Hugh Audley: Difference between revisions
Did Cranfield really use 'loftily' as an adjective, rather than 'lofty'? Or is there an added comma here? |
PeterSymonds (talk | contribs) fix, source slightly misleading; ODNB has same quote with this meaning |
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The first recorded date of Audley's life is his baptism in January 1577. He was the tenth of eleven children of John Audley, a [[mercer]], and his wife Maudlin or Margaret Hare, daughter of a wealthy [[Cheapside]] mercer named John Hare.<ref name=ODNB1>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/893 |title=Hugh Audley |accessdate=2008-12-19 |last=Considine |first=John |date=2004 |work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>Gatty, p. 76</ref> His father died in 1579, and left "considerable property, both real and personal".<ref>Gatty, p. 78</ref> After being admitted to the [[Inner Temple]] in 1603, he became a clerk of the [[Court of Wards and Liveries]], a position for which he allegedly paid £3000, until it was abolished in 1660.<ref>Anonymous, p. 12</ref> In his position, he became extremely rich, and survived a £100,000 loss after the court's suppression in 1646. However, all the money and records remained in his possession long after this event.<ref name=ODNB1/> |
The first recorded date of Audley's life is his baptism in January 1577. He was the tenth of eleven children of John Audley, a [[mercer]], and his wife Maudlin or Margaret Hare, daughter of a wealthy [[Cheapside]] mercer named John Hare.<ref name=ODNB1>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/893 |title=Hugh Audley |accessdate=2008-12-19 |last=Considine |first=John |date=2004 |work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>Gatty, p. 76</ref> His father died in 1579, and left "considerable property, both real and personal".<ref>Gatty, p. 78</ref> After being admitted to the [[Inner Temple]] in 1603, he became a clerk of the [[Court of Wards and Liveries]], a position for which he allegedly paid £3000, until it was abolished in 1660.<ref>Anonymous, p. 12</ref> In his position, he became extremely rich, and survived a £100,000 loss after the court's suppression in 1646. However, all the money and records remained in his possession long after this event.<ref name=ODNB1/> |
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Through his wealth, Audley was able to buy and invest in land. He bought the manor of [[Ebury]], in [[Westminster]], from [[Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex|Lionel Cranfield]], the first [[Earl of Middlesex]]. Deeply in debt, the Earl sold it cheaply, but had a negative opinion of Audley himself, whom he described as "barbarous", with "looks [that] show his disposition", and one who |
Through his wealth, Audley was able to buy and invest in land. He bought the manor of [[Ebury]], in [[Westminster]], from [[Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex|Lionel Cranfield]], the first [[Earl of Middlesex]]. Deeply in debt, the Earl sold it cheaply, but had a negative opinion of Audley himself, whom he described as "barbarous", with "looks [that] show his disposition", and one who bore himself "loftily respectless and peremptory".<ref>Prestwich, p. 479</ref> The property later passed through his great-grandniece, Mary Davies, wife of [[Grosvenor family|Sir Thomas Grosvenor]]. Her inheritance enriched the Grosvenor family through one of Audley's legacies, which still present today: Audley Street, running through the old Ebury estate in [[Mayfair]], is named after Hugh.<ref name=ODNB1/> On another occasion, when he bought land in [[Buckenham]], [[Norfolk]], Audley withheld the payments promised and harassed the creditors with [[law suit]]s.<ref name=ODNB1/> His cunning was revealed and condemned by William Hone, who described an incident with a draper with a £200 debt. Audley bought the debt, for which the draper offered him £50; but Audley refused. Instead, he forced the draper to sign a contract ordering him to pay a penny, doubled every month, for twenty years, which gradually accumulated into more than the actual debt.<ref>Hone, p. 64</ref> According to the anonymous and posthumous pamphlet, Audley had "the clue of a resolved mind, which made plaine{{sic}} to him all the rough passages he met with".<ref name=ODNB1/> |
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Audley died in his 86th year, at the home of the rector of [[St. Clement Danes]], London, on 15 November 1662. On 21 November, his body was interred in the [[Temple Church]] in London.<ref name=ODNB1/> |
Audley died in his 86th year, at the home of the rector of [[St. Clement Danes]], London, on 15 November 1662. On 21 November, his body was interred in the [[Temple Church]] in London.<ref name=ODNB1/> |
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Revision as of 10:57, 22 December 2008
Hugh Audley (also known as The Great Audley; baptised 13 January 1577–15 November 1662) was an English moneylender, lawyer and philosopher. Following his death, he was the feature of a popular 17th century pamphlet titled The way to be rich according to the practice of the Great Audley,[1] which compared his humble beginnings to his ultimate fortune.[2]
The first recorded date of Audley's life is his baptism in January 1577. He was the tenth of eleven children of John Audley, a mercer, and his wife Maudlin or Margaret Hare, daughter of a wealthy Cheapside mercer named John Hare.[3][4] His father died in 1579, and left "considerable property, both real and personal".[5] After being admitted to the Inner Temple in 1603, he became a clerk of the Court of Wards and Liveries, a position for which he allegedly paid £3000, until it was abolished in 1660.[6] In his position, he became extremely rich, and survived a £100,000 loss after the court's suppression in 1646. However, all the money and records remained in his possession long after this event.[3]
Through his wealth, Audley was able to buy and invest in land. He bought the manor of Ebury, in Westminster, from Lionel Cranfield, the first Earl of Middlesex. Deeply in debt, the Earl sold it cheaply, but had a negative opinion of Audley himself, whom he described as "barbarous", with "looks [that] show his disposition", and one who bore himself "loftily respectless and peremptory".[7] The property later passed through his great-grandniece, Mary Davies, wife of Sir Thomas Grosvenor. Her inheritance enriched the Grosvenor family through one of Audley's legacies, which still present today: Audley Street, running through the old Ebury estate in Mayfair, is named after Hugh.[3] On another occasion, when he bought land in Buckenham, Norfolk, Audley withheld the payments promised and harassed the creditors with law suits.[3] His cunning was revealed and condemned by William Hone, who described an incident with a draper with a £200 debt. Audley bought the debt, for which the draper offered him £50; but Audley refused. Instead, he forced the draper to sign a contract ordering him to pay a penny, doubled every month, for twenty years, which gradually accumulated into more than the actual debt.[8] According to the anonymous and posthumous pamphlet, Audley had "the clue of a resolved mind, which made plaine [sic] to him all the rough passages he met with".[3]
Audley died in his 86th year, at the home of the rector of St. Clement Danes, London, on 15 November 1662. On 21 November, his body was interred in the Temple Church in London.[3]
Notes
- ^ The full title of this work was The way to be rich according to the practice of the great Audley who begun with two hundred pound in the year 1605, and dyed worth four hundred thousand pound this instant November, 1662. London: Printed for E. Davis, 1662
- ^ Anonymous, p. 1
- ^ a b c d e f Considine, John (2004). "Hugh Audley". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
- ^ Gatty, p. 76
- ^ Gatty, p. 78
- ^ Anonymous, p. 12
- ^ Prestwich, p. 479
- ^ Hone, p. 64
References
- Anonymous (1662). The way to be rich according to the practice of the great Audley. London.
- Considine, John (2004). "Hugh Audley". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
- Gatty, Charles T. (1995). Mary Davies and the Manor of Ebury Part One. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1419176323.
- Hone, William (1828). The Table Book. Hunt and Clarke.
- Prestwich, Menna (1966). Cranfield, Politics and Profits under the Early Stuarts. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 9B66241030.
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