Person:William Honnyng (3)

in about 1470 a Roger HONING or HONNYNG of Algarkirk had (at least) two sons - William and Thomas; it is as a fishmonger that William HONING established himself in London. With premises in Oldefisshestrete in the City, and his own boats, by the turn of the century (c. 1500) William must have been a reasonably prosperous merchant and wholesaler - fish being an expensive commodity, but of religious importance at lent and on Fridays. Perhaps he came to London first as a dealer based in Algarkirk, then chose to base himself with his market, becoming a member of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers.

By 1509 William had obtained the most prized contract - supplier of fish to the royal household, and with the official position of a yeoman member of the "Acatery" - the catering division of the King's household - he was able to attend both the burial of Henry VII and the coronation of his son Henry VIII. By 1514 William had risen to the head of the Acatery - the sergeant responsible for provisioning the Household with oxen, sheep, calves, as well as his traditional cod-fish and salmon. His division employed sixteen purveyors; his position would afford him considerable commission and perquisites. He still owned his own ships - including The Christ in 1519.

William was central to the provisioning of the feasts and revelries in France in 1520 at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in the Val d'Or near Guines - in the pale around English Calais. When Henry VIII sought to impress the young French King Francis I with a fortnight of jousting and feasting, it was William who provided and shipped over 370 oxen, 2000 muttons, 86 veals and fresh fish.

1.   Barry, T. The Life and Family History of William Honnyng. (London, England: ISBN-13 978 0 9532685 3 5, 2008).