Add MS 46348

HENRY VIII INVENTORY

INVENTORY OF THE JEWELS, PLATE, and other effects of Henry VIII: Vol. I of an inventory in two volumes made by a commission appointed by Edward VI on 14 Sept. 1547, and completed (except art. 2) before the end of the first year of his reign, i.e. before 28 Jan. 1548, see further artt. 1 and 2 below. The present volume appears from the preface to art. 2 to have been part of the copy retained in official custody. Another copy of Vol. I is now Society of Antiquaries of London MS. 129; the only copy of Vol. II that is known to survive is now Harley MSS. 1419 A, B (see further A. J. Collins, Jewels and Plate of Queen Elizabeth I, 1955, pp. 3 n. 3, 237-239, and art. 2 below). Contents:-

(1) Preface reciting letters of Edward VI, dated 14 Sept. 1547, appointing commissioners to make an inventory of all such 'readie money plate Jewelles Apparell Silke Houshold stuff Stable stuff Munition artillerye tentes revelles and other ymplementes goodes or catalls whatsoever' as belonged to Henry VIII, and remained at his death on 28 Jan. 1547 in any of the royal 'Mansion houses or places' of the Tower of London, Westminster, Greenwich, Hampton Court, Windsor, Oatlands, Richmond, or elsewhere. Concludes with a report that the commissioners completed this task during 1 Edw. VI (i.e. before 28 Jan. 1548) and recorded the results in two 'bookes or Lergers'. ff. 1-2b.

(2) Inventory of Jewels and Plate in the charge of Sir Anthony Auchar, Master of the Jewel-house, whose signature appears at the foot of each page. An explanatory preface, dated 20 Jan., 3 Edw. VI (1550), at ff. 5-5b, states that the inventory was made in duplicate under the supervision of the commission referred to in art. 1, jointly with a second commission appointed 18 (or 12?) April 1547 to survey the contents of the Jewel-house alone, the pages of one copy being subscribed by the commissioners and given to Auchar, and those of the other (presumably the present) one, subscribed by Auchar for the King's retention. The commissioners' signatures do not appear in Society of Antiquaries MS. 129 and Auchar's book, known from the description of the eventual contents in P.R.O., Pipe Office Declared Account 1952 to have included the signatures of members of both commissions, must have constituted another copy, now lost, of this part of the inventory. ff. 5 - 139b.

(3) Inventory of the Secret Jewel-house in the Tower of London under the keeping of William Paulet, Baron St John, Great Master of the King's Household, followed by continuations, etc., down to 1553 (ff. 202b-229b). Marginal notes of withdrawals, stock-takings, etc., down to 1559 have been added passim (an entry on f. 145 relating ostensibly to 11 June 158(5?) appears from similar entries elsewhere to relate in fact to 1558). ff. 145-239.

(4) Inventory of Ordnance and Munitions in the Tower of London, and other castles, forts, etc., arranged by places. ff. 244-343b.

(5) 'The Names of all the Kingse M(ajes)t(ies) Shippes Galleys Pynnasses and Rowebarges w(i)t(h) the(i)r tonnage and nombre of Souldiours, Marrynours, and Gonners, as also the plac(es) wherein they nowe be.' ff. 344-374b.

(6) Armories in the charge of Sir Thomas Darcy, Master of the Armories. ff. 378-391b.

(7) The Stable, in the charge of Sir Anthony Browne, Master of the King's Horse. ff. 393 -397.

(8) The Revels, in the charge of Sir Thomas Carwarden, Master of the same. ff. 399-408.

(9) The Tents, in the charge of Sir Thomas Carwarden, Master of the same. ff. 408b-413b.

(10) The Vestry, in the charge of Rauffe Tappinge, Sergeant of the same. ff. 416-422. Paper; ff. iv + 423. Large quarto. 1547-1548. Now bound as two volumes (Vol. I, ff. 1 - 243; Vol. II, ff. 244 - 423). A number of leaves have been left blank between sections, etc., passim. Contemporary ink foliation, now largely removed by cropping; 19th-cent. pencil pagination, following the disordered state of the MS. at that time. Owned, 18th cent., by Francis Gwyn of Ford Abbey, co. Devon (armorial bookplate, 1698, f. i; Ford Abbey sale-cat. 26 Oct. 1846, lot 237) and, 19th cent., by Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart. (MS. 12127; Sotheby's sale-cat. 11 Nov. 1946, lot 25). Purchased with the aid of a grant from the Court of the Goldsmiths' Company.

HOWARD ACCOMPT BOOK