Warden of the Mint
The Warden of the Mint was in principle the highest-ranking officer of the Royal Mint of the Kingdom of England and later of Great Britain, having oversight over its operations and physical plant by virtue of a royal warrant. Tenure was for life until 1685 and during pleasure thereafter. The office received a yearly emolument of £500. Technically subordinate to the Warden was the Master of the Mint. The Master was, in fact, the general contractor for the minting process, delegating the actual production to his subcontractors. The Master's yearly salary of £400 might be augmented to a figure of three to five times that amount, benefitting by the markup he imposed on the coinage actually produced by his subcontractors.
The most illustrious holder of the office of Warden of the Mint was Isaac Newton, who was warranted to this position on the recommendation of his friend, Montagu, Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1698. In 1697 however, Newton undertook the office of Master, which was far more lucrative, as well as potentially more technically challenging. Later the office of Master was subsumed by that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer; the office of warden was abolished in the reign of George IV after the death of the current office holder, Sir Walter James, Bt, in 1829.
During the interregnum (1645–1660) the Warden (John St John) was appointed by Parliament.
Wardens of the Mint
- 1216–1222 Hubert de Berg [1]
- 1245–1246 William Hardel [1]
- 1248–1351 William Hardel [1]
- 1257–1262 William of Gloucester [1]
- 1270–1279 Bartholomew de Castello [1]
- 1279–1292 Gregory de Rokesley and 1279–1281 Orlando di Poggio,[2]
- 1292–1296 William of Wymondham [2]
- 1297–1298 Peter of Leicester [2]
- 1298–1305 John Sandale [2]
- c1319 Augustine le Waleys [1]
- c1337 John de Wyndsore [1]
- 1343 George Kirkyn, Lotte Nicholyn [2]
- 1344 William of Wakefield [3]
- 1344 John of Fleet[4]
- 1346 George Kirkyn, Lotte Nicholyn[5]
- 1349 John Donati de Castello, Philip John de Neri, Benedict Isbari [2]
- 1375–1376 Richard Lyons [2] (killed 1381)
- 1376–1377 Thomas Hervey [2]
- 1377–1388 John Gurtmonchester [2]
- 1389–1392 Guy Rocliffe [2]
- 1392–1399 Andrew Newport [2]
- 1399–1403 Robert Heathcote [2]
- 1408–1411 David de Nigarellis of Lucca [6]
- 1411–1439 Henry Somer [2]
- 1439–1446 John Somerset [6]
- 1446–1449 John Lematon [7]
- 1449–1468 Thomas Montgomery [2]
- 1468–1470 John Wode [2]
- 1470–1471 John Langstrother[2] (Joint Warden) (executed Tewkesbury 1471)
- 1471-1471 Sir John Delves (Joint Warden) (executed Tewkesbury 1471)
- 1471– John Wode [8] (re-instated)
- 1534–1536 Sir Thomas Pope [2]
- 1536–1544 John Browne[2]
- 1560–1595 Sir Richard Martin
- 1599 Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet
- 1609 Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet and Edmund Doubleday (died 1620)
- 1621 Henry Tweedy
- 1623 Sir Edward Villiers (died 1626) and Sir William Parkhurst
- 1629–1642 Sir William Parkhurst and Sir Anthony St Leger
- 1642–1645 Holland (appointed by Parliament)
- 1645 John St John (appointed by Parliament)
- 1660 Sir William Parkhurst (to 1666) and Sir Anthony St Leger (died 1680)
- 1681 Sir Thomas Wharton (died 1684) and son Philip Wharton
- 1685 Sir Philip Lloyd
- 1686–1690 Owen Wynne
- 1690 Benjamin Overton
- 1696 Isaac Newton
- 1700 Sir John Stanley, 1st Baronet
- 1708 Craven Peyton
- 1714 Sir Richard Sandford, 3rd Baronet
- 1718 William Thompson
- 1725 Walter Cary
- 1727 Sir Andrew Fountaine
- 1754 Richard Herbert (died 1754)
- 1754 John Jeffreys
- 1766 William Whitmore
- 1771 Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet
- 1796–1829 Sir Walter James, 1st Baronet (Last Warden, died 1829)
- 1829 Office abolished
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ruding, Rogers. Annals of the coinage of Great Britain and its dependencies. pp. 26–29. p.26
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Craig, John (1953). The Mint: A History of the London Mint from A.D. 287 to 1948. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ The Mint. p. 66.
- ↑ Challis, C.E. A New History of the Royal Mint. p. 155.
- ↑ The Mint. p. 67.
- 1 2 Clark, Linda. Exploring the Evidence. p. 185.
- ↑ Challis, C.E. A New History of the Royal Mint. p. 176.
- ↑ Challis, C.E. A New History of the Royal Mint. p. 181.