Reginald R. (Reginald Robinson) Sharpe

A barrister and historian, he is best known for his long connection with the City of London’s records. Published title pages for his major works describe him as Records Clerk in the Office of the Town Clerk of the City of London, and also note his legal and academic background, including St John’s College, Oxford, the Inner Temple, and the degree D.C.L.

His name is closely linked with editions and calendars drawn from the Guildhall archives, including Calendar of Wills Proved and Enrolled in the Court of Husting, Calendar of Letter-Books Preserved among the Archives of the Corporation of the City of London at the Guildhall, and the three-volume London and the Kingdom. Together, these books helped bring medieval and early modern London records to a much wider audience.

Available authority records identify him as Reginald Robinson Sharpe (1848–1925) and give Tackley as his birthplace. A modern study from the Guildhall Historical Association also credits him with an important role in the development of what became the Corporation of London’s records office, reflecting both his scholarship and his practical work as an archivist.