John Moore (Lord Mayor)

Sir John Moore (11 June 1620–2 June 1702) was the Member of Parliament for the City of London from 15 May 1685 to 9 January 1687,[1] and Lord Mayor of London, 1681–82.[2] He also invested in the slave trade.[3]

Sir John Moore, Lord Mayor of London, mezzotint by James Macardell after portrait by Sir Peter Lely.

Biography

He was born in Snarestone Lodge near Snarestone, Leicestershire, on 11 June 1620, the son of Charles Moore Esq., a local landowner and owner of Appleby Hall, Appleby Magna. Snarestone Lodge was the Lodge house to his mother's family estate: Snarestone Hall (now Demolished)

As his elder brother, also called Charles, was expected to inherit the family estates, as second son, Sir John, was expected to make his own way in the world. Sir John, and all subsequent generations of younger sons, went to London to make a living as merchants. He became a merchant in London, was active in the lead business,[4] then in trade with East India, and became Master of the Grocer's Company. Originally a non-conformist, he entered the Church of England, and was consequently able to take a seat as alderman for Walbrook. He was knighted in 1672, and elected Sheriff that same year. He was a representative of the Court party in the reign of Charles II, and active in supporting its influence in the City of London. He was elected one of the representative from the city to the 1685 Parliament [2]

Moore was a Member of Court of Assistants (essentially the Board of Directors) of the Royal African Company, 1687–9 and 1700–1702, and was an investor in Guinea trade. He was a shareholder in the East India Company. For these reasons he has been proposed to have been a major player in the British slave trade [3]

Statue of Sir John Moore at Sir John Moore Church of England Primary School, Appleby Magna, Leicestershire.

Legacy

He contributed large sums to the erection of schools at Christ's Hospital, and founded a free grammar school in Appleby Magna. He died aged 81, on 2 June 1702, leaving his estates, worth £80,000 (£6,247,200 today[5]), to his two nephews.[2]

Politically, he was a Tory and, upon becoming Lord Mayor, was celebrated in song as the man who would keep the commoners in their place:[6]

May Moore ne'er cease to stand up for the Crown
'Gainst the Presumptous Rabble of the Town

A statue of Moore by Grinling Gibbons was erected at Christ's Hospital in London, but was moved in 1902 to Christ's Hospitals School, Horsham, Sussex.[3]

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References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 October 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). "Moore, John (1620-1702)" . Dictionary of National Biography. 38. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 358–9.
  3. Dresser, M. (1 January 2007). "Set in Stone? Statues and Slavery in London". History Workshop Journal. 64 (1): 162–199. doi:10.1093/hwj/dbm032. ISSN 1363-3554.
  4. Stephen Glover (1829), The History of the County of Derby, Henry Mozley And Son
  5. "The National Archives - Currency converter: 1270–2017".
  6. Tim Harris (1990), London Crowds in the Reign of Charles II, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521398459
Political offices
Preceded by
Sir Patience Ward		 Lord Mayor of London
1680–1681		 Succeeded by
William Prichard
Preceded by
Thomas Pilkington		 MP for City of London
1685–1687		 Succeeded by
William Prichard
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