William Canynges

William Canynges was a merchant at the forefront of Bristol’s affairs from 1360 until his death, during which period he served as mayor for five terms.

He started his career by engaging himself in the lucrative pilgrim traffic to Spain, acquiring in March 1368 the necessary licence, in partnership with Elias Spelly, for their jointly-owned ship La Seint Marie Cogge to transport pilgrims to the shrine of St. James of Compostella; and the following February Canynges obtained permission to convoy as many passengers as he pleased, returning home with merchandise. His other lucrative business in shipping was in shipping hides from Ireland to Calais. His main product of export was cloth and the principal markets were Gascony, Spain and Portugal. He was also involved in manufacturing of cloth. His imports included woad, wax, oil and carcasses, and in the autumn of 1391 his ship La Rodecogge docked with a cargo of fruit and wine from Bordeaux. Like his fellow merchants of the time, Canynges encountered a number of setbacks such as piracy and the bad weather that wrecked the ships.

Canynges held a number of civic offices in Bristol and was mayor in 1373-4, 1375-6, 1381-2, 1385-6, and 1389-90. He was also a Member of Parliament in 1365, 1383, and 1386.