After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, control of the major aspects of English coinage passed from the Crown to Parliament. Charles Montagu, Chancellor of the Exchequer, solicited advice from a selection of eminent persons on solutions to the poor state of the silver coinage, 1695-1696.
A medieval psalter usually comprised a Calendar, the 150 Psalms, and a collection of canticles and creeds. The three text-types worked together in the practice of the Divine Office, the Church's daily public prayer. When a psalter-book was intended for private use as well, other texts, such as prologues, hymns, or favourite prayers were added. The psalter from which the miniatures were taken was probably made in the Ile de France in 1225-1250; the style is similar to that found in the miniatures of the Missal of St Corneille, Compiegne (held at the Bibliotheques Nationales, Paris, as Ms Latin 17318).
Litigation to prove that William Patrick Ralston Shedden (b 1794) was the legitimate son and heir of William Ralston Shedden (1747-1798) commenced in 1801, went twice to the Scottish courts and the House of Lords, and judgement was finally given against the petitioner in Nov 1860.
Switzerland is divided into 23 cantons, each of which has two delegates in the upper house of the federal parliament. In 1792, the Napoleonic Wars were about to break out, with France ranged against various coalitions of European countries: in 1798, the French armies marched into Switzerland and established a Helvetic Republic, though this was disbanded when Switzerland regained her independence in 1803.Jean Marie Cécile Valentin-Duplantier (1758-1814) was appointed Prefect of the area of Landes, South-West France, in 1802. He was based in Mont-de-Marsan, and established several experimental agricultural schemes in the area.
No information available at present.
No information available at present.
No information available at present.
William Chalmers was a merchant and shipper at Gibraltar, where he also acted as victualler to the garrison.
In Scotland, poor relief was organised using a system of voluntary contributions distributed under the direction of the minister and elders of the Kirk and, from 1752, more strongly by the direction of the landowners, who were the principal ratepayers. The able-bodied poor had no right to statutory relief as in England. A 'stent' was the rate levied on property owners.
The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies was created by an Act of the Scottish Parliament in Jun 1695. Under this act the Company was granted exclusive privilege of trade between Scotland and America, and perpetual monopoly of trade with Asia and Africa. It was authorised to arm and equip its ships as it saw fit, and was allowed to plant colonies in localities in Asia, Africa and America with no prior European settlement. In addition, the Company was exempt from all customs and duties for 21 years, with any damages incurred to be made good at public expense. By Jan 1696, the English side of the venture had collapsed, and the Company became a purely Scottish concern. Attempts to open a subscription book in Hamburg were defeated by Sir Paul Rycaut, the English Resident.
One of the leading figures in the creation of the Company of Scotland was William Paterson, a prosperous merchant with dreams of establishing a trading centre on the Isthmus of Darien, Panama. A secret plan evolved to establish a colony at Darien, despite the fact that it was a province of Spain, and the English crown would be sure to object to a move which could lead to war. The Company undertook two expeditions to Darien, shipping a total of 2,800 people and eleven ships there between Jul 1698 and Aug 1699. Due to a combination of factors, namely internal rivalries due to an unworkable system of government, land unsuitable for cultivation, insufficient supplies, English proclamations against the colony which prevented it trading, and Spanish military attacks, the colony was twice deserted by the Scots, for the second and final time on 12 Apr 1700. Most of the colonists died at Darien or on the return journey, with only the Caledonia returning to Scotland with a crew of fewer than 300.
The Company of Scotland limped on for a time, attempting to rebuild itself through trade with Africa, but several voyages ended in failure and the loss of ships. It was finally dissolved in May 1707 by Article Fifteen of the Treaty of Union of the two Kingdoms of Scotland and England.
Moorcroft was born in Lancashire and educated in Liverpool for the medical profession. While he was a student he was assigned to examine a local outbreak of cattle disease, as a result of which he switched to veterinary science. After amassing a considerable fortune in London he lost his wealth through the filing of numerous bad patents and in 1808 he took a position as veterinary surgeon with the Bengal Army. During this time he also took the position of Superintendent of the East India Company's stud.
He travelled widely in central Asia and became the first British traveller to cross the Himalayas. Falling out of favour with the Bengal Army for spending too much time in the Himalayan region he undertook a journey for trade to Kabul. On returning from Kabul in 1823 Moorcroft died and was taken to Balkh where he was buried outside the city walls.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
Inspeximus (literally 'We have seen') is a word sometimes used in letters-patent, reciting a grant, inspeximus such former grant, and so reciting it verbatim; it then grants such further privileges as are thought convenient. The term letters patent in its most general form refers to a letter delivered open with the royal seal attached, designed to be read as a proclamation.
The Escalade of Geneva took place on 11-12 December 1602, when the soldiers of Duke Charles Emmanuel of Savoy attempted a siege of the city, which the Duke wanted as the capital of his aspiring kingdom. The citizens defended their city and drove off the attackers, thus preserving the independence of Geneva. Several legends have grown up around this historical event, and there is an annual festival on this date.
Hume was born at Newington, Surrey on 28 April 1774 and received his education from Westminster School. In 1791 he became a clerk and later a controller of customs at Custom House in Thames Street, London. Between 1822 and 1825 Hume was given leave by the Treasury to study the laws of customs. His findings were published in ten acts in July 1825. In 1828 he was appointed joint secretary of the Board of Trade, which he retired from in 1840. During his time at the Board of Trade, Hume undertook an investigation in to silk duties and gave evidence before a committee on timber duties. From 1821 to 1841 he regularly attended meetings of the Political Economy Club, which he helped to establish in 1821. On retirement in 1840 he went to live in Reigate, Surrey. Although retired he gave evidence on the Corn Law and duties on coffee, tea and sugar. Hume died in Reigate on 12 January 1842.
The island of Newfoundland is situated off the eastern coast of North America between the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean, and is one of the four Atlantic provinces of Canada. Claimed as an English possession in 1583, British sovereignty of the island was recognised in 1713 by the Peace of Utrecht. During the nineteenth century, the population was swelled by labourers brought over from Britain to work in the fisheries, which were the main industry of Newfoundland. In 1855, the island was granted self-government.
Thomas Raikes was a merchant in London and Governor of the Bank of England during the crisis of 1797. He was a personal friend of William Wilberforce and William Pitt the Younger. Raikes married Charlotte, daughter of Henry Finch, Earl of Winchelsea in December 1774. Their son, also named Thomas, became a well-known diarist.
The missal is a book which contains the prayers said by the priest at the altar as well as all that is officially read or sung in connection with the offering of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the ecclesiastical year.
An antiphoner is a liturgical book containing antiphons, the sung portions of the Divine office, both texts and notation. Such books were often of a large format, to be used by a choir.
The Stockton and Darlington Railway was built to carry coal from the collieries of West Durham to the port of Stockton. In 1821, Edward Pease and a group of businessmen formed the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company. Royal Assent for the project was given in 1821, and building started the following year. The railway was opened in 1825, the first locomotive railway in Britain.
The 'Speights Town' was a merchant ship based in Liverpool. Her captain was Jonathan Jackson, and she was owned by Allanson and Barton.
See 'scope and content.'
A 'stent' was the rate levied on property owners in order to pay for local expenses, such as poor relief.
The St Helens Canal & Railway Company was created in 1843 when the St Helens Runcorn Gap Railway was bought out by Sankey Brook Navigation after a period of competition in the transportation of coal to the Mersey.
The term 'customs' applied to customary payments or dues of any kind, regal, episcopal or ecclesiastical until it became restricted to duties payable to the King upon export or import of certain articles of commerce.
In 1712, Norwich was one of the earliest cities to set up a poor law incorporation by special act of parliament. It comprised 44 parishes and was presided over by a Court of Guardians. There were two workhouses, one formerly a palace of the Duke of Norfolk, and the other a former monastery.
English bards and Scotch reviewers...a satire, was written by George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale, and first published by James Cawthorn of London in 1809.
The War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713), was fought against France over the choice of successor to the throne of Charles II of Spain. England, Holland, Austria and most of the German states sided against France, and a series of battles were fought in Europe. The Dutch and English armies were led by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough.
James Brydges (1674-1744), successively Earl of Carnarvan and Duke of Chandos, was Paymaster General to the Forces during this period, and managed to accumulate a large personal fortune through the illicit investment of public funds and bribes paid by merchants.
The Exchequer was responsible for receiving and dispersing the public revenue.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
The Victoria County History of Surrey, Vol.III, dates the grant of the reputed manor of Little Ashtead by Newdegate to Cole as 1604.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
No information available at present.
Robert Holcot (1290-1349) was a Dominican theologian and preacher. Born in Holcot, near Northampton, Holcot joined the Dominican Order and studied at Oxford. After gaining his doctorate in theology, he became Regent Master of Oxford University (1331-1333). It is also surmised that Holcot was Regent Master of Cambridge from 1334-1335. In 1343 he returned to the Dominican priory at Northampton, where he died of plague in 1349. Holcot wrote many theological works, including Commentaries on the Books of Wisdom, one of the best known works of the 14th century, which was printed in 1480 and went through 17 editions.
A Collectar is a manuscript containing the prayers (specifically 'collects') for the canonical hours of the Divine Office.
John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury, was the son of the Earl of Stafford. He held high political and religious office, being Bishop of Bath and Wells and Lord Chancellor to Henry V and VI; in 1443 he was created Archbishop of Canterbury, an office which he held until his death in 1452.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
No information available at present.
Born in 1645, John Sharp had gained a BA and MA at Christ's College, Cambridge University, by 1667. He was successively domestic chaplain to Sir Heneage Finch, 1667-1676, prebendary of Norwich and incumbent of St Bartholomew's, London, and Rector of St Giles-in-the-Fields, 1675-1681. During this period he gained a DD at Cambridge, 1679. Sharp was appointed Dean of Norwich in 1681, and chaplain in ordinary to King James II in 1686. Shortly afterwards he was suspended for preaching sermons which were held to reflect on the policies of James II, 1686-1687. Sharp also refused to read the 1687 Declaration of Indulgence, which suspended the laws against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters. Following the accession of William III and Mary II in 1688, Sharp was made Dean of Canterbury and Commissioner for the reform of the liturgy and the ecclesiastical courts, 1689. He was created Archbishop of York in 1691 and a Privy Councillor in 1702, and acted as a Commissioner for the Scottish Union, 1707. Sharp died in 1714. A list of publications by Archbishop John Sharp may be found in the British Library catalogue.
George Smith was born on 15 July 1871. He was educated at Battersea Grammar School, 1880-1887. From 1881 to 1892 he was articled to Gilbert Ellis who were engaged in the business of Antiquarian books. Smith passed the Library Association examination with honours, being the only candidate to qualify for the full professional certificate prior to the revised scheme of 1901. From 1893 to 1894 he served as the sub librarian of University College London and chief librarian of the Linen Hall, Belfast from 1894 to 1902. On the death of Gilbert Ellis in 1902, Smith succeeded to a partnership in the firm of Ellis and Elvey, the rare and antique bookshop founded by John Brindley, the famous bookbinder and publisher in 1728. He remained with the firm until his retirement in 1937 and died in Brighton aged 91 years.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
A committee appointed to 'enquire into the present state of the linen trade in Great Britain and Ireland' had reported back to the House of Commons on 25 May 1773. The meetings of 1774, were concerned with increasing distress in the trade and emigration to America.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
No information at present.
Ebenezer Elliott was born in Rotherham in 1781, the son of an iron founder. Between the ages of 16 and 38, he worked in the family business until it failed, leaving him bankrupt. Elliott moved to Sheffield, where he became a successful iron dealer. During this period, Elliott was very interested in politics, and his poems reflect this. He set up the Anti-Corn Law League in Sheffield, and wrote a series of strongly worded rhymes and poems which were then spoken at the thousands of anti-corn law meetings all across the country. Elliott's work came to the attention of Robert Southey and William Wordsworth, who lifted him out of obscurity and made him well-known nationally. A collection of his work was printed as Corn Law Rhymes (Sheffield Mechanics Anti-Tax Society, 1831). Elliott died in 1849.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
John Warrow was born in Africa in 1810.
Great Tower Street is in the centre of the City of London, and was formerly the site of the parish church of St Dunstan in the East, which was built in the 13th century. For biographical details of William Allen, see A.B. Beaven, The aldermen of the City of London (1908). He may have been the same William Allen who was elected Mayor of London in 1571.
Hackney is an area of East London.
The English Parliament is the main legislative body of the country, and at this time consisted of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the fledgling Cabinet.