Peter Symonds
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Peter Symonds (–1586/87) was a wealthy
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
and benefactor, most notable for founding a number of
almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...
s for charitable endeavors in Southeast England. His most prominent achievement was the foundation of an almshouse in
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
which was later recommissioned into
Peter Symonds College Peter Symonds College is a sixth form college in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The college is recognised as the largest sixth form in England and is noted for the high number of its students who progress to Oxbridge. Peter Symonds College tra ...
.


Family background

Symonds was born in Winchester, the son of the city's
bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...
John Symonds and his wife Joan. His family was an influential one, and two of his three brothers became prosperous. John became bailiff of the city in 1565–1567, and again in 1580; William became a wealthy clothier and
mayor of Winchester The Office of Mayor of Winchester is the second oldest mayoralty in England, dating back to the period when Winchester was the capital of Wessex and England. The Mayor of Winchester thus stands second only to the Lord Mayor of the City of London ...
in 1575, 1585 and 1596. As for Peter, he was sent to London in 1542 or 1543, where he served as an apprentice to William Wilkinson, a London sheriff and
alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
, and continued in the service of his widow, Joan, after Wilkinson's death in 1543. The Wilkinson household was deeply
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, and Joan, a former silkwoman in
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
's household, was known to figures such as Bishop John Hooper and the Protestant bishops who were imprisoned during the reign of the
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Queen Mary. Former
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advised her to flee abroad, which she did after his execution in the 1550s. She died in 1556; among her bequests was £6 13''s''. 4''d''. (about £1,135 in today's money) to Symonds in London.


Career

Symonds became a successful
mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...
, and was one of the three wardens (renter warden) of the
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by 1583. He married a woman named Anne by 1576 and moved to the parish of All Hallows, Lombard Street, at about this time. In 1582, he was among the rich of the city, and one of the two richest men in his parish. J. N. Hare attributes this wealth to the cloth trade that "dominated London's exports".


Charitable bequests

By his death, sometime between 24 April 1586 and 29 July 1587, he had accumulated a large amount of land in the South East of England. In his
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
, he left land and property in Chadwell and
West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...
in Essex, and a farm at East Shalford in Surrey, to his wife. Then following her death, he directed that a group of trustees, including his brother William, Mr. Bilson as warden of the New College at Winchester, and four others, should secure a licence and an act of parliament for an almshouse to be constructed at Winchester named
Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...
. In addition, he left annual payments for a number of charitable purposes, including the poor of All Saint, Lombard Street and Chadwell in Essex.''The Endowed charities of the City of London'' (M Sherwood, 1829) It was this almshouse that was to become
Peter Symonds College Peter Symonds College is a sixth form college in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The college is recognised as the largest sixth form in England and is noted for the high number of its students who progress to Oxbridge. Peter Symonds College tra ...
; however, legal struggles over Symonds' land delayed construction. Richard Symonds, claimed to be Peter's sole heir, occupied the property at Ingleby in Chadwell and Temple Marsh in West Ham before selling them, breaking the terms of Peter's will. By 1600, after reportedly paying £280, the Winchester city corporation secured the land. It is unknown when exactly the almshouse was constructed, though it was in progress in 1604, and has been accepted to be complete by 1607.
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gave royal consent for the hospital in 1615, thus giving the hospital legal status.


Notes


References

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External links


Peter Symonds College history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symonds, Peter 1520s births 1580s deaths Businesspeople from Winchester 16th-century English merchants