Master of the Mint

Updated on Nov 07, 2023

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Master of the Mint was an important office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain, between the 16th and 19th centuries. The Master was the highest officer in the Royal Mint. Until 1699, appointment was usually for life. Its holder occasionally sat in the cabinet. The office was abolished as an independent position in 1870, thereafter being held as a subsidiary office of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

During the interregnum (1643-1660) the last Master of the Mint to King Charles, Sir Robert Harley, transferred his allegiance to Parliament and remained in office. After his death in 1656 Aaron Guerdon was appointed.

Masters of the Mint in England

1509-1534 Sir William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy

1351-? Henry de Bruselee and John Chichester

1361-1361 Walter dei Bardi

1365-1367 John Chichester

1375-1391 Walter dei Bardi

1391-1391 John Wildeman

1411-1414 Richard Garner

1413-1414 Sir Lewis John

1418–1420 Sir Lewis John

1421-1432 Bartholomew Goldbeter

1435–1446 John Paddesley

1446–1459 Robert Manfield

1459-1461 Sir Richard Tonstall

1461-1483 William Hastings (executed 1483)

1483-1485 Sir Robert Brackenbury (killed at Bosworth,1485)

1485–1490 Sir Giles Daubeney

1492-1493 Sir Bartholomew Reed and Sir John Shaa

1493–1494 Sir Bartholomew Reed and Robert Fenrother

1495–1498 Sir Bartholomew Reed and Sir John Shaa

1509–1520 William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy

1527-1531 Ralph Rowlet and Martin Bowes

1531–1534 William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy

1543 Ralph Rowlet and Sir Martin Bowes

1544 Sir Martin Bowes

1547–1553 Sir John York

1553–1555 Thomas Egerton

1560–1571 Sir Thomas Stanley

1571–1582 John Lonyson

1582–1599 Sir Richard Martin

1599–1609 Sir Richard Martin (died 1616) and Richard Martin

1617–1623 Sir Edward Villiers

1623–1626 Sir Randal Cranfield

1626–1635 Sir Robert Harley

1635–1643 In Commission:

Sir Ralph Freeman

Sir Thomas Aylesbury

1643–1649 Sir Robert Harley

1649–1653 Aaron Guerdon

1660–1662 Sir Ralph Freeman

1662–1667 Sir Ralph Freeman and Henry Slingsby

1667–1680 Henry Slingsby (suspended 1680)

1680–1684 In Commission:

Sir John Buckworth

Charles Duncombe

James Hoare

1684–1686 In Commission:

Thomas Neale

Charles Duncombe

James Hoare

1686–1699 Thomas Neale

1700–1727 Sir Isaac Newton

1727–1737 John Conduitt

1737–1745 Richard Arundell

1745–1769 Hon. William Chetwynd

1769–1784 Hon. Charles Cadogan<

1784–1789 The Earl of Effingham

1789–1790 The Earl of Chesterfield

1790–1794 The Earl of Leicester

1794–1799 Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet

1799–1801 Lord Hawkesbury

1801–1802 The Lord Arden

1802–1804 John Smyth

1804–1806 The Earl Bathurst

1806 Lord Charles Spencer

1806–1807 Charles Bathurst

1807–1812 The Earl Bathurst

1812–1814 The Earl of Clancarty

1814–1823 Hon. William Wellesley-Pole

1823–1827 Thomas Wallace, 1st Baron Wallace

1827–1828 George Tierney

1828–1830 John Charles Herries

1830–1834 The Lord Auckland

1834–1835 Hon. James Abercrombie

1835 Alexander Baring

1835–1841 Henry Labouchere

1841–1845 William Ewart Gladstone

1845–1846 Sir George Clerk, 6th Baronet

1846–1850 Richard Lalor Sheil

1850–1855 Sir John Herschel

1855–1869 Thomas Graham

References

Master of the Mint Wikipedia

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