MRP: Squire Bence will - Revision history

ColinGreenstreet at 11:46, December 11, 2013

2013-12-11T11:46:51Z

Francescagreenstreet at 18:21, January 11, 2012

2012-01-11T18:21:01Z

ColinGreenstreet at 20:54, December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T20:54:24Z

ColinGreenstreet at 19:32, December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T19:32:47Z

ColinGreenstreet at 19:30, December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T19:30:35Z

ColinGreenstreet at 19:29, December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T19:29:59Z

ColinGreenstreet at 19:20, December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T19:20:50Z

ColinGreenstreet at 19:16, December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T19:16:10Z

ColinGreenstreet at 19:13, December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T19:13:31Z

ColinGreenstreet at 18:55, December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T18:55:48Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:46, December 11, 2013
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−	'''Squire Bence ~~will~~'''	+	'''PROB 11/360/578 Will of Squire Bence, Gentleman of London 12 September 1679'''

	'''Editorial history'''		'''Editorial history'''

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-==Squire Bence will==
+'''Squire Bence will'''
 '''Editorial history'''
@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 /12/11, CSG: Created page & pasted completed transcription
 ----
-===Abstract & context===
+__TOC__
 Squire Bence (b. 1597, d. 1648)
@@ Line 22: / Line 24: @@
 ----
-===Suggested links===
+==Suggested links==
 See [[MRP: Alexander Bence of Aldeburghe will|Alexander Bence of Aldeburghe will]] (father of Squire Bence)
@@ Line 34: / Line 36: @@
 ----
-===To do===
+==To do==
-−
 ----
-===Transcription===
+==Transcription==
 '''This transcription has been completed, but requires checking'''
@@ Line 124: / Line 126: @@
 PROBATUM fuit testamentum suprascriptum apud London coram Venoli et Egredia viro Xno Nathaniel Brent Milite Legum XXXX Curia Praerogative Magro sive custode XXX constituto Viresimo tertio die mensis ffebruary Anno Dmo Millimo sexcentesimo quadragesimo octavo Juramente Alexandri Bence ?fris dict defunct et Executoris in eadem testamento noXXXt diu comissa fuit adXXX omnium et singularum bonorum iurium et creditorum dict defunct eteris testamentum quaXXXX concer nente de bene et fideliter administrand eadem Ad sancta dei Evangelia in debita inXX forma inXXX Ex:r
 ----
-===Commentary===
+==Notes==
+===IGI===
-−
-−
-----
-===Notes===
-−
-'''IGI'''
 "Squyre/Squire Bence: Marriage, 26 Aug 1617 Saint Dunstan, Stepney. Spouse: Elizabeth Pett"<ref>http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/IGI/individual_record.asp?recid=500136130988&lds=1&region=2&regionfriendly=British+Isles&frompage=99, viewed 11/12/11</ref>
 "Squire Bence. Christening: 14 Jan 1618, St. Dunstan, Stepney; Burial, 30 Jan 1618. Father: Squire Bence. Mother: Elizabeth"<ref>http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/IGI/individual_record.asp?recid=500067400546&lds=1&region=2&regionfriendly=British+Isles&frompage=99, viewed 11/12/11</ref>
+----
+===Ireland===
-−
-'''Ireland'''
 "1653. 13 Aug.  Assignment by Alexander Bence
 He is survivor to Squire Bence, with whom he invested £600 and £125 in the Irish adventure.  He assigns £125, part of these shares, XXXXX"<ref>Robert Pentland Mahaffy (ed.), ''Calendar of the state papers, relating to Ireland: Preserved in the Public Record Office'' (London, 1908), p. 231</ref>
+----
-'''Shipping'''
+===Shipping===
 "1629: May 17.Senato, Secreta. Dispacci, Ceffalonia. Venetian Archives.
@@ Line 198: / Line 189: @@
 "...few merchants became interested mainly in shipping.  The brothers Alexander and Squire Bence, born in the 1590s, provide a rare, yet significantly qualified example.  They were members of the leading merchant family in Aldeburgh, which was probably the fastest-growing shipping centre in the country in the first half of the century, serving with substantial vessels both the booming coal trade and London's overseas trades.  In the previous generation Alexander, William and Robert Bence were shipowners, as was John, merchant, and elder brother of Alexander and Squire.  While John founded the county family of Bence ofThorington Hall, another elder brother, Robert, was citizen and salter of London.  Alexander as a merchant and Squire as a master seem to have concentrated on shipping business, but they too had important other interests.  Both represented their town in teh Short and agin in the Long Parliament, where Squire replaced William Rainborowe, another outstanding figure in shipping, in 1642.  In the same year both became Naval Commissioners and so, combining political influence with natutical connections and expertise, assumed a vital role in the conduct of the civil war at sea.  Alexander, as a member of the London grocers' Company, moved in City circles and is said to have married the sister of Samuel Vassall the radical City MP and Naval Commissioner, himself much interested in shipping.  As a Presbyterian and City man, Alexander was secluded from the House in 1648 and about the end of that year Squire died, leaving lands in Aldeburgh and elsewhere as well as tenements and grounds in Ratcliffe. Alexander became politically active again under Cromwell and in 1655 was described as a rich man, having an income of 1,200 a year, lands with an annual value of 300 and a large estate in Ireland.  He became Master of Trinity House in 1659.  At some point the Bences intermarried with the Aldeburgh Johnsons, shipwrights, shipmasters and shipowners, one product of that alliance, presumably was Bence Johnson, master of the ''Mary and John'' in 1626 and of the 300-ton ''Assurance'' in 1629 and part-owner (with Alexander and Squire) of the ''Elizabeth'' of Aldeburgh (100 tons) in 1636. In the next generation Henry Johnson of the same family took over the East India Company's Blackwall yard and became perhaps the largest shipowner of his day."<ref>Kenneth R. Andrews, ''Ships, money, and politics: seafaring and naval enterprise in the reign of Charles I'' (Cambridge, 1991), p. 49</ref>
+----
-'''Grandfather: Thomas Squires'''
+===Grandfather: Thomas Squires===
 "1588, 30 Dec. - Acknowledgement by Thomas Squire and Robert Bense, bailiffs of Aldeburgh, of the receipt of £64 9s. 6d. from the Mayor and inhabitants of Orford as their share for the setting forth of a ship called The ''Marygold'' of Aldeburgh,"<ref>''Report on Manuscripts in Various Collections: Bishop of Salisbury; Bishop of Exeter, dean and chapter of Exeter; Earl of Leicester; Sir William Clayton, bart.; Major Money-Kyrle; F. H. T. Jervoise, esq.; Glemham hall; corporations of Salisbury, Orford and Aldeburgh'', vol. 4 (London, 1907), p. 276</ref>
 ----
-===Possible primary sources===
+==Possible primary sources==
 '''BL'''

@@ Line 134: / Line 134: @@
 ----
 ===Notes===
 '''Ireland'''

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:32, December 11, 2011
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	'''TNA'''		'''TNA'''
		+
		+	E 115/49/24 Certificate of residence showing Squire Bence to be liable for taxation in Middlesex, and not in (county unknown), the previous area of tax liability. (Any information not given in this certificate comes from its old pouch, no 2569.) 1642

	PROB 11/106 Hayes 55-90 Will of Thomas Squire, Merchant of Aldeburgh, Suffolk 03 July 1605		PROB 11/106 Hayes 55-90 Will of Thomas Squire, Merchant of Aldeburgh, Suffolk 03 July 1605

@@ Line 199: / Line 199: @@
 ===Possible primary sources===
-'''BL''
+'''BL'''
 Bence. Family of. Sepulchral brasses at Aldeburgh 1606-1635.

@@ Line 170: / Line 170: @@
 "1634: July 29. Whitehall. Lords of the Admiralty to Horace Lord Vere. Robert Wheatly and Richard Davis, of London, merchants, and John Bence, Sqyer [Squire] Bence and Henry Lambe, of Aldborough, mariners, owners of the ''Sqyer [Squire]'' of Aldborough, are to be allowed to furnish their ship with eight minions of cast iron out of the founder's store. [Copy. See Vol. cclxiv., fol. 34. ½ p.]"<ref>John Bruce, 'Charles I - volume 272: July 17-31, 1634', ''Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles I, 1634-5'' (London, 1864), pp. 153-175. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52288 Date accessed: 11 December 2011.</ref>
 "1635: Sept. 18. 1635.  Lords of the Admiralty to [Montjoy Earl of Newport]. To give order that Bence Johnson, Alexander Bence, and Squire Bence, owners of the ''Samuel'' of Aldborough, of the burthen of 90 tons, may furnish the same with iron ordnance out of the founder's store in East Smithfield. [Copy. Vol. cclxiv., fol. 165 a. ½ p.]"<ref>John Bruce 8ed.), 'Charles I - volume 298: September 16-30, 1635', ''Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles I, 1635'' (London, 1865), pp. 382-408. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52620 Date accessed: 11 December 2011.</ref>
@@ Line 194: / Line 198: @@
 ----
 ===Possible primary sources===
 PROB 11/106 Hayes 55-90 Will of Thomas Squire, Merchant of Aldeburgh, Suffolk 03 July 1605

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:20, December 11, 2011
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	"1635: Sept. 18. 1635. Lords of the Admiralty to [Montjoy Earl of Newport]. To give order that Bence Johnson, Alexander Bence, and Squire Bence, owners of the ''Samuel'' of Aldborough, of the burthen of 90 tons, may furnish the same with iron ordnance out of the founder's store in East Smithfield. [Copy. Vol. cclxiv., fol. 165 a. ½ p.]"<ref>John Bruce 8ed.), 'Charles I - volume 298: September 16-30, 1635', ''Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles I, 1635'' (London, 1865), pp. 382-408. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52620 Date accessed: 11 December 2011.</ref>		"1635: Sept. 18. 1635. Lords of the Admiralty to [Montjoy Earl of Newport]. To give order that Bence Johnson, Alexander Bence, and Squire Bence, owners of the ''Samuel'' of Aldborough, of the burthen of 90 tons, may furnish the same with iron ordnance out of the founder's store in East Smithfield. [Copy. Vol. cclxiv., fol. 165 a. ½ p.]"<ref>John Bruce 8ed.), 'Charles I - volume 298: September 16-30, 1635', ''Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles I, 1635'' (London, 1865), pp. 382-408. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52620 Date accessed: 11 December 2011.</ref>
		+
		+	"1640. At the Court at White-Hall, the first of April 1640.
		+
		+	The Names of the Knights, Citizens and Burgesses of the Counties Cities and Borough-Towns of England and Wales, and the Barons of the Ports now summoned to sit in Parliament holden at Westminster the 13th day of April 1640, in the 16th Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King Charles.
		+
		+	Names of Members returned to serve in Parliament April 1640.
		+
		+	Suffolk
		+
		+	Nathaniel Barnardiston Knight.
		+	Anthony Bedingfield Esq; Borough of Ortford.
		+	'''Squire Bence Merchant. Borough of Sudbury'''"<ref>'Historical Collections: 1640, April', Historical Collections of Private Passages of State: Volume 3: 1639-40, pp. 1085-1149. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=74917 Date accessed: 11 December 2011</ref>

	"...few merchants became interested mainly in shipping. The brothers Alexander and Squire Bence, born in the 1590s, provide a rare, yet significantly qualified example. They were members of the leading merchant family in Aldeburgh, which was probably the fastest-growing shipping centre in the country in the first half of the century, serving with substantial vessels both the booming coal trade and London's overseas trades. In the previous generation Alexander, William and Robert Bence were shipowners, as was John, merchant, and elder brother of Alexander and Squire. While John founded the county family of Bence ofThorington Hall, another elder brother, Robert, was citizen and salter of London. Alexander as a merchant and Squire as a master seem to have concentrated on shipping business, but they too had important other interests. Both represented their town in teh Short and agin in the Long Parliament, where Squire replaced William Rainborowe, another outstanding figure in shipping, in 1642. In the same year both became Naval Commissioners and so, combining political influence with natutical connections and expertise, assumed a vital role in the conduct of the civil war at sea. Alexander, as a member of the London grocers' Company, moved in City circles and is said to have married the sister of Samuel Vassall the radical City MP and Naval Commissioner, himself much interested in shipping. As a Presbyterian and City man, Alexander was secluded from the House in 1648 and about the end of that year Squire died, leaving lands in Aldeburgh and elsewhere as well as tenements and grounds in Ratcliffe. Alexander became politically active again under Cromwell and in 1655 was described as a rich man, having an income of 1,200 a year, lands with an annual value of 300 and a large estate in Ireland. He became Master of Trinity House in 1659. At some point the Bences intermarried with the Aldeburgh Johnsons, shipwrights, shipmasters and shipowners, one product of that alliance, presumably was Bence Johnson, master of the ''Mary and John'' in 1626 and of the 300-ton ''Assurance'' in 1629 and part-owner (with Alexander and Squire) of the ''Elizabeth'' of Aldeburgh (100 tons) in 1636. In the next generation Henry Johnson of the same family took over the East India Company's Blackwall yard and became perhaps the largest shipowner of his day."<ref>Kenneth R. Andrews, ''Ships, money, and politics: seafaring and naval enterprise in the reign of Charles I'' (Cambridge, 1991), p. 49</ref>		"...few merchants became interested mainly in shipping. The brothers Alexander and Squire Bence, born in the 1590s, provide a rare, yet significantly qualified example. They were members of the leading merchant family in Aldeburgh, which was probably the fastest-growing shipping centre in the country in the first half of the century, serving with substantial vessels both the booming coal trade and London's overseas trades. In the previous generation Alexander, William and Robert Bence were shipowners, as was John, merchant, and elder brother of Alexander and Squire. While John founded the county family of Bence ofThorington Hall, another elder brother, Robert, was citizen and salter of London. Alexander as a merchant and Squire as a master seem to have concentrated on shipping business, but they too had important other interests. Both represented their town in teh Short and agin in the Long Parliament, where Squire replaced William Rainborowe, another outstanding figure in shipping, in 1642. In the same year both became Naval Commissioners and so, combining political influence with natutical connections and expertise, assumed a vital role in the conduct of the civil war at sea. Alexander, as a member of the London grocers' Company, moved in City circles and is said to have married the sister of Samuel Vassall the radical City MP and Naval Commissioner, himself much interested in shipping. As a Presbyterian and City man, Alexander was secluded from the House in 1648 and about the end of that year Squire died, leaving lands in Aldeburgh and elsewhere as well as tenements and grounds in Ratcliffe. Alexander became politically active again under Cromwell and in 1655 was described as a rich man, having an income of 1,200 a year, lands with an annual value of 300 and a large estate in Ireland. He became Master of Trinity House in 1659. At some point the Bences intermarried with the Aldeburgh Johnsons, shipwrights, shipmasters and shipowners, one product of that alliance, presumably was Bence Johnson, master of the ''Mary and John'' in 1626 and of the 300-ton ''Assurance'' in 1629 and part-owner (with Alexander and Squire) of the ''Elizabeth'' of Aldeburgh (100 tons) in 1636. In the next generation Henry Johnson of the same family took over the East India Company's Blackwall yard and became perhaps the largest shipowner of his day."<ref>Kenneth R. Andrews, ''Ships, money, and politics: seafaring and naval enterprise in the reign of Charles I'' (Cambridge, 1991), p. 49</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:16, December 11, 2011
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	Kenneth R. Andrewes suggests that Squire and Alexander Bence were unusual, in that they were, as he characterises them, merchants who chose to invest heavily in shipping.<ref>Kenneth R. Andrews, ''Ships, money, and politics: seafaring and naval enterprise in the reign of Charles I'' (Cambridge, 1991), p. 49</ref> However, this characterisation does not accurately represent the Bence family in the second half of the sixteenth and the first part of the seventeenth century, and the families with which Bence family members, male and female, married and pursued commercial partnerships.		Kenneth R. Andrewes suggests that Squire and Alexander Bence were unusual, in that they were, as he characterises them, merchants who chose to invest heavily in shipping.<ref>Kenneth R. Andrews, ''Ships, money, and politics: seafaring and naval enterprise in the reign of Charles I'' (Cambridge, 1991), p. 49</ref> However, this characterisation does not accurately represent the Bence family in the second half of the sixteenth and the first part of the seventeenth century, and the families with which Bence family members, male and female, married and pursued commercial partnerships.
		+
		+	Ships (commander): ''Friendship'' (1629);
		+	Ships (part owner): ''Squire/Squyer'' of Aldborough (1634); ''Samuel'' of Aldborough (1635)

	----		----

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:13, December 11, 2011
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	'''Shipping'''		'''Shipping'''
		+
		+	"1629: May 17.Senato, Secreta. Dispacci, Ceffalonia. Venetian Archives.
		+
		+	87. FRANCESCO MARIA MALIPIERO, Venetian Proveditore of Cephalonia, to the DOGE and SENATE.
		+
		+	From information taken by the Councillor Lippomano by my order about the case of the French saettia, master Francesco Rimondo, it appears that it was taken in the port of Argostoli by Captain Kenelm Digby, a corsair, and that twelve barques of the fifteen merchant vessels then in the port had a share of the goods. I now have your Serenity's orders of the 17th February last, with the exposition of the French ambassador. I have forthwith made fresh enquiries and I find as follows: While Digby was in the port of Argostoli and had the saettia in his power, he himself admitted to the master, Raimondo that he had in his ship the three chests of money taken from the saettia as well as three bales of caps (berette), which had been divided among his sailors. According to what Raimondo says the money amounted to 5,500 ryals. He meant to keep this, as he did as well as the three bales of caps, but he would hand over the saettia with its tackle to the representatives, as he also did, when it was handed over to its French master. This is all I have been able to discover.
		+
		+	A part of the remainder of the cargo was removed from the saettia by twelve boats of the fifteen English ships. I enclose the names of nine of them, which laded currants. There are no goods or effects of any kind here as the ships were hired from other places for here. I have not been able to find out the names of the other ships of the fifteen, as they laded in other countries and came here to join the others and form a fleet, and they all left immediately after the capture, for this voyage to England. If any one of these ships comes to these ports I will execute the orders of your Serenity.
		+
		+	The three merchants, John Opson, John Ugolet and John Mon, whom I sent for to come to the fortress at that time, merely to use them as a lever for negotiating with the pirate for the restitution of the saettia, were not merchants of the fifteen ships in question, but ordinary inhabitants of Argostoli, who trade in these parts. As they had not the slightest concern in the matter they were immediately dismissed, entirely satisfied, after the saettia had been restored.
		+
		+	Names of the ships and Captains. [See footnote 4 below]
		+
		+	''William Ralph'', Captain Thomas Transfel.
		+	''John Bonaventura'', Captain John Bendech.
		+	''Friendship'', '''Captain Sequiribens'''
		+	''Siguitta'', Captain Ben Jonson.
		+	''William Francis'', Captain Richard Jonson.
		+	Flemish ship called ''Nightingale'', Captain John Gransenaer.
		+	''John Bonaventura'', Captain William Reiven.
		+	''Parangon'', Captain Brian Anson.
		+	Flemish ship called ''Black Eagle'', Captain Girardi di Nicolo.
		+	Cephalonia, the 17th May, 1629.
		+	[Italian.]
		+
		+	FN 4. The correct names of the majority of these would appear to be:—William Ralph, Capt Thomas Trenchfield; John Bonaventure, Capt. William Bundocke; Friendship, Capt. Squire Bence; Assurance, Capt. Bence Johnson; William and Francis, Capt. Edward Johnson; John Bonaventure, Capt. William Driver Cal. S.P. Dom., 1628–9, pages 293, 302, 303, 305."<ref>Allen B. Hinds (ed.), 'Venice: May 1629, 11-19', ''Calendar of State Papers Relating to English Affairs in the Archives of Venice'', vol. 22, 1629-1632 (XXXX, 1919), pp. 50-65. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=89250 Date accessed: 11 December 2011.</ref>
		+
		+	"1634: July 29. Whitehall. Lords of the Admiralty to Horace Lord Vere. Robert Wheatly and Richard Davis, of London, merchants, and John Bence, Sqyer [Squire] Bence and Henry Lambe, of Aldborough, mariners, owners of the ''Sqyer [Squire]'' of Aldborough, are to be allowed to furnish their ship with eight minions of cast iron out of the founder's store. [Copy. See Vol. cclxiv., fol. 34. ½ p.]"<ref>John Bruce, 'Charles I - volume 272: July 17-31, 1634', ''Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles I, 1634-5'' (London, 1864), pp. 153-175. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52288 Date accessed: 11 December 2011.</ref>
		+
		+	"1635: Sept. 18. 1635. Lords of the Admiralty to [Montjoy Earl of Newport]. To give order that Bence Johnson, Alexander Bence, and Squire Bence, owners of the ''Samuel'' of Aldborough, of the burthen of 90 tons, may furnish the same with iron ordnance out of the founder's store in East Smithfield. [Copy. Vol. cclxiv., fol. 165 a. ½ p.]"<ref>John Bruce 8ed.), 'Charles I - volume 298: September 16-30, 1635', ''Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles I, 1635'' (London, 1865), pp. 382-408. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52620 Date accessed: 11 December 2011.</ref>

	"...few merchants became interested mainly in shipping. The brothers Alexander and Squire Bence, born in the 1590s, provide a rare, yet significantly qualified example. They were members of the leading merchant family in Aldeburgh, which was probably the fastest-growing shipping centre in the country in the first half of the century, serving with substantial vessels both the booming coal trade and London's overseas trades. In the previous generation Alexander, William and Robert Bence were shipowners, as was John, merchant, and elder brother of Alexander and Squire. While John founded the county family of Bence ofThorington Hall, another elder brother, Robert, was citizen and salter of London. Alexander as a merchant and Squire as a master seem to have concentrated on shipping business, but they too had important other interests. Both represented their town in teh Short and agin in the Long Parliament, where Squire replaced William Rainborowe, another outstanding figure in shipping, in 1642. In the same year both became Naval Commissioners and so, combining political influence with natutical connections and expertise, assumed a vital role in the conduct of the civil war at sea. Alexander, as a member of the London grocers' Company, moved in City circles and is said to have married the sister of Samuel Vassall the radical City MP and Naval Commissioner, himself much interested in shipping. As a Presbyterian and City man, Alexander was secluded from the House in 1648 and about the end of that year Squire died, leaving lands in Aldeburgh and elsewhere as well as tenements and grounds in Ratcliffe. Alexander became politically active again under Cromwell and in 1655 was described as a rich man, having an income of 1,200 a year, lands with an annual value of 300 and a large estate in Ireland. He became Master of Trinity House in 1659. At some point the Bences intermarried with the Aldeburgh Johnsons, shipwrights, shipmasters and shipowners, one product of that alliance, presumably was Bence Johnson, master of the ''Mary and John'' in 1626 and of the 300-ton ''Assurance'' in 1629 and part-owner (with Alexander and Squire) of the ''Elizabeth'' of Aldeburgh (100 tons) in 1636. In the next generation Henry Johnson of the same family took over the East India Company's Blackwall yard and became perhaps the largest shipowner of his day."<ref>Kenneth R. Andrews, ''Ships, money, and politics: seafaring and naval enterprise in the reign of Charles I'' (Cambridge, 1991), p. 49</ref>		"...few merchants became interested mainly in shipping. The brothers Alexander and Squire Bence, born in the 1590s, provide a rare, yet significantly qualified example. They were members of the leading merchant family in Aldeburgh, which was probably the fastest-growing shipping centre in the country in the first half of the century, serving with substantial vessels both the booming coal trade and London's overseas trades. In the previous generation Alexander, William and Robert Bence were shipowners, as was John, merchant, and elder brother of Alexander and Squire. While John founded the county family of Bence ofThorington Hall, another elder brother, Robert, was citizen and salter of London. Alexander as a merchant and Squire as a master seem to have concentrated on shipping business, but they too had important other interests. Both represented their town in teh Short and agin in the Long Parliament, where Squire replaced William Rainborowe, another outstanding figure in shipping, in 1642. In the same year both became Naval Commissioners and so, combining political influence with natutical connections and expertise, assumed a vital role in the conduct of the civil war at sea. Alexander, as a member of the London grocers' Company, moved in City circles and is said to have married the sister of Samuel Vassall the radical City MP and Naval Commissioner, himself much interested in shipping. As a Presbyterian and City man, Alexander was secluded from the House in 1648 and about the end of that year Squire died, leaving lands in Aldeburgh and elsewhere as well as tenements and grounds in Ratcliffe. Alexander became politically active again under Cromwell and in 1655 was described as a rich man, having an income of 1,200 a year, lands with an annual value of 300 and a large estate in Ireland. He became Master of Trinity House in 1659. At some point the Bences intermarried with the Aldeburgh Johnsons, shipwrights, shipmasters and shipowners, one product of that alliance, presumably was Bence Johnson, master of the ''Mary and John'' in 1626 and of the 300-ton ''Assurance'' in 1629 and part-owner (with Alexander and Squire) of the ''Elizabeth'' of Aldeburgh (100 tons) in 1636. In the next generation Henry Johnson of the same family took over the East India Company's Blackwall yard and became perhaps the largest shipowner of his day."<ref>Kenneth R. Andrews, ''Ships, money, and politics: seafaring and naval enterprise in the reign of Charles I'' (Cambridge, 1991), p. 49</ref>

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 Kenneth R. Andrewes suggests that Squire and Alexander Bence were unusual, in that they were, as he characterises them, merchants who chose to invest heavily in shipping.<ref>Kenneth R. Andrews, ''Ships, money, and politics: seafaring and naval enterprise in the reign of Charles I'' (Cambridge, 1991), p. 49</ref>  However, this characterisation does not accurately represent the Bence family in the second half of the sixteenth and the first part of the seventeenth century, and the families with which Bence family members, male and female, married and pursued commercial partnerships.
+----
 ===Suggested links===
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 See [[MRP: Bence Parker will|Bence Parker will]]
 ----