Place Name
Walthamstow born George Monoux (c. 1465 – February 8, 1544) was a merchant in Bristol and London and six times Master of the Worshipful Company of Drapers. He served as Lord Mayor of London and Bristol and was an important benefactor for his birthplace. James M Gibson in The Walthamstow Charities: Caring for the Poor 1500 – 2000 describes him as “Walthamstow’s first benefactor” who “was perhaps its most wealthy and most famous.” As a merchant, he traded out of Bristol to France, Spain and Portugal during the late 15thCentury. Having made a fortune importing wine, oil, salt, and sugar, he moved to London in the early 16thCentury. He added to his wealth trading cloth become a member of the Drapers’ Company and in 1523 he represented the City as its MP. In the meantime he used his growing prosperity to buy land in Bedfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Yorkshire and six other counties “including his country seat in Walthamstow, known as Moones, where he lived until his death.” Gibson adds: “Walthamstow benefited in numerous ways from the benefactions of George Monoux. he constructed a causeway over Walthamstow Marsh and two bridges on Lea Bridge Road. He had earthenware pipes from Mill Field to Chapel End, supplying spring water to the entire district as well as his house in Moones Lane, now Billet Road. In the parish church of St Mary’s he repaired the north aisle and built the tower at the west end and the Monoux Chapel at the east end, where he lies buried.” On June 15, 1527 Monoux purchased land for almshouses as well as a school in Walthamstow and in his will he left property worth £50 a year to pay the salaries of a schoolmaster and parish clerk, who were to pray for his soul and to teach up to 30 children. This chantry endowment lasted until 1548 when it was suppressed in the Reformation.
