THE PRESTBURY CIVIL WAR HOARD

Transcription

1 THE PRESTBURY CIVIL WAR HOARD KEITH SUGDEN AND IAN JONES Introduction A hoard of silver coins dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, together with one gold coin, was found on 15 June 2004 by Jason Scott while digging footings for a barn conversion at Prestbury, Cheshire. Hoards of this period from the North West of England are unusual (none was listed by Besly), 1 especially those including gold coinage, and the overwhelming majority of reported finds are from the more prosperous Midlands and Yorkshire. The latest coins in the present hoard have the initial mark Triangle-in-Circle (in use ), and it is likely that the turbulent events of the Civil War of led to the hoard s deposition. The majority of the coins have since been sold at auction by the finder (Dix Noonan Webb sale 68, 12 December 2005, lots 1 153), after being declared Treasure at a coroner s inquest on 19 October 2004 and returned to him. A brief summary of the hoard (2004 T349) was included in Treasure Annual Report Historical background The Royalist High Sheriff of Cheshire, Thomas Legh, is known to have owned the land on which the hoard was found; he lived at Adlington Hall, Cheshire, some 3 km north of Prestbury and 20 km south of Manchester. In September 1642, the Earl of Derby laid siege to Manchester on behalf of the king, and it is possible the hoard is associated with these events; the people of Manchester and the surrounding towns were generally Parliamentary supporters, and between 23 and 26 September 1642 country people from the surrounding areas flooded into the town [Manchester] to defend it. 3 The assault was unsuccessful. It is often difficult, and frequently unwise, to tie depositions of hoards to specific events, and the Prestbury hoard is no exception to this rule. Nonetheless, although personal circumstances of which we can know nothing, may well have caused the owner of the significant sum of some 54 to bury his money, it is likely from the initial mark of the latest coins that they were deposited at a time of considerable upheaval in the locality. Despite this, there were no hoards closing with initial mark Triangle-in-Circle (that is, from the early part of the Civil War) and originating in the North West of England known to Besly, 4 and only one terminating with an earlier initial mark (Congleton, 1956: closing mark Star; 18, all gold), as compared with eight hoards from this period recorded by him from Yorkshire. The hoard The hoard consisted of one gold coin, a laurel of James I (third coinage, fourth bust, initial mark Trefoil), and 1,359 silver coins (together with six forgeries), contained within a cylindrical earthenware jar, found in six fragments and thought to be of local manufacture in the North West Purple tradition (see Appendix 2). Gold coins occur in about one-third (10/32) of Acknowledgements. The authors would like to thank Edward Besly, of the National Museum of Wales, for generously providing a copy of his 1987 monograph, and for his initial comments. The illustrations on Pl. 3 have been provided by Dix Noonan Webb. 1 Besly Treasure Annual Report 2004, 191 2, no Pendlebury Besly Keith Sugden and Ian Jones, The Prestbury Civil War hoard, British Numismatic Journal 82 (2012), ISSN British Numismatic Society.

2 134 SUGDEN AND JONES hoards ending in initial mark Triangle-in-Circle noted by Besly, usually as a small number of coins, although occasionally they form the bulk of the hoard (e.g. Reading 1934, Painswick 1941). 5 Of the silver coins, the largest denomination was the halfcrown, of which there was one of James I and 44 of Charles I, together with one Scottish 30 shillings (which circulated as a halfcrown in England); there were no European dollars. The majority of the coins were Elizabethan sixpences (528) and shillings (219), with smaller contributions of Stuart sixpences and shillings, and some pieces dating from the mid-sixteenth century (see Appendix 1). Tudor coins were slightly heavier than their Stuart counterparts (by 3.3 per cent), 6 a gain that was largely negated by the degree of wear and clipping on the coins in the hoard. Only one provincial coin was found a sixpence of Aberystwyth and no milled pieces, either by Mestrell or Briot (excluding Scottish coins); however, Royalist mints were only just starting production at this period. As usual, there were a few Scots and Irish coins, the Scottish circulating at 12s. Scots = 1s. English (leaving the Scottish merk of 13s. 4d. Scots to be worth 13½d. English), and the Irish coins circulating at 1s. Irish = 9d. English. There were 35 Scottish coins (2.5 per cent of the total by number) and 26 Irish (1.9 per cent). Six of the coins were sufficiently interesting to merit illustrating: a shilling of James I with initial mark Mullet over Key on obverse, omitting the intervening Bell mark (933; Pl. 3, 1); a sixpence of James I of 1615, with initial mark Tun over Cinquefoil on obverse (1011; Pl. 3, 2); a sixpence of James I of 1616 (over 1615), the date 1616 being previously unrecorded (1012; Pl. 3, 3); two very rare shillings of Charles I, initial mark Harp, with plume above the shield on the reverse (1085 6; Pl. 3, 4 5); and a shilling of Charles I from an obverse of Briot s hammered coinage muled with an ordinary Tower reverse (1238; Pl. 3, 6). The size of the hoard is noteworthy. The median number of coins in hoards ending in Triangle-in-Circle noted by Besly that had sufficient detail for analysis (23) was 170, and the median value was 8 5s. 0d., whereas the Prestbury hoard contained 1,366 coins with a face value of 53 17s. 9½d. 7 Clearly this represents a substantial sum of money, at a time when the total estate of the Vicar of Bolton (who died shortly after the Bolton Massacre of 1644) was recorded for probate as s. 10d., 8 and a day s pay offered to a cavalryman was 2s. 6d. 9 Percentages of clipped coins The proportions of clipped coins are worthy of note. In discussing the state of the currency, Besly observed that virtually all of Elizabeth s silver coins had been clipped and many of James I. Only in the North are Charles coins clipped in any quantity, perhaps because of the area s remoteness and poor enforcement of the law. 10 He rightly pointed out the difficulty of identifying clipped, as opposed to poorly struck, coins, but to an experienced observer a high proportion of the coins from the Prestbury hoard have been clipped, though by no means all of Elizabeth s pieces and none of the earlier coins of Edward VI, Mary or Philip and Mary. Perhaps these earlier pieces were becoming unfamiliar and were subject to greater scrutiny. TABLE 1. Percentages of clipped coins in the Prestbury hoard 2s. 6d. 1s. 6d. Elizabeth I James I (one coin) Charles I Besly 1987, Challis 1978, Besly 1987, Pendlebury 1983, 3. 9 Besly 1987, Besly 1987, 65.

3 THE PRESTBURY CIVIL WAR HOARD 135 TABLE 2. Percentages of clipped coins in the Breckenbrough Hoard 11 2s. 6d. 1s. James I 37.9 Charles I Weights Two summaries of the weights of the silver coins have been prepared (see Appendix 1). The first (A) shows the weights of the coins as an overall average (1), the numbers of the coins found (2), and the average weights as a percentage of the standard at which they were issued (3). As expected, this table shows a steady drop in the percentage of the weight standard as the coin gets older, though the average weight of the Elizabethan shillings and sixpences is slightly greater than those of James, and this is emphasised by summary (B), which shows the average weights as a percentage of the standard pertaining in Thus the weight of the silver of Elizabeth is still largely comparable with that of the Stuart coinage, and this no doubt accounts for its continued presence in currency sixty or more years later. The same does not apply to the groats of Mary, which are considerably worn, as a similar summary (Table 3) for them shows. Thus the early groats are seen to have lost about one-third of their weight, though they are not obviously clipped; whether they circulated at face value at this period is unknown. TABLE 3. Weights of Mary groats Mean wt. No. of coins Mean wt. as percentage Mean wt. as percentage of standard of standard in g The average weight of all undamaged (that is, not pierced or broken) coins in Table 4 is similar to the average weights of coins in hoards ending in initial mark Triangle-in-Circle noted by Cook. 12 TABLE 4. Mean weights of undamaged coins Hoard Sixpence Shilling Halfcrown Elizabeth I James I Charles I Elizabeth I James I Charles I Charles I Revesby Wortwell Dersingham Ryhall Wroughton Tidenham Prestbury Conclusions The Prestbury Hoard represents a large deposit of coinage from the early phase of the English Civil War, and confirms Besly s comment that clipping of the coinage was more prevalent in the north of the country, perhaps because of its remoteness. 11 Besly 1987, Cook 1999, 171 2; Cook 2002,

4 136 SUGDEN AND JONES REFERENCES Besly, E., English Civil War Coin Hoards, British Museum Occasional Paper 51 (London). Challis, C.E., The Tudor Coinage (Manchester). Cook, B.J., New hoards from seventeenth-century England, BNJ 69, Cook, B.J., New hoards from seventeenth-century England II, BNJ 72, Pendlebury, G., Aspects of the English Civil War in Bolton and its Neighbourhood (Manchester). APPENDIX 1 Catalogue * = clearly clipped # = other damage or accretion Edward VI 1 Shilling Y (1) Tun (2) 5.69, 5.04# 4 Sixpence Y (1) Tun (1) 2.84 Mary 6 35 Groat (30) 1.33, 1.42, 1.28, 1.58, 1.39, 1.43, 1.32, 1.19, 1.19, 1.25, 1.28, 1.37, 1.42, 1.18, 1.68, 1.51, 1.46, 1.40, 1.27, 1.16, 1.54, 1.31, 1.35, 1.44, 1.25, 1.53, 1.41, 1.41, 1.51, 1.36 Philip and Mary 36 7 Shilling Undated (2) 5.38, (4) 4.62, 5.35, 5.05, Sixpence 1554 Spanish titles (2) 2.64, Lis, English titles (1) Groat (4) 1.42, 1.31, 1.16, 1.42 Elizabeth I Shilling Lis (4) 5.49, 5.72, 5.13, Martlet (40) 5.57, 5.27*, 4.76*, 5.38, 5.27, 5.42, 4.48*, 4.90*, 5.70, 5.61, 5.02*, 5.84, 4.87*, 6.01, 5.05*, 5.54, 5.51, 5.87, 5.98, 5.81, 5.24*, 5.96, 4.87*, 5.43, 5.46, 4.79*, 5.71, 4.78*, 5.68, 5.53, 5.46, 5.26, 5.89, 5.54, 4.89*, 5.89, 5.68, 5.54, 5.83, 4.95* Cross Crosslet (38) 5.31*, 5.77, 5.48, 5.10, 4.53*, 5.74, 5.66, 4.67*, 5.91, 4.85*, 5.91#, 5.37, 4.32*, 5.92, 5.24, 5.69, 5.90, 5.60, 5.90, 5.74, 5.49, 4.64*, 5.98, 4.92#, 4.74*, 4.28*, 5.93, 5.59, 5.47*, 5.35*, 5.42*, 5.33*, 5.53, 5.46*, 5.77, 5.96, 5.54, 4.72* Bell (8) 4.77*, 5.84, 5.56*, 5.60*, 5.76, 5.57, 5.66, A (15) 5.99, 5.08*, 5.62, 5.85, 5.52, 4.90*, 6.06, 6.14, 5.59, 5.91, 5.32, 5.36*, 5.94, 5.72, 5.04* Escallop (7) 5.81, 5.76, 5.73, 6.04, 5.04*, 5.58, 5.00* Crescent (9) 6.26, 5.33*, 6.11, 5.96, 6.34, 5.56, 5.73, 5.55, Hand (14) 5.71, 5.30*, 6.49, 4.75*, 5.96, 5.84*, 5.87, 5.89, 5.78, 5.57, 5.80, 4.81*, 5.66, 4.78*

5 THE PRESTBURY CIVIL WAR HOARD Tun (35) 5.84, 5.58*, 5.62*, 5.51, 6.12, 5.94, 5.18*, 6.12, 5.93, 5.79, 5.62*, 5.62, 5.89, 5.57*, 5.69, 5.33*, 5.74, 5.92, 5.80, 5.83, 5.51*, 5.76, 5.93, 5.83, 6.30, 5.97, 5.87, 5.67, 4.85*, 5.49, 5.96, 5.84, 5.80, 5.98, 5.07* Woolpack (27) 5.97, 5.95, 6.12, 5.87, 5.37*, 5.88, 5.74, 5.69, 6.26, 5.49, 6.06, 6.03, 5.17*, 4.96*, 5.62, 5.97, 5.90, 5.58, 5.07*, 5.09*, 5.30#, 6.12, 5.83, 5.06*, 5.61, 5.77, Key (5) 5.83, 6.00, 5.94, 6.19, 5.43* (1) (8) 5.86, 5.73, 5.81, 5.61, 5.71, 5.17*, 4.90*, (6) 5.58*, 5.41*, 5.50, 5.76, 5.86, Uncertain (2) 5.78, Sixpence 1561 Pheon (30) 2.31, 2.35*, 2.57#, 2.47, 2.57, 2.60#, 2.12*, 2.39*, 2.92, 2.78, 2.11*, 2.43*, 2.78, 2.51, 2.76, 2.53, 2.63, 2.70, 2.79, 2.67, 2.56*, 2.59, 2.54, 2.61, 2.75, 2.71, 2.63, 2.25, 2.34*, Pheon (10) 2.50, 2.68, 2.53, 2.25*, 2.42*, 2.84, 2.67, 2.80, 2.50, Pheon (4) 2.66, 2.91, 2.71, 2.45* Pheon (12) 2.86, 2.72, 2.72, 2.31*, 2.62, 2.75, 2.55*, 2.76, 2.66, 2.58, 2.80, Pheon (5) 2.74, 2.52, 2.78, 2.67*, Uncertain date Pheon (13) 2.72, 2.46, 2.50, 2.43, 2.65, 2.42, 2.81, 2.64, 2.66, 2.52, 2.40*, 2.33*, 2.21* Rose (8) 2.48, 2.80, 2.80, 2.64*, 2.75, 2.70, 2.77, Portcullis (17) 2.51, 2.65, 2.76, 2.71, 2.73, 2.62*, 2.80, 2.59, 2.58, 2.77#, 2.44*, 2.46*, 2.72, 2.77, 2.74, 2.66*, 2.67* Lion (6) 2.53, 2.75, 2.68, 2.64, 2.67, Lion (4) 2.23*, 2.80, 2.65, Coronet (19) 2.25*, 2.64, 2.84, 2.68, 2.52*, 2.71, 2.61, 2.75, 2.78*, 2.57, 2.81, 2.66, 2.41*, 2.16*, 2.69, 2.80, 2.29*, 2.30*, 2.73* Coronet (18) 2.59, 2.42*, 2.70, 2.23*, 2.65, 2.74*, 2.84, 2.29*, 2.66, 2.83, 2.59*, 2.69, 2.80, 2.59, 2.81, 2.55*, 2.63, 2.15* Coronet (21) 2.70, 2.23*, 2.83, 2.40*, 2.52, 2.63, 2.41*, 2.75, 2.58, 2.40*, 2.69, 2.70, 2.67, 2.66, 2.76, 2.63, 2.69, 2.83, 2.94, 2.61, Coronet (7) 2.83#, 2.37*, 2.62*, 2.43*, 2.87, 2.65, 2.84* Uncertain date Coronet (2) 2.69, Castle (5) 2.42, 2.39*, 2.79, 2.75, 2.28* Castle (14) 2.59,. 2.63, 2.74, 2.72*, 2.22*, 2.81, 2.91, 2.59*, 2.84, 2.87, 2.12*, 2.57, 2.74, Ermine (31) 2.69, 2.62, 2.93, 2.61, 2.76*, 2.88, 2.69, 2.86, 2.62*, 2.24*, 2.72, 2.89, 2.86, 2.48*, 2.66, 2.72, 2.61*, 2.59, 2.67#, 2.69, 2.55, 2.66, 2.76, 2.58*, 3.03, 3.08, 2.63, 2.75#, 2.83, 2.60, 2.69*

6 138 SUGDEN AND JONES Ermine (13) 2.81, 2.76, 2.72, 2.60, 2.65, 2.53, 2.50#, 2.79, 2.83, 2.69*, 2.70, 2.73, Acorn (9) 2.54, 2.63, 2.76*, 2.71, 2.35*, 2.85, 2.79, 2.64, Acorn (1) 2.70* Uncertain date Acorn (2) 2.65, 2.73* Eglantine (2) 2.77*, Eglantine (23) 2.70, 2.71, 2.60*, 2.69, 2.80, 2.54*, 2.87, 2.39*, 2.42*, 2.43*, 2.75, 2.84#, 2.63*, 2.68, 2.76*, 2.68*, 2.87, 2.83, 2.63*, 2.75, 2.19, 2.82, Eglantine (26) 2.55#, 2.62#, 2.85, 2.78*, 2.79, 2.70*, 2.45*, 2.78, 2.75, 2.70, 2.70*, 2.79, 2.21*, 2.70, 2.65*, 2.86, 2.66*, 2.81, 2.67*, 2.51*, 2.83, 2.34*, 2.53*, 2.91, 2.89, 2.16* Eglantine (4) 2.42#, 2.37, 2.62, Eglantine (1) Uncertain date Eglantine (3) 2.77, 2.63, Greek Cross (27) 2.47*, 2.86, 2.67, 2.95, 2.86, 2.90, 2.66*, 2.57, 2.78, 2.69, 2.50*, 2.56, 2.91, 2.42#, 2.88, 2.44*, 2.63*, 2.90, 2.87*, 2.61*, 2.45*, 2.42*, 2.74, 2.79, 3.25, 2.38*, 2.68* Greek Cross (8) 2.73, 2.81, 2.63*, 2.91, 2.42*, 2.70, 2.94, Uncertain date Greek Cross (2) 2.63*, Latin Cross (22) 2.63*, 2.99, 2.65*, 2.86, 2.96, 2.82, 2.34*, 2.06#, 2.70, 2.58, 2.66#, 2.34*, 2.37, 2.89, 2.36*, 2.60, 2.77*, 2.59, 2.86*, 2.92, 2.79*, Latin Coss (10) 3.04, 2.88*, 2.90, 2.74#, 2.89, 2.74*, 2.93, 2.30*, 2.83, 2.54* 647 Uncertain date Latin Cross (1) Sword (14) 2.60, 2.75, 2.93, 2.79, 2.52, 2.85, 2.43*, 2.76, 2.79, 3.03, 2.91, 2.85, 2.83, 2.68* Bell (9) 2.77, 2.42*, 2.78*, 2.62*, 2.77, 2.82, 2.84, 2.18*, Bell (11) 2.84, 2.80, 2.82, 2.76, 2.56#, 2.81, 2.73*, 2.85, 2.78*, 2.56*, 2.41* 682 Uncertain date Bell (1) A (3) 2.77, 2.79, 2.68* A (7) 2.50*, 2.79, 2.90*, 2.91, 2.73, 2.69*, 2.67* 693 Uncertain date A (1) Escallop (3) 2.83, 2.76*, 2.48# Escallop (1) 2.59* Crescent (2) 2.86, 2.59* Crescent (3) 2.82, 2.79, Hand (7) 2.82, 2.94, 2.61*, 2.87, 2.76, 2.87#, 2.31* Hand (12) 2.18*, 2.87, 2.77, 2.87, 2.92, 2.84, 2.78, 2.89, 2.85, 2.26*, 3.01, Hand (1) Tun (12) 2.89*, 2.81, 2.91, 2.61*, 2.84, 2.89, 2.87, 2.42*, 2.82*, 2.83, 2.95, Tun (15) 2.74*, 2.94, 2.81, 2.94, 2.44*, 2.76, 2.86*, 2.48*, 2.70*, 2.78, 2.94*, 2.82, 3.05, 2.96, 2.89

7 THE PRESTBURY CIVIL WAR HOARD Tun (2) 2.45*, Uncertain date Tun (1) Woolpack (3) 2.88, 2.83, Woolpack (5) 2.72, 2.82, 2.74*, 2.56*, Key (3) 2.79, 2.84, 2.55* Key (6) 2.83*, 2.44*, 2.84, 2.87*, 2.84, 2.52* Key (1) 2.72* Anchor (2) 2.58, 2.48* (1) (6) 2.86, 2.80, 2.95, 2.89, 2.78, 2.58# (8) 2.79, 2.77, 2.64*, 2.62*, 2.78*, 2.76*, 2.93, Uncertain date and mark (8) 2.57, 2.76, 2.45*, 2.30*, 2.78, 2.48*, 2.35*, Groat Lis (1) Cross Crosslet (5) 1.36, 1.32, 1.45, 1.28, Martlet (1) 1.40# Uncertain mark (7) 1.59, 1.23, 1.32, 1.58, 1.22*, 1.41, Threepence 1568 Coronet (1) Castle (1) Ermine (1) 1.10* Eglantine (1) Greek Cross (1) Uncertain date and mark (1) 0.93 James I 816 Laurel Third coinage, fourth bust, 9.11 Trefoil (1) 817 Halfcrown Third issue, no plumes, Lis (1) Shilling First issue, first bust, 4.76*, 5.55, 5.80, 5.81, 5.77 Thistle (5) First issue, second bust, 6.05, 6.13, 5.22*, 5.78, 5.51, 5.69, Thistle (14) 5.66, 4.69*, 4.90*, 5.44, 5.66, 5.70*, 4.89*, 4.90* Second issue, third bust, 5.78, 5.90, 5.52, 5.72, 5.53*, 5.99, Lis (29) 5.07*, 5.63, 5.88*, 5.32*, 5.78, 5.97, 5.87*, 5.62, 5.35, 5.48*, 5.73, 5.97, 4.96*, 4.93*, 5.68*, 5.99, 5.80, 5.69, 5.84, 5.63, 5.88, 5.23*, 5.53* Second issue, third bust, 5.88, 5.88, 3.89*, 5.90, 5.91, 5.06#, Rose (11) 5.76, 5.69, 5.80, 5.79, 4.57* Second issue, fourth bust, 5.19*, 4.98*, 5.74, 5.61, 6.14, 5.79, Rose (23) 5.99, 5.86, 5.69, 5.82, 5.70, 4.98*, 5.86, 5.72*, 5.99, 5.76, 5.89, 5.88, 4.91*, 5.74, 5.02*, 5.69, Second issue, fourth bust, 5.73, 5.68, 5.64, 5.74, 5.05*, 5.94, Escallop (13) 5.60, 5.64*, 5.79, 5.85, 5.56, 5.82, Second issue, fourth bust, 5.59*, 5.76*, 5.61, 5.32*, 5.53, Grapes (7) 5.23#, 5.16* Second issue, fourth bust, 5.55*, 5.57*, 5.94, 5.63*, 5.79 Coronet (5) 925 Second issue, fourth bust, 5.61 bust uncertain (1) Second issue, fifth bust, 5.65, 6.06 Coronet (2) 928 Second issue, fifth bust, 5.56* Key (1) Second issue, fifth bust, 5.50, 5.89 Bell (2)

8 140 SUGDEN AND JONES Second issue, fifth bust, 5.74, 5.79 Mullet (2) 933 Second issue, fifth bust, 5.95 Mullet over Key (1) Second issue, fifth bust, 5.90, 5.69 Tun (2) 936 Third issue, sixth bust, 5.94 Rose (1) 937 Third issue, sixth bust, 5.88 Thistle (1) Third issue, sixth bust, 5.96, 6.19, 5.93, 5.89, 6.08 Lis (5) Third issue, sixth bust, 5.81, 5.40*, 5.97, 5.78, 4.75*, 5.78 Trefoil (6) 949 Uncertain issue, Thistle (1) Uncertain issue, Lis (3) 5.63*, 5.50, 3.68# 953 Uncertain issue and mark (1) 5.10* Sixpence 1603 first issue, first bust, 2.70, 2.72, 2.82 Thistle (3) first issue, second bust, 2.88*, 2.33*, 2.31*, 2.94, 2.85 Thistle (5) first issue, second bust, 2.86, 2.77 Thistle (2) first issue, second bust, 2.64, 2.63#, 2.87, 2.90, 2.95, 2.66*, Lis (9) 2.92, 2.86, second issue, third bust, 2.79, 2.64*, 2.92, 2.94, 2.75#, 2.79, Lis (9) 2.93, 2.71, second issue, third bust, 2.85, 3.03 Lis (2) second issue, third bust, 2.92, 2.82 Rose (2) second issue, fourth bust, 2.90, 2.71, 2.93, 2.42*, 2.74, 2.63* Rose (6) second issue, fourth bust, 3.09, 2.97, 2.71*, 2.88 Rose (4) second issue, fourth bust, 2.30*, 2.76*, 2.77, 2.83, 2.68, 2.86* Escallop (6) second issue, fourth bust, 2.52*, 2.77* Escallop (2) second issue, fourth bust, 2.65 Grapes (1) second issue, fourth bust, 2.47, 2.83 Coronet (2) second issue, fourth bust, 2.79, 2.60, 2.46* Coronet (3) second issue, fourth bust, 2.80 Key (1) second issue, fourth bust, 2.75 Tun [obv over cinquefoil] (1) second issue, fourth bust, 2.31* Tun (1) third issue, sixth bust, 2.92 Thistle (1) third issue, sixth bust, 2.86# Thistle (1) third issue, sixth bust, 2.94, 2.98 Trefoil (2) third issue, sixth bust, 2.83 uncertain mark (1) Charles I Halfcrown Group I Lis (1625) N2201 (2) 14.91, Group II Plume ( ) 14.89, N2205 (2)

9 THE PRESTBURY CIVIL WAR HOARD Group II Rose ( ) N2205 (1) Group II Harp ( ) 14.79, 14.93, 14.93, N2207 (4) Group II Portcullis ( ) 14.87, 14.66, 15.14, 14.84, N2207 (5) Group III Bell ( ) 15.20, N2209 (2) Group III Crown ( ) 14.91, 14.78, 14.82, 15.03, 14.93, N2209 [1035 over Bell on obv] 14.90, 14.88, (8) 1042 Group III crown N2210 (1) Group III Tun ( ) 15.40, 14.30, 14.89, 15.08, 14.81, N2209 (8) 15.11, 14.37*, Group III Tun N [obv over crown] (1) Group III Tun N2211 (2) 14.82, Group III Anchor ( ) 14.64, 15.00, N2211 (3) 1057 Group III Triangle ( ) N2211 (1) Group III Triangle N2212 (4) 14.61, 14.94, 14.94, 13.82* Shilling Group A Lis (1625) N2216 (4) 5.89, 5.88, 4.75*, Group A Cross ( ) 6.01 N2216 [obv. over Lis (1) Group B Cross N2218 (2) 5.93, Group B Cross lightweight 5.24, 5.28 issue N2218 [1069 dies as Brooker 402] (2) Group C Plume ( ) 5.85, 5.12*, 5.77 N2221 (3) Group C Rose ( ) 5.89, 6.09 N2221 (2) Group D Harp ( ) 5.90, 5.89, 5.94, 4.97*, 6.04, 5.97, N2223 (9) 5.86, 6.05, Group D Harp N *, 6.04 [rev plume over shield; dies as Brooker 470] (2) Group D Portcullis ( ) 6.06, 5.10*, 5.45*, 5.27*, 5.90, N2223 (7) 6.08, 5.17* 1094 Group D Harp or Portcullis 6.00 N2223 (1) Group D Bell ( ) 5.82, 6.04, 6.08, 6.03, 5.88, 6.11, N2225 (10) 6.01, 5.17*, 5.96, 5.75* Group D Crown ( ) 5.70, 6.15, 5.49, 5.86, 5.92, 6.00, N2225 (27) 6.09, 5.90, 5.89, 6.02, 6.01, 5.65*, 5.84, 6.02, 6.07, 6.01, 5.99, 5.97, 4.77*, 5.81*, 6.10, 5.90, 5.91*, 5.66*, 5.13*, 5.80, Group D Tun ( ) 6.08, 5.79, 5.43, 6.03, 6.11, 5.21*, N2225 (26) 5.92, 5.69, 6.19, 6.26, 5.76, 6.10, 6.04, 6.20, 6.05, 5.75, 5.28*, 5.54, 5.87, 5.64, 5.81, 5.85, 6.05, 6.33, 6.06, Group D Tun N [rev plume over shield; Brooker 508] (1) 1159 Group D uncertain mark (1) 6.35# Group E Tun N2228 (5) 5.90, 5.93, 5.57, 5.92, Group E Tun N2229 (7) 6.09, 5.78, 6.06, 5.98, 5.93, 5.84*, Group E Anchor ( ) 6.00, 5.99, 5.89, 5.96, 6.02, 5.89, N2229 (12) 5.90, 6.14, 5.81, 5.33*, 6.01, 5.18*

10 142 SUGDEN AND JONES Group E Anchor N2230 (12) 6.08, 5.99, 5.91, 6.03, 5.76, 6.18, 6.02, 6.10, 4.67*, 6.06, 6.14, Group E Triangle ( ) 5.91, 5.80, 5.99, 6.09, 5.92, 6.04 N2230 (6) Group F Triangle N2231 (19) 5.47*, 6.03, 5.77, 5.88, 6.13, 5.77, 5.97, 6.01, 5.98, 5.94, 6.15, 6.06, 5.94, 5.99, 6.01, 6.07, 6.04, 6.07, Group F Star ( ) 5.74*, 6.09, 6.12, 5.85, 5.94, 6.03, N2231 (13) 5.98*, 5.76*, 6.14, 5.92, 5.93, 5.94, Group F Triangle in Circle 5.91*, 5.90*, 5.82 ( ) N2231 (3) 1238 Mule: Briot s hammered obv 6.03 with Tower rev. [as Brooker Sixpence ] (1) Group A 1625 Lis N2235 (2) 2.90, Group B 1626 Cross N [first 6 over 2, and 2 over 6] (1) Group C Plumes ( ) 2.91, 2.91 N2238 (2) 1244 Group C Rose ( ) 2.99 N2238 (1) Group D Harp ( ) 2.65*, 2.99, 3.01 N2240 (3) 1248 Group D Portcullis ( ) 2.91 N2240 (1) Group D Bell ( ) 2.85*, 2.87*, 2.97 N2241 (3) Group D Crown ( ) 2.97*, 3.01, 2.98, 3.01, 3.05, 2.99, N2241 (12) 2.97, 3.01, 2.93*, 2.81, 3.01, 2.95* Group D Tun ( ) 3.00, 2.84, 2.98, 2.95, 3.15, 2.97, N2241 (13) 2.96, 2.85*, 2.96, 3.05, 2.90, 2.98, Group D uncertain mark 2.80 N2241 (1) 1278 Group E Tun N2242 (1) Group E Tun N2243 (8) 2.99, 2.71, 3.02, 3.00, 2.92*, 2.99, 3.34, Group E Anchor ( ) 3.16, 3.20, 2.92, 3.32, 3.01, 3.02, N2244 (7) Group E Triangle ( ) 2.85, 2.85* N2244 (2) 1296 Group E Triangle N2245 (1) Group E uncertain mark (1) Group F Triangle N2246 (6) 3.13, 3.05, 2.86*, 3.04, 3.03, 2.60* Group F Star N2246 (5) 3.03, 3.08, 3.11, 2.95, 3.05 Aberystwyth 1309 Book ( ) (1) 2.99 Forgeries of Charles I 1310 Shilling Group C Plume [dies as 4.60 Brooker 1194] (1) 1311 Group D Tun N2225 [same 4.35 hand as 1315](1) 1312 Group E Anchor [dies as 4.59 Brooker 1202] (1) 1313 Group E Triangle N2230 [dies 5.59 as Brooker 1205] (1) 1314 Group E Triangle (1) 5.35# 1315 Sixpence Group E Tun N2243 [same 2.60 hand as 1311] (1)

11 THE PRESTBURY CIVIL WAR HOARD 143 SCOTTISH James VI shillings Second issue (1) Thistle merk 1601 (3) 6.51, 6.23, 5.14* (15) 5.73, 6.30, 6.18, 6.21, 6.50, 6.32, 5.24*, 6.17, 6.09, 6.17, 6.15, 6.45, 6.28, 6.51, (1) Uncertain date (2) 5.74*, shillings (1) First issue 4.90 Charles I shillings Fourth issue (1) Fifth issue (1) 5.99 IRISH James I Shilling Bell (12) 4.17, 3.50, 4.22, 3.94, 4.00, 3.89, 4.08, 4.24, 4.17, 4.40, 3.94, Martlet (5) 3.73, 3.97, 4.02, 4.09, Rose (7) 4.35, 4.09, 4.35, 3.91, 3.82, 3.80, Escallop (2) 4.22, 4.02 SUMMARY A Total unclipped/undamaged Sixpence Shilling Halfcrown Elizabeth I g % g % g % g % g % 5.73 g % James I 2.83 g % 5.78 g % Charles I 2.99 g % 5.95 g % g % Total excluding damaged Sixpence Shilling Halfcrown Elizabeth I g % 5.40 g % g % g % g % 5.60 g % James I 2.77 g % 5.61 g % Charles I 2.97 g % 5.87 g % g %

12 144 SUGDEN AND JONES SUMMARY B Total unclipped/undamaged Sixpence Shilling Halfcrown Elizabeth I g % g % g % 5.84 g % Whole reign 2.75 g % 5.77 g % James I 2.83 g % 5.78 g % Charles I 2.99 g % 5.95 g % g % Total excluding damaged Sixpence Shilling Halfcrown Elizabeth I g % 5.40 g % g % 5.68 g % Whole reign 2.68 g % 5.57 g % James I 2.77 g % 5.61 g % Charles I 2.97 g % 5.87 g % g % APPENDIX 2 Prestbury Coin Hoard Pot PETER CONNELLY THE vessel which contained the Prestbury coin hoard (Fig. 1) would appear to be a typical large cylindrical storage jar of the mid- to late seventeenth century. The storage vessel, in six fragments, measures 16 cm deep and 15.5 cm in diameter; the wall of the vessel is almost vertical, although it tapers slightly towards the rim. The rim is simple in form, with only a slight lip and a shallow internal lid seating. The base of the vessel is slightly concave in shape, but, judging from the obvious cracking apparent in the base, the concave shape is unintentional, and may have happened before the vessel dried. The fabric is a relatively homogenous, almost vitrified, oxidized, dark purplish red colour, although the exterior of the vessel is more of a lightish yellowish red colour than the interior. The fabric appears to contain frequent rounded quartz inclusions up to c.5 mm in diameter and very occasional sub-rounded grog(?) inclusions up to 6 mm in diameter. The exterior of the vessel is unglazed with only traces of splash and smeared lead glaze adhering to the external base of the vessel; these patches of glazing would appear to be accidental. The interior base of the vessel has been completely glazed in a dark brown lead glaze. The glaze upon the base has lipped c.10 mm up the wall of the vessel, and has also splashed the interior wall in places. The interior glazing of the vessel may have been carried out to seal the cracks that had appeared in its base as it sagged whilst still soft, thus sealing and ensuring the watertight integrity of the vessel. Examples of this pottery form were excavated from the period 7 (Civil War) deposits at Beeston Castle. 13 Although these vessels are described as Midland Purple in the Beeston Castle excavation report, the Prestbury coin hoard pot is more than likely to have been locally manufactured, and may be more closely related to the Northwest Purple tradition, which is believed to have evolved out of the Midland Purple tradition. 13 Ellis 1993, 203 and Fig. 134.

13 THE PRESTBURY CIVIL WAR HOARD 145 Fig. 1. Prestbury coin hoard pot (by kind permission of Dix Noonan Webb). The dark staining on the exterior of the base of the vessel may be remnant evidence for sooting, which may suggest that this vessel may have also been used as a cooking pot, although it is more likely to be staining through the pot resting on soil surfaces. In all, the terminus date range of within the coin assemblage would perfectly fit with a mid-seventeenth-century production date for the storage vessel. REFERENCE Ellis, P., Beeston Castle, Cheshire. Excavations by Laurence Keen & Peter Hough, , English Heritage Archaeological Report 23 (London).

14 PLATE SUGDEN AND JONES: PRESTBURY CIVIL WAR HOARD