Will of John Leche, glover, 1547

Herts RO 3AR75

In the name of god amen, the xviijth day of nove(m)b(e)re  in the yere of owr lorde god m vc xlvj& in the xxxviij yere of the Reygne of Henry the viijth by the grace of god kyng of Englande Fraunce and Irelande & the supreme hede of the church of Englande and Irelande  I Jhon Beche of the p(ar)ishe of Wynselowe in the Countie of Bucckyngh(a)m glov(er) beyng sicke in my body & hole in my sowle & of a p(er)fight memory I thanke Jh(es)u do ordeyn & make this my last wyll and Testamente in mann(er) & forme folowyng  First I bequeath my sowle to Allmyghtie god, ower ladye saynct Marye and all the blessed company of heavyn, and my body to be buryed w(i)thin the church yarde of saynct Lawrence in Wynselowe aforesaid, also I bequeathe to the mother church of sancte Albayns ij d  It(e)m I bequeath to the sepulcae lyght and the Roode lyght vj d  Item I delyv(er) the Surrender of my howse into thands of Jhon Wenylbowe my brother in lawe and a tenam(en)te of the lords to the use of Hellyn my wyfe so long as she doith kepe her selfe full wydowe & if (tha)t  she shall mary I wyll (tha)t she shall have the said howse for the space of iiij yeres folowyng she payng x s a yere of yt w(hi)ch x s iij s iiij d to be paid to the mother of the saide Jhon Bech so long as she doyth lyve and the other vj s viij d to be laid of ye rep(ara)yc(i)o n of the said howse for the space of the said iiij yeres & after (tha)t  the said iiij yeres be expyred I wyll (tha)t ye said Ellynor my wyfe shall have ye said howse tyle (tha)t Seth my soone be of the age of xxij yeres and the same Elinor to make a stocke of the same Rent of the howse to the use of the said Seth tyll the said Seth come to thage of the xxiiij yeres aforesaid also if the said Seth do [deletion] chaunce to dye w(i)thowte yssue of his body lawfully begotten than I wyll (tha)t  the said howse shall remayne to Jhon my soon and if (tha)t yt fortune (tha)t  the said Jhon do dep(ar)te ye worlde w(ith)owt Issue of his body lawfully begotten than I will (tha)t  it shall remayne to Jhoan my dowghter and if (tha)t it fortune (tha)t  Jhoan my daughter do dep(ar)te wythowte yssue of her body lawfully begotten then I wyll that my howse and my  land shall remayne to the next ayre   no more of my goodes moveable nor unmoveable neyther gyvyn nor bequeathed but I do gyve theym holly to Elyno(r) my wyfe whome I do ordeyn and make my sole executrix to se my debts and bequests p(ai)d and my body honestly brought to the Earth theis beyng wytnes Thomas Graunge Clerke & curate theyr Jhon Wynellborow Henry Hylton wyth other moe

[Probate 2 June 1547 to Elynor the widow and executrix]


Inventory of John Leche, 1547

Herts RO A25/50

This ys the Inventarye of John Leche of the parrish of Wynslowe made the xvijth day of [blank] and in the firste yere of  the reynge of our soveraygne lorde Edwarde the Syxte by the grace of god king of Englande, Fraunce and Irelande the supreme hedde of the churche of Englande and Irelande prayside by three Indifferent men that is to say William Schelton, Nicholas Sponer, Thomas Leche w(i)t(h) other mo(re) then beying present

In primis in the Chamber bedding w(i)t(h) oother implements to the chamber belonging
x s
Item in the hall a tabulle a forme a cubborde and a brasse peweter a spytte and cobbyarns and painted clothes w(i)t(h) oother smalle ymplements
xx s
Item  in sutche things as p(er)taynith to the shoppe
iij s iiij d
Item two kynne and a calffe
xxx s
Item a Sowe
iij s iiij d
S(um)ma [blank]

Notes

The surname is written as Beche in the text of the will but Leche in the margin, and the inventory confirms that it should be Leche. The sons mentioned in the will seem to be Seth Mason d.1622 and John Mason, glover, d.1612.

sepulcae: i.e. sepulchre

xxiiij: presumably either this or the previous figure of xxij is a mistake