Sir John Cass
Encyclopedia
Sir John Cass was a merchant, politician and philanthropist. He was born in Rosemary Lane, in the City of London
. He was the son of Thomas Cass, carpenter to the Royal Ordnance
. In 1665, the family moved to Grove Street, in South Hackney
to escape the plague
.
, for the ward of Portsoken
and in 1711 was elected Sheriff
. He was elected as one of the Tory
MP
s for the City
in 1710
; until losing to the Whig faction in 1715
. He was appointed a commissioner of the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches
, in 1711; this was a scheme to provide new churches for the rapidly expanding population of the metropolis. He was knighted in 1713; and died in 1718 of a brain haemorrhage. He was buried in the churchyard of St Mary Matfelon, in Whitechapel
; now the Altab Ali Park
.
Cass was a master of the Carpenter's Company
in 1713; but the following year transferred to the Skinner's Company
, and became their master. Between 1709–1715 he was treasurer to the Bethlem Royal Hospital
and the Bridewell,
He was also a philanthropist who founded a school for fifty boys and forty girls in buildings in the churchyard of St Botolph's Aldgate
in 1709. Cass had made a will at this time, but when his health failed in 1718, planned a new version taking account of the extra property he had acquired in the intervening years. Cass began a new will, but by the time of his death only three pages had been initialled. The will — worth £2000 — was contested by his heirs at law Court of Chancery
. Lady Cass continued as patroness of the schools, but died in 1732. The school continued for a few more years under the aegis of Valentine Brewis, one of the trustees Cass had named, but was closed down after his death in 1738. In the early 1740s the remaining trustees petitioned Parliament for the permanent endowment of the school, and the will was finally upheld 30 years after Cass's death. This enabled the Sir John Cass's Foundation to be established in 1748.
and merging to form the London Metropolitan University in 2002.
The modern Foundation provides support to a primary school within the City – near to St Botolph's; a secondary school (Sir John Cass Redcoat School
) in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
; the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Media and Design within London Metropolitan University
; and the Cass Business School within City University
.
The Foundation has provided funding for the Sir John Cass School of Education at the University of East London
campus in Stratford
. Funding has also been provided for the Sir John Cass Hall, a hall of residence for students, in Well Street, London Borough of Hackney
.
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. He was the son of Thomas Cass, carpenter to the Royal Ordnance
Royal Ordnance
Royal Ordnance plc was formed on 2 January 1985 as a public corporation, owning the majority of what until then were the remaining United Kingdom government-owned Royal Ordnance Factories which manufactured explosives, ammunition, small arms including the Lee-Enfield rifle, guns and military...
. In 1665, the family moved to Grove Street, in South Hackney
South Hackney
South Hackney is a district in the London Borough of Hackney situated north east of Charing Cross.It is immediately north of Victoria Park and the area centred on Victoria Park Road and Lauriston Road...
to escape the plague
Great Plague of London
The Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. The disease is identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector...
.
Career
Cass became a merchant, builder and politician who served as AldermanAlderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
, for the ward of Portsoken
Portsoken
Portsoken is a historical district in the City of London, located outside the former London Wall, on the eastern part of the City, near Aldgate. It is one of the 25 wards of the City....
and in 1711 was elected Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
. He was elected as one of the Tory
Tories (political faction)
The Tories were members of two political parties which existed, sequentially, in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain and later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the 17th to the early 19th centuries.-Overview:...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s for the City
City of London (UK Parliament constituency)
The City of London was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950.-Boundaries and boundary...
in 1710
British general election, 1710
The British general election, 1710 produced a landslide victory for the Tory party in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell and the collapse of the previous Whig government lead by Godolphin and the Whig junto...
; until losing to the Whig faction in 1715
British general election, 1715
The British general election of 1715 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707...
. He was appointed a commissioner of the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches
Commission for Building Fifty New Churches
The Commission for Building Fifty New Churches was an organisation set up by Act of Parliament in England in 1711, with the purpose of building fifty new churches for the rapidly growing conurbation of London...
, in 1711; this was a scheme to provide new churches for the rapidly expanding population of the metropolis. He was knighted in 1713; and died in 1718 of a brain haemorrhage. He was buried in the churchyard of St Mary Matfelon, in Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
; now the Altab Ali Park
Altab Ali Park
Altab Ali Park is a small park on Adler Street, White Church Lane and Whitechapel High Street, London E1; formerly known as St. Mary's Park it is the site of the old 14th Century white chapel, St. Mary Matfelon, from which the area of Whitechapel gets its name. Having been destroyed in The Blitz...
.
Cass was a master of the Carpenter's Company
Worshipful Company of Carpenters
The Worshipful Company of Carpenters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Carpenters were traditionally different from a fellow wood-crafting company, the Joiners' and Ceilers' Company, in that the Carpenters utilised nails while the Joiners used adhesives to attach wood.The...
in 1713; but the following year transferred to the Skinner's Company
Worshipful Company of Skinners
The Worshipful Company of Skinners is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was originally an association of those engaged in the trade of skins and furs...
, and became their master. Between 1709–1715 he was treasurer to the Bethlem Royal Hospital
Bethlem Royal Hospital
The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in London, United Kingdom and part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Although no longer based at its original location, it is recognised as the world's first and oldest institution to specialise in mental illnesses....
and the Bridewell,
He was also a philanthropist who founded a school for fifty boys and forty girls in buildings in the churchyard of St Botolph's Aldgate
St Botolph's Aldgate
St Botolph's Church, Aldgate, St Botolph-without-Aldgate, or just Aldgate Church, is a Church of England liberal and inclusive parish church in the City of London, standing at the junction of Houndsditch and Aldgate High Street. The current 18th century church is made of brick with stone quoins...
in 1709. Cass had made a will at this time, but when his health failed in 1718, planned a new version taking account of the extra property he had acquired in the intervening years. Cass began a new will, but by the time of his death only three pages had been initialled. The will — worth £2000 — was contested by his heirs at law Court of Chancery
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
. Lady Cass continued as patroness of the schools, but died in 1732. The school continued for a few more years under the aegis of Valentine Brewis, one of the trustees Cass had named, but was closed down after his death in 1738. In the early 1740s the remaining trustees petitioned Parliament for the permanent endowment of the school, and the will was finally upheld 30 years after Cass's death. This enabled the Sir John Cass's Foundation to be established in 1748.
Sir John Cass's Foundation
His charity continued to fund the Sir John Cass Foundation School as well as providing for the establishment of the Sir John Cass Technical Institute, which was founded in 1899 and moved into newly built premises at 31 Jewry Street, London, in 1902; becoming Sir John Cass College in 1950. In 1965, the College's Department of Fine and Applied art merged with the Department of Silversmithing and Allied Crafts from the Central School of Art to form the Sir John Cass School of Art, which moved into its own new premises at Central House, opposite the Whitechapel Art Gallery. The Sir John Cass College merged with the City of London College in 1970 to form the City of London Polytechnic; becoming London Guildhall UniversityLondon Guildhall University
London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form London Metropolitan University...
and merging to form the London Metropolitan University in 2002.
The modern Foundation provides support to a primary school within the City – near to St Botolph's; a secondary school (Sir John Cass Redcoat School
Sir John Cass Redcoat School
Sir John Cass Redcoat School is a Church of England School in Stepney, in the East End of London. The last Ofsted report in 2008 classed it as outstanding.-Catchment:...
) in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
; the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Media and Design within London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
; and the Cass Business School within City University
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
.
The Foundation has provided funding for the Sir John Cass School of Education at the University of East London
University of East London
The University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
campus in Stratford
Stratford, London
Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...
. Funding has also been provided for the Sir John Cass Hall, a hall of residence for students, in Well Street, London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
.
Memorials
- A statue of Cass is placed outside the Sir John Cass School, at Duke's Place and Mitre Street. He is shown wearing a long wig and the Sheriff's gown. This is a copy of the cast-lead original (by Roubiliac), dated 1751, which is housed in the GuildhallGuildhall, LondonThe Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
. - Cassland Road in Hackney commemorates the land holdings of the Cass family, in the district.
- A row of almshouses (founded by William Monger) in 1669, were subsequently funded by land owned by Cass on Hackney MarshesHackney MarshesHackney Marshes is an area of grassland on the western bank of the River Lea in the London Borough of Hackney. It was incorporated into the Lee Valley Park in 1967...
. In 1849, they were rebuilt by Sir John Cass's Foundation.