Among the heterogeneous papers of the Court of Requests are preserved a few which remain of general importance.
A complaint was made on 25th June, 2 James I, by “the Governors, Assistants, and Society of the City of London, of and for the Mineral and Battery Works,” which gives interesting details as to the advance of science, and the progress of manufactures at that time. It is stated that the late Queen Elizabeth had been told by William Humphrey, Saymaster of the Mint in the Tower, that by great efforts he had induced
one Christopher Shutz, now deceased, an Almaine, born at St. Annen Burgh, under the obedience of the Elector of Saxony, a workmaster of great conning, knowledge and experience, as well in the finding of the Calamine Stone, called in Latin Lapis Calaminaris, and in the proper use thereof, and in the mollifying and manuring of Iron and Steele and drawing and forging the same into Wyer and plates for the making of armour, and for divers other necessary and profitable uses, to come over with him to this country.
The Queen, through her good hope in the possible success of this enterprise under Shutz, granted letters patent at Westminster, dated 17th September, 7 Eliz., giving full power to the said William Humphrey and Christopher Shutz, their deputies, servants, and workmen,
to search, dig, mine for the Calamine Stone and all kinds of Battery wares, to make cast-worke and wyer of Lattin, Iron, Steel, and Battery, to manure and work into all manner of plate and wyer,
to their own profit for ever. And they were allowed to build any houses suitable for their work, at their own cost and charges, on her royal property or the property of any of her subjects, without any let or hindrance, with various other powers, privileges, and immunities for raising sufficient stock, for building of watercourses, for provision of wood and coal, paying wages and buying tools, and other things necessary. William Humphrey and Christopher Shutz gave concessions of shares to others, and these were, by another royal patent, incorporated into a company by the name of “the Governors, Assistants, and Society of the Mineral and Battery Works.” It seemed to have succeeded. The Right Hon. William, the late Earl of Worcester, owned lands in Tintern and Chapelhill, co. Monmouth, with divers houses built thereon, and in 29 Eliz., in consideration of a large sum of money paid as a fine, he leased them to the Society for twenty-one years by a legal deed, which might be renewed. This included all the edifices in the parish of Chapelhill, in the lordship of Tintern, co. Monmouth, that were erected, or would be erected for their works; also as much as they required of the stream called Angewe Brook, with the waters, watercourses, banks, dams, walls, fences, and enclosures for its necessary course to the houses and buildings. The land extended from the Tryenbridge to the meadow then in the tenure of John Edwyn alias Barbor and Margaret his wife, and so much of the old ditch or watercourse which was digged to convey water out of the brook to the mill that sometime stood within the walls or precincts of Tintern Abbey, and all the banks and enclosures of this old ditch from the beginning of the old issue out of Angewe Brook to where the Barbor’s hedge crossed the ditch, and the new ditch made lately to bring the water back to Angewe Brook, as far as it led to Tryenbridge, with free ingress and egress, liberty to dig, to convey away, and to make water passages for their use. The only rights reserved to the Earl were the woods and mines on the estate; all other rights were transferred to the Company, it paying £4 a year as rent, and rendering certain services to the lord.
They reminded King James that he had renewed the patent on 22nd January last past, and signified his royal pleasure that he would grant a new and more effective patent, and no one should interfere with the Company. They set to work 600 poor people on the spot, and helped 20,000 others of the people. Notwithstanding this, one John Phillipps and Gwenllian his wife, late wife of Thomas Welsh alias Irish, deceased, of Chapelhill,
being riotous and outrageous and evil disposed persons, and intending the let and hindrance of the wire works at Tintern, the utter undoing of the poor people therein working, and the disturbance of the Company in its quiet proceedings, having gotten into their hands the deeds of the lease made by the Earl and other deeds belonging to the Company, have made forcible entry by outrageous means, as by throwing of scalding water, and with spits and other desperate weapons have forced out and kept out the Company’s workmen out of their working places, and houses built upon the ground for them
by the plaintiffs’ predecessors, to their great loss. These defendants also