A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX 



letters of denization were granted to Martin 

 Johnson from Guelders, 17 ' strawen hat maker, 

 otherwise splyter hat maker.' 



Norden mentions a copper and brass mill 

 at Isleworth between that place and Horton, 

 where the metal was wrought, melted, and 

 forged from ore which came from Somerset. 

 Manic artificial! deuises,' he says, ' are there 

 to be noted in the performance of the 

 worke.' 18 These works formed the subject 

 of a lengthy dispute between John Erode and 

 Sir Richard Martin, Lord Mayor of London 

 in 1593, which came before the Privy Council 

 in I596. 19 The manufacture carried on was 

 that of ' lattin and battry,' the metals being 

 produced chiefly in an unwrought state, 

 although the term ' battry ' was usually ap- 

 plied to brass or copper vessels and chiefly 

 those for culinary and table use. Erode in 

 his petition states that the metal was procured 

 from a mixture of copper and calamine ore by 

 a process employed by one Christopher Shutz, 

 who had ' great cunning and experience ' in 

 its use. In 1565 Shutz, with a partner, 

 William Humphrey, obtained an exclusive 

 licence to search, dig for, and use calamine 

 stone. These partners, as Erode alleged, 

 although they brought over divers strangers, 

 did not bring anything to pass, 'and so gave 

 yt over as not fecible.' The project then, he 

 says, continued without hope for nineteen 

 years, when he in partnership with others 

 leased the privilege for fourteen years at a 

 yearly rent of 50. During the period of 

 his lease his expenditure upon the works at 

 Isleworth had amounted to 3,500, and he 

 claimed to have brought the undertaking by 

 his study and labour to a state of perfection. 

 He is now (1596) threatened with forfeiture of 

 his lease and seizure of his ' stuffe and tooles ' 

 for non-payment of rent. He prays that his 

 tools and metal may not be seized, as he is 

 willing and able to pay, and not personally 

 defaulting ; he is equally prepared to buy 

 out his partners or that they should buy him 

 out. Sir Richard Martin in his reply states 

 that he, Andrew Palmer, and Humphrey 

 Michell, were persuaded to become Brode's 

 partners by his statement that he could per- 

 fectly produce ' commixed copper,' and that 

 it would bring in 1,000 a year. The alder- 

 man then agreed to defray the charges of the 

 first year, amounting to about 3,000, and 

 each of the other partners contributed 800, 

 so that Brode's statement that he had paid 

 3,500 was not true. Erode was allowed 



" W. Page, Denizationi and Naturalizationi 

 (Huguenot Soc.), p. xlvii. 



18 Speculum Britanniae (ed. 1723), 41. 

 "Lansd. MS. 81, fol. I. 



by the partners 50 a year to direct the 

 works, but this he must have taken out of 

 capital, as no profit was made. He would not 

 divulge the secret (if it existed) either to his 

 partners or to the Mines Corporation, although 

 that company offered him and Palmer on such 

 condition a further lease of seven years. Shutz 

 and Humphrey's ' privilege ' had meanwhile 

 been acquired by the Mines Corporation. 

 Erode in his rejoinder gives some curious 

 information about the works. He asserts 

 that Shutz and Humphrey did not succeed in 

 perfecting their discovery, although they had 

 from 20 to 30 tons of calamine stone from 

 Worle Hill in Somerset conveyed to Tintern 

 Abbey, where it was experimented upon with- 

 out success by one Hinckins, a stranger whom 

 they employed. He denies Sir Richard's 

 account of the financial side of the transac- 

 tions, and reaffirms his previous statement. 

 The co-partners employed one John Dickson, 

 coppersmith of London, to ' melte and batter 

 out 20,000 wt. of copper and make it into 

 plates and make the same malleable.' Dickson 

 failed, but he the said Erode performed the 

 task, and also refined 43 tons of Barbary copper, 

 and brought it into plates, 'an act perfected 

 never before by any Englishman.' About 

 eight years since, Sir Richard Martin and 

 Michell withdrew from the partnership and 

 received the whole of their stock back again 

 and 238 more in copper, plates, and kettles. 

 The ' lattin ' works were also attempted, but 

 nothing brought to pass ; by expending his 

 own money Erode has brought these to per- 

 fection. On 17 April 1596 the Mineral and 

 Battry Company petitioned Lord Burghley 20 

 to order Erode to supply their new lessees 

 with materials at reasonable rates. They 

 state that the patent granted in 7 Elizabeth to 

 Shutz and Humphrey was for making ' lattyn, 

 battrye, castworke, and wyre.' In 10 

 Elizabeth the patent was acquired by their 

 company then incorporated, which consisted 

 of thirty-six shareholders, among whom were 

 the Duke of Norfolk, the Lord Treasurer, 

 Lord Cobham, and others. The company 

 pursued the work for a time, and then took 

 up wire-work and other work under another 

 patent. In 24 Elizabeth they granted a lease 

 of their battery works for 150 years at 50 

 a year to John Erode and his partners, who 

 built the works at Isleworth, Erode having 

 sole management with 50 a year for his 

 pains. Erode caused great loss to his partners, 

 refused to divulge his secret, and now refused 

 to pay the rent. The company then by judicial 

 order made his lease void, and granted a new 



" Ibid. fol. 2-3. 



128 



