This is the Will of a man with the surname of Shellacare. He made the Will in the year 1567 at which time he was a married man with a son therefore it is extremely probable he was over the age of twenty-one years. Accordingly he would have been alive during the reign of the infamous Henry VIII….
Henry was King of England from 21st April 1509 until his death on 28th January 1547. This was a mere two decades prior to the date of the Will.
Indeed if this man was over the age of 58 years old at the time he made his Will, which is possible, he would have also been alive in the reign of Henry VIII’s father – Henry VII who himself became king after seizing the crown on 22nd August 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth, defeating the Plantagenet Monarch Richard III, and in doing so became the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
Unfortunately, at present I cannot link this man, or his son, to the Shellaker / Shelacre family of Rutland & East Leicestershire. However the proximity of the village of Leziate to the known Shellaker / Shelacre location of Loddington is surely significant. The distance between them is only around 70 miles. Similarly significant could also the short gap in time between the date of this Will, 1567 and the time the Shelacres’ can be found in the records of Loddington c.1616 – only around 50 years and it should be remembered that the population of England at that time was relatively small. Population estimates vary but it is considered the number of people in England in 1520 was only around 2 million, rising to 3.2 million in 1600. The point being, as the population was so small and the distance between these two locations is relatively close, is it not acceptable to speculate the son of this man could be the father or grandfather of the Shelacres’ of Loddington?
I discovered the existence of this Will by chance during a random Google Search of the name ‘Shelacre‘. It is housed in the Norfolk Record Office, and following an email discussion with their Searchroom and Research Assistant, I purchased a copy which arrived by post a few days later.
However, as you will see below, the Will is very difficult to read. It is written in handwriting apparently known as ‘Secretary Hand’ and the language is ‘Early Modern English’ which developed from ‘Middle English’ after the late 15th century, and apart from a few words, is virtually indecipherable to the untrained eye.
I subsequently visited the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland and spoke to one of their Archivists who was not only was able to read the Will but also offered his services to translate it. I asked him to translate it line by line so that the resulting translation, which appears below on the left, directly relates to each line of the actual text in the original document. Below right is my ‘translation’ of that text into ‘Modern English’. Finally underneath each section are notes which explain some of the terminology used in this 1567 Will. To make it easier to ready I have split the Will into sections, each with the relevant translations and end notes.
I am extremely grateful to the Norfolk Record Office who granted me permission to reproduce the Will of John Shellacre on this website.
The Will of John Shellacre reproduced by special permission of Norfolk Record Office.
Norwich Consistory Court (NCC) will of John Shellacre, husbandman, of Leziate, 1568, ref: Ponder: 71, on microfilm MF 60.
SECTION 1
Transcription of Original text |
Modern English |
In the name of god amen the thre and twentye daye of Marche in the Yeare of ouer lord god a thousande five hundred threscore and Seaven I John Shellacare of Lesiate within the Countye of Norfolke husbandeman beinge of a perfecte and good remembrannce thankes be gevne to almightie god do ordeine and make this my testament and Last Will in manner and forme followenge |
In the name of God amen the twenty-third of March1 in the year of our Lord God a thousand five hundred and threescore and seven2 – I, John Shellacare of Leziate3, within the County of Norfolk, husbandman4, being of perfect and good remembrance, (being of sound mind) thanks be given to almighty God do order and make this my Testament and Last Will in (the) manner and form as follows |
NOTES:
1 23rd March – The date of this Will, 23rd March, which in 1567 was a Tuesday, is a unlikely to be a random date but possibility followed an ‘end of year’ assessment by John Shellacare of his wealth and property. I will explain further – in 1567 the Julian calendar was in use, as it would be for around the next 200 years until September 1752. Under the Julian calendar the New Year did not start, as it now does, on the 1st January but on 25th March – ‘Lady Day’.
Consequently until the change to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, 25th March was the start of the New Year. So, in England, the day after 24th March 1567 was 25th March 1568. Once the calendar changed, the day after 31st December 1751 was 1st January 1752 – a change that has obviously remained ever since.
Lady Day is one of the Quarter Days which are still used in the legal system. The Quarter Days divide the year in quarters and are Lady Day (25th March), Midsummers Day (24th June), Michaelmas Day (29th September) and Christmas Day (25th December). Lady Day was also the traditional day on which yearly contracts between landowners and tenant farmers would begin and end.
The date of the Will, 23rd March, under the Julian calendar was only one day before the end of the ‘financial year-end’ and therefore it was a natural time for this John Shellacare to access his wealth and property and to make provisions, by means of a Last Will and Testament, for his wife and son.
2 1567 – At this time in history Queen Elizabeth I had been on the throne for around ten years, having started her reign on 17th November 1558 – a reign which was to last over forty years until 1603. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn. The reign of Henry VIII commenced in 1509 and ended with his death in 1547 (a mere 20 years before this Will was written) so undoubtedly this man, John Shellacare, who was married with a child by 1567, lived during the time of the infamous Henry VIII.
3 Lesiate – The place in which John Shellacare lived, and mentioned above as ‘Lesiate’ in Norfolk, has been identified as LEZIATE, a hamlet located around 5 miles due east of King’s Lynn, and around 7 miles south of The Wash.
Significantly it is less than 50 miles from the western edge of the County of Rutland and as such, is intriguingly close to the established ‘Shellaker/Shelacre’ locations of LYNDON in Rutland (58 miles) and LODDINGTON in East Leicestershire (74 miles). On the map on the right are the approximate locations of Leziate and Loddington.
Due to the unusual and infrequently distribution of ‘Shellaker/Shelacre’ surname together with the relatively close proximity of his home in Leziate to Rutland and East Leicestershire and it is highly possible, even probable that John Shellacare is a direct ancestor of the ‘Shellaker/Shelacre’ family who lived in, amongst other villages, Loddington, Lyndon, Tugby and Billesdon.
4 husbandman – This was a free tenant farmer or small landowner.
SECTION 2
Transcription of Original text |
Modern English |
Firste I bequeath my sowle to almightie god my onlye maker and redemer and my body to be buried within the churche yarde of Lesiate afforesaide. Item – I geve to the parson of the same towne for my tithes oblite tenne pence |
First I bequeath my soul to almighty God my only maker and redeemer and my body to be buried within the church yard of Leziate3 already mentioned. Item – I give to the parson of the same town for forgotten tithes5, ten pence. |
NOTES:
3 Lesiate – see above
5 Tithe – A tithe is a tenth part of agricultural or other produce, personal income, or profits, contributed either voluntarily or as a tax for the support of the church or clergy or for charitable purposes. NB ‘Oblite’ is the original text means ‘forgotten’, e.g. tithe payments overlooked.
SECTION 3
Transcription of Original text |
Modern English |
Item I geve to christes churche in Norwiche fower pence Item I geve to the reparacions of Lesiate churche iii s Item I geve to the poore mens box vi d |
Item – I give to Christ’s church in Norwich four pence. Item – I give to the reparations6 (repairs) of Leziate3 church three shillings. Item – I give to the ‘poor box’ six pence. |
NOTES:
3 Lesiate – see above
6 Reparations – The act or process of repairing or the condition of being repaired.
A Note on Currency. Pounds, Shillings and Pence were the divisions of currency at this time. One shilling was made up of twelve pence; one pound of twenty shillings, i.e. 240 pence. Pounds, of which there are no mention in this Will, are represented by the £ symbol, shillings as ‘s’ and pence as ‘d’ (from the Latin, denarius). ‘One pound. one shilling and one penny’ was written as £1 1s 1d.
In the previous section John Shellacare makes a tithe payment written, in the original, as ‘tenne pence’. This is obviously ten pence which is 2 pence short of one shilling. In the section above he gives the church in Norwich ‘fower pence’ (four pence) but also bequests ‘iii s’ to Leziate church. In this instance the person writing the Will uses the Roman numerals for three (iii), followed by ‘s’ for shilling. In the second example the ‘poor box’ receives a legacy, again written in Roman numerals, of vi (six) ‘d’ pence.
SECTION 4
Transcription of Original text |
Modern English |
Item I geve to margarit my wife all my houses and londes lienge in the towne and feldes of Lesiate howldinge by coppie of corte rowle uppon the mannours of glostrope Wikinhall and Welhale Duringe the terme of hir life and after hir discease I will the saide houses and londes shall remayne unto thomas shelacar my sonne |
Item – I give to Margaret, my wife all my houses and lands lying in the town and fields of Leziate3, holdings in the copies of the Court Roll7 in the manors of Gasthorpe8 Wiggenhall9 and Welhale10, during her lifetime and aftr her death and Will that these house and land shall go to Thomas Shelacar11my son |
NOTES:
7 Court Roll – the register of land holdings, etc., of a manorial court.
The land held by John Shellacare of Leziate listed in this Will was known as ‘copyhold tenure’ which was tenure of land according to the custom of the manor. Copies of the tenure are held in the record of the manorial court as “title deeds” listing which land is owned by an individual, who is said to “hold” the land – ‘have tenure’.
In appears John Shellacare held land under what was known as ‘Copyhold of Inheritance’. He would have paid rent to the tenant landholder of the relvant manors and also undertook duties to the Lord. However under this arrangement the land holding would normally pass to their next heir, e.g. the eldest son or eldest daughter if no son existed depending upon the custom of that particular manor. During their life the tenant could usually ‘sell’ the holding to another person by formally surrendering it to the lord of the manor on the condition he then grant s the holding to the ‘buyer’.
This three-party transaction was recorded in the court roll and formed the new ‘copyhold’ for the purchaser.
8 ‘glostrope’ is Glosthorpe is a manor near Leziate.
9 ‘Wikinhall’ is likely to be the village of Wiggenhall located 11 miles south of Kings Lynn on the River Great Ouse.
10 ‘Welhale’ is Wellhall a manor in Gayton. The village no longer exists and is identified on some maps as the ‘Medieval village of Well’ but a Well Hall Farm remains located north of the village of Gayton.
11 Spelling – The different spelling of the son’s surname is not an issue – ‘phonetic spelling’ (writing words as they are sounded) is very common in historical documents.
SECTION 5
End of Page One of the original document
Transcription of Original text |
Modern English |
Item I will that the saide margarit my wife shall kepe the foresaide houses in good and sufficiente reparacions Duringe the saide terme Item I geve to the saide margarit my wife two milche nete two bullokes and one bedde with all thinges belongenge thereunto one brasse potte one kettell one panne six peuter platters and two shepe one graye geldi- nge two swine halfe my p[?ou]ltreye my bolles and Dishes thre bushels of wheate thre bushels of rye thre combes of Barlye & |
Item – I Will that Margaret, to my wife keep the house already mentioned in good and sufficient repair during her, lifetime. Item – I give to my Margaret my wife, my two milk neats12 (cows), two bullocks and one bed with all things belonging in the house; one brass pot, one kettle, one pan, six pewter plates and two sheep, one grey gelding13,my two pigs, half my poultry, my bowls dishes and three bushels14 of Wheat three bushels of Rye, three combs of Barley15 and |
fower skeppes withe bees | four skeps 16 with bees |
NOTES:
12 Nete – and also ‘neat’, are Middle English words for a bull or a cow. In the instance the word refers to milking cows. (You may be familiar with ‘Neatsfoot oil’ which is an oil rendered and purified from the shin bones and feet of cattle).
13 Gelding – a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule.
14 Bushel – at that time a bushel was a measure of capacity for grain. During the Middle Ages, the bushel of wheat was supposed to weigh 64 pounds.
15 Combs of Barley – I believe a comb is measurement of weights. Combs of barley were malted for use in brewing.
16 Skeps – a type of beehive. They are baskets for placed open-end-down, initially they were made from wicker plastered with mud and dung but from the Middle Ages they were made of straw – an example is shown on the right.
SECTION 6
Transcription of Original text |
Modern English |
Itm I geve unto thomas shelacare my Sunne fower milche nete two yearing bullockes [?] one horse one mare two shepe fower skeppes withe bees to be delivered unto him at the age of fortene yeares. Item I geve unto the aforesaide Thomas my sunne all my houses and Londes lienge in the towne and feldes of geyton welhale and aliswithtrpe houlden by coppie of courterowle uppon the mannor of geitons to him and to his heiers |
Item – I give to Thomas Shelacare my son, four milk neats (cows), two yearling17 bullocks, one horse, one mare18, two sheep and four skeps with bees to be delivered to him at the age of fourteen years19. Item – I give to Thomas my son, all my houses and lands lying in the town and fields of Gayton20, Welhale10, and Aliswithorpe (Gayton Thorpe)21 houlden23 (held) in the copies of the Court Roll7 in the manors of Gayton18 to him and his heirs. |
NOTES:
17Yearlings – these are animals around one or two years old, which are not fully mature physically and they are considered too young to be breeding stock.
18 Mare – an adult female horse.
19 The Age of the son – It is obvious at the time this Will was written John’s son Thomas has not reach d the age of fourteen therefore his age could be from a few months to 13 years. Consequently we can place Thomas’ birth year between 1554 and 1567.
20 Gayton – a village or an estate three miles east of John Shellacare’s home in the village of Leziate.
21 Aliswithorpe – likely to be another name for GAYTON THORPE four miles east of Leziate.
22 Geitons – possibly another phonetic spelling of the village of Gayton which was spelt ‘geyton’ in this same paragraph.
23 houlden – held (by copy of court roll, i.e. copyhold tenure).
Next Page: Further details of the Will of John Shellacare