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William Humfrey
William Humfrey (also Humphrey or Humphreys) (c.1515–1579) was an English goldsmith, mining promoter, and Assay Master at the Royal Mint during the reign of Elizabeth I. Life Little is known of Humfrey's life before 1560, when he is recorded as a member of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in London, and as a resident of the parish of St Vedast. He obtained the patronage of Sir William Cecil, later Lord Burghley, who 'considered him an expert on metallurgical matters', and provided him with both financial and political backing. Humfrey was appointed Assay Master at the Royal Mint in 1561. German technologists had recently been brought to England to assist with the recoinage of the debased English currency, and through these contacts both Humfrey and Cecil became convinced that German metallurgical techniques could be used in the development of the English mining industry. In particular, Humfrey needed someone knowledgeable about calamine ore, essential to the producti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worshipful Company Of Goldsmiths
The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of London. The company's headquarters are at Goldsmiths' Hall, London EC2. The company, which originates from the twelfth century, received a Royal Charter in 1327 and ranks fifth in the order of precedence of City Livery Companies. Its motto is ''Justitia Virtutum Regina'', Latin for ''Justice is Queen of Virtues''. History The company was first established as a medieval guild for the goldsmith trade. The word ''hallmarking'' derives from the fact that precious metals were officially inspected and marked at Goldsmiths' Hall. In 1812, twenty almshouses were built on the former Perryn estate in Acton, on open land west of London. The almshouses were built on land which had been left to the company by John Perryn in 1657. In 1891, the Gold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humfrey Cole
Humfray Cole (died 1591) was an English maker of scientific instruments and engraver. Life Cole was, according to his own description, a native of the north of England. From his employment at the mint and the general character of his work he appears to have been a mechanician. Edward Dyer acted as his patron, and he was commended as artisan by Gabriel Harvey. For the second edition of the ''Bishops' Bible'', published in 1572, he engraved a map of Palestine, as Canaan, thought to be based on a 1557 map by Tilemann Stella or Stoltz. On it he describes himself as "Humfray Cole, goldsmith, an Englishman born in ye north and pertayning to ye Mint in the Tower, 1572." Poorly paid at the mint, Cole took outside commissions; he undertook to supply any of the instruments shown in the 1571 ''Pantometria'' of Leonard Digges and Thomas Digges. He supplied instruments to Martin Frobisher. He was employed in engraving mathematical and astronomical instruments in brass, of which there are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the Cavendish family since 1549. It stands on the east bank of the River Derwent, across from hills between the Derwent and Wye valleys, amid parkland backed by wooded hills that rise to heather moorland. The house holds major collections of paintings, furniture, Old Master drawings, neoclassical sculptures and books. Chosen several times as Britain's favourite country house, it is a Grade I listed property from the 17th century, altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 2011–2012 it underwent a £14-million restoration. The owner is the Chatsworth House Trust, an independent charitable foundation, on behalf of the Cavendish family. History 11th–16th centuries The name 'Chatsworth' is a corruption of ''Chetel's-worth'', meaning "the Court of Chetel". In the reign of Edward the Confessor, a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Talbot, 6th Earl Of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal (c. 1522/1528 – 18 November 1590) was an English magnate and military commander. He also held the subsidiary titles of 15th Baron Strange of Blackmere and 11th Baron Furnivall. He was best known for his tenure as keeper of Mary, Queen of Scots between 1568 and 1585, his marriage to his second wife Elizabeth Talbot (Bess of Hardwick), as well as his surviving collection of written work. Life and career Talbot was the only son of Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury and Mary Dacre. In early life he saw active military service, when he took part in the invasion of Scotland under the Protector Somerset. He was sent by his father in October 1557 to the relief of Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland pent up in Alnwick Castle. He then remained for some months in service on the border, with five hundred horsemen under his command. :s:Talbot, George, sixth Earl of Shrewsbur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bole Hill
A Bole hill (also spelt Bail hill) was a place where lead was formerly smelted in the open air. The bole was usually situated at or near the top of a hill where the wind was strong. Totley Bole Hill on the western fringes of Sheffield consisted of a long low wall with two shorter walls at right angles to it at each end. At the base of a bole {{convert, 20, ft, m, sing=on long were laid great trees called blocks. On these were laid ''blackwork'', partly smelted ore about half a yard thick. Then came ten or twelve trees called ''shankards''. On top of these three or four courses of ''fire trees'' were laid with fresh ore. This was ignited and burnt for about 48 hours. This smelted lead, which ran down channels provided for the purpose and was cast into sows of about 11 hundredweight. A single firing produced 16 fothers of lead (about 18 tons) from 160 loads of ore (about 40 tons) and 30 tons of wood. Much of the ore was left incompletely smelted having become ''blackwork''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the north-west, West Yorkshire to the north, South Yorkshire to the north-east, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the west and south-west and Cheshire to the west. Kinder Scout, at , is the highest point and Trent Meadows, where the River Trent leaves Derbyshire, the lowest at . The north–south River Derwent is the longest river at . In 2003, the Ordnance Survey named Church Flatts Farm at Coton in the Elms, near Swadlincote, as Britain's furthest point from the sea. Derby is a unitary authority area, but remains part of the ceremonial county. The county was a lot larger than its present coverage, it once extended to the boundaries of the City of Sheffield district in South Yorkshire where it cov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beauchief Abbey
Beauchief Abbey is a medieval monastic house now serving as a parish church in the southern suburbs of Sheffield, England. History The abbey was founded by Robert FitzRanulph de Alfreton. Thomas Tanner, writing in 1695, stated that it was founded in 1183. However, Samuel Pegge in his ''History of Beauchief Abbey'' noted that Albinas, the abbot of Derby, who was one of the witnesses to the charter of foundation, died in 1176, placing foundation before that date. The abbey was dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint Thomas Becket, who had been canonised in 1173. Tanner stated that Robert FitzRanulf was one of the murderers of Thomas Becket and founded the abbey to expiate his guilt. Pegge also disputed this fact, showing that Robert FitzRanulf had no connection with the murder. The abbey once contained an alabaster altar-piece, which depicted the death of Thomas Becket. In the 1879 the alter-piece was known to be in the possession of a Mr. Foljambe, of Osberton, near Worksop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smeltmill
Smeltmills were water-powered mills used to smelt lead or other metals. The older method of smelting lead on wind-blown bole hills began to be superseded by artificially-blown smelters. The first such furnace was built by Burchard Kranich at Makeney, Derbyshire in 1554, but produced less good lead than the older bole hill. William Humfrey (the Queen's assay master), and a leading shareholder in the Company of Mineral and Battery Works introduced the ore hearth from the Mendips about 1577. This was initially blown by a foot-blast, but was soon developed into a water-powered smelt mill at Beauchief (now a suburb of Sheffield). A typical smelt mill had an orehearth and a slaghearth, the latter being used to reprocess slags from the orehearth in order to recover further lead from the slag Further reading *L. Willies, 'Lead: ore preparation and smelting' in J. Day and R. F. Tylecote, ''The Industrial Revolution in Metals'' (Institute of Metals, London 1991), 93-102. *Various ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Company Of Mineral And Battery Works
The Company of Mineral and Battery Works was, (with the Society of the Mines Royal), one of two mining monopolies created by Elizabeth I. The Company's rights were based on a patent granted to William Humfrey on 17 September 1565. This was replaced on 28 May 1568 by a patent of incorporation, making it an early joint stock company. The Society of the Mines Royal was incorporated on the same day. Shareholders The original shareholders were: *William Humfrey * Christopher Schutz * Sir Nicholas Bacon *Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk * William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke *Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester *William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham *Sir William Cecil *Sir Walter Mildmay *Sir Henry Sidney *Sir Francis Jobson *Sir William Garrard, alderman * Sir Rowland Hayward *John Tamworth * Peter Osborne *Thomas Cecil *Francis Agarde * Thomas Fleetwood *William Roberts *Henry Coddenham *Robert Christmas *Roger Wetherall * William Patten *Christopher Chewte *Thomas Smythe *William Do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Society Of Mines Royal
The Society of the Mines Royal was one of two English mining monopoly companies incorporated by royal charter in 1568, the other being the Company of Mineral and Battery Works. History On 28 May 1568, Elizabeth I established the Society by letters patent as a joint stock company with 24 shareholders:''Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England and Wales, Volume 2, Issue 2'', (1848)p. 639/ref> *Haug, Langnauer & Company, Augsburg *Sir William Cecil * Thomas Thurland, Master of the Savoy *Edmund Thurland *Roger Wetheral * Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester * William Humfrey of the Mint * Benedict Spinola *Cornelius de Vos *Jeffrey Duckett *Richard Springham, alderman * James Blount, 6th Baron Mountjoy *John Dudley * William Winter *George Needham * William Patten *Jeffrey "Wolcheton" *Lionel Duckett, alderman *John Tamworth *Matthew Field *Edmund "Worschopp" *Anthony Duckett of Grayrigg, Westmorland * William Burd (Treasurer to the Company) *Thomas Smythe, Customer * William ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joint Stock Company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are able to transfer their shares to others without any effects to the continued existence of the company. In modern-day corporate law, the existence of a joint-stock company is often synonymous with incorporation (possession of legal personality separate from shareholders) and limited liability (shareholders are liable for the company's debts only to the value of the money they have invested in the company). Therefore, joint-stock companies are commonly known as corporations or limited companies. Some jurisdictions still provide the possibility of registering joint-stock companies without limited liability. In the United Kingdom and in other countries that have adopted its model of company law, they are known as unlimited companies. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Smythe
Sir Thomas Smythe (or Smith, c. 1558 – 4 September 1625) was an English merchant, politician and colonial administrator. He was the first governor of the East India Company and treasurer of the Virginia Company from 1609 to 1620 until enveloped by scandal. Early life The second surviving son of Thomas "Customer" Smythe of Westenhanger Castle in Kent, by his wife Alice, daughter of Sir Andrew Judde. His grandfather, John Smythe of Corsham, Wiltshire, was described as yeoman, haberdasher and clothier, and was High Sheriff of Essex for the year of 1532. His father was also a haberdasher, and was 'customer' of the port of London. He purchased Westenhanger from Sir Thomas Sackville, and other property from Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Thomas Smythe's elder son, Sir John Smythe or Smith (1556?–1608) of Westenhanger, was High Sheriff of Kent in 1600, and father of Thomas Smythe, 1st Viscount Strangford. Thomas senior, one of thirteen children, was brought in his fathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
