Adam de Stratton

Who was Adam de Stratton?

Adam de Stratton was a royal moneylender, administrator and clergyman under Edward I of England. He advanced professionally through the patronage of the earls of Devon, and became chamberlain of the Exchequer and steward of Isabella, Countess of Devon. At the same time he made himself an enormous fortune through moneylending, primarily by acquiring debts from Jewish moneylenders. His business methods were dubious, and often involved various illegal activities. In 1290 he fell victim to an investigation of corruption in the royal administration, and from 1292 until his death—no later than 1294—he was held in prison. Stratton has been called by a modern historian "the greatest and probably the most unscrupulous of thirteenth-century money lenders, who eventually met the fate he deserved."