Richard Hoare (banker)

File:Jonathan Richardson the elder (1667-1745) - Sir Richard Hoare I (1648–1718), Kt, as Lord Mayor - 732191 - National Trust.jpg

Sir Richard Hoare.

Sir Richard Hoare (1648 – 6 January 1719)<ref name=ODNB>Victoria Hutchings, "Hoare, Sir Richard (1648–1719)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 12 November 2014.</ref> was the English founder of C. Hoare & Co, the oldest extant bank in the United Kingdom.

Business career

Raised near Smithfield Market in London,<ref>Hutchings, V. (2000), p. 8.</ref> only son of horse-dealer Henry Hoare (died 1699) and Cicely (died 1679), Richard Hoare began his working life apprenticed to the goldsmith Richard Moore<ref name=Hutchings10>Hutchings, V. (2000), p. 10.</ref> from 9 June 1665 for seven years.<ref name=ODNB /> He was granted the Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths on 5 July 1672. This date marks the foundation of C. Hoare & Co as a goldsmith's business at the sign of the Golden Bottle in Cheapside, London.<ref name=Hutchings10 />

Political career

Hoare, a Tory, stood for election as Sheriff of London in June 1702 but was unsuccessful. He was knighted by Queen Anne in October 1702.<ref name=hoprh>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He attained the office of alderman in September 1703. At the election of May 1705, he first stood for the constituency of London, but could only manage fifth<ref name=hopl>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> place as the City Tories were soundly defeated. He also failed in the City election of 1708, finishing seventh<ref name=hopl/> as the Whigs once again dominated the poll.<ref name=hoprh/>

Contesting the mayoral election of September 1710 he unsuccessfully challenged the Whig leader (Sir) Gilbert Heathcote but was appointed Sheriff of London instead and was elected to Parliament in the same year, finishing second in the poll.<ref name=hopl/> He finally became Lord Mayor of London in September 1712<ref>Hutchings, V. (2000), p. 29.</ref> having also contested the election in 1711.<ref name=hoprh/> The City election of 1713 saw Hoare returned to Parliament having again finished second<ref name=hopl/> but he did not stand in 1715. He subsequently withdrew from public life in 1718 due to ill-health.<ref name=hoprh/> Hoare died at Hendon on 6 January 1719.<ref>Hutchings, V. (2000), p. 30.</ref>

A monument to his memory stands in the church of St Dunstan-in-the-West and was designed and created by Thomas Stayner.<ref>Dictionary of British Architects 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis, p. 369</ref>

Family

Hoare married Susanna Austen; they had 17 children (one of whom was Henry Hoare I).<ref>Hutchings, V. (2000), p. 230.</ref>

Further reading

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