The Bowles of Bromley as

Masters of the Tents and Pavilions

Backgound

The office of Revels, Tents and Toils was first established by King Henry VIII under a Master of the Revels.  In 1560 Queen Elizabeth reorganized the office into three separate departments, Revels under Sir Thomas Benger, Tents under Mr. Henry Sackford and Toils under Mr. Tamworth. 

The Bolles of Bromley and Chislehurst had a lengthy family history of being responsible for the tents and pavilions for the Royal Household since some time during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.  When the Civil War broke out they fought for the King but somehow they continued in that role under Parliamentary Rule.  After the restoration of the monarchy they were relegated to a Groom of the Tents position under a newly appointed Master.  In 1660 Francis Bolles appealed to the King for the restoration of his family's position based on the wounds which he had received fighting for the King at the Battle of Edgehill in 1642 but he was not initially successful.  Possibly the fact that he had lost the use of his arm after Edgehill, as he noted in his appeal, had made him unsuitable for the job.  In any case, his brother William Bolle was appointed Master of the Tents and Toils in 1668 as a hereditary position which the family held until ......

The Bolles under Queen Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I

The Visitation of Kent of 1619 records that the earliest member of the Chislehurst line was a Thomas Bowle born in Lincolnshire who settled at Bromley.  No date is given but that would likely have been about 1590.  In one of the family's petitions to the King in 1660 it requests that Francis Bolle be appointed as Masters of the Tents and Toils  'in which he and his ancestors have served 100 years, lest the ancient art of making tents and pavilions, which is known to no other persons in his dominions, should perish'.  While the 100 years may have been somewhat exaggerated that still puts their role well back into the early years of Elizabeth's reign and up until the Civil War.

The petition submitted by Francis in 1660 states that he fought for the King at Edgehill in 1642 where he was severely wounded but survived to also fight at Bristol and Naseby.

Under the Inter-regnum

In 1647 Charles was arrested and in January 1649 he was tried and beheaded.  The Commissioners who presided at the trial were later termed Regicides, a term which had not been known in the country before. 

During Parliament's rule the Bolles were relegated to more junior roles.  In the 'Book of Ordinary Receipts Issued in 1648' Robert Bolles of Chislehurst is listed as Groom of the Tents and Toils at 8d per day (9£ 2d 6s annually) working under Henry Seckford, Master of the Tents and Toils who was paid 30£ per annum.

However, Parliament's rule broke down into a period of turmoil which resulted in the return of monarchy in May 1660 under Charles II.

Under Charles II

In May 1660 Robert’s son Francis requested that the Duke of York second his petition to the King for the office of the Master of the Tents and Toils as held by his father before the troubles but apparently the petition was not successful.  He was Commissioner for Excise in London in June 1661 when he applied for a position as 'Groom of the Privy Chamber or Waiter' mentioning he was frustrated at the lack of response from the King as he was the first man wounded at Edgehill etc.  He refers to himself as Captain, possibly having received a promotion as a result of his injury as he was listed as a Lieutenant in Fielding's Regiment and a casualty of the battle.  

That same month Robert petitioned King Charles II on his son and grandson's behalf.  He described himself as having been the ‘groom and yeoman of the tents and pavilions to Queen Elizabeth, King James and the late King Charles and servant to his Majesty’.  He petitioned the King to have his sons Francis and William, with reversion to William's sons Duodecimus and Charles, appointed as Masters of the Tents and Toils  'in which he and his ancestors have served 100 years, lest the ancient art of making tents and pavilions, which is known to no other persons in his dominions, should perish'.

Francis was appointed as Yeoman of Tents and Toils in the next document in the same bundle of papers as Robert Bolles’ petition and is also dated June 1661.  Perhaps the loss of the use of his arm at Edgehill made it physically impossible for him to serve as Master of the Tents.  William was appointed as Master of the Tents and Toils (the two jobs jointly with a Robert Child) on the next paper in the bundle, same date and also as Keeper of the Privy Lodgings and Standing Wardrobe (at Greenwich) on Nov. 28, 1668.  For some reason Francis and William did not receive their annual fees for those positions from March 1674 to March 1679 but at the end of that period they were both paid retroactively.  ref.  

Sir William Bowles Member of Regicide Grand Jury 1679 ref.

William's son Duodecimus was appointed Yeoman of his Majesty’s Tents in 1671.  In 1676 his son Charles was granted the right to be appointed Master of His Majesty’s Tents and Toils, jointly with James Spelman and John Wright, after his father’s death (which occurred in 1685).  James Spelman was married to Charles' sister Emma and John Wright was married to his sister Cornelia.   

The Office of Tents and Toyles consisted of two masters (one was Master of the Tents and the other Master of the Toils), a clerk, a clerk comptroller, a yeoman of the tents, two yeomen of the toyles and a groom. In 1660, the master of the tents made 30£ per annum, the comptroller 12£ 3s 4d; the clerk 13£ 7s 4d; the yeomen 10£; the groom 9£ 2s 6d. In the toyles, the master made 66£ 13s 4d, the yeomen £36 per annum. (per British History Online)span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  The Master of Tents was responsible for acquiring and maintaining the tents and pavilions as required by the royal court.    The Master of Toils was responsible for getting physical jobs done when required. 

These jobs were greatly desired not only for the salary they paid but also for the extra income which could be obtained when negotiating contracts for supplies and services from the competing contractors.  Francis included a payment of 174£ with his unsuccessful bid in 1660 for the job which paid 30£ per year so the extra benefits must have been considerable.  In his first month on the job (July 1661) William acquired 23 tents of from 1 to 4 rooms each for several members of the household and one more for the Secretary of State for a total cost of 2,362£.