Elias Davy - Croydon’s forgotten hero

In 1443 Elias Davy, Citizen of London and Member of the Mercers’ Company, purchased from Richard Crulle, Citizen of London and Bowyer, a parcel of marshland near to Croydon Parish Church for the purpose of providing an almshouse for the poor of Croydon. By April 1447 it had been drained, orchards and gardens had been planted, four cottages and an almshouse for seven individuals of either sex built and tenants found for the cottages and remaining farmland so as to provide financial support for his charity.

This almshouse survived the Reformation and Dissolution and other hazards of history, gradually increasing its holding of land and property in an ever developing Croydon and maintaining a secure and welcomed position. Its importance as a gift was recognised by Croydonians, who called it ‘The Great Almshouse’, until the late 19th century when the building was enlarged and use of the nickname died out. Successfully managed over the centuries by Vicars of Croydon and Trustees, including members of the Mercers’ Company, the charity combined with others in 1975 to provide a new block of flats sited in Duppas Hill Terrace and named the Elis David Almshouses, ‘Elias Davy’ having been mistranslated in very early years. The Charity of Elias Davy, although now locally of low profile, is still alive and well in the 21st century.

So who was this man considered to be one of Croydon’s most important benefactors? He was born about 1385, the place as yet unknown for there is no evidence to show that he was born locally. He probably spent his formative years in a religious household for he was deeply devout all his life. In 1398 he was apprenticed to Thomas Fauconer, Citizen of London and Mercer, by whom he would have been greatly influenced. The Mercers’ Company was the premier livery company of London.

Thomas Fauconer was a rising star of the City of London and was to become Sheriff, Tax Collector, Collector of Customs and Subsidies, Master of the Mercers’ Company, Alderman, Mayor of London and Member of Parliament.

This apprenticeship involved being part of Thomas Fauconer's household and would have provided Elias Davy with opportunities for contact with the wealthy and politically powerful men at the centre of London’s commercial and civic life: men such as Richard Whittington, four times Mayor of London, three times Master of the Mercers’ Company, great benefactor of the City and founder of the Whittington Almshouses.

Elias Davy gained his Freedom of the City in 1405/6. He dealt extensively in wool and luxury fabrics, reaching the peak of his success in 1433. He traded in Bruges and participated in the developing wool market in Norwich.

He married twice, his first wife, Matilda, dying after they had had only a brief time together. She was buried in the Chapel of the Hospital of St Thomas of Acon, Ironmonger Lane, where the Mercers’ Company held their meetings and Services. The Mercers’ Company is still on this site – the original home of Thomas Beckett.

Elias Davy, in the custom of the time when company members looked after their own, then married Elena Roos, the young widow of Mercer Richard Roos. He thus inherited a stepson, Richard Roos, whose half brother, Thomas, had been apprenticed to Richard Whittington, and who remained close to his master up to and including his death (he was at the bedside) in 1423.

Elias and Elena Davy had two children: Elias who did not reach adulthood and Margaret who married John Derby, Citizen of London, Master of the Drapers’ Company, Sheriff, Auditor and Alderman. Margaret and John Derby had two sons, Elias and John, who predeceased their father. Margaret died before 1455 and was buried in St Dionis Bakchurch where her husband endowed a chantry chapel.

Elias Davy and his family lived in the parish of St Michael, Bassieshaw, in the City of London, near to the Guildhall and not far from Ironmonger Lane. He attended the church of St Michael, fulfilling duties as a trustee of various properties and orphan children.

There is little doubt that he was a man of deep religious faith devoted to the orthodox practices of the established church. He was in trouble in 1414 during the time of the Lollard uprisings when, at the age of twenty eight, he, along with others, was fined eighty pounds for assault on one John Eston. This John Eston and two of his friends were to cause Thomas Fauconer a great deal of trouble for several years after censure by him in the Sheriff’s Court.

In 1443, at the age of fifty eight, Elias Davy began the preparation for his almshouse, purchasing and preparing the land, obtaining a licence from King Henry VI and permission from the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Stafford, and the Abbot of Bermondsey, John Bromleigh. In this period Croydon’s first almshouse, founded by William Oliver, Vicar of Croydon, was abandoned after its founder had fallen into debt. It must have been a great relief to Croydon that the Elis David Almshouse was securely endowed.

He founded his almshouse in perpetuity and intended it to be a religious community of prayer and care. His ordinances were, in part, word for word the same as those for the Whittington Almshouses. They were extremely detailed and covered all eventualities, and he was to have a firm grip on its management until his death in 1455 when it was left in the care of the Vicar of Croydon and the Trustees, including the Master and Wardens of the Mercers’ Company.

He died on 4 December 1455 aged seventy and was buried in an altar tomb with brasses on the north wall of Croydon Parish Church which was then being redeveloped. His tomb survived the fire of 1867 but not the rebuilding, when it was demolished to make way for a pillar. Amongst his instructions were requests for his almshouse residents to pray around his tomb daily and to remember his ‘Years Mynde’ (the anniversary of his death) annually. The Mynde Day Service, discontinued during the Reformation, was recommenced in the year 2000 including the prayers that he had requested.

In 1452/3 Elias Davy took out a sixty year lease on a manor at Acton from the Priory and Convent of St Bartholomew at Smithfield as an investment in order to pay for prayers for his soul to be said in Croydon Parish Church after his death. Elena Davy outlived her husband, probably spending her last years in Acton.

In Elias Davy’s will, lengthy and written in ecclesiastical Latin, he left, in addition to a number of other legacies, generous bequests to the churches of St Michael, Bassieshaw and St John the Baptist, Croydon.

He appears to have been a devout, shrewd, kind person who gave great attention to details; like others of his time he was concerned for his soul and the souls of his parents and Matilda. His almshouse, Croydon’s oldest, has been incredibly successful, providing secure accommodation and a caring community for five hundred and fifty six years. Yet, by many, his name has been forgotten.

Sue Turnbull

Acknowledgements - Sue Turnbull writes (10/12/2003): I regret omitting the acknowledgements in the original article in the Bulletin of March 2003.

For assistance in various ways I thank the Trustees of the Croydon Almshouse Charities, the Master and Wardens of the Mercers' Company and, in particular, Ursula S. Carlyle, the Archivist and Curator of the Mercer's Company.

Top of page ~ Index of Bulletin issues ~ CNHSS Archives Page

Last updated December 10^th 2003
© 2003 Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society Limited