Sir William De La Pole

William de la Pole was originally a merchant in Ravenser, but by the 1310s he had moved to Kingston upon Hull. In years to follow he became one of the richest men in the 14th century England through trade in wool and as a royal financier.

William’s chief interest was in the wool trade, and during the 1320s he was exporting increasing quantities of wool from Hull. During the same period William had begun providing finance to Edward II (r. 1307 – 1327) relating to his conflict with the French over Gascony. In partnership with his brother, Richard, he continued to finance the Crown’s wars with Scotland during the reign of Edward III (r. 1327 – 1377) under the regency of Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella. During the 1330s, William was increasingly in the service of the king, acquiring supplies and providing ships for his wars with the Scots, and commissioning and commandeering ships for the dynastic dispute with France. By 1338 he had set up a £111,000 loan for Edward III, an unprecedented sum in that age. The loans to the Crown were secured against the customs revenues, a precedent that many financiers were subsequently to follow.

At his death William de la Pole was worth at least £30,000, about £12.7bn in 2010s money.