Pennies of the Durham Mint, from the Collection of Ray Robinson

Foreword

From the time of Domesday to the dissolution of the monasteries, the city of Durham played a part in the production of coinage for the realm. Occasionally administered as a royal mint, more often the Bishops were involved in its running, appointing staff to oversee production, putting their personal heraldic marks on the coins and sharing in the profits.

Those whose names are associated with the coinage are:

William of St Calais 1080-1096
Ranulf Flambard 1099-1128
Geoffrey Rufus 1133-1141
William Cumin 1141-1144
Hugh du Puiset 1153-1195
Philip of Poitou 1195-1208
Richard Marsh 1217-1226
Walter Kirkham 1249-1260
Roberty Stichill 1260-1274
Robert de Insula 1274-1283
Antony Bek 1283-1311
Richard Kellawe 1311-1316
Lewis de Beaumont 1317-1333
Richard de Bury 1333-1345
Thomas Hatfield 1345-1381
John Fordham 1381-1388
Walter Skirlaw 1388-1406
Thomas Langley 1406-1437
Robert Neville 1438-1457
Lawrence Booth 1457-1476
William Dudley 1476-1483
John Sherwood 1484-1494
Richard Fox 1494-1501
Thomas Ruthall 1509-1523
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey 1523-1529
Cuthbert Tunstall 1530-1539

Many of them are represented in Mr Robinson’s specialist collection, which is referenced to the standard work by Martin Allen, The Durham Mint (BNS Special Publication 4, 2003).