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Auction: 24006 - British and World Coins
Lot: 87

Henry I 'Beauclerc' (1100-1135), 'Profile/Cross Fleury' Type, Penny, struck c. 1102, after the "Treaty of the Forest of Hantone", Twynham [Christchurch], Ealdræd, HENRI REI, crowned bust left, holding trefoil-tipped sceptre, rev. + IELDRED ON TPN, cross fleury within beaded circle, 1.29g [19.91grns], 10h (Hawkins 254; W J Webster, Spink Numismatic Circular, October 1900, P.4211 ['Tynemouth, Northumberland'] = W J Andrew, 'The Numismatic History of the Reign of Henry I [NumChron, Series IV, Vol. I, 1901], p. 420* and Pl. VIII, no. 2 ['Tamworth'] = Murdoch 209* = Talbot-Ready 235* = Drabble 949* = Lockett 1049* = SCBI 20 [Mack] 1503 = EMC 1200.0697 same dies; Brooke [1932], refers; Challis [1992], p. 62 refers; North 858; BMC II; S.1263A), slight warping to the flan, otherwise toned, OF THE HIGHEST RARITY AND OF GREAT HISTORICAL INTEREST, the second recorded specimen, and first addition to the corpus since October 1900

Provenance

Found at Tarrant Hinton (Dorset), 28 September 2024

~ Recorded with the British Museum (ref. PAS-HAMP-FE2272) ~

~ Recorded with the Fitzwilliam Museum (ref. EMC 2024.0321) ~



Toponymy is a powerful tool in an exploration of the origins of place throughout Britain. The impact of the Roman 'castrum' in Lancaster, Manchester and indeed Chester is well appreciated, as too is the -by suffix in Northern England reflecting Norse settlement within the Danelaw, as much as -ham and -burh have been identified for the same amongst Anglo-Saxon society. In essence, the sense of place established in 'Dark Age' society is as influential on communities today as it was at their foundation, albeit the Town Elder has been replaced by a Parish, District or County Councillor - one wonders if they received the same level of 'pothole' complaints about the disintegration of surviving Roman infrastructure!



Rare then is it for a place name to be changed at the whim of its Medieval landowner, scarcer still for that to play out in the numismatic record. On occasion the partition of Royal and Ecclesiastical land ownership was required for clarification of property rights, such as the distinction between Abbots Langley and Kings Langley (Herts), Bognor Regis (West Sussex) and more confusingly Kingsbury Episcopi (Somerset). Collectors may be mindful therefore of the signature for the Mint at Cambridge reflecting the neighbouring settlement of Grantchester, or for York reverting to its Latin name on the specie carried by those heroic English archers at the Battle of Crécy.



Alfred

Twynham (OE Tweoxneam) however stands out in the provincial mint record for bearing upon its short-lived coinage the Old English place name of a town renamed by Ranulf Flambard, Chief Minister to William Rufus upon his founding a priory there in AD 1094. Sited on raised strip of land between the confluence of two rivers, the town served as a critical harbour between the continent and its gateway to the historic markets at Blandford Forum and Salisbury. Its strategic significance was identified by King Alfred, who sought to fortify it in the 9th Century (ASC, AD 901 refers).



Domesday

At Domesday (Phillimore, Hants 1,28; and 17,1), the lands of Twynham had an estimated population of forty-seven households, rendering it among the top 20% of all settlements assessed across England for 1086. Divided into two landowners, the King and the Canons of Holy Trinity, the meadow land covered 169 acres, with the Royal partition valued at £10 per annum, and the Ecclesiastical at £8 per annum. Notably the Royal lands had significantly decreased in value since 1066, when Edward the Confessor had held them at £19, and indeed against the price for which William the Conqueror had acquired them, reflecting an increase in 'waste land' in the area after the Norman conquest. The community however still supported 21 villagers, 5 small holders, a slave and seven itinerants, all of whom furnished the 5-shilling mill with grain produced amongst the 16.5 local plough teams.



New Forest

Royal lands enabled the Sovereign to fund his or her lifestyle, and by gift or forfeit, exert political pressure over his wider nobility. Twynham must have occupied a greater personal pleasure for the Norman Kings, not least because it was situated on the southern tip of the newly proclaimed Royal hunting parkland within the 'Nova Foresta'. Around its circumference stood the mint-towns of Salisbury, Shaftesbury, Southampton, Wareham, Winchester and Twynham. Whilst a mint at 'Newport' is recorded during the reign of Edward the Confessor, this is generally assumed to be Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, rather than the present settlement of the same name on the Isle of Wight. Salisbury would cease early in Tealby coinage; Shaftesbury and Southampton at the terminus of Stephen's reign; and Wareham earlier during the tumult of the Anarchy.



Christchurch

Twynham's emissions were spasmodic, and largely chart the documented influx of Royal or Ecclesiastical investment within the town. In accordance with the creation of the "New Forest" by Royal Proclamation in 1079, are known examples of the Conqueror's "Profile Right" issues of c. 1080-1083 (BMC 1848,0819.185; EMC 1993.0239) struck by an otherwise unrecorded moneyer Coleman. In 1094, Ranulf Flambard, Keeper of the Conqueror's Seal and Chief Justiciar of England during the reign of William II, initiated the construction of a Norman priory for the Holy Trinity as "Dean of Thiunam". A supposed miracle occurred when building materials were relocated 'overnight' to a new location, giving rise to the ultimate rededication as 'Christ Church'. A later Medieval mythology developed around the addition of a 'floating beam', said to have been installed by the biblical carpenter himself. A chief architect of the hated Rufine taxation of 1096, he was deposed from Office upon the suspicious death of the King whilst hunting in the New Forest at 'Thorougham' on 2 August 1100.



Flambard

On 15 August 1100, the new Sovereign had Flambard imprisoned on charges of embezzlement and simony in the newly-furnished 'White Tower' in London - a particular twist of personal fortune - as it had been Flambard who had been instrumental in constructing its very curtain wall! He would infamously become the Tower of London's first prisoner, as well as first successful escapee! The Honour of Christchurch (Twynham) was also confiscated from him, initially in frank almoign for the sole benefit of a local clerk Gilbert de Dousgunels, but later re-granted to Richard de Redvers, one of Beauclerc's most trusted supporters (Cotton MS. refers) who installed it in the hands of another abusive clerk Peter de Oglandres. Oglandres was later investigated for misappropriating church funds, not least those allocated for completing the construction of Flambard's Priory. The 'party' clerk's corruption included the siphoning off convent income, as well as the 'entertainment of a common hall' (Ferrey & Wedlake Brayley refers).



Corruption

One must wonder how our moneyer Ealdræd (OE 'old counsel') engaged with these seismic events. For it is just possible that the source of his coined silver was originally Flambard's Priory funds. What better way to cover the expenditure of that work, and Oglandres 'entertaining' for that matter, than to make use of a travelling moneyer, probably relocated from operations at Southwark or even Canterbury. Fifteen years later, Ealdræd would reappear working at Shaftesbury, having been replaced by Henri (BMC VII), and latterly Tovi (BMC XIV) at the infrequently-operating Twynham mint.



The last Norman Invasion of England

The other possibility for the coining of Pennies in 1102 relates to the signing of the "Treaty of the Forest of Hantone". The accord was signed at Southampton in the Autumn of 1101 between the newly minted King Henry and his elder brother Duke Robert of Normandy. 'Curthose' as the latter came to be known, duly recognised his younger brother's otherwise lesser claim to the English throne; thereby bringing an anti-climax the last Norman Invasion of England. It is conceivable that a still-jittery King Henry sought to bolster the economies of his imperiled south coast, by bringing moneyers in from afar to appease his new subjects. In any case, one young nephew would remember this successful capture of the English crown when the opportunity presented itself once more in December 1135. The winds of Blois would begin to howl, sealing the untimely demise of a White Ship in the choppy waters of Barfleur, and the fate of its 17-year old crewman - "Adelin".



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Estimate
£4,000 to £5,000

Starting price
£3000