Nothing is known of More’s history or family background, although he may have been a kinsman of Robert More, a London vintner, who, in 1371, joined with Sir Nicholas Brembre and other influential merchants in making a conveyance of the manor of Notfield. William had himself been in business as a vintner from June 1369, if not earlier, but he is not mentioned in any city records before this date. In May 1370 he and his wife, an executrix (and perhaps the daughter) of Agnes Hardingham, were suing six Coventry men who had failed to render satisfactory accounts when employed by the deceased; and in the following year they were themselves taken to law by Sir Robert Marney for unlawfully detaining certain title deeds previously held by John Hardingham as executor of the wealthy mercer, Richard Lacer†. The case dragged on until 1376, for although Marney and his wife (who was Lacer’s daughter) managed to recover some of the muniments, others remained in the custody of the mayor pending a final settlement.
More’s election as warden of the Vintners’ Mystery in 1370 and his appointment by royal letters patent as deputy butler of Sandwich soon afterwards suggest that his experience of the wine trade was already great. Over the years he amassed a considerable fortune through commerce, which was in part used to build up a second income as a landlord. At the time of his death More owned rents, land and a number of tenements in the London parishes of St. Michael Queenhithe, St. Antholin, St. James Garlickhithe and All Hallows the Less. He and his wife had also acquired property by leasehold in the parish of St. Thomas the Apostle, and had interests in various small plots and reversions elsewhere in the City. In August 1383, More and five of his feoffees (among whom was Sir John Clanvowe) obtained a royal grant of a wharf and three messuages formerly belonging to Richard Lyons in Wendygayns Lane, Dowgate Ward. More paid 203 marks for the property, but was obliged to sell it for the same price to the King’s butler, John Slegh, shortly afterwards. Other purchases outside London proved more lasting: these included tenements in Southwark and Rochester, and the manor of Coldham in Cambridgeshire, which had been bought outright as freehold, as well as land in Elmdon, Essex, forfeited by Sir Robert Bealknap, the judge, and leased to More for seven years in November 1388 at the Exchequer. He must also have derived a substantial profit from the Hampshire estates of William Warbleton, whose wardship and marriage he had bought from the Crown in October 1384 for a single cash payment of £200.
It was inevitable that a man of More’s wealth and position would become involved in the property transactions and business affairs of his associates. The unpopular royal financier, Richard Lyons, Simon Burgh, William Standon, Nicholas Twyford (the wealthy goldsmith) and a number of prominent London tradespeople made him their trustee, while others called upon him to offer sureties or act as an arbitrator on their behalf.
Enough evidence of More’s financial affairs has survived to give some idea of the scale of his business transactions. It was evidently not uncommon for him to be owed sums well in excess of £100 by customers and trading partners: on four occasions at least he had trouble in recovering sums pledged to him by statute of the Staple of Westminster, being eventually obliged to petition in the mayor’s court for redress.
More’s long and distinguished civic career, which culminated in his election as mayor of London in 1395, began in the spring of 1377 when he was chosen by the common council to serve on a committee for the maintenance of order and the general upkeep of property in the capital. During the following year he received two further commissions—the first to establish the rate of imposts being laid on foodstuffs sold in London, and the second to supervise the way in which the City’s liberties were exercised. He contributed five marks to the gift raised by the people of London in January 1379 to persuade the ‘great lords of the realm’ to return to the capital, but it was not until 1384 that he again took a seat on any conciliar committees. Although prepared to accept John of Northampton’s second election as mayor of London in October 1382, More eventually aligned himself with the supporters of Sir Nicholas Brembre, Northampton’s greatest enemy. He may at first have welcomed the radical mayor’s attack on the trade monopoly exercised by the Fishmongers’ Company, since their privileged position was greatly resented even by those who, like himself, were members of other victualling guilds. Northampton’s extreme behaviour alienated many potential sympathisers, however; and on 11 June 1384 More attended the session of the common council which unanimously found him responsible for all the recent disturbances in London. Nine days later a commission of ‘the best and wisest citizens’, with More as a member, was set up to revise the notorious ‘Jubilee Book’ of ordinances compiled during Northampton’s mayoralty. More and his fellow dignitaries continued to press for Northampton’s trial and execution, both at a meeting of the royal council at Reading, in August 1384, and in the following March when the common council of London met in an emergency session to demand the immediate enforcement of the death penalty upon the former mayor. At the same time a group of experienced citizens, again including More, was given the task of examining the best means of containing any further outbreaks of disorder. As sheriff of London, More also played his part in the commission of inquiry which the common council appointed in September 1387 to investigate the activities of Northampton and his supporters.
More’s position as a former creditor of the Crown did not prevent him from becoming involved in the quarrel between Richard II and the City which took place in the summer of 1392, largely because of the withdrawal of credit facilities by the rulers of London. He and the other aldermen were summoned to appear before the King at Nottingham on 25 June, when the normal government of the City was suspended. Because of certain ‘notable and evident defaults’ conveniently discovered by Richard’s agents in the following July, the civic authorities were fined a total of 3,000 marks, and although most were confirmed in office, their appointment remained subject to royal pleasure. The two sheriffs, John Shadworth and Henry Vanner, were less fortunate, being removed from their posts, and placed under arrest. The sureties of £1,000 demanded from them on 23 July were put forward by More and three other prominent citizens. It was not until September that Richard agreed to restore the liberties of the City, albeit conditionally ‘until he should otherwise ordain’. He also pardoned the aldermen their joint fine, although the people of London as a whole had to pay heavily to retain his favour.
More died at some point between 20 July 1401 and April 1402. He was buried in the church of St. James Garlickhithe, leaving instructions for his widow, Elizabeth, to maintain a chantry there out of the revenues of his London property. Since he had no children, all his other estates in London, as well as his holdings in the country, passed into Elizabeth’s hands, and it was not long before she found a second husband, the wealthy and ambitious grocer, Robert Chichele. They had married by Michaelmas 1403, when Chichele settled all her property upon feoffees of his own choice. He understandably remembered More with gratitude in his own will, ordering prayers to be said for his soul at the newly founded college of Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire.