ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Sir Thomas Gresham is remembered as a Londoner, and indeed as one of London's most prominent and celebrated benefactors, but he occupied in fact a somewhat anomalous position, born into and surrounded by the civic culture of London society but never fully integrated into the world of public service and civic office which was one of the chief characteristics of that society. London's population in this period was extremely fluid, physically and socially mobile, and experiencing rapid change and turnover. By contrast, the rulers of London had a strikingly cohesive identity, bonded by shared experience, sociability, and sense of collective responsibility. In many ways Sir Thomas Gresham reflected the London of which he was a native, but in other respects he was exceptional. By drawing attention to these characters of London society and of Gresham's life and experience, we can reach a better appreciation of his individuality.
