Great Tooley of Ipswich: Portrait of an Early Tudor Merchant

The life and work of a provincial merchant, his organisation of his business affairs, and his role in civic life.

When Henry Tooley drew up his will shortly before his death in 1551 he ensured the survival of two monuments to his career as a merchant in Ipswich: the almshouses which still stand in the town, and an account book which the Corporation originally acquired to administer his bequest and now hold in their archives. From this rare and valuable record, augmented by a few family and business letters and a thorough search of local and national archives the author has written a brief but impressive biography. A major consideration throughout this biography has been to place the subject in the social and economic framework of his time. This aim is followed most effectively, not only in thechapters on overseas and internal trade but also in the account of his participation in town government. Great Tooley is thus more than a simple biography; it presents, with meticulous scholarship, an illuminating pictureof wider problems and developments in the early Tudor period. the Suffolk Records Society is to be congratulated on publishing this volume. BRIAN DIETZ, ARCHIVES