| Notes |
- From "Sharp Practice" by Rosie Bevan (citation details below):
Robert Fabyan [...] was born around 1450 and must have been aged around five years old when his father died. Perhaps owing to his academic ability he was briefly educated at Oxford in "grammaticals and something in logicalls", but by 1468 was latterly apprenticed to Sir Thomas Cooke, Draper of London and former Mayor, when Cooke was arrested for treason and Robert was aged about 18. Owing to the fallout over Cooke's imprisonment and disgrace, Robert was forced to apprentice himself again to William Holme of the Draper's Company. Before 1483 he married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of John Pake, a London draper, by Elizabeth Stokker, who brought him lands in Theydon Garnon, Theydon Mount, Lambourne, East Ham, West Ham, and Leyton. With her he had a large family of sixteen children.
Robert had a distinguished civic career. His evident capability in financial administration came into play in 1486, when he was appointed auditor of the accounts of the City of London -- perhaps an early skill learnt under tuition from his stepfather, Nicholas. In 1492 he was one of the guarantors for the loyalty of Thomas, Marquis of Dorset for 100 marks. In 1493 he was Sheriff of London, elected master of the Drapers in 1495 and subsequently chosen with Mr Recorder to seek redress of the new levies imposed on English cloths in the archduke Philip's territory in 1496. In 1497 when the Cornish rebels marched against London, he was appointed to keep the gates of Ludgate and Newgate secure. In 1501 he was again elected as Master of the Drapers and in 1502 served on the commission of inquiry into the silting up of the river Flete and the ensuing blockage impeding the passage of boats and the buildup of waste.
Perhaps owing to the level of royal interference and, like his brother, wary of high office after what happened to Sir Thomas Cooke, he afterwards resigned as Alderman on the grounds that he did not have enough assets to support mayoral election and retired to his mansion called Halstead's in Theydon Garnon in Essex. Here he reverted to his true passion of meticulously compiling the histories for which he is now known -- The Chronicles of London and The New Chronicles of England and France, printed posthumously in 1516. These were the culmination of years of study of books and manuscripts, and later were used as source material for John Stowe the antiquary who later owned some of his manuscripts, John Fox the martyrologist, and even William Shakespeare the playwright.
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Nielsen Hayden genealogy
Abt 1450 - 1513 (~ 63 years)
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