Sir Christopher Clitherow

Christopher Clitherow was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1628 to 1629.

A son of a prosperous merchant and a master of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, Clitherow followed his father into the trade of ironmongery. Eventually he rose to become master of the Ironmonger’s Company.

However, the real fortune Clitherow amassed in the trade with East Indies. He subscribed to early Company’s voyages where the profit margin was 95%. One part of a large fortune accumulated in trade, he invested in land and acquired property in London and estates in Essex and Hertfordshire. In the following years Clitherow served as a member of the committee of the East India Company and its Deputy Governor in 1625. He was knighted by King Charles I in 1635.

Clitherow was also active in efforts to discover the North West Passage, a sea route that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Christopher Clitherow created two scholarships at Oxford University which bear his name.

At his death his wealth was around £100,000, equivalent to 0.28% of the £35m net national income. Today that would be £3.1 bn.