What did Richard Whittington do at 20 College Hill?

Whittington's House at College Hill Standing before this modest blue plaque on College Hill, you're gazing at the site where Richard Whittington—the legendary Lord Mayor who inspired pantomime folklore—established his personal residence in 1423, during the twilight of his remarkable life. By this time, Whittington had already amassed an extraordinary fortune as a mercer and wool merchant, and this substantial stone house on the hill overlooking the Thames reflected his status as one of London's most powerful citizens.

From this address, the aging Whittington would have managed his business affairs while also overseeing his remarkable philanthropic legacy: he used his wealth to fund the construction of almshouses, a hospital, and a library, establishing himself as one of medieval London's greatest benefactors. This location mattered not because of wealth accumulated here, but because it served as the base from which an ambitious merchant boy—the very boy who legend said ran away to seek his fortune—conducted his final business as a man who had become the very embodiment of London's success, making it a monument to the possibility of rising from nothing to commanding the city's highest offices.

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