John Browne was an English merchant, the first holder of the post of King's Gunfounder, which was created in 1615. He was heavily involved in the

Wealden iron industry The Wealden iron industry was located in the Weald of south-eastern England. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the wrought iron, bar iron made in England in the 16th century and most British cannon until abou ...

, controlling six furnaces in Surrey and Sussex, two in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

, as well as his own furnace between

Brenchley Brenchley is a village in the civil parish of Brenchley and Matfield, in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. All Saints Church is located in the village, and is a Grade I listed building. History The name is historically derived ...

and

Horsmonden Horsmonden ( ) is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located in the Weald of Kent. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railw ...

Biography

During the reign of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, he sold a great number of guns to the former United Provinces, with the King being a partner in this traffic. Browne also held a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

that gave him a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

on the casting of pots, pans and firebacks.Kentish Fire, Chapter 6 John Browne developed a type of

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

known as "The Drake" in the 1620s. This cannon was much lighter than previous cannons firing a similar weight of shot, thus enabling ships to be more heavily armed. One such cannon made by Browne was recovered from the wreck of the , a Cromwellian warship lost in a storm off the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

in 1653 whilst attacking

Duart Castle Duart Castle, or ''Caisteal Dhubhairt'' in Scottish Gaelic, is a castle on the Isle of Mull, beside the Sound of Mull off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute. The castle dates back to the 13th century and i ...

. This cannon weighed 3cwt, 2qtrs, 23 lbs () and had a 3½" (89mm) muzzle. It fired shot weighing .''Swan'' was the last ship built for Charles I, and its guns were all cast in iron. A larger ship, had 92 Drakes cast in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

, as well as 10 non-Drakes, also cast in bronze.Cyber Diver News Network
Goliath
/ref>
/ref> In 1642, John Browne was ordered by Parliament to deliver a list of "grenadoes" being held at the Stillyard, and he was not to deliver them except with the Order of the House. In 1645, John Browne and his son were ordered by Parliament to be taken into safe custody, and no visitor was allowed to be alone with either of them because he was suspected of supporting the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause. Browne appears to have been released in December 1645. John Browne died in 1651. In 1677, another John Browne built a boring mill at Birchden Forge, Rotherfield.Journal of the House of Commons (1642).
/ref>Journal of the House of Commons (1645).
/ref>Ferrers
/ref> Browne's wife, Martha, is commemorated by a cast iron graveslab in St Margaret's Church, Horsmonden.

References

Sources

External links

Photo of the retrieved cannon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, John 17th-century English merchants Year of birth missing 1651 deaths