Sir Robert Vyner, 1st Baronet (alternatively Viner) (16312 September 1688) was an English banker, goldsmith and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

. Vyner was born in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, but migrated in early life to London, where he was apprenticed to his uncle, Sir Thomas Vyner (1588–1665), a goldsmith-banker, was

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

in 1674–1675.

Life

Vyner was born in Warwick in 1631. He migrated to London in his early life. After moving to London, Robert soon became a partner in his uncle's business, and in 1666 was elected an Alderman of the City of London; in 1665 he was made a knight, and in the following year a baronet. He was sheriff during the year of the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

, and was chosen Lord Mayor of the

in 1674. Combining like his uncle the business of a banker with that of a goldsmith, Viner, who produced the jewel-studded replica of the Crown of St. Edward and the King's Orb, used for Charles II's coronation in 1661, was brought much into contact with Charles II and with the court. The king attended his mayoral banquet, and the Lord Mayor erected an equestrian statue in his honour on a spot now covered by Mansion House. Sir Robert bought

Swakeleys House Swakeleys House is a Grade I-listed 17th-century mansion in Ickenham, London Borough of Hillingdon, England, built in 1638 for the future Lord Mayor of London, Sir Edmund Wright. The house is a leading example of the architectural style known ...

Ickenham Ickenham is an area in Greater London, forming the northern part of Uxbridge and within the London Borough of Hillingdon. While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britai ...

, west of London (near its outer edge, which has one open day per year) from the wife of Sir James Harrington soon after Harrington had fled to

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in 1660. Following the banquet attended by Charles II,

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

visited the house twice to borrow money on behalf of the king. Pepys recorded in his diary how Sir Robert had shown him the body of a black boy who had worked as a servant, but had died of

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

. The body had been dried in an oven and kept in a box, which would be shown to visitors.

Vyners School Vyners School is a secondary school and sixth form in Ickenham within the London Borough of Hillingdon. Since November 2011 the school has had an academy status. The headteacher is Gary Mullings. History The school was named after Sir Rob ...

, a secondary school in Ickenham is named after Sir Robert. In 1659 he served as

High Sheriff of Norfolk The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Norfolk was originally the principal law enforcement officer in Norfolk and presided at the assizes and other im ...

. Having been appointed the king's goldsmith in 1661, Sir Robert was one of those who lent large sums of money for the expenses of the state and the extravagances of the court; over £400,000 was owing to him when the national exchequer suspended payment in the move called the

Great Stop of the Exchequer The Great Stop of the Exchequer or Stop of the Exchequer was a repudiation of state debt that occurred in England in 1672 under the reign of Charles II of England. The stop and its causes Under Charles II the state finances were in such a grievou ...

1672, and he was reduced to the necessity of compounding with his creditors. He obtained from the state an annuity of £25,000. Viner was a signatory to ''The Several Declarations of The Company of Royal Adventurers of England Trading into Africa'', a document published in 1667 which led to the creation of the

Royal Africa Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast. It was overseen by the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II of Engl ...

. Viner died in

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on 2 September 1688.

Notes

References

* * This work in turn cites: **''Viner: a Family History'', published anonymously (1885).

Life

Notes

References

Further reading