Hall marks on gold & silver plate

44
HALL MARKS ON PLATE.
London upon the parish charge to receive the legacy of the late R.
Hble. Henry Coventry, Esq., one hundred founds to the poor of
Hadley, to put the said hundred pounds into the hands of Mr.
Heneage Price, goldsmith, nigh Temple Bar, to ly there till it be
called for by the parish." (" Monken Hadley," by F. C. Cass, M.A.)
1 68 1. Sir Francis Child, on the death of Robert Blanchard,
succeeded to the business, taking his manager, John Rogers, as a
partner : he lived at Parson's Green, and was buried in the parish
church of Fulham. We derive the following authentic information
"
from the inscription on his tomb : Sir Francis Child, Knight and
Alderman, and President of Christ's Church Hospital in London,
who departed this life October the 4th, 17 13, aetatis 71. He was
Sheriff 1690, and Lord Mayor in the year 1699, and in the year 1702
he was chosen one of the foiir citizens to serve for the said city in the
first Parliament of the reign of Queen Anne. He married Elizabeth, the
only daughter and heiress of William Wheeler, goldsmith, by whom
he had twelve sons and three daughters. The bodies of his sons
James and William, and of his daughter Martha, wife of Anthony
Collins, Esqre., are removed from the church into this vault." Of the
twelve sons, we have been able to trace only Sir Robert, Sir Francis,
Sir John, and Samuel, who succeeded him as goldsmiths and bankers
in Fleet Street; Sir Josiah,* an East India director; another who was
Governor of Bombay; Stephen, who in partnership with Mr. Tudman,
was a goldsmith at the Crown in Lombard Street, now the
house of Willis, Percival and Co.; and James and William, who
probably died in their infancy. He had three brothers Daniel lived
with him at Parson's Green, Edward living at Burghley in 1686, and
John who lived at Devizes.
Prince Rupert, son of the Queen of Bohemia (daughter of James
I), who died at his house in Barbican in 1682, and was buried in
Westminster Abbey, left a collection of jewels valued at ;^20,ooo,
which were disposed of by lottery under the management
of Mr.
Francis Child in the following year. An advertisement in "The
London Gazette" of October, 1683, announced that "the jewels had
been valued by Mr. Isaac Legouch, Mr. Christopher Rosse, and Mr.
Richard Beauvoir, jewellers, and will be sold by lottery, each lot to
be ^. The biggest prize will be a pearl necklace valued at ;^3,ooo,
and none less than i;ioo. The money to be paid to Mr. Child, who
will stand obliged to all the adventurers, and that they shall receive
their money back if the drawing does not take place on the ist
February next. The drawing will take place in the presence of His
Majesty, who will himself see that all the prizes are put in among
the blanks, and that the whole will be managed with equity and fair-
* Re*bcca, third daughter of Sir Josiah Child, of Wansted, was married to
Charles, Marquis of Worcester, son of the Duke of Beaufort, in 1683. This
lady was also grandmother of the Duke of Grafton.