Thomas Sutton's reputation as the wealthiest commoner in England at the time of his death in 1611 was matched by the scale of the charity which he founded at the Charterhouse in Clerkenwell. It was the most lavishly endowed charity created between the Reformation and the eighteenth century, consisting of the largest almshouse ever founded in England and a school which developed into one of its leading public schools. The royal connection established...