Martin Bowes
Encyclopedia
Sir Martin Bowes was a sixteenth-century English politician.
Bowes made a career at the Royal Mint
, as a master-worker and under-treasurer, and personally contributed to the debasement
of English currency. He was a Sheriff of London for 1540 and the Lord Mayor of London
for 1545. From 1547 to 1553, the reign of Edward VI of England
, he represented the City of London
in Parliament. He was one of the interrogators of Anne Askew
, who was burnt at the stake for heresy
in 1546.
During the 1520s and 1530 Bowes was one of three or four master-workers of the Royal Mint. The three master-workers and the Treasurer, Lord Mountjoy
, were entitled to equal shares of the Mint's profit. The arrangement caused friction between the master-workers and their noble superior, who claimed to have been denied his fair share. Official allowances paid to the master-workers were considerably lower than in the preceding Yorkist period, and the managers "compensated" themselves with "seizing every opportunity to make the Mint pay". Earlier, king Henry VII
enforced tight control over the Mints, but under Henry VIII
the Crown "did little more than making the ends meet" and let the master-workers on their own. Investigations that led to reorganization of the Mint in 1544 showed that Bowes and Ralph Rowlett were responsible for systematical unauthorized debasement of silver supplied by the Crown. Thousands of pounds in "surplus" coinage remained unaccounted for, but Bowes survived the scrutiny.
During the reform of the Royal Mint in the 1540s Bowes, now promoted to Under-treasurer, remained in charge of the Royal Mint in Tower (Tower I). His long experience and influence of the Mint were partially offset by an appointment of the second under-treasurer, Stephen Vaughan. Vaughan, involved in financial affairs of the Crown in the Low Countries
, did not have much time to spend at the Mint. Bowes, again, remained in command, now engaged in authorized full-scale debasement of English currency.
According to Challis, in 1544-1551 the Tower I facility managed by Bowes produced silver coinage valued at £957,067 and gold coins valued at £767,362, or 43% out of total national output (£3,985,591). Bowes was responsible for around one quarter of the debased testoon production, in which £385,000 worth of good silver currency were reworked into £547,000 of new currency (at face value). These poorly based testoons became known as "base testoons". In total, Bowes "generated" around a third of Crown's profits from the debasement of currency - £421,693 (33% on top of input metal value, or 24% out of face value produced). His production overheads, at 1/26 of net profits, were higher than those of his peer Thomas Knight (Tower II), because Bowes bore the costs of management, engravers and potmakers for both facilities.
.
Bowes made a career at the Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...
, as a master-worker and under-treasurer, and personally contributed to the debasement
Debasement
Debasement is the practice of lowering the value of currency. It is particularly used in connection with commodity money such as gold or silver coins...
of English currency. He was a Sheriff of London for 1540 and the Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
for 1545. From 1547 to 1553, the reign of Edward VI of England
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, he represented the City of London
City of London (elections to the Parliament of England)
The City of London was a Parliamentary constituency of the Parliament of England until 1707.-Boundaries and history to 1707:This borough constituency consisted of the City of London, which was the historic core of the modern Greater London...
in Parliament. He was one of the interrogators of Anne Askew
Anne Askew
Anne Askew was an English poet and Protestant who was condemned as a heretic...
, who was burnt at the stake for heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
in 1546.
During the 1520s and 1530 Bowes was one of three or four master-workers of the Royal Mint. The three master-workers and the Treasurer, Lord Mountjoy
Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy
Charles Blount, fifth Baron Mountjoy was an English courtier and patron of learning.-Life:Charles Blount was born on 28 June 1516 in Tournai, where his father, William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, was governor. Charles Blount's mother was William 's second wife, Alice, daughter of Henry Keble, Lord...
, were entitled to equal shares of the Mint's profit. The arrangement caused friction between the master-workers and their noble superior, who claimed to have been denied his fair share. Official allowances paid to the master-workers were considerably lower than in the preceding Yorkist period, and the managers "compensated" themselves with "seizing every opportunity to make the Mint pay". Earlier, king Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
enforced tight control over the Mints, but under Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
the Crown "did little more than making the ends meet" and let the master-workers on their own. Investigations that led to reorganization of the Mint in 1544 showed that Bowes and Ralph Rowlett were responsible for systematical unauthorized debasement of silver supplied by the Crown. Thousands of pounds in "surplus" coinage remained unaccounted for, but Bowes survived the scrutiny.
During the reform of the Royal Mint in the 1540s Bowes, now promoted to Under-treasurer, remained in charge of the Royal Mint in Tower (Tower I). His long experience and influence of the Mint were partially offset by an appointment of the second under-treasurer, Stephen Vaughan. Vaughan, involved in financial affairs of the Crown in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, did not have much time to spend at the Mint. Bowes, again, remained in command, now engaged in authorized full-scale debasement of English currency.
According to Challis, in 1544-1551 the Tower I facility managed by Bowes produced silver coinage valued at £957,067 and gold coins valued at £767,362, or 43% out of total national output (£3,985,591). Bowes was responsible for around one quarter of the debased testoon production, in which £385,000 worth of good silver currency were reworked into £547,000 of new currency (at face value). These poorly based testoons became known as "base testoons". In total, Bowes "generated" around a third of Crown's profits from the debasement of currency - £421,693 (33% on top of input metal value, or 24% out of face value produced). His production overheads, at 1/26 of net profits, were higher than those of his peer Thomas Knight (Tower II), because Bowes bore the costs of management, engravers and potmakers for both facilities.
Family
He had issue by his wife Frances, who went on to marry Matthew HuttonMatthew Hutton (Archbishop of York)
Matthew Hutton was archbishop of York from 1595 to 1606.-Life:Hutton, the son of Matthew Hutton of Priest Hutton, in the parish of Warton, Lancashire, was born in that parish in 1529. He became a sizar at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1546. Graduating B.A. 1551–2, he became a fellow of Trinity in...
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