WILL OF ALICE NASH OF LEDBURY, WIDOW, 1583
Herefordshire Record Office Ref. 32/1/37
In the name of God Amen, the 19th day of December in the 25th year of the reign of our sovereign lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God queen of England, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, etc. I Alice Nash of the parish of Ledbury in the county of Hereford, widow, being sick in body nevertheless of good and perfect mind, thanks be to God, do make my last will and testament in manner and form following. That is to say: First and above all things I give and bequeath my soul to Almighty God my maker and redeemer, and my body to be buried in Christian burial in the churchyard of Ledbury. Item I give and bequeath to the mother church of Hereford 4d. Item I give and bequeath to Joan my daughter one feather bed and all that belongeth thereto. Item I give and bequeath to the same Joan one cow and one pair of flaxen sheets. Item I give and bequeath to Mary my daughter one cow, my best feather bed and all that belongeth thereto, one pair of flaxen sheets, my best pot and my best blazen [shiny?] pan. Item I give and bequeath to Joan and to Mary my daughters the residue of all my brass unbequeathed and all my pewter, to be equally distributed and divided between them. Item I give and bequeath to John Nash son of Nicholas Nash one store pig. Item I give and bequeath to Alice Nash, daughter of Nicholas Nash, one yearling sheep and one salt cellar. Item I give and bequeath to Mary my daughter 20s. of good and lawful money of England. Item I give to Nicholas Nash my son one table board, one form and one iron ‘topperal pynn’ [possibly ‘pin’, a small keg for bear; with an adjective derived from ‘topper’ or ‘tapper’, a server or seller of beer.]. Item I give Elizabeth Nash one pewter platter. Item I give to Richard my son my best ‘yealte’ [probably ‘yelt’, a sow young sow.] and 2 bu. of wheat. Item I give and bequeath to the said Richard my son to Joan and Mary my said daughters, my debts and legacies performed and funeral expenses fulfilled, the residue of all my goods and cattle unbequeathed, movable and unmovable, equally to be divided between them three. And of this my present testament I make, ordain and appoint the said Joan my daughter my sole executrix. And also I make and ordain Nicholas Nash my son and John Meeke the overseers of this my last will and testament.
Witnesses hereunto: Nicholas Nash, John Meeke, Hugh Watts, Miles Collas
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