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Benjamin Henshawe
Benjamin Henshawe (1585–1631) was a London merchant tailor and silkman who supplied fabrics and passementerie for costume and furnishings for the royal court. His widow, Anna Henshawe, continued in business with William Geere.
He was a son of Thomas Henshawe (died 1611), silkman of Milk Street, London, and his wife, Flower Gouldesborough Henshawe, a sister of Godfrey Goldsborough, Bishop of Gloucester. His sister Flower Henshaw married John Backhouse in 1615. His mother, Flower Henshawe, died intestate in March 1616.
Thomas Henshawe sold lace, silk, ribbons, and fringes to Anne Sidney, the wife of William Fitzwilliam, in 1588. He supplied fabrics to Anne of Denmark. In 1606 he received payments for his bill of £4,967 from the Queen's vice-chamberlain, George Carew, and he supplied fabrics for The Masque of Beauty, The Masque of Queens, and Tethys' Festival. Thomas Henshawe was an "incorporator" of the East India Company in 1609.
Silkmen typically supervised weavers in-house, or used outworkers, who completed their products with silk supplied by the silkman. Nicholas Herman, a silkman based in Perth in the 1630s had a workshop with three silk trimming mills and five looms to make passementerie.
Like his father, Benjamin Henshawe supplied gold spangles, and spangled lace, for masques in 1613 at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate. Spangles and oes were early types of sequin. He supplied "Venice gold twist" and "gold edging lace" to the embroiderer William Broderick, to make wall-hangings for the bridal chamber, silk ribbons to the upholsterer John Baker, and spangles to William Cookesbury who made plumes of feathers for the bed. The list of items supplied for the apparel of Elizabeth and her attendants includes "ten dozen of very rich gold and silver high sugar loaf buttons, wrought with pearl and oes". He delivered sewing silk for four ladies of the bedchamber, silver loop lace for eleven bridesmaid's gowns, and materials for the liveries of footmen and coachmen.
For the funeral of Anne of Denmark in 1619, Benjamin Henshawe provided gold fringes and trimmings for the velvet cushion on the hearse, on which an effigy of the queen was placed. Henshawe did not receive payment for goods supplied to Anne of Denmark worth £30,000 until May 1625. The historian Malcolm Smuts, noting that Henshawe supplied goods to the value of £45,000 to the king and queen between 1616 and 1618, wrote that his contribution to court culture had "been forgotten even by experts".
Fabrics for Anne of Denmark's clothes had been supplied by Baptist Hicks and William Stone (died 1607). Stone, Master of the Company of Clothworkers, was paid £6,108 by the queen's chamberlain George Carew in January 1605.
In 1620, Henshawe's servant Richard Jones billed Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury for "greedaline" gold and silver lace, buttons, and loops for a night gown of "silver stuff" which Herbert intended to take to Paris. Henshaw worked with the upholsterer Ralph Grynder in the 1620s, making beds, couches, chairs, and cushions.
Benjamin Henshawe
Benjamin Henshawe (1585–1631) was a London merchant tailor and silkman who supplied fabrics and passementerie for costume and furnishings for the royal court. His widow, Anna Henshawe, continued in business with William Geere.
He was a son of Thomas Henshawe (died 1611), silkman of Milk Street, London, and his wife, Flower Gouldesborough Henshawe, a sister of Godfrey Goldsborough, Bishop of Gloucester. His sister Flower Henshaw married John Backhouse in 1615. His mother, Flower Henshawe, died intestate in March 1616.
Thomas Henshawe sold lace, silk, ribbons, and fringes to Anne Sidney, the wife of William Fitzwilliam, in 1588. He supplied fabrics to Anne of Denmark. In 1606 he received payments for his bill of £4,967 from the Queen's vice-chamberlain, George Carew, and he supplied fabrics for The Masque of Beauty, The Masque of Queens, and Tethys' Festival. Thomas Henshawe was an "incorporator" of the East India Company in 1609.
Silkmen typically supervised weavers in-house, or used outworkers, who completed their products with silk supplied by the silkman. Nicholas Herman, a silkman based in Perth in the 1630s had a workshop with three silk trimming mills and five looms to make passementerie.
Like his father, Benjamin Henshawe supplied gold spangles, and spangled lace, for masques in 1613 at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate. Spangles and oes were early types of sequin. He supplied "Venice gold twist" and "gold edging lace" to the embroiderer William Broderick, to make wall-hangings for the bridal chamber, silk ribbons to the upholsterer John Baker, and spangles to William Cookesbury who made plumes of feathers for the bed. The list of items supplied for the apparel of Elizabeth and her attendants includes "ten dozen of very rich gold and silver high sugar loaf buttons, wrought with pearl and oes". He delivered sewing silk for four ladies of the bedchamber, silver loop lace for eleven bridesmaid's gowns, and materials for the liveries of footmen and coachmen.
For the funeral of Anne of Denmark in 1619, Benjamin Henshawe provided gold fringes and trimmings for the velvet cushion on the hearse, on which an effigy of the queen was placed. Henshawe did not receive payment for goods supplied to Anne of Denmark worth £30,000 until May 1625. The historian Malcolm Smuts, noting that Henshawe supplied goods to the value of £45,000 to the king and queen between 1616 and 1618, wrote that his contribution to court culture had "been forgotten even by experts".
Fabrics for Anne of Denmark's clothes had been supplied by Baptist Hicks and William Stone (died 1607). Stone, Master of the Company of Clothworkers, was paid £6,108 by the queen's chamberlain George Carew in January 1605.
In 1620, Henshawe's servant Richard Jones billed Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury for "greedaline" gold and silver lace, buttons, and loops for a night gown of "silver stuff" which Herbert intended to take to Paris. Henshaw worked with the upholsterer Ralph Grynder in the 1620s, making beds, couches, chairs, and cushions.