ABSTRACT
Stephen Foster was baptised, at an unrecorded date, at Staunton Drew, Somerset; his brother, nephew and great nephew were still living there in 1458, and throughout his life Foster retained links with the West Country. One of his successful trading ventures was with William Cannynges, a wealthy Bristol merchant; together they owned the profitable ‘Katherine’ which traded to Iceland under a special dispensation from the King. Precisely when Foster based his business in London is unknown, but his family had held land in the city since 1385. Foster was a fishmonger, but also traded in grocers’ wares – he purchased 22 bales of pepper, worth £529, in one deal – and left money to both the grocers and fishmongers. Robert Foster was the name both of Stephen’s father and of one of his three sons; Rowley’s choice of the name for Stephen’s nephew and adopted son perhaps reflects a garbled history of the family.
