Merchant Neighbors of the More Family on Milk Street

Abstract

This paper provides basic research on eleven individuals who were neighbors of the More family living on Milk Street in London from roughly the 1490s into the 1530s. All but one were Mercers and all belonged to the Merchant Adventurers, who dealt in overseas trade. The most famous were Sir Thomas Kitson, Sir James Yarford, and Sir Richard Gresham. They, and some of the other neighbors, can be tied in various ways with Thomas More. This is especially true from about 1509, after More himself was admitted to the guild. The paper argues that More’s service began even earlier, back to at least 1505, when he helped the Mercers with land transactions, as they planned to build their new hall and chapel. For almost all of his adult life – right up to when he resigned from the Lord Chancellorship in 1532 – Thomas More was involved in the affairs of his fellow guild members and his very rich neighbors.