Stephen Jenyns
[3] An artistic, architectural and educational patron, he founded Wolverhampton Grammar School, and took a leading part in the rebuilding of the church of St. Andrew Undershaft in the City of London.
[9] In an age of Guild reform, William Buck became Master of the Fraternity of Taylors in 1488–89 and commenced the Treasury Accounts Book for payments and receipts.
At the end of his term he and his successors enacted that various allowances (for fees and expenditures) customarily made to the Master should be discontinued: Jenyns repaid nearly £22 by way of example, including a contribution towards rebuilding a property belonging to the Guild near St Matthew Friday Street.
For Jenyns (for use in his 'Shrefewyk', or shrievalty) the Fraternity drew from their treasury twelve beautifully crafted spoons, and six silver bowls given by Rose Swan, with a gift of £26 13s.
[34] The appointment of John Kirton as Clerk of the Treasury ('clerk of Hell') in 1506 was obtained by royal writ, and was said (by his discharged predecessor) to have been purchased from the king for 300 marks by the management of Stephen Jenyns.
[35] Kirton joined with Stephen and Margaret Jenyns, and with John Nechylls, in acquiring lands in Whitstable, Seasalter, Chilham and Boughton under Blean, Kent, in 1505.
[42] In the year of his Mayoralty Sir Stephen and Dame Margaret Jenyns presented a Lectionary (with 16 devotional illustrations for the major feasts) to the church of St. Mary Aldermanbury, of which they were parishioners, which entered the Royal Collection and is now in the British Library.
A scene for the Feast of All Saints shows the blessed company of Heaven, with St. Stephen, St John the Baptist and St. Margaret of Antioch in the foreground representing the patrons of the donors.
[46] Immediately Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson, reviled counsellors of the late monarch, were arrested and imprisoned in the Tower.
On 23 June the royal procession went from the Tower of London to Westminster, the streets lined with the Crafts of all occupations, culminating with Stephen Jenyns and the aldermen.
[49] Three weeks later Jenyns led the Justices, Sir Robert Rede and others, hearing Dudley's indictment for Constructive treason at the London Guildhall, and was present at the arraignment.
The lines of dedication, written in Latin, in translation read: "Pray for the welfare of Stephen Jenyns Knight and Alderman of London and Dame Margaret his wife while they shall live, and for their souls when they shall pass hence from this light.
Dudley, awaiting conviction in the Tower, declared a will,[53] making Sir Andrew Windsor,[54] John Colet, Dr Yonge and Bishop FitzJames his executors or feoffees, seeking to thwart Ernley's intentions.
[56] Kirton and his associates (including Jenyns and Tyngeldon) refused to surrender the evidences to Ernley, who brought suit and writ dated June 1512.
[57] The first stipulation of Ernley's will (written in 1518) required a bond for Kirton's covenant to be paid to the king, and the closing phrases voluntarily compensated Lewknor's family.
[59] Pursuant to this, in April 1513 Jenyns was granted similar licence to alienate the manor of Rushock, Worcestershire, near Chaddesley Corbett,[60] worth £14 a year, to them for that purpose.
[61] John Nechylls was one of the attorneys appointed in May 1515 by Jenyns to grant livery of seisin of the manor to the Merchant Taylors, which was completed in June following.
John Nechylls (who held an important early copy of Chaucer's's translation of Boethius's work De Consolatione Philosophiae[65]) was 'of great acquaintance' with Lily, and Thomas became his apprentice for 13 years' service in Merchandize of the Staple.
[73] However Christopher Rawson, Mercer of London[74] and Stapler of Calais, who married William's sister Agnes Buck, bequeathed 'to Sir Stephyn Jenyns and my good Lady his wif' a ring of gold of 20 shillings graven with the Five Holy Wounds in 1518.
He wrote that the church "hath beene new builded by the parishioners there, since the year 1520. every man putting to his helping hande, some with their purses, other with their bodies: Steven Gennings marchant Taylor, sometime mayor of London, caused at his charges to bee builded the whole North side of the greate Middle Ile [aisle], both of the body [nave] and quier [choir], as appeareth by his arms over every pillar graven, and also the North Ile, which hee roofed with timber and seeled [ceiled], also the whole South side of the Church was glased, and the Pewes in the south Chappell made of his costes, as appeareth in every Window, and upon the said pewes.
He provided for many masses of requiem and dirige, for his soul and for the souls of his wives, to be sung by the priors and convents of Elsing Spital (St. Mary within Cripplegate), of St Mary Spital without Bishopsgate and of the London Charterhouse, the Abbots of Faversham,[84] Boxley and Stratford, the Franciscan friars at Greenwich and Richmond, and the two Lazar houses; and there were plenty of charitable bequests to be made.
In June 1522 he made a separate will to John Bennett, granting three parcels of land or property in London, and provision for the payment for his obits, to the Merchant Taylors.
[85] Obits were still being kept for him by the Merchant Taylors at St. Martin Outwich during the 1540s, but the moneys reserved for that purpose at the Greyfriars were surrendered to be stripped of their superstitious uses (and given over to profane ones).
[87] In this Herald's image the long sides of the rectangular tomb-chest are shown each divided into three equal panels framed by slender squared pilaster strips with gothic detailing.
This tomb was one of the great number listed by John Stow as having been destroyed or utterly defaced by Sir Martin Bowes.
Stephen Kirton, who as Jenyns's apprentice received a legacy of £20 from him, married Margaret, Offley's sister and now Nechylls's widow: he was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1534.
[98] Thomas Offley, whose father had witnessed the original endowment, acquired the manor of Madeley, Staffordshire, in 1547 and was involved in the administration of the Rushock estate.
