Robert Aske (merchant)

Robert Aske (24 February 1619 – 27 January 1689) was a merchant in the City of London. He is remembered primarily for the charitable foundation created from his estate, which nowadays operates two schools in Hertfordshire, Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School and Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls, and others elsewhere.

Aske was the son of an affluent draper. Aske was apprenticed to John Trott, a haberdasher (dealer in raw silk) and East India Company merchant. Aske became a of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in 1643 and was elected an Alderman of the City of London in 1666. He became Master of the Haberdashers' Company, but was removed from that position by James II in 1687 when the Catholic King lost faith in Aske, a Protestant.

Despite marrying twice, Aske had no children and left the bulk of his sizable estate, £32,000 (equivalent to £55.8m in 2010, against average earnings), to his livery company for charitable purposes. He directed that £20,000 was to be used to buy a piece of land within one mile of The City upon which was to be built a "hospital" (almshouses) for 20 poor members of the Company and a school for 20 sons of poor Freemen of the Company. The remaining £12,000 was left to form the Haberdashers' Aske's Foundation, of which the Company is Trustee. The charity was incorporated by a private Act of Parliament in 1690.

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