Article
Theydon Mount: Wills during the Reign of King James I (Part 3). The Last Will and Testamentof Richard Gladwin, 1624
Richard Gladwin, whose name we came across in connection with a terrier in the Parish Register, was a bricklayer and sideman in the parish. He was buried on 5 February 1624/253. His will is dated 14 December 16244:
The fourtenth day of December in the yeare of our Lord 1624
I Richard Gladwin of Thaidon Mount in the County of Essex Bricklaiar, being of p[er]fect mind & memory, do make & ordayne this my last will & testamt, as followeth.
First I make Thomas Gladwin my sonne the sole executor of this my last will & testamt & do giue5 vnto him all my goodes & chattell not gevein otherwise bequeathed.
It[em] I giue unto Susan my wife forty shillinges a yeare during her natural life, to be paid quarterly vnto her by my executor, in lieu & stead of all her thirds out of all my tenem[en]t that now I haue, or lately had.
Also I giue vnto her all such housholestuffe as she brought w[i]th her.
It[em] I giue vnto my sonne Richard Gladwin & his heirs my tenem[en]t wherin Thomas Howland now dwelleth which appiwhire(?)6 lying in Thaidon Mount aforesaid.
And I giue unto him my long chist in the Rest & my greatens(?) …
It[em] I giue unto Bridgit my daughter ten pounds at her day of marriage or age of xxi yeares, wh[ic]h first shall happen. And if she dy before, then it to remaine to the benefit of my Executor.
It[em] I giue vnto her a featherbed w[i]th all thinges belonging thereto & the haeshoad bedsteads standing in the loft(?).
And also the best payre of flaxon stools and the larg of pewter platter, and the best brasse candlesticks, w[hi]ch was her mothers gift vnto her & two chests w[hi]ch were her mothers & my best brasse pot & my second brasse kettle.
In presence(?) of me.
Richard [X] Gladwin
Samuel Searle, his marke
Richard Gladwin’s list of beds, chests, pots, pans and candlesticks is fairly typical of a man handing on things of value. We live today in a mass-produced and throw-away society.
The Will ends with a seal and “probatum” in Latin. (I am not a Latin scholar.)
3 ERO D/P 142/1/1
4 ERO D/AEW 17/248
5 The letters ‘u’ and ‘v’ are often inverted compared to modern usage. Spelling was very non standard.
6 This word, as are any others marked (?), is unclear.
