A document signed by Henry VIII granting a loan which helped found the London Stock Exchange has been put on sale by Bristol antiques dealers Paul Fraser Collectibles for £65,000.
Addressed to John Heron, the Treasurer of the Chamber, King Henry informs him to loan £637 and 10 shillings - worth £3.94million today - to English cloth merchant Richard Gresham.
The loan enabled Gresham, a member of parliament, to found the House of Gresham - one of the most celebrated mercantile and financial houses of the 16th Century.
His son, Thomas Gresham, then further increased the family fortune and in 1571 founded the Royal Exchange in the City of London - the country's first stock exchange and central to founding modern business in England.
Today, the London Stock Exchange is the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world.
The paper that built the City: Contract signed by Henry VIII for £637 loan that helped found the London Stock Exchange goes on sale
500-year-old document signed by King Henry VIII going on sale for £65,000
Document granted a loan which helped found the London Stock Exchange
King ordered loan of £637 to be paid to cloth merchant Richard Gresham
His son Sir Thomas Gresham founded the Royal Exchange in City of London
Loan was equivalent of £3.94m today and part of King's bid to boost trade
By Julian Robinson for MailOnline
27 August 2014
Daily Mail
A 500-year-old document signed by King Henry VIII granting a loan which ultimately helped found the London Stock Exchange has emerged for sale for £65,000.
Addressed to John Heron, the Treasurer of the Chamber, King Henry informs him to loan £637 and 10 shillings - worth £3.94million today - to English cloth merchant Richard Gresham.
The loan enabled Gresham, a member of parliament, to found the House of Gresham - one of the most celebrated mercantile and financial houses of the 16th Century.
The 1513 document, pictured, signed by King Henry VIII outlined the payment of a loan of £637 and 10 shillings - the equivalent of almost £4 million in today's money - to English cloth merchant Richard Gresham
King Henry VIII, pictured, granted a raft of loans to help develop businesses and used money from the central purse
His son, Sir Thomas Gresham, then further increased the family fortune and in 1571 founded the Royal Exchange in the City of London - the country's first stock exchange and central to founding modern business in England.
The monarch wrote: 'Richard Gresham of oure Citie of London with other stonde bounde by obligacion for the payment to oure use of the somme of Sixe hundred thirty seven poundes and ten shillynges at a certayn daie expired.'
Signed by Henry VIII 'Henry R' in 1513 - four years into his 38-year reign - he also orders for the payment to be delayed for two years upon receiving sureties from Gresham the crown would be repaid.
At the time of the loan, 29-year-old Gresham was a major cloth merchant trading in Antwerp, Belgium.
An extremely influential figure, he served as the Lord Mayor of London, a Member of Parliament (he was elected MP for the City of London twice, in 1539 and 1545) and was a major financier to the crown.
The document is addressed to John Heron, the Treasurer of the Chamber. King Henry informs him to loan which, today, would be worth the equivalent of £3.94million
The Royal Exchange in the City of London - the country's first stock exchange and central to founding modern business in England
The loan was part of a raft of handouts Henry granted to help develop businesses and came from the central purse.
It helped fund Gresham's empire and six years later his son Sir Thomas was born - who also became Lord Mayor of London and whose influence on the economy is still felt in London today.
The 505-year-old vellum document - which means it is a parchment made from calf skin - once formed part of the collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps, a British Baronet who amassed the largest collection of manuscript material in the 19th Century.
His chief collecting rival was the British Library, the second-biggest library in the world - a testament to the value of his collection.
The document emerged for sale in the 1970s and has since passed through the hands of several private collectors.
It is now being sold for £65,000 after being bought by Bristol antiques dealers Paul Fraser Collectibles.
Paul Fraser, the company's founder, said: 'Henry VIII signatures come up for sale very rarely - most are in museums or libraries.
'The historical importance of the document makes it particularly special to me.
Sir Thomas Gresham, pictured, was inspired to build the Exchange when his only son Richard died in a riding accident in 1564 at the age of 16
'If it wasn't for Henry's loan to Richard Gresham, he may never have made his fortune, and his son Thomas would never have had the opportunity to establish the Royal Exchange - the precursor to London's Stock Exchange.
'And you can't get much better than provenance from Sir Thomas Phillipps, the manuscript collector of the 19th century.'
Sir Thomas Gresham was inspired to build the Exchange when his only son Richard died in a riding accident in 1564 at the age of 16.
He suddenly found himself without a male heir to his legacy and set about recreating it in stone, medieval historian Ian Blanchard, Honorary Professional Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, wrote.
In January 1565, Sir Thomas offered to finance the building of a bourse - or stock exchange - for the City of London.
A year later, he personally laid the first foundation stone.
It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth I - who deemed it the 'Royal Exchange' - in 1571.
Addressed to John Heron, the Treasurer of the Chamber, King Henry informs him to loan £637 and 10 shillings - worth £3.94million today - to English cloth merchant Richard Gresham.
The loan enabled Gresham, a member of parliament, to found the House of Gresham - one of the most celebrated mercantile and financial houses of the 16th Century.
His son, Thomas Gresham, then further increased the family fortune and in 1571 founded the Royal Exchange in the City of London - the country's first stock exchange and central to founding modern business in England.
Today, the London Stock Exchange is the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world.
The paper that built the City: Contract signed by Henry VIII for £637 loan that helped found the London Stock Exchange goes on sale
500-year-old document signed by King Henry VIII going on sale for £65,000
Document granted a loan which helped found the London Stock Exchange
King ordered loan of £637 to be paid to cloth merchant Richard Gresham
His son Sir Thomas Gresham founded the Royal Exchange in City of London
Loan was equivalent of £3.94m today and part of King's bid to boost trade
By Julian Robinson for MailOnline
27 August 2014
Daily Mail
A 500-year-old document signed by King Henry VIII granting a loan which ultimately helped found the London Stock Exchange has emerged for sale for £65,000.
Addressed to John Heron, the Treasurer of the Chamber, King Henry informs him to loan £637 and 10 shillings - worth £3.94million today - to English cloth merchant Richard Gresham.
The loan enabled Gresham, a member of parliament, to found the House of Gresham - one of the most celebrated mercantile and financial houses of the 16th Century.
The 1513 document, pictured, signed by King Henry VIII outlined the payment of a loan of £637 and 10 shillings - the equivalent of almost £4 million in today's money - to English cloth merchant Richard Gresham
King Henry VIII, pictured, granted a raft of loans to help develop businesses and used money from the central purse
His son, Sir Thomas Gresham, then further increased the family fortune and in 1571 founded the Royal Exchange in the City of London - the country's first stock exchange and central to founding modern business in England.
The monarch wrote: 'Richard Gresham of oure Citie of London with other stonde bounde by obligacion for the payment to oure use of the somme of Sixe hundred thirty seven poundes and ten shillynges at a certayn daie expired.'
Signed by Henry VIII 'Henry R' in 1513 - four years into his 38-year reign - he also orders for the payment to be delayed for two years upon receiving sureties from Gresham the crown would be repaid.
At the time of the loan, 29-year-old Gresham was a major cloth merchant trading in Antwerp, Belgium.
An extremely influential figure, he served as the Lord Mayor of London, a Member of Parliament (he was elected MP for the City of London twice, in 1539 and 1545) and was a major financier to the crown.
The document is addressed to John Heron, the Treasurer of the Chamber. King Henry informs him to loan which, today, would be worth the equivalent of £3.94million
The Royal Exchange in the City of London - the country's first stock exchange and central to founding modern business in England
The loan was part of a raft of handouts Henry granted to help develop businesses and came from the central purse.
It helped fund Gresham's empire and six years later his son Sir Thomas was born - who also became Lord Mayor of London and whose influence on the economy is still felt in London today.
The 505-year-old vellum document - which means it is a parchment made from calf skin - once formed part of the collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps, a British Baronet who amassed the largest collection of manuscript material in the 19th Century.
His chief collecting rival was the British Library, the second-biggest library in the world - a testament to the value of his collection.
The document emerged for sale in the 1970s and has since passed through the hands of several private collectors.
It is now being sold for £65,000 after being bought by Bristol antiques dealers Paul Fraser Collectibles.
Paul Fraser, the company's founder, said: 'Henry VIII signatures come up for sale very rarely - most are in museums or libraries.
'The historical importance of the document makes it particularly special to me.
Sir Thomas Gresham, pictured, was inspired to build the Exchange when his only son Richard died in a riding accident in 1564 at the age of 16
'If it wasn't for Henry's loan to Richard Gresham, he may never have made his fortune, and his son Thomas would never have had the opportunity to establish the Royal Exchange - the precursor to London's Stock Exchange.
'And you can't get much better than provenance from Sir Thomas Phillipps, the manuscript collector of the 19th century.'
Sir Thomas Gresham was inspired to build the Exchange when his only son Richard died in a riding accident in 1564 at the age of 16.
He suddenly found himself without a male heir to his legacy and set about recreating it in stone, medieval historian Ian Blanchard, Honorary Professional Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, wrote.
In January 1565, Sir Thomas offered to finance the building of a bourse - or stock exchange - for the City of London.
A year later, he personally laid the first foundation stone.
It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth I - who deemed it the 'Royal Exchange' - in 1571.
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