William de la Pole (Chief Baron of the Exchequer)

William de la Pole
19th-century statue of William de la Pole
Died	1366

Sir William de la Pole (died 21 June 1366) was a wealthy wool merchant in Kingston upon Hull, England, a royal moneylender and briefly, Chief Baron of the Exchequer.

He established the de la Pole family as one of the primary houses of England through his mercantile and financial success, as well as initiating the foundation of the Charterhouse monastery in Hull.

William de la Pole is generally held to be the second eldest of three brothers; he had an elder brother and associate Richard de la Pole (died 1345) who was also a merchant, and a younger brother, John. His date of birth has been estimated from 1290 to 1295 or possibly earlier.

There is much confusion and differing opinion on William's parentage, though a father William, of either Ravenser or Hull is referred to in a number of sources. Historical research may have been muddled through the presence of more than one William de la Pole in Hull in the first half of the 14th century, one the nephew of the other; the younger was the son of William's brother Richard.Harvey (1957) found no documentary evidence for a man named William de la Pole in either Hull or Ravenser prior to William and Richard, and on the brothers Richard and William stated: "Neither their parentage nor place of origin seem to have been revealed by the brothers, and these remain unsolved mysteries".

Several Victorian era sources make the statement that his father was called William de la Pole, as do the 17th century historians William Dugdale and William Camden.Frost (1827) notes that the description of the father's status are subject to contradiction by historians: in some sources he is described as a merchant, in others as a knight. A link to a William de la Pole, merchant of Totnes has also be suggested, but lacks evidence.

A number of sources identify Elena as the mother of William and Richard, and as wife of William the father; Elena is said to have remarried to a John Rotenheryng, merchant of Hull after the father's death.Harvey (1957) surmises that the identification of Elena as the mother of William is an error, based on a misinterpretation of the text the will of John Rotenhering;Harvey (1957) concludes that the brother's were orphans of an important family, and that John Rotenhering (of Hull) and Robert Rotenhering (of Ravenser), both important merchants, acted as guardians. John Rotenhering appears to have been acted as the de la Pole brothers' guardian; much of his property passed to the brothers after his heir Alicia died in 1340 with no descendents.