High Country History Group

1642.
George Neale of Stanford Rivers, labourer, at Shelley, took away out of the church, ‘the books of Common Prayer,’ worth seven shillings, belonging to the parishioners and “did burn it upp,” near the church, saying, “this book is an idoll.”

1774
Thursday last Ambrose Miles, William Collis, and James Wright, were committed to our gaol (Chelmsford) by George Mason, Esq. charged on the oaths of Edward Rayner, Michael Elias, and Anthony Brasher, on suspicion with stealing five silver spoons and several other things the property of the said Edward Rayner of Stanford Rivers.
Ipswich Journal 4 Feb. 1774

A Rent Charge of £5 left by Thomas Luther to be paid out of the estate of Mrs Jones. A moiety of this estate has been sold to Sir W. Bowyer Smijth, Bt., who has ……half of the above rent charge by transferring to the official trustees of charitable funds the sum of £83.12.8 Consolidated £3 per cent annuities. The remainder of the above estate was left to Mrs Mark Lavender of Brentwood, who pays to the church wardens the yearly sum of £2.10.0.

A rent charge of £2.17.6 left by Mrs Luther to be given away in bread by the proprietors of Suttons, and five shillings per annum to be paid to the Church Clerk out of the same estate, for keeping the gravel walk clean.

A piece of ground called Church Lands left by a person unknown, in extent nearly 5 acres. In 1869 this piece of ground was sold to Sir. W. Bowyer Smijth Bt. For the sum of £495, which was invested in the purchase of £533.13.10 consolidated £3 per cent annuities, and invested in the names of the official trustees of charitable funds. Sir John Smijth Bt. In 1838 left the sum of £60 to the poor of the parish. The Revd. Sir E. Bowyer Smijth Bt., in 1840 gave the sum of £50 in augmentation of his late brothers legacy and invested the first sums in the purchase of £109 consolidated £3 per cent annuities, in order that the interest arising from it should be expended in coals, clothing, or food, to be distributed yearly among poor inhabitants of the parish, at the discretion of the rector for the time being. The above mentioned £109 consolidated £3 per cent annuities has been transferred to the account now stands in the name of the official trustees of Charitable Funds.

Early this morning a fire broke out at the Blue Boar Inn, Abridge, by which the house, furniture, plate, and stock in trade, were entirely consumed. Mr Mansfield, the landlord, his wife, and other inmates, retired to rest about 1 o'clock. Soon after, Mrs Mansfield's attention was excited by a smell of smoke, and she awoke her husband, who thinking it only an imaginary fear on her part paid no regard to it. About 2 o'clock Mrs Mansfield again mentioned her suspicion, and at half past two insisted on Mr Mansfield getting up. On opening a closet in the bedroom, which is immediately over the bar fire place, a volume of smoke burst out with great force. They instantly aroused the inmates, and Mr Mansfield accompanied by a man named Reeves, went down stairs and forced open the taproom door. This room was filled with smoke, but they could clearly discern the flames issuing from the side of the bar chimney, where the fire must have commenced. A messenger was despatched to Epping for the engine, which shortly arrived, but unfortunately it was so much out of order as to be unserviceable. Mr Thomas Mead, a tailor and draper, who resides within two doors of the Blue Boar, then rode to Romford, a distance of seven miles, and returned with the engine of that parish within an hour. Plentiful supply of water was obtained from Mr Andrews’ brewery adjoining and from the river, the floodgates of Mr Stephen’s mill having been opened, and the engine played with great effect; the fire, however, had gained such an ascendancy, that it was impossible to save the house, but by the very praiseworthy exertions used on the occasion by all parties, the flames were prevented from extending to the stabling and the adjoining premises. The fire was not effectively subdued till between five and six o'clock. Mr Andrews's brewery was saved by un-roofing part of a storehouse, whereby the communication was cut off. A cottage, belonging to the inn, was much injured, and Mr Mead, whose house is adjoining, will suffer to the amount of £200, from the damage sustained in the removal of his stock and furniture. The value of the property destroyed is estimated at about £2,400; but we are happy to state that Mr Mansfield is covered by insurance in the Alliance office: the house, which is the property of Mr Andrews, is also insured in the same office.

A rumour was prevalent that a traveller perished on the occasion, but this has not been confirmed.

Stanford Rivers:
Whereas it appeareth unto this Court, upon Complaint made by the Inhabitants of Stanford Rivers in this County, that Susan Hamond, spinster, Covenant servant with Thomas Simonds [th]e younger of that parrish, is lately delivered of a bastard child likely to become a charge to that parrish, And upon examinac[i]on shee accuseing the said Thomas Simonds her Master to bee the Father thereof The said Thomas is thereupon feedd in token of his guilt and conveyed away by Thomas Simonds the elder, his Father, who in his absence takes upon him the disposic[i]on of the goodes of his said Sonne to prevent the execuc[i]on of Justice, It is thereupon Ordered by this Court that the Constables of Stanford Rivers aforesaid or any other parrish in this County Doe forthwith apprehend the said Thomas Simmonds the elder and carry him before some one of the Justices of the peace of this county to be bound over to the next Quarter Sessions of the Peace for this County, there to produce his Sonne or to be dealt withal as the Court shall then thinke fitting.

Rectory To Big

The Rev. E. B. Rees, M.C., rector of Stapleford Tawney and Theydon Mount, has moved from his 28-roomed rectory to a former gardener’s cottage, because of heavy expense.

Essex Newsman 3 September 1948

Dawn Search Caught Two

By dawn to-day squads of police using torches and co-ordinated by wireless had recaptured two of the three good conduct prisoners who escaped from the prison without bars at Theydon Mount.

They were Harold Pryte and Jack Josephs. Pryte was recaptured when police closed in on a copse near Epping just before midnight. He was serving a two-year sentence for theft. Josephs, who was caught later, was sentenced for shopbreaking and theft.

Police and wood choppers were watching copses and thickets for the third man, William Henry King, in prison for receiving, was continued by daylight.

They had originaly been in Chemsford Gaol, but had become members of the working party at Epping because of their good conduct.
Essex Newsman 5 April 1949

Parson Wins Bus Fight

After five years of agitation, a group of North Essex villages have persuaded London Transport to run a bus service from Epping to Toot Hill, near Ongar, through Theydon Mount and Stapleford Tawney.

Chief protagonist for the villagers has been the Rev. E. Bennett Rees, M.C., Rector of Stapleford Tawney and Councillor for Ongar Rural District.

He says he will ride in the first bus – scheduled to run tomorrow.

When the villagers started their own service, the Transport Commissioners stopped them.

Essex Newsman 29 August 1950.

Family
I, Ernest Freshwater, son of Edward Charles Freshwater, was born in Theydon Mount on 1st January 1893.I first saw light of day in the cottage at 3 Mount End] close to what was called the Horse pond, where the farmers watered their horses.
I had two older brothers, Walter, who was killed serving with the Grenadier Guards in France in 1916, and Ted, who is now 89 and lives at Bury St Edmunds.

My father died, aged 32, the year after I was born. Later on my mother married Walter Freshwater, no relation to my father (?). My step-father had been living with his grandmother in the back half of the cottage where we lived [2 Mount End]. He was the son of Harry Freshwater, who lived in the house at 8 Mount End.

[R V-H: Ernest's mother eventually moved into that house for several years until her death in 1960 at the age of 93. I used to pick her up from there and take her to church.]

School Days
I was three when I first went to school in the village. I can still remember my first day. Mrs Sparks and Miss Bower were in charge of the school at that time. The school building was smaller than it is now, and consisted merely of one main school-room in which, all at the same time, there was the babes class, and one or perhaps two other classes.

There were generally about 30-35 children attending the school. Each child had a desk and a slate. The books, paper and other school equipment seem to have been provided by Mr Prance, the Rector at that time. The children walked to the (old) Rectory at Stapleford Tawney on the footpath across the fields to pick up whatever was needed.

Once a year there was a party at the school, at which Mr Prance gave each child a Bible or some other book. On these occasions the children used to put on a play. I remember taking part in one of these with my friend Beatrice Fathers (eldest sister of Dora Fathers), in which we gave a little recitation which went:-

Grandad said, "To the mountain tops we climb.
It's not done in a minute; take one step at a time."

In another play, I remember having the part of a railway porter, and saying,

“I’m a busy porter man
Who puts the luggage in the van.
Blow my whistle and say 'All right'
Blow it again and show my light"

It was the schoolmistress who produced these plays, which were always a great occasion in the village and everyone came to them.

Another of my school friends was Flora Bardwell. By the time I left school at the age of I3 Mrs Darby had become the schoolmistress. I called on her when I came back to England in 1955 and shared many amusing recollections with her, including how badly we all behaved on her first day at school. She remembered but forgave me.

Work
My first job on leaving school in 1906 was milking the cows and looking after the pigs at Hill Hall. The Duke de Moro was living there then. The farm manager was a Mr Ames (or Haines?). Work started at 6 a.m. and finished at 6 p.m., except on Saturday when work ended at 5 P.m. We always had Sundays free. I was paid six shillings a week. There were no 'perks' in the way of free milk or farm produce. I stayed at Hill Hall for 2 or 3 years and then went to work at Little Tawney Hall. The owner was a Mr Bianchi, a bachelor whose father lived at Theydon Bois and who seemed to know- little about farming. The farm manager was a Mr English. Besides milking the cows I worked in the fields, hoeing mangolds and so on.

About 1913, I left there and went to work for Joe Hills, the grocers in Epping, whose shop was where the International Stores now is. My job was delivering goods in a pony and cart. I came up to Hill Hall nearly every day where, by now, Mr and Mrs Charles Hunter were living.

Life and Leisure
My mother made almost all our clothes when we were boys, but there was also a school clothing fund into which the children paid a penny or two pence per week and at the end of the year school clothes would be bought for them with the amount collected. These clothes generally came from Dearloves or Pynes in Epping. There was never a proper shop in Theydon Mount but my stepfather's mother sold sweets from her house, and we children would go there and buy a halfpenny's worth. Joe Hills, the grocers, used to come round the village on Mondays and collect the orders, and then return on Tuesday or Wednesday with the goods. Most people in the village collected their milk from Tom Miller's farm (now Sawkins Farm). They would generally collect a halfpenny or a pennyworth at a time. A halfpenny would buy about a quart. The milk was always skimmed. No one bought full cream milk as we do now. The meat came from Kirkby's, the butcher's in Epping. They would take orders one week and bring the meat round the following week. Most families had a meat meal about once a week. You could get a good joint for a shilling or two shillings, which would last the family almost a week.

The water tor the village came from a well near the blacksmith's (now Tarlins Farm), There was a tank alongside the well, which is still there, and a pipe ran down from this tank to the village. Another deep brick-lined well was at the top of school hill, but this is completely grown over now. Some people used to draw water from what was known as Weir Pond (near Roselands), but this was not advisable; Miss Mabel Sumner was once taken seriously ill because of drinking the water from this pond, from which the cattle also drank.

As a young man in Theydon Mount, I and others were in the habit of going into Epping nearly every Saturday night for recreation, walking across the fields most of the way. We did not normally visit any of the pubs in Epping. Our recreation generally consisted of buying winkles and cockles at Old Moore's fish shop and chasing the girls. You could buy hot fish and chips in Epping even in those days, but I do not remember ever doing so.

In the summer time Theydon Mount had its own sporting activities in the old back field behind where Mr Perry used to Live (where Mr Jack Chaplin lives now). We used to play cricket and rounders. We walked everywhere and thought nothing of it. When old Mr Latchford, father of Jack and Ellen ('Nellie', who later married Archie Prior) fell sick, Nellie and I walked to Abridge to get him a bottle of medicine from the doctor.

[R V-H: On the recording he is referred to as the Health Doctor, implying that there were other sorts of doctors, but he seems to have carried out all the normal GP's duties, inducting vaccinating the babies in the village.]

St Michael's Church
My stepfather was a Churchwarden at St Michael's. Every Sunday all the village children attended Sunday school, which was held up in the gallery at the west end of the nave. (Gallery removed about 1925) Miss Jessie Prance, one of the Rector's daughters, was in charge. We used to learn a verse or two of a hymn. After Sunday
school was over, at about 11 a.m., we came down into the body of the church for the service.

Some of the congregation used to sit in the gallery during the service; it was a particularly popular place for those men who enjoyed singing. Charlie "Waggles' Stubbins had a very fine voice. (Several of us had nicknames: why Stubbins was Waggles I do not remember I was called 'Old Toff. One of my brothers was called 'Six
Foot'. As far as I can remember, no nickname was given to Mr Prance, the Rector). Besides taking Sunday School Miss Jessie Prance also played the harmonium, which at that time, was placed halfway along the north side of the nave. Jack Latchford and I used to sit in the small pew alongside the harmonium.

My mother, generally alone, but sometimes helped by us children, was responsible for cleaning the church for many years. In particular every springtime everything was turned out and the church floors (which were then oak planks) were scrubbed. On this occasion, all the family were made to help, at least the girls, if not the boys

Our family was also responsible for lighting the fires in the church. Heating was provided by a large iron stove that stood in the corner near where the harmonium stands today. There was also a small stove in the vestry, line fires had to be lit by 7a.m. in time for the morning service. Mother also told us boys, when we lit the
stoves, to dust the pews. 1 guess she did not want the ladies to get their bottoms dusty - sorry, I mean their dresses dusty!

[Even at 85, there are still traces of boyhood humour in his remarks!- R V-H]

John Miller, a local farmer and one-time churchwarden, supplied the wood and coal required, which was kept under the stairs leading up to the tower. He always sat in the same place, namely the pew which used to stand just inside the door on the left, in the corner by the font. This pew was removed about 20 years ago because it was rotting away. In those days the church, when not in use, was always locked and we kept the key. Harry Sailing (the father of Billy Sarling) used to ring the bell, which could only be rung from up on the first floor of the tower. Miss Prance always looked after the church flowers which involved merely the contents of two small brass vases.

The children were generally confirmed about the age of twelve. The confirmation classes took place at the (Old) Rectory at Stapleford Tawney and the Confirmation Services were held in Tawney Church.

Mr Bardwell, the blacksmith at what is now called Tarlins Farm, made the Church gates. The forge and the adjoining house were owned by a Mrs Merriday (or so her name sounded). She had a deaf and dumb daughter and did a lot for the church. The Tarlin family came after her.

As children, Mr Bardwell puzzled us. Apart from having two wives (Nothing to suppose these were concurrent rather than consecutive- R V-H), he had a shed which we never managed to get into and in which we we're sure he was making something mysterious.

His church gates also had a bit of mystery about them. When I used to take the Hill Hall cattle down to feed in the field near the church, they would never walk on the church side of the drive near the gates, but crossed over to the other side near the
well, from which drinking water was taken up to Hill Hall by tank cart.

The 1914-18 War. Marriage and Emigration

At the age of 21, on 18th November 1914, I joined up in the Royal Artillery. My brother Walter had joined the Grenadier Guards before war broke out and had intended to make a career in the army but, as I said earlier, he was killed in 1916. My other brother Ted had an invalid wife, so he got an 'extension', when eventually conscription was introduced, and he went to work in a munitions factory at Woolwich, near where his wife was living. All the lads of my age in the village joined the Services voluntarily; there was no conscription in the early days. On joining the Army, I trained at Lewes in Sussex and at Aldershot. While in training in England I only had a few chances of getting back to Theydon Mount but on 10th July 1915, I got married to Ethel Hancock of Hamets Estate in Epping. We were married in Theydon Garnon Church. In September that year I was sent to France, and did not return to England until 1918. After a short time in action in France 1 was senl lo Salonika in Greece. I stayed there until 1918 when I was invalided home, unfit for further service due to malaria. Ethel and I lived for a short time in Pinner and then moved back to Theydon Mount. I was only officially demobilised from the army at the beginning of January 1920 and immediately, on 20th January, we emigrated to Canada with some of Ethel’s friends. I had long wanted to go there, and two of my closest friends from Theydon Mount, Tom Stubbins and Colin Cameron, were already out there.

The first of our three sons was born in Canada in 1921. Ethel and I brought him on a visit to England in 1924. (This son died in February 1978.) I was only able to stay for a few months, but she remained until our second son was born on Christmas Day 1924, and then she brought our two sons back to Canada in March 1925, where later on we had our third son.

70 Years On
Theydon Mount now (1974) compared with, say, 1904? Several things strike me. When you walk through the length of the village now, chances are there will be nobody about. Seventy years ago there were always friends and neighbours in the road, eager to have a yarn. The road through the village was a rough gravelled road. The two ponds were clear of weeds. There were, of course, many fewer houses. The school was the hub of the village. No electricity of course paraffin lamps were the rincipal source of illumination. Most of the footpaths seem to have disappeared. The small fields of the old days have been stripped of their hedges and made into less attractive large ones. In St Michaels Church it is sad that the gallery and the Hill Hall family pew have gone.

Above all, it is the deadness of the village that strikes me most - no visible life in it now.

[Note from Mr Robert Vernon-Harcourt: The tape-recorded conversation on which these notes are largely based was made during a short visit to England by Mr Freshwater in 1974, with a few points added in subsequent correspondence. For those who knew Ernest Freshwater, I am glad to report that in his last letter, dated 16th March 1978, he seemed in good spirits.]
Tragedy at Theydon Bois in 1940

On Monday 18th November 1940 60 men of ‘A’ Company the 6th Battalion Kings Own Scottish Borders were billeted at Yates Retreat, a huge pre-war tea room and playground in Coppice Row, Theydon Bois. A sentry on duty outside saw an object descending by parachute. He had heard an aircraft circling earlier, and assumed that it must be an airman who had been forced to bale out of his stricken aircraft. However the object was in fact a parachute mine, one of two dropped by an enemy aircraft. One landed in Piercing Hill, but the other brushed the roof of the Retreat before hitting the helter-skelter and exploding. The Retreat was completely blown apart, and thirty soldiers were killed, and a further sixty were injured.

There is a memorial to them in St Mary’s church in Theydon Bois. This was unveiled on the 18th November, 1998, on the fiftieth anniversary of the event.

This new project, in association with the Essex Record Office, marks the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War, and will run for the four years 2014 to 2018. During this period the Friends of Historic Essex aim to raise funds to provide archival resources for educational study, family history research, and community histories.

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Donations will fund work to conserve, catalogue, and digitise the archives, both new acquisitions and some that are already held by the ERO. Examples of Great War records already stored in the ERO are: letters from The Front, photograph albums, school log books, wartime newspapers, written and recorded memories, military and civil defence records, and Great Eastern Railway plans.

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Your donation will help towards the permanent preservation of archives, increased public access, and provide a long-term benefit for future generations.

Archives may need to be catalogued and some repair work carried out to preserve the material before placing it in a protective folder or box. Where possible archives will also be digitised.

A selection of documents held at the ERO © ERO

Examples of costs are:
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Jan 1265 750th First English Parliament held in 1265

Jan 1965 50th Winston Churchill died

May 1945 70th VE Day

May 1865 150th End of the American Civil War

May 1915 100th Sinking of the Lusitania

Jun 1215 800th Magna Carta signed

Jun 1815 200th Battle of Waterloo

Aug 1945 70th VJ Day

Sep 1865 150th Britain's first woman doctor qualified

Oct 1415 600th Battle of Agincourt

Last time we saw that Wills of testators in Theydon Mount cast light on the rebuilding of St Michael’s Church between 1611 and 1614. Of those preserved at the Essex Record Office, four of the deceased were not buried in the parish churchyard.

There are in total ten “King James I” wills of Theydon Mount preserved in the Essex Record Office, all of which (since this research was done) are now available by online subscription through Essex Ancestors.

Wills are interesting because they give insight into the lives of ancestors: who their relations were, what they left to whom and, what was important to them at the time.

The ten Wills include three yeomen, two husbandmen (farmers) and a widow, a tailor and a bricklayer. Of these, there is a run of four wills matching a sequence of four burials. From the Burial Register:

1623. …

Thomas Gilson singleman was buryed June 11 A[nn]o supradicto(?)

1624. Thomas Herd [th]e elder was buryed Septem[ber] 18 A[nn]o supradicto(?)

Richard Gladwin was buryed February 5 A[nn]o supradicto(?)

Susan Winter widdow was buryed March 13 A[nn]o supradicto(?)

Richard Gladwin, whose name we came across in connection with a terrier in the Parish Register, was bricklayer and sideman in the parish. He was buried on 5 February 1624/25. His will is dated 14 December 1624:

1 The fourtenth day of December in the yeare of our Lord 1624
2 I Richard Gladwin of Thaidon Mount in the County of Essex Bricklaiar
3 being of p[er]fect mind & memory do make & ordayne this my last
4 will & testamt, as followeth First I make Thomas Gladwin my
5 sonne the sole executor of this my last will & testamt & do giue
6 vnto him all my goodes & chattell not gevein otherwise bequeathed
7 It[em] I giue unto Susan my wife forty shillinges a yeare
8 during her natural life, to be paid quarterly vnto her by
9 my executor, in lieu & stead of all her thirds out of all my tenem[en]t
10 that now I haue, or lately had. Also I giue vnto her all such
11 housholestuffe as she brought w[i]th her. It[em] I giue vnto my sonne
12 Richard Gladwin & his heirs my tenem[en]t wherin Thomas
13 Howland now dwelleth which appiwhire(?) lying in Thaidon
14 Mount aforesaid and I giue unto him my long chist in the Rest & my greatens(?) … It[em] I giue unto Bridgit my daughter
15 ten pounds at her day of marriage or age of xxi yeares
16 wh[ic]h first shall happen And if she dy before, then it to
17 remaine to the benefit of my Executor. It[em] I giue vnto
18 her a featherbed w[i]th all thinges belonging thereto & the haeshoad
19 bedsteads standing in the loft(?). And also the best payre of flaxon stools
20 and the larg of pewter platter, and the best brasse candlesticks, w[hi]ch was
21 her mothers gift vnto her & two chests w[hi]ch were her mothers &
22 my best brasse pot & my second brasse kettle
23 in presence(?) of me. Richard [X] Gladwin
24 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.)

Thomas Herd, yeoman, left bequests to a large number of relatives.

1 T Thomas Heard
2 In [th]e name of [th]e holy and blessed Trinitie the Father the sonne
3 and [th]e holy ghost so be it. The Fifh daye of June anno dom[ini] 1624. I
4 Thomas Herd the elder of Thaydon mount in the Countie of
5 Essex yeoman beinge sick in body but p[er]fect remembrance
6 …. prayse and thankes be given to allmightie God
7 doe ordaine and make this my last will and testament
8 in meanier and forme followinge First I bequeath my
9 soule to Allmightie God my maker and to Jesus Cyis
10 my Redeemer and Saviour by whom meirites I hope to be
11 saved of my body that I bequeath to the earth from whence
12 it came lookinge for a joyfull resurreci[o]n through the
13 merrites of Jesus Christ. Item I will and bequeath to
14 Thomas Heard my sonne one great copper pan
15 hanginge in a furnace in the kitchen and a great
16 twughe(?) standing in [th]e kitchen Chamber and a greate
17 presse standing in the little parlor to him and to his
18 heires for ever to remayne in the howse
19 as standing(?) for ever as they have bene henceforwode. I
20 will and bequeath to my sonn Thomas all my bookes
21 All my land is his by inheritance. Item I will and
22 bequeath to my goddaughter Anne Wallenger my daughters
23 daughter Fyve pounds of lawfull money of England
24 books called the governance of vertue. Item I will and
25 and bequeath to Elizabeth Heard my sonnes daughter
26 a book called the Pilgrimage to Paradise. Item I
27 will and bequeath to John Heard my uncle
28 George Heards sonne his fower Children that
29 he had by his first wife Fortie shillinges a peece
30 payde of this to Agnes Heard vis viijd. Item
31 I will and bequeath to the poore people of Stanford
32 Ryvers where I was borne xxs Item I give
33 and bequeath to the poor people of Thaydon
34 Munt Fortie shillinges to be bestowed whom
35 my Executors shall thinke most meete. Item I
36 will and bequeath to Rebecca Savell my
37 inlawd wallen(?) his …. xxs the residue
38 of all my goodes … moveeables
39 unmoveables whatsoever my legacies discharged
40 and Funeralls and that I may beliving [th]t
41 decently to the earth from whence I came
42 I giue and bequeath to Jonne my wife upon I
43 make my Executor of this my last will and
44 testament. And I doe ordayne and appoynt Roger
45 Ratt of the p[ar]ishe of Thaydon Garinghe to be my
46 overseer of this my last will and
47 I doe give him for theire paynes xs. I[te]m
48 witnes to this my last will. I Have written
49 this w[i]th my owne hand and … my
50 name [th]e daye and yeare first aboue written
51 by me Thomas Heard. Item more I giue
52 and bequeath to Thomas Heard my godsonne
53 at Harlowe xs and his daughter my
54 goddaughter Five shillinges. Item I will
55 and bequeath to Thomas Gardner my godsonne
56 ijs vjd and I will and bequeath to Thomas
57 Heard my godsonne my sonnes sonne a booke
58 called [th]e enemye of securitie. Item I will
59 and bequeath to my sister winters three sonnes
60 xs a peece and to Thomas Heard my kinsman
61 sonne of George Heard xs. Item I will and
62 bequeath to my Cosin Rehell(?) Renson vjs viijd
63 Item I will and bequeath to John Heard my
64 brother Williams sonne xs by me T[h]omas
65 Heard.
66 Probatum … [in Latin]

Leaving specifically named books seems unusual, but the gift was rare and valuable. It showed a high degree of literacy in his family.

Thomas Gilson, tailor, who died earlier than Thomas Heard, left the following Will.

1 T Thomas Gilson
2 In the name of god amen the teneth daie of Febarirarie Anno
3 Dom[ini] 1623. I Thomas Gilson of Theydon mount in the Countie of Essex
4 tailer being sick in bodie but in parfit remembrance thankes be
5 giuen to allmightie god doe ordaine and make this my last will and
6 teastement in manner and forme following. Furst I bequeath my
7 sowle to allmyghtie god my maker and to Jesus Christ my redemer by
8 whose merritts I hope onlie to be saued loking for a Joyfull
9 resurrection, and my bodie to the earth from wence it came.
10 Item I will and bequeath to my two brothers George Gilsom and
11 John Gilsom twentie shillinges a peese to be paid to them upon …
12 shall com to be of the age of fowr and twentye yeares a peese or at the
13 daie of marrage which of them shall com furst. Item I will and
14 and bequeath to my sister marie fiftie shillings. Item I will and beq[ue]ath
15 to my brother Richard Gilson tenn shillings and to his fowre children
16 now living twelue pence apese. Item I will and bequeath to my
17 sister Elizabeth two shillings six pence to her sonn Richard my
18 godson tenn shillings and to her two other children now living
19 twelve pence a peese. It[e]m I will and bequeath to my sister
20 Susan two shillings six pence. It[e]m I will and bequeath
21 to my brother in law George Herns two children that is to say to
22 Thomas and to William fortie shillinges a peese all those
23 children before named to have there portions paid them as they
24 shall com to the age of fowrr and twentie yeares a peese or
25 at the daie of marrage which them shall com furst. It[e]m I will
26 and bequeath to my brother John Gilson my best sute of apparel
27 the residew of all my goodes Cattell and other chattels redie monie
28 debtes being paid and legasies parformed and my finerall
29 discharges I will and bequeath to George herd my brother
30 in law whome I make my sole executer of this my last
31 will and teastament and I doo appoynt Thomas Herd the
32 younger of Theydon Mount and my brother George Gilson to
33 be my overseers of this my last will and teastament
34 and I doe giue them for tharr paines twelve pence a peese
35 the marke of Thomas Gilson
36 Wittnesses Thomas Herd senieor
37 and Thomas Herd Junior
38 with others
39 Probatu[m] … [in Latin]