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Sharing an enthusiasm for 17th Century tokens from the City of London and its imeadiate environs together with other related paranumismatic topics.
29/03/2013 · 12:38 pm

Thomas Stares in the Bulwark, Tower Hill

A farthing token of Thomas Stares in the Bulwark, Tower Hill

A farthing token of Thomas Stares in the Bulwark, Tower Hill

The above copper farthing measures 15.6 mm and weighs 0.95 grams. It was issued in the name of Thomas Stares of the Bulwark, Tower Hill in 1653.

Obverse: (mullet) THOMAS STARES, around twisted wire inner circle, triad T |. S.| .E in two lines within.

Reverse: (mullet) IN.THE.BVLLWORKE , around twisted wire inner circle, 1653 with (rosette) above and below.

This token has a small radius semi-circular cut removed from its outer edge. This may be a cancellation mark, a deliberate defacement making the token worthless. It has been postulated that such cancellation marks (and others which are manifest as defacing piercings) were applied to the tokens in 1672 when they were made illegal by Royal proclamation , or at the death of the issuer or closure of their business.

The Bulwark was the outer most enclosure on the approach to the Tower of London. Formerly this area was part of Stepney. Its construction began c.1480 and its demolition began in 1668 although the shops within and/or around it are reported to have been cleared by 1666. The outer side of the Bulwark was part of Tower Hill. It was entered by Bulwark Gate and exited via Lion Gate as part of the final approach to the Tower Gate of the Tower of London.

The Tower of London (c.1600) indicating the area of the Bulwark between the Lion and the Bulwark Gates

The Tower of London (c.1600) indicating the area of the Bulwark between the Lion and the Bulwark Gates

Based on Thomas’s wife having the a fist name beginning with the letter “E” it can be assumed that the triad of initials on this token represent those of Thomas and Elizabeth Stares. There is no record of a Thomas Stares in the Hearth Tax return for London for 1660s. However, there is a Mrs. Stares (widow) recorded as paying  tax on a single hearth in the Limehouse district of Stepney in 1666. This could well be Thomas’ widow.

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27/03/2013 · 9:00 pm

The Ship Tavern, Temple Bar Without, Westminster

Farthing token from the Ship Tavern, Temple Bar Without, Westminster

Farthing token from the Ship Tavern, Temple Bar Without, Westminster

The above brass farthing measures 16.4 mm and weighs 1.12 grams. It was issued in the name of a Mr. W. S. & Mrs. M. S. who traded at the sign of the Ship (presumed to have been a tavern) in the Temple Bar Without district of Westminster in 1649. This makes it one of the earliest farthings to be issued in the 17th Century token series.

Obverse: AT.THE.SHIP.WITHOVT , around edge. Within, A three-masted ship sailing left.

Reverse: (star) TEMPLE.BARR.1649 , around twisted wire inner circle, triad comprising W | .S. | .M , within.

The Ship tavern was situated in Ship Yard, a lane which ran off the south side of Little Sheer Lane  and which to the south was connected to The Strand by an alley. This alley was located on the opposite side of The Strand to entrance to Palsgrave’s Head Court.

Location of the Ship Yard from John Ogilby & William Morgan’s 1676 Map of the City of London

Location of the Ship Yard from John Ogilby & William Morgan’s 1676 Map of the City of London

There is a reference to the Ship Inn near Temple Bar  as early as 1571.

In 1654 the engraver William Faithorne (1616 to 1691) establish a print shop at “the Sign of the Ship within Temple Bar”. By 1662 he had moved his premisses to a shop “next to the Sign of the Drake without Temple Bar”.

A view from the south west of a 17th Century three bayed, four storey house in Ship Yard (1761)

A view from the south west of a 17th Century three bayed, four storey house in Ship Yard (1761)

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25/03/2013 · 9:08 pm

Palsgave’s Head Tavern, Temple Bar Without, Westminster

A farthing token from the Palsgrave's Head tavern, Temple Bar Without

A farthing token from the Palsgrave’s Head tavern, Temple Bar Without

The above copper farthing measures 16.2 mm and weighs 0.76 grams. It was issued in the name of the Palsgrave’s Head tavern in the district of Temple Bar Without, Westminster.

Obverse: (star) THE.PAVLSGRAVE.HEAD , around twisted wire inner circle, depiction of the Palsgrave (i.e. the Elector Palatine of the Rhine) within.

Reverse: (star) WTHHOVT.TEMPLE.BARR , around twisted wire inner circle, triad comprising I | .R. | (rosette) D , within.

The Palsgraves Head tavern was situated in Palsgrave Place, a narrow paved court which ran off the south side of The Strand, about half way between Temple Bar and the St. Clement Danes Church. The court and tavern took its name from the sign of the Palsgrave’s Head.

Location of the Palsgrave Head Court from John Ogilby & William Morgan’s 1676 Map of the City of London

Location of the Palsgrave Head Court from John Ogilby & William Morgan’s 1676 Map of the City of London

The title of “Palsgrave” was an alternative to that of Count or Elector Palatine of the Rhine (a former territory of the Holy Roman Empire).  The Palgrave in question has traditionally been associated with Frederick V (1596 to 1632) who held the tile of Elector Palatine between 1610 to 1623 and briefly that of King of Bohemia between 1619 and 1620. In 1612 Frederick married the Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of James I. A more recent alternative identification of the Palsgrave in question has been suggested as Charles Louis (1617 to 1680), the son of Frederick and Elizabeth and elder brother to Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the celebrated Royalist General of the English Civil War.

After the death of his older brother in 1629, and of his father in 1632, Charles Louis became Palsgrave, inheriting his father’s possessions in the Electorate of the Palatinate. Along with his younger brother Prince Rupert of the Rhine, he spent much of the 1630s at the court of his uncle, King Charles I, in England, hoping to enlist English support for his cause. The young Elector Palatine was largely unsuccessful in this, and became gradually estranged from the King, who feared that Charles Louis might become a focus for opposition forces in England. Indeed, the political crisis leading up to the outbreak of the English Civil War, Charles Louis had considerable sympathy for the parliamentary leaders, especially the Earl of Essex, feeling them more likely to come to the aid of the Palatinate on the continent. Although Charles Louis was involved in the early stages of the Civil War with his uncle, he was mistrusted for his parliamentary sympathies, and soon returned to his mother in The Hague. There he distanced himself from the royalist cause in the Civil War.

In 1644, Charles Louis returned to England at the invitation of Parliament. He took up residence in the Palace of Whitehall, even though his brothers, Rupert and Maurice, were Royalist generals. Contemporaries (including King Charles) and subsequent generations believed that Charles Louis’ motive in visiting Roundhead London was that he hoped that Parliament would crown him King, in place of his uncle. Charles Louis’ endorsement of the Parliamentary party was a cause of enmity between uncle and nephew, and when a captive Charles I met his nephew once again in 1647, the elder Charles accused the Prince of angling after the English throne. Charles Louis was still in England in October 1648 when the Peace of Westphalia restored the Lower Palatinate to him. He remained in England long enough to see the execution of his uncle Charles I in January 1649. He returned to the Rhine Land the same year never to return to England.  His English relations and mother never forgave him for his Parliamentary alliances during the Civil War.

If a reference to Palsgrave Place or Court could be found prior to the death of Frederick V in 1632 the true identity of the particular Palsgrave refered to in the 17th century sign board could be confirmed. Contemporary portraits of Frederick and Charles Louis do note rule out either man as that featured in the original sign and reproduced on the above token. However, on balance the portrait of the latter does appear to most resemble that depicted on the token.

Portraits of the Palsgraves Frederick (left) & Charles Louis (right)

Portraits of the Palsgraves Frederick (left) & Charles Louis (right)

The farthing token looks typical of the style of others which can be dated to the 1650s. A further half penny token exists m this tavern which appears slightly later in dated (c. late 1650s to mid 1660s).

A half penny token issued in the name of the Palsgrave's Head Tavern

A half penny token issued in the name of the Palsgrave’s Head Tavern

It is possible that the above half penny token was issued by the widow of the landlord (Mr. I. R.) who issued the original farthing token after she had re-married as both women have the same Christian name initial (i.e. “D”).

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23/03/2013 · 9:19 pm

Henry Morrell in Hartshorne Lane, Westminster

A half penny token of Henry Morrell of Hartshorne Lane, Westminster

A half penny token of Henry Morrell of Hartshorne Lane, Westminster

The above copper half penny measures 21.0 mm and weighs 1.22 grams. It was issued in the name of Henry Morrell.

Obverse: (rosette) HENRY.MORRELL.AT.YE.LIME , around twisted wire inner circle, H M E inter spaced with three rosettes with two sets of three dots arranged in triangular form below with a fourth rosette in between.

Reverse: (rosette) WHARF.IN.HART.HORNE.LANE , around twisted wire inner circle, HIS/ HALFE /PENNY /1667 in four lines plus six dits arranged in an elongated cross pattern within.

Hartshorne Lane, Westminster (1720)

Hartshorne Lane, Westminster (1720)

Lime wharf was a but busy wharf on the River Thames at the bottom of Harshorne Lane, which ran south off the Strand to the west of where the present day Charing Cross Station is located. This part of the city was outside of the area affected by the Great Fire of 1666.

As yet I’ve been unable to find any record as to the trade or further background details of Henry Morrell or his wife whose name , based on the reverse triad of initials, was presumably Elizabeth? Henry Morrell is not listed in the Hearth Tax records for 1662, 1664 or 1666. However, there is a record of the marrige of a Henry Morrell and an Elizabeth Estridge in the parish registers of St. Gregory by St Paul’s on 12th May 1664.

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21/03/2013 · 7:45 pm

Robert Redway at the Red Lion in Fetter Lane

A half penny token of Robert Redway of Fetter Lane, London.

A half penny token of Robert Redway of Fetter Lane, London.

The above copper half penny measures 17.9 mm and weighs 1.51 grams. It was issued in the name of Robert Redway, the inn keeper at the Red Lion in Fetter Lane. Fetter Lane ran north off Fleet Street to Holborn through the ward of Farringdon Without.

Obverse: (diamond) ROBERT.REDWAY.AT.YE , around twisted wire inner circle, rampant lion left.

Reverse: (diamond) LION.IN.FETTER.LANE , around twisted wire inner circle, HIS HALFE PENY in three lines within.

Fetter Lane district of the Farrindon Without Ward of the city of London (c.1720)

Fetter Lane district of the Farrindon Without Ward of the city of London (c.1720)

According to the Hearth Tax returns of 1666 Robert Redway lived in the Middle Precinct of Fetter Lane in a dwelling (presumably the Red Lion ) having 7 hearths. Fetter Lane was fully consumed by the Great Fire of 1666. Interestingly in the survey of building sites laid out in London after the Great Fire there are three separate plots staked out in Fetter Lane in the name of Robert Redway. The first of these was on 20th May 1667 and was adjacent to the Mercers’ Company and the Vicarage House. The second two were allotted on 8th June 1667.

According an entry attributed to Sir Thomas Blidworth (MP) in a publication by William Bedloe of 1679 (Narrative and impartial discovery of the horrid Popish Plot) separate cases of arson were discovered on both the 3rd and 4th of August 1670 in rooms belonging to of the Red Lion, an establishment run by Robert Redway in Fetter Lane.  The perpetrators of these crimes were not known but it is inferred by the publication that they were Catholic agents looking to raise the city to the ground by the setting of fires as had been suspected to have been the cause of the Great Fire of 1666.

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19/03/2013 · 7:38 pm

Anthony Poole of Foster Lane

A half penny of Anthony Poole of Foster Lane, London

A half penny of Anthony Poole of Foster Lane, London

The above copper half penny measures 20.1 mm and weighs 1.86 grams. It was issued in the name of Anthony Poole, an ironmonger, who by the emblem on his token, appears to have traded under the sign of the Nag’s Head in Foster Lane. Foster Lane ran north off Cheap Side through the Aldersgate Ward of the city and into Farringdon Ward Within. This lane was traditionally the home of the goldsmith trade in London.

Obverse: (rosette) ANTHONY. POOLE. IRONMONGR around inner circle; a nag’s head within. Behind the Nag’s head the bridle appears to be held in a gloved hand.
Reverse: (mullet) IN.FOSTER.LANE.1668 (four pellets arranged in a diamond pattern) around inner circle; HIS / HALFE / PENY in four parallel lines within central field.

It is likely that Anthony Poole traded from a plot and under a trade sign that had previously been used by Samuel Dawson prior to the destruction of Foster Lane by the Great Fire of London. Samuel Dawson issued his own half penny trade tokens under the sign of the Nag’s Head in Foster Lane in 1666.

Anthony Poole was born in 1643 and died in 1679. He was buried in the churchyard or possibly the ruins of St Leonard’s in Foster Lane. St. Leonard’s Church was destroyed in the Great Fire and never re-built. Its ruins were later used as an extension of the churchyard for burials.

St. Leonard's Church, Foster Lane before the Great Fire of 1666

St. Leonard’s Church, Foster Lane before the Great Fire of 1666

I have been unable to find any further contemporary references to Anthony Poole other than in a printed transcription of the records of Worshipful Company of Clockmakers of the City of London (1) to which guild Anthony Poole was presumably a member. In an entry for 21st February 1671/2 we find Anthony being reprimanded for having “faulty goods”, in the form of folding brass tipped wooden rules, for sale in his shop in Foster Lane.

“At a search made the 21st day of February 1671, upon and for the concerns onely of the Mathematicall instrument Makers:
Present;
Nicholas Coxeter – Master
Samuell Horne & Jeffery Bayley – Wardens
John Nicasius, John Browne, Walter Hayes, Richard Ames – Assistants

There was seized in Shopps, within the limitts of the search of the Company, of severall Tradesmen who buy and sell and severall persons who make Mathematical measures and instruments, the workes and measures hereafter particularly expressed for that they are (as the said Walter Hayes, and John Browne, who are Mathematicall Instrument Makers and carried with them the company’s standards sealed in his Majesties Exchequer to trye and prove the same, doe finde and affirme them) not agreeable to the said standards and the rules and proportions of art, but are faulty and therefore not fitt to be put to sale (vizt.)

…Of Mr. Anthony Poole, Ironmonger in Foster Lane, seized two plaine joynted two foot Rules and five plaine two foot Rules foure of them being tipped with Brasse and one untipped.

…And upon the same day the said Mr. Anthony Poole appeared at the Court then holden and being fully satisfied upon tryall and proofe by the standards that the measures which were seized from him were faulty, one of them the most faulty was then broken by him and the rest were delivered back to him upon his promise not to put them to sale till made perfect.”

References:

1) Atkins, S.E. & Overall, W.H. Some Account of the Worshipful Company of clockmakers of the City of London (London. 1881).

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18/03/2013 · 12:37 pm

The Trumpet in King Street, Westminster

A farthing of The Trumpet Tavern, King Street, Westminster

A farthing of The Trumpet Tavern, King Street, Westminster

The above brass farthing token measures 15.8 mm and weighs 0.71 grams. It was issued in the name of The Trumpet Tavern which was once located in King Street in St. Margaret’s Parish,Westminster. The design of the token may be formally described as follows;

Obverse: (star) THE.TRVMPET.IN.KINGS, around twisted wire inner circle, trumpet within.
Reverse: (star) STREETE.WESTMINSTER , around twisted wire inner circle, .C. over T (rosette) I within.

King Street, Westminster (c.1720)

King Street, Westminster (c.1720)

The initials of the couple that ran The Trumpet at the time the token was issued, a Mr. “T.C” and his wife Mrs.” J/I. C” have not as yet been positively identified by researchers. There are four individuals living in King Street at the time of the 1664 Hearth Tax who had initials that make them possible contenders;

King Street (North from the New Palace to the Sanctuary Gate):

1) Thomas Collins – 5 hearths recorded

King Street (North End):

2) Jane Charlton – 5 hearths recorded
3) Thomas Crispe – 6 hearths recorded
4) Captain Cooke – 6 hearths recorded

However, there are strong arguments that this token cannot be identified with any of the above. Firstly, in his diary entry for Saturday 9th January 1663/64 Pepys refers to the Trumpet as Mrs. Hare’s. Not a Mrs. C’s. Furthermore the style of this farthing token would identify it (and hence the tenancy of its issuers) with an earlier date than 1664. It is perfectly conceivable that by the time of the 1664 Hearth Tax our Mr. and Mrs. “C” may well have moved on.

The Trumpet is one of five taverns in King Street, Westminster, that was mentioned by Samuel Pepys in his diaries. The other mentioned were; The Bell, The Dog, The Sun and The Angel. The Angel and The Trumpet are the least two mentioned of this group and were obviously not his favourite drinking establishments in the street.
The Trumpet is mentioned in five separate entries in Pepys’ diary as listed chronologically below. On the last occasion (in January 1664/5) it appears that he was using it as a rendezvous for one of his many illicit extra marital liaisons, safe in the knowledge that none of his acquaintances would be there.

Saturday 4th August 1660“

…I went and bespoke some linen of Betty Lane in the Hall, and after that to the Trumpet, where I sat and talked with her, &c. At night, it being very rainy, and it thundering and lightning exceedingly, I took coach at the Trumpet door, taking Monsieur L’Impertinent along with me as far as the Savoy, where he said he went to lie with Cary Dillon, and is still upon the mind of going (he and his whole family) to Ireland.”

Saturday 9th January 1663/64

“After dinner by coach I carried my wife and Jane to Westminster, leaving her at Mr. Hunt’s, and I to Westminster Hall, and there visited Mrs. Lane, and by appointment went out and met her at the Trumpet, Mrs. Hare’s, but the room being damp we went to the Bell tavern, and there I had her company, but could not do as I used to do (yet nothing but what was honest) … So I to talk about her having Hawley, she told me flatly no, she could not love him.”

Monday 15th August 1664

“To the Coffee-house I, and so to the Change a little, and then home to dinner with Creed, whom I met at the Coffee-house, and after dinner by coach set him down at the Temple, and I and my wife to Mr. Blagrave’s. They being none of them at home; I to the Hall, leaving her there, and thence to the Trumpett, whither came Mrs. Lane, and there begins a sad story how her husband, as I feared, proves not worth a farthing, and that she is with child and undone, if I do not get him a place. I had my pleasure here of her, and she, like an impudent jade, depends upon my kindness to her husband, but I will have no more to do with her, let her brew as she has baked, seeing she would not take my counsel about Hawly. After drinking we parted……”

Friday 9th December 1664

“At noon home to dinner, Mr. Hunt and his wife with us, and very pleasant. Then in the afternoon I carried them home by coach, and I to Westminster Hall, and thence to Gervas’s, and there find I cannot prevail with Jane to go forth with me, but though I took a good occasion of going to the Trumpet she declined coming, which vexed me. “Je avait grande envie envers elle, avec vrai amour et passion”. (Trans: I longed for her with true love and passion). Thence home and to my office till one in the morning……”

Sunday 22nd January 1664/65

“After dinner walked to Westminster, and after being at the Abbey and heard a good anthem well sung there, I as I had appointed to the Trumpett, there expecting when Jane Welsh should come, but anon comes a maid of the house to tell me that her mistress and master would not let her go forth, not knowing of my being here, but to keep her from her sweetheart. So being defeated, away by coach home, and there spent the evening prettily in discourse with my wife and Mercer, and so to supper, prayers, and to bed.”

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17/03/2013 · 10:07 pm

Bartholomew Fish of Queenhithe

A half penny token of Bartholomew Fish of Queenhithe, London

A half penny token of Bartholomew Fish of Queenhithe, London

The above half penny copper token measures 20.4 mm and weighs 2.21 grams. It was issued in the name of Bartholomew Fish of Queenhithe in 1667. The design of the token may be formally described as follows;

Obverse: (rosette) BARTHOLLOMEW.FISH , around twisted wire inner circle, three fishes within.
Reverse: (rosette) AT.QVEENEHITHE.1667, around twisted wire inner circle, HIS / HALFE / PENY , in three lines. Below a rosette flanked by two sets of three dots each arranged in a triangle.

Bartholomew Fish is recorded as a fletcher living in St. Michael’s Parish, Queenhithe. This was a dock on the north bank of the River Thames. It was bordered by Thames Street to the north, Brookes Hill Wharf to the west and Towns End Lane to the east.

Queenhithe from John Ogilby & William Morgan’s 1676 Map of the City of London

Queenhithe from John Ogilby & William Morgan’s 1676 Map of the City of London

In the 1662 Hearth tax return Bartholomew is recorded as occupying a property in the third precinct of St. Michael’s, Queenhithe Ward, having five hearths.

This area the city was totally consumed by the Great Fire of 1666. In “The survey of Building Sites in the City of London after the Great Fire of 1666” an entry is recorded on the 21st June 1671 for the receipt of money for staking out the foundations of a property in Queenhithe belonging to one Bartholomew Fish.

Bartholomew Fish was married to Martha Fish and between them they are recorded as having four children – Elizabeth, Martha, Mary and Rebecca.

A copy of Bartholomew’s will, dated 1676, is held in the National Achieves (Kew) in which he leaves his estate to his wife and four daughters. By this date two of his daughters had married, Martha to Nathaniel Mason and Elizabeth to William Noble. His will was witnessed by Edward Reeve and Jeremy Holmes.

At further farthing token is recorded bearing the obverse device of three fish and carrying the reverse issuers’ initials of B. M. F. The obverse and reverse legends this token attest to the issuers trading at the sign of the Nobel Garter in Queenhithe. This token was almost certainly issued by Bartholomew and Martha Fish.

The obverse device of three fish on this token is probably a play on words given Bartholomew’s surname.

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