Thomas Charnock (1524/1526–1581) was an English alchemist and who devoted his life to the quest for the

Philosopher's Stone The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", ...

. His unpublished notebooks are useful, not just for an understanding of Elizabethan attitudes towards alchemy in general, but for the insight they give to Charnock's life and thoughts.

Early life

Charnock was born in

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient Briti ...

, Kent in c.1524. A native of the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in an ...

, Charnock spent most of his life in

Combwich Combwich ( ) is a village in the parish of Otterhampton within the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, between Bridgwater and the Steart Peninsula. The village lies on Combwich Reach as the River Parrett flows to the sea and was the site of an anc ...

, a small village on the Steart Peninsula, near Bridgwater in the west of England. Charnock's uncle, also called Thomas Charnock, had been an alchemist, as well as the

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Henry VII and his interest in the subject appears to have been stimulated when he inherited his uncle's alchemical library while in his teens.

Career

Charnock began searching for alchemical secrets throughout England in his early twenties. He eventually found two masters who instructed him in the art: 'Master I.S.', a priest from Salisbury; and the former abbot of Bath. His work was tiresome and demanding, requiring him, amongst other things, to keep a fire burning at a constant temperature. He was also pursued by constant bad luck: on New Year's Day 1555, Charnock's tabernacle caught fire and destroyed his progress; inept servants continually spoiled his renewed efforts by mismanaging the fire heating his alchemical vessels; and two years later in 1557 he was conscripted when England went to war with France and the local Justice of the Peace (who seems to have been a personal enemy) made sure that Thomas was forced into military service. In frustration at being conscripted, Charnock smashed his vessels. Troubled by his continual bad luck, and ostracised by his neighbours who were fearful of his experiments, Charnock vainly asked

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

to allow him to carry on his experiments in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

, or another "solitary place." He pledged to give Elizabeth the wealth and health of the

philosophers' stone The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", ...

within fourteen years if she would subsidise his costs, promising that he made this offer "uppon payne off losing my hedd."

Personal life

Charnock married Agnes Norden in 1562 at Stockland-Bristol, near Bridgewater, Somersetshire. They had at least two children: Absolon who was buried in Stockland in 1563, and Bridget who married in Stockland in 1587. Charnock died in April 1581 at

. He was buried in Otterhampton Church, near Bridgwater. After his death, it was reported that no-one would live in his former cottage, which was "troublesome and haunted by spirits and that its owner had a reputation as a troublesome person and a conjurer."

Works

The following works attributed to Charnock were printed in

Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...

's ''

Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum ''Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum'' first published in 1652, is an extensively annotated compilation of English alchemical literature selected by Elias Ashmole. The book preserved and made available many works that had previously existed only in pr ...

'' *''Breviary of Philosophy''. 1557. An autobiographical account of Charnock's alchemistic experiences *''Aenigma ad Alchimiam''. 1572. *''Aenigma de Alchimiae''. 1572. *''Fragments coppied From Thomas Charnock's owne hand writing.'' 1574.

References

;Attribution

Early life

Career

Personal life

Works

References

Further reading