museum of the Home considers moving controversial slave trader statue".Evening Standard.
- ^abc"Geffrey, Robert",Dictionary of National Biography,1885–1900, Volume 10 (wikisource).
- ^www.ironmongers.org
- ^www.theguardian.com
- ^"Museum to keep slave-trader statue on building".BBC News.30 July 2020.Retrieved29 August2020.
- ^www.burkespeerage.com
- ^Grassby, Richard (2004)."Geffery [Geffrey], Sir Robert (d. 1704), merchant".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10502.ISBN978-0-19-861412-8.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^Mark Brown,"Geffrye to reopen as Museum of the Home after £18m overhaul",The Guardian,27 November 2019.
- ^David Sanderson,"Tongue-twister Geffrye Museum of the Home clears its name",The Times,27 November 2019.
- ^"Charitable Trusts".Ironmongers' Company.
- ^"Sir Robert Geffery's School".www.ironmongers.org.Retrieved1 November2020.
External links
[edit]
Media related toRobert Geffryeat Wikimedia Commons
