William Jones (haberdasher)
| William Jones | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1545–1550? Newland, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | January 1615 Hamburg |
| Occupation | haberdasher |
| Known for | founding schools in Wales |
William Jones (c.1545/1550 – January 1615) was a London haberdasher, born in Newland, Gloucestershire, England. He is remembered for his bequests, which led to the establishment of schools in Monmouth and Pontypool, almshouses at Newland, and the so-called "Golden Lectureship" in London.
Jones was apprenticed in Monmouth, but moved to London at about the age of 20. According to one source, he left Monmouth after being unable to pay a fine, and in London became first a porter and then a factor before setting up business in Hamburg, trading in so-called "Welsh cottons", which were in fact made from cheap woollen fabric. The suggestion that he rose from poverty to great wealth has been questioned. The most recent history of Monmouth School suggests he may have been related to Monmouthshire gentry and suggests; "it seems unlikely that his considerable commercial success could have been achieved without initial capital behind him." He became a successful businessman and trader, and a very wealthy member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers. According to the antiquary Charles Heath, writing in 1804, Jones returned to Newland at the height of his prosperity, and "instead of appearing in the character and circumstances of his real situation, he assumed the garb and distress of a pauper." Jones is believed to have died in Hamburg in January 1615.
In his last will and testament, dated 26 December 1614, besides making many bequests to members of his family, he left "nyne thousand pounds to the Company of Haberdashers of London to ordain a Preacher, a Free School and Alms houses for twenty poor and distressed people, as blind and lame as it shall seem best to them, of the Town of Monmouth, where it shall be bestowed". The endowment also included large areas of land in south London, notably around Deptford, much of which was later sold to railway companies; and additional funds were invested by the Haberdashers Company in Kent and Staffordshire.
...
Wikipedia