Will of Henry Kirkman of Melbourne (1543)
In the name of God, Amen1. Be it known unto all true Christian people that the 12th day of (month cut off at the top) Anno Domini 1542, I Henry Kirkman of Melbourne within the Comitia2a of Derby, being sick in body and whole in mind and good of remembrance, doth order and make this my last will and testament in manner and form hereafter following.
First I bequeath my soul unto Almighty God, our Lady Saint Mary and all the holy company in Heaven; and my body to be buried within the churchyard aforesaid. Also I will and command that there shall be half a …. 2b of masses said for my soul and all good Christian souls within the church aforesaid..
Item: First I bequeath unto Elizabeth my daughter a heifer, the colour black, beside3 her part.
Item: I bequeath unto William my son my best jacket; and unto John my son my second jacket; and unto Rauffe4 my son my third jacket.
Item: I bequeath unto Alice5 my daughter a yearling calf beside her part.
Item: I bequeath unto John my son the iron gear6.
Item: I will that there shall be bestowed and given, at the day of my burial, upon priests and clerks7 3s 4d8, and 12d in bread amongst poor folk.
Item: I will that Cicely9 my daughter shall have a heifer that is black of colour beside her part.
Item: I will that Agnes my daughter shall have 6s 8d10 beside her part.
And also I do order and make mine executors Alice5 my wife and William my son, to see that this my last will and testament be performed in all causes and articles.
Moreover I give and bequeath unto John my son one acre of rye and a half-acre of wheat beside his side11 part.
Item: I will that Joan12 my daughter shall have for the debts that I do owe unto her 40 shillings in money beside her part.
(Comment: there are no signatures, either of the testator or of witnesses, on this document. The attached inventory, dated 7th January 1543 [1544 Gregorian], will be transcribed separately).
(Notes on next page).
Notes:
(1)Thus far in Latin.
(2a) The Latin version of “County”.
(2b) An unknown word, first letter uncertain, followed by “entall” or “eutall”.
(3)Here and elsewhere this should mean “in addition to”, perhaps referring to legacies already distributed.
(4)This seems to be for “Raphe”, “Raph” or “Ralph”, all recorded in the 16th and 17th centuries.
(5)Spelt “Alis”.
(6)Commonly horse or ploughing tackle.
(7)Here for “clerics” or “clergymen”.
(8)A quarter of a mark (13s 4d), this being a commercial monetary unit of the time.
(9)Spelt “Cyssylle”.
(10) Half a mark (see (8)).
(11) This may be redundant repetition – see (3) above
(12) Spelt “Jone”.
The inventory of Henry Kirkman made the 7th day of January in the year of our Lord God 1543, of all the goods moveable and unmoveable and anything praised and valued with Rauffe Letherlonde, John Wilder and Richard North.
£ s d
Imprimis: 4 oxen, the price of 3 0 0
Item: 2 steers (value 20s) 1 0 0
Item: 6 barren kye (= cows) (value 54s) 2 14 0
Item: 4 twinters1a(value 24s)1 4 0
Item: 2 mares 16 0
Item: one filly and one colt and one foal 16 0
Item: 5 geese and one gander 2 0
Item: 6 swine 8 0
Item: 4 pigs 3 0
Item: 4 ducks and one drake 8
Item: one cock and 8 hens and 2 chickens (value 20d) 1 8
Item: a quarter and a half of winter corn 17 0
Item: 3 quarters of malt and 6 strike1b(value 22s) 1 2 0
Item: 4 quarters of barley (value 21s 4d)1 1 4
Item: a quarter and a half of oats 3 0
Item: 4 quarters of peas (value 24s)1 4 0
Item: 8 acres of winter corn (value 26s 8d)1 6 8
Item: all the hay 13 4
Item: an old woollen2 wain with all things thereto belonging 8 0
Item: 2 harrows, one plough, a coulter and one share 3 0
Item: one wain rope and 3 pairs of gears3(value 12d) 1 0
Item: 3 pike forks4, 3 muck forks5 and a little pike fork 10
Item: one axe, one bill6 and 2 hatchets (value 12d)1 0
Item: 16 sheep flakes7 and 2 swine trays8 2 8
Item: 3 loads of firewood (value 15d)1 3
Item: 2 ladders 3
Item: an old hair cloth (value 16d)1 4
Item: 2 old scythes, 2 peas hooks9 and 2 hand hooks (value 16d)1 4
Item: an old fat10a, 3 lorries10b (?) and 2 pales11 (?)2 7
Item: one meat board, 2 trestles, 2 forms, one chair, 3 stools and 6 little
sawn boards2 5
Item: 2 trows12(value 12d)1 0
Item: one coffer and 2 old arks132 0
Item: 4 bedsteads (value 16d)1 4
Item: a …. 14(value 20d)1 8
Item: a goose pen and a hen pen 8
Item: a spinning wheel, a pair of cards15 and one strike16, 2 sieves17, one
pannier18, a ladle and 6 treen19 dishes and 12 trenchers20, a side
dish, a churn and one peck21(value 21d)1 9
Item: 2 mattresses, 4 coverlets and 3 pillow beres22 11 6
Item: 3 pairs of flaxen sheets and 9 pairs of canvas sheets (value 22s) 1 2 0
Item: 2 canvas border cloths and 3 canvas towels and 3 napkins 3 4
Item: 2 blankets 2 0
Item: a dosser23a and a little painted cloth23b 1 0
Item: 3 window sheets24, 3 socks, one bag, 3 cushions25 (?) and one
banker264 8
Item: 4 jackets good and bad, one doublet, a pair of hose, 2 shirts, a
pair of shoes, a cap, a purse and a girdle27 and one jerkin 10 0
Item: a cloak (value 12d) 1 0
Item: an old saddle and a bridle (value 12d) 1 0
Item: forty (?) lea28 of linen yarn 3 4
Item: 3 pots, 2 pans (?) and 2 kettles (value 22d) 1 10
Item: 11 pewter dishes, 4 saucers and 6 counterfeits29 7 0
Item: 3 candlesticks, a chafing dish30 and a salt31(value 18d) 1 6
Item: one broach32, a pair of cobarts33, one brand iron34, a pair of
pot hooks, a pair of pot hangles35 and one frying pan 3 4
Item: 8 flitches36 of bacon 10 0
Item: 28 sheep skins and a little broken wool37 and 4 pounds of
woollen yarn 5 4
Item: 3 horse locks38 and 3 tethers, 3 sweeps39, 2 halters and a little
old iron (value 16d) 1 4
Item: all the flax and hemp and linseed 3 4
Item: a stone of wool, the which is part spun and part unspun 4 0
Item: a wort40 lead41 and another little old lead (value 12d) 1 0
Item: a ripple comb42, a brake43 and a sheep cratch44 8
Item: 6 sheep ….45 10 0
The sum: £24.15s.1d
(Notes to inventory on next page)
Notes to inventory:
(1a) “Twinters”: two-year-old cattle, horses or sheep.
(1b) “Strike”: measure of malt, corn etc. or a bundle of flax or hemp (see also (16)).
(2)“Woollen”: perhaps a misspelling of “wooden”; otherwise a wain for wool.
(3)“Gears”: a general term, but here presumably tackle for horses pulling the wain.
(4)“Pike forks”: similar to a pitchforks.
(5)“Muck forks”: forks with hooked tines for moving manure.
(6)“Bill”: tool (often a crescent-shaped blade with a sharp hook) for hedging etc.
(7)“Flakes”: in this context, wattle hurdles or gates (in a sheep pen).
(8)“Trays”: wooden hurdles for pens.
(9)“Peas hooks”: hooks for lifting pea haulms.
(10a) “Fat”: a vat or tub.
(10b) “Lorries”: transliteration uncertain. If correct, low flat wagons on four wheels.
(11) “Pales”: transliteration uncertain. If correct, stakes for fencing.
(12) “Trows”: troughs.
(13) “Arks”: wooden or metal bins for corn etc., hung from roof away from vermin.
(14) Can’t decipher this – possibly to do with needles or needlework.
(15) “Cards”: iron-toothed combs for combing out fibres before spinning.
(16) “Strike”: see (1b) – here bundles of flax or hemp.
(17) “Sieves”: apart from the obvious meaning, this was also used of refuse baskets.
(18) “Pannier”: a large light basket for carrying produce on horseback.
(19) “Treen”: wooden tableware.
(20) “Trenchers”: thin, flat wooden or pewter platters.
(21) “Peck”: a vessel with a capacity of a quarter of a bushel.
(22) “Pillow beres”: pillowcases.
(23a) “Dosser”: wall-hanging tapestry (or Tony Blair).
(23b) “Painted cloth”: wall-hanging cloth or canvas painted in oils.
(24) “Window sheets”: cloth used in place of glass in a window.
(25) “Cushions”: a guess - looks like “hushens” (see (26)).
(26) “Banker”: cloth covering a seat or bench; a cushion (see (25)).
(27) “Girdle”: belt or chain round the waist to secure clothes.
(28) “Lea”: measure of yarn.
(29) “Counterfeits”: dishes made from base metal.
(30) “Chafing dish”: dish to keep food warm on a chafer (small brazier).
(31) “Salt”: container for salt.
(32) “Broach”: spit for roasting.
(33) “Cobarts”: cupboards or (as here?) bars with hooks supporting a spit over fire.
(34) “Brand iron”: branding iron or (as here?) gridiron to support a cooking pot.
(35) “Pot hangles”: chains in a chimney to hang cooking utensils over the hearth.
(36) “Flitches”: sides of meat, salted and cured, often hung from the roof.
(37) “Broken wool”: not sure, but possibly wool ready for spinning.
(38) “Horse locks”: hobbles or shackles for horses’ legs.
(39) “Sweeps”: pump handles.
(40) “Wort”: unfermented beer.
(Continued on next page)
(41) “Lead”: a large pot (possibly of lead or lead-lined) used in brewing etc.
(42) “Ripple comb”: toothed instrument to separate seeds from flax or hemp.
(43) “Brake”: toothed instrument for breaking flax or hemp.
(44) “Cratch”: storage rack for fodder.
(45) an abbreviated word that I do not recognise and cannot find.
Comments: the total may be about £1 too high, but I haven’t double-checked. Multiply monetary values by 315 for purchasing power in 2004).