William Joynier Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Sir
William Joynier
Office:Mayor of London
Term Start:1239
Term End:1240
Predecessor:Richard Renger
Successor:Gerard Bat
Occupation:Merchant, Banker
Office1:Sheriff of the City of London and Middlesex
Termstart2:1222
Termend2:1223
Predecessor2:Thomas Lambert
Successor2:John Travers

Sir William Joynier was a rich 13th-century merchant and Sheriff of the City of London who served as Mayor of London from 1239 to 1240.

Biography

In 1204 Joynier was instructed to investigate the condition of Newgate Prison and Holborn Bridge and authorise repairs. He was able to make loans to Henry III from a young age. From 1219 Joynier supplied the royal household with luxury goods and built an extensive trading network that extended from Scotland and Ireland to Poitou.[1]

Joynier was made Sheriff of the City of London in 1223.[2] He was subsequently elected to serve as 12th Mayor of London between 1239 and 1240.[3]

Joynier's relationship with the monarch was not always an easy one. The fine rolls of Henry III for 1224 contain an order for Joynier's arrest in order to recover possessions given to Joynier by the disgraced Falkes de Breauté.[4] Joynier had a more serious conflict with Henry in 1239 when, whilst serving as Mayor, he defended the city's privileges and refused to admit Simon FitzMary, appointed by the king without election. However, these incidents did not deter Joynier's trade with the royal household or relationship with the court. Joynier supplied wine to the king in 1241 and was appointed as one of the custodians of the royal treasure in the Tower of London in 1242.[1]

Apart from banking and trade, Joynier also had income from estates in Middlesex and Cambridgeshire. He also had a number of tenements in the city in Cheapside, All Hallows Honey Lane and St. Mary Magdalen, Milk Street[1]

Joynier used some of his wealth to pay for the entire construction of the Greyfriars chapel and contributed two hundred pounds towards construction of other monastic buildings on the site in Saint Nicholas in the Shambles.[5] Joynier's support for the Friars spanned the latter two decades of his life.

Joynier died in about 1248.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Röhrkasten, Jens . The Mendicant Houses of Medieval London, 1221-1539 . LIT Verlag Münster. 2004. 413–415. 9783825881177 .
  2. Web site: Addenda: The Mayors and Sheriffs of London . John Noorthouck . Institute of Historical Research . 1773 . A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark . 18 March 2013 .
  3. Web site: Lord Mayors of the City of London from 1189 . cityoflondon.gov.uk . 18 March 2013.
  4. Web site: 10 HENRY III (28 October 1225–27 October 1226) . Henry III Fine rolls Project . 18 March 2013.
  5. Book: The Coming of the Friars Minor to England and Germany. Alex G. . Little . H. . Boehmer. 29, 52 . Kessinger Publishing . 2003 . reprint . 9780766174627.