The father of Sir John Wolstenholme, the patron of Baffin, also named John, was a native of Derbyshire. He came to London and, after making a fortune, established himself at Stanmore Magna near Harrow. His son was born in 1562, and became an active promoter of voyages for the discovery of a passage to Cathay. He was knighted at Whitehall, built the church at Stanmore at his sole expense, and dying at the age of 77 in November 1639 was buried at Stanmore, where there is a handsome monument to his memory. Alderman William Cockayne was Governor of the Eastland Company and the London planters in Ulster, and it was under his direction that the City of Londonderry was founded. He became Lord Mayor and was knighted in 1616. He was also a Director of the East India Company, and a warm supporter of Arctic voyages. Sir James Lancaster was a native of Basingstoke. He commanded the first English voyage to the East Indies, and also the first voyage of the East India Company. After his return in 1603 he was knighted, and served as a Director of the East India Company. Sir James was wealthy and lived in something more than comfort at his house in St Mary Axe, actively promoting voyages of discovery. He died in June 1618, and left a large sum to found a school at Basingstoke[58]. Richard Bell was another London merchant who embarked in various enterprises having discovery as their object. He was a member of the East India Company, also of the North-west Passage Company, and in 1618 he is mentioned as having fitted out two ships for the discovery of some island in the West Indies. He died before 1622. One of the branches of Gilbert Sound was named Bell’s river by Hall. Quite as important to posterity as the liberality and patriotism of the merchant adventurers were the labours of Richard Hakluyt. Without his indefatigable diligence much valuable help would have been lost to the explorers and many precious documents would have been lost to us. Born of a good Herefordshire family in 1553, we first hear of Hakluyt at Westminster School, “that fruitful nursery,” as he called it. His thoughts were early turned to geographical studies. It was his hap, he tells us, to visit a cousin and namesake, who was a gentleman of the Middle Temple, on whose table he found some books on cosmography and a map of the world. The curiosity and interest of the boy were aroused. His cousin began by giving explanatory answers to his eager questions, giving him a regular lecture on the divisions of the earth, and ending with a disquisition on the commodities and requirements of each country. From the map he took him to the Bible and made him read the 23rd and 24th verses of the 107th Psalm, “They that go down to the sea in ships and occupy their business in great waters.”