Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Jun 29, 2011
Tagged in:
writing ,
Woodford ,
witnesses ,
Wiltshire Wills Project ,
will ,
Vicessimus ,
servant ,
Malmesbury ,
Little Somerford ,
John West ,
Joan Kyte ,
Hester Minchin ,
Elizabeth Kyte ,
court papers ,
Cleverton ,
calligrapher
Newly discovered papers reveal the background to the making of a will and the family conflict involved in its probate in late 17th century Wiltshire.
Hester's will
Ref: P/3/M/200
In early June 1692 worn out by her travails Hester Minchin of the village Cleverton, near Malmesbury, took to her bed and decided that the time had come to make her will. She sent her son Thomas, known as Vicessimus because he was her twentieth child, to the nearby village of Little Somerford to summon John West, a writing master. In the presence of her servant Joan Kyte and Elizabeth Kyte she declared her will. John left the chamber and wrote the will which was read out and signed be Hester and the witnesses. For some reason Elizabeth signed as that of her former married name of Woodford, but this was subsequently scratched out and her current name written over it. The elaborate and flourishing letters of the opening line are evidence of John’s skill as a calligrapher.
The will was disputed by one of Hester’s sons, Giles, whose debt to his mother was bequeathed to his brothers Samuel and Thomas. However the case was overturned and the will was proved in 1694. Found among a bundle of miscellaneous church court papers these documents have been re-united with the will and associated papers which all bear the tell-tale holes proving that originally they had been pinned together. The whole group will be filmed under the Wiltshire Wills Project. (P/3/M/300)
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Oct 1, 2010
Tagged in:
wool ,
Wiltshire Wills Project ,
Wiltshire ,
wills ,
William Small ,
Walter Long ,
wages account books ,
visitors ,
Victoria County History ,
Urban District Council Committee Minutes ,
trade ,
tithe awards ,
Swindon New Town ,
survey ,
student ,
strong rooms ,
servant ,
search rooms ,
samples ,
Salisbury ,
road ,
resignation ,
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requests ,
records ,
quest ,
Quaker Meeting House ,
publication ,
production team ,
pre-order ,
pattern book ,
parish ,
papers ,
painter ,
original ,
ordnance survey ,
ordination ,
order ,
Methuen ,
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manorial ,
Maiden Bradley ,
Long family ,
Local Studies Assistant ,
letter ,
Julie Davis ,
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Helpdesk Team ,
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documents ,
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Corsham Court ,
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cloth ,
church goods ,
church ,
catalogues ,
Archivists ,
Archives ,
admissions registers
I thought it may be of interest to take a look on your behalf at the kind of original documents visitors order out when they visit our search rooms, to give you an idea of the wide range of requests we receive for documents each day. I chose a day last week at random, and got peeking!
Pattern Book, Ref: 947/1802
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Dec 3, 2009
Tagged in:
wooden Victorian models ,
Winterslow ,
Wiltshire ,
White Lion Inn ,
white horses carved ,
website ,
warnings ,
Truffle Hounds ,
Trowbridge ,
travelling menagerie ,
travelling circus ,
trained Falcon killed by a golfer ,
town centre ,
top ten animal tales ,
tombstone ,
tiger ,
Terry Bracher ,
teasing ,
Summer Truffle ,
statues ,
Spanish poodles ,
South East England ,
servant ,
Sea Lion ,
Salisbury Plain ,
Salisbury Fair ,
safari park ,
river Avon ,
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keeper ,
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Archives and Local Studies Manager ,
animal stories ,
animal blog list ,
2006 ,
1906
Hello, I am Terry Bracher, Archives and Local Studies Manager here at the History Centre. Browsing through part of photographic collection I came across a photo of elephants bathing in the River Avon in Chippenham town centre in 1906. The elephants were part of a travelling circus and the Avon at Chippenham clearly provided a welcome break for the elephants as they walked to the venue for their next performance. Now I have always had an interest in historical curiosities and this led me to ask colleagues if they had come across any other curious animal related tales throughout Wiltshire, with the aim of creating our top ten animal tales, so long as they followed a simple rule - the animals could not be farm animals (unless they did something especially curious) and they had to have been see alive and well at some point in Wiltshire’s history.
The Elephants in Chippenham, 1906
But let’s start with animals that do not count. I would have liked to include the dancing bears of Lacock. They were a familiar site in the nineteenth century, being led into the village along with musicians and other entertainers. Looking through the book “Chippenham and Lacock in Old Photographs” I was astonished to see a picture of a dancing bear in the late 1930’s. Sadly, on closer inspection this was a photo of the 1938 pageant with a Mr Bob Vines in convincing pose playing the part of the bear, together with his “handler” his brother Eric Vines. This could be a whole new category in itself. 'Read more' to find out about some dramatic events involving animals in Wiltshire....
