A GEORGE III SILVER FREEDOM BOX OF CIRCULAR FORM, Dublin c.1767, mark of Bartholomew Stokes, the detachable lid with ribbed rim, engraved with the City of Dublin Coat of Arms and inscribed...

A GEORGE III SILVER FREEDOM BOX OF CIRCULAR FORM, Dublin c.1767, mark of Bartholomew Stokes, the detachable lid with ribbed rim, engraved with the City of Dublin Coat of Arms and inscribed ''The Corporation of the City of Dublin to the Right Hon. Theophilius Jones Esq. 1767'', the base engraved with the Jones family crest and the motto ''Deus Fortitudo Mea'', God is my strength, with gilt interior, (c.124g). 8cm diameter

Theophilus Jones (1729-1811) was the eldest son of Walter Jones of Headfort, Co. Leitrim and his wife, Olivia, daughter and coheiress of the Hon. Chidley Coote of Coote Hall, Co. Roscommon. Jones was married three times; his second son also named Theophilus Jones (1760-1835) was a member of the royal navy who was eventually promoted to the rank of admiral in 1819. The Jones family were descended from Wales, they received a grant of lands from King James I in 1622 of which they made a settlement by indenture dated 11th September 1660. The family had estates in the counties of Leitrim and Dublin as well as Kent in England holding the seat of Hayle Place near Maidstone.

The freedom box, designed by Dublin silver maker Bartholomew Stokes (w.1746) was presented to Theophilus Jones in 1767 to mark his tenure as Privy Counsellor of Ireland. The Privy Councilwas an institution of theKingdom of Irelanduntil 31 December 1800 and it performed a similar role in theDublin Castle administration to that of its counterpart in the United Kingdom. As a member of the Privy Council of Ireland hewas styledRight Honourable, just as the members of theBritish Privy Councilwere. Jones had a long and diverse career serving as a secretary to August Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, the Chief Secretary of Ireland, a post he held until 1799. He was also Collector of Excise at the Dublin Port during a similar period. As an MP in the British Parliament he represented County Leitrim and subsequently the borough of Coleraine.

The practice of presenting Freedom boxes to individuals was popular in the 18th Century, particularly in Ireland, in which visiting dignitaries were bestowed with the Honorary Freedom of the City. They were engraved with the citys coat of arms and personalised with the recipients family crest and motto, as in this example with,Deus Fortitudo Mea, God is my strength. Usually a Freedom scroll was enclosed within the engraved box, although with the circular shape of this present example it is possible that no such item was included. Livery companies and guilds also followed the practice gifting the boxes to newly appointed Freemasons.

Niamh Corcoran BA
September 2016

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