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Article THE KNIGHTS OF ST. HELEN'S. ← Page 6 of 11 →
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The Knights Of St. Helen's.
special grace and favour in which he w as held by the four monarchs he served , all annalists of the age make mention . The tomb of Sir Thomas Gresham claims , in right of its proximity , the next notice : it is a very simple altar-tomb , with black marble slab , and fluted sides of party-coloured marblessurrounded by an iron railingivhich was substituted
, , a feiv years since for a more delicate material , so corroded by decay as to have become worse than useless . This tomb ivas erected during his lifetime , but then had no inscription . In the year 1736 it was deemed prudent to supply this deficiency , and accordingly these few words ivere inscribed on the top : —¦
S THOMAS GETSSHAM KNIGHT bury" Decern '" ' the 15 "' 1579 . A large window adjoins this memorial , and contains , amongst other armorial bearings , those of this most excellent man . Of him it is impossible to speak too highly ; his charity , good sense , ancl elevated understanding , lift him to the i r ery highest
position in the annals of the metropolis . He was one of the first to prove that a desire for the promotion of learning , of skill in the arts and sciences , ancl zeal in the advancement of religion , are not inseparable from the ordinary traffic of trade . He Avas a merchant-prince in every sense of the ivord , ancl a sincere patriot . In his many negotiations Aiith the merchants
at Antwerp , ancl other toAvns in the LOAV Countries , he succeeded in establishing English credit on the highest footing . The death of his only son affected him greatly , ancl was one reason for the interest he took in establishing a Royal Exchange . Until the year 1567 there ivas no edifice of the kind in our
city , and it is to the earnestness ancl diligence of this most intelligent knight , that London was indebted for so useful a building . Gresham College ivas instituted and endowed by him , professorships of divinity , astronomy , music , & c , ivere appointed , ancl there is no doubt that the Royal Society originated in Sir Thomas Gresham ' s house , for the very earliest
meetings of that learned body were therein held . He was much esteemed by Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth ( was knighted by tlie latter sovereign ) , and was mainly instrumental in obtaining loans for them , ancl preserving their credit ivith foreign princes . He was a witness of two remarkable historical events : onethe abdication of Charles V . in favour of his son Phili
, p , at Brussels ; the other , the first council of our Queen Elizabeth , at Hatfield , in Hertfordshire , where she received the intelligence of her sister's death . In addition to his other liberal gifts , he founded some almshouses , and contributed very munificently to the hospitals and institutions for relieving the incii-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Knights Of St. Helen's.
special grace and favour in which he w as held by the four monarchs he served , all annalists of the age make mention . The tomb of Sir Thomas Gresham claims , in right of its proximity , the next notice : it is a very simple altar-tomb , with black marble slab , and fluted sides of party-coloured marblessurrounded by an iron railingivhich was substituted
, , a feiv years since for a more delicate material , so corroded by decay as to have become worse than useless . This tomb ivas erected during his lifetime , but then had no inscription . In the year 1736 it was deemed prudent to supply this deficiency , and accordingly these few words ivere inscribed on the top : —¦
S THOMAS GETSSHAM KNIGHT bury" Decern '" ' the 15 "' 1579 . A large window adjoins this memorial , and contains , amongst other armorial bearings , those of this most excellent man . Of him it is impossible to speak too highly ; his charity , good sense , ancl elevated understanding , lift him to the i r ery highest
position in the annals of the metropolis . He was one of the first to prove that a desire for the promotion of learning , of skill in the arts and sciences , ancl zeal in the advancement of religion , are not inseparable from the ordinary traffic of trade . He Avas a merchant-prince in every sense of the ivord , ancl a sincere patriot . In his many negotiations Aiith the merchants
at Antwerp , ancl other toAvns in the LOAV Countries , he succeeded in establishing English credit on the highest footing . The death of his only son affected him greatly , ancl was one reason for the interest he took in establishing a Royal Exchange . Until the year 1567 there ivas no edifice of the kind in our
city , and it is to the earnestness ancl diligence of this most intelligent knight , that London was indebted for so useful a building . Gresham College ivas instituted and endowed by him , professorships of divinity , astronomy , music , & c , ivere appointed , ancl there is no doubt that the Royal Society originated in Sir Thomas Gresham ' s house , for the very earliest
meetings of that learned body were therein held . He was much esteemed by Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth ( was knighted by tlie latter sovereign ) , and was mainly instrumental in obtaining loans for them , ancl preserving their credit ivith foreign princes . He was a witness of two remarkable historical events : onethe abdication of Charles V . in favour of his son Phili
, p , at Brussels ; the other , the first council of our Queen Elizabeth , at Hatfield , in Hertfordshire , where she received the intelligence of her sister's death . In addition to his other liberal gifts , he founded some almshouses , and contributed very munificently to the hospitals and institutions for relieving the incii-