Great Dunmow’s local history: Tudor vicar William Walton

st mary church Great Dunmow

St Mary the Virgin church, Great Dunmow: The tower was built in the fifteenth century.(2)


The opening pages of Great Dunmow’s churchwarden accounts contains a list of all the house-holders within the parish (165 names) along with the amount each house-holder contributed towards a collection for the parish church’s steeple.   It cannot be coincidence that this, the first of seven parish collections which took place in the 1520s and 1530s, occurred approximately two years after the arrival of a new vicar, William Walton.  Walton (vicar 1523-40) was a pluralist who from 1524 also held the larger Essex parish of All Saints, Maldon.  It is likely Walton, newly appointed to his second living, decided his parishes should have impressive and admired religious artefacts.  Thus the commissioning of the beautiful leather churchwardens’ account-book, to record monies raised for a steeple, was a visible method that demonstrated his authority and piety.  It can also be conjectured the laity and clergy cast an envious eye on the magnificent steeple of nearby Thaxted’s church before deciding they too wanted the same.  Moreover, Walton’s Maldon parish had an outstanding medieval steeple (as shown in the picture below).  It is likely Great Dunmow, under the guidance of Walton, wanted to assert its piety, wealth and importance by building a new steeple and then record its benefactors within the handsome churchwarden account-book under its dedication to ‘Jhesus Maria’.  This was a visible method of demonstrating the parish of Great Dunmow’s piety and expressing their community pride.  However, the donations were not enough to build a substantial steeple and it has been suggested the work undertaken was merely for repairs, new windows and a wooden spire.(1)  The photo above (taken by The Narrator in 2011) demonstrates that indeed the church does not have a steeple, and if a wooden spire was built, it has not survived.

All_Saints

All Saints church, Maldon.(3): The hexagonal steeple was built in the thirteenth century.(4)


thaxted

St John the Baptist church, Thaxted.(5): The tower was built in the late fifteenth century.(6) This 1776 engraving shows Thaxted’s original spire. The spire was rebuilt after it was hit by lightning in 1814, and remodelled on the original.(7)


Footnotes
1)W. T. Scott, Antiquities of an Essex Parish: Or Pages from the History of Great Dunmow (1873), 21.
2) James Bettley and Nikolaus Pevsner, Essex, The Buildings Of England (2007), 401.
3) Maldon Archaeological and Historical Group, Recent Projects (2010), MAHG Recent Projects.
4) Bettley and Pevsner, Essex, 579.
5) Robert Goadby, Cooper Engraving of Thaxted Church (1776).
6) Bettley and Pevsner, Essex, 764.
7) Nikolaus Pevsner, Essex, (2nd edn.,1965), 380.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below. Or like my page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KateJCole/

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following:
– Index to each folio in Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts
– Great Dunmow’s Churchwardens’ accounts: transcripts 1526-1621
– Tudor local history
– Pre-Reformation English church clergy
– Building a medieval church steeple

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Transcript fo.4r: Great Dunmow’s collection for the church steeple (part 5)

Great Dunmow's churchwarden accounts Essex Record Office D/P 11/5/1 fo.4r

Transcription of Tudor Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts (1525-6)

1. Item John Sweynge iiij [4d] [John Sweeting]
2. Item John Chaplin nichell [blank] [John Chaplin, none]
3. Item Thom[a]s Stonam iiijd [4d] [Thomas ??]
4. Item wylyem carpent[e]r iiijd [4d] [William Carpenter]
5. Item Thom[a]s Smethe iiijd [4d] [Thomas Smith]
6. Item Wyllym maggott iiijd [4d] [William Maggot]
7. Item John maggott ijd [2d] [John Maggot]
8. Item john Whale iiijd [4d] [John Whale]
9. Item Wyllem Swetynge vjd [6d] [William Sweeting]
10. Item John powll ijd [2d] [John Paul]
11. Item Wellem ballett ijd [2d] [William ??]
12. Item Wyllem kempe iiijd [4d] [William Kemp]
13. Item Robard kempe iiijd [4d] [Robert Kemp]
14. Item John Stonerd iiijd [4d] [John Stone?]
15. Item Robard Sturton minor iijd [3d] [Robert Sturton, minor]
16. Item John prestmery iiijd [4d] [John Prestmary]
17. Item Thom[a]s Ramsolde ijd [2d] [Thomas Ramsolde]
18. Item Thom[a]s iggrom id [1d] [Thomas Ingram]
19. Item John larkyn iiijd [4d] [John Larkin]
20. Item Wylem raynold iiijd [4d] [William Raynold]
21. Item Thomas bacar [blank] [Thomas Baker]
22. Item Wellem Morres id [2d] [William Morris]
 [the remaining entries on this page will be transcribed on this blog post fo.4r (bottom)]

Commentary
Line 2: Nichell – Latin for ‘none’ ie this household did not contribute any money towards the collection.

Notes
Text in square [brackets] are The Narrator’s transcriptions.  Line numbers are merely to assist the reader find their place on the digital image.

The early-modern spellings of the inhabitants of Great Dunmow have been transcribed into modern English so that family historians and other researchers can pick up these names via internet search engines.  Please leave a comment if you can improve the modern-day spelling or transcribe any of my question marks.  The other hundred or so names written within this list will appear over the next few days, followed by an analysis of the names on the list and the reason for the church collection.

Notes about Great Dunmow’s churchwarden accounts
Great Dunmow’s original churchwardens’ accounts (1526-1621) are kept in Essex Record Office (E.R.O.), Chelmsford, Essex, D/P 11/5/1.  All digital images of the accounts within this blog appear by courtesy of Essex Record Office and may not be reproduced. Examining these records from this Essex parish gives the modern reader a remarkable view  into the lives and times of some of Henry VIII’s subjects and provides an interpretation into the local history of Tudor Great Dunmow.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Index to each folio in Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts
– Great Dunmow’s Churchwardens’ accounts: transcripts 1526-1621
– Tudor local history
– Building a medieval church steeple

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Transcript fo.3v: Great Dunmow’s collection for the church steeple (part 4)

Great Dunmow's churchwarden accounts Essex Record Office D/P 11/5/1 fo.3v

Transcription of Tudor Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts (1525-6)

  1. Item Thomas chapman iiijd [4d] [Thomas Chapman]
cherche end 2. Item Rychard bowyer xij [12d] [Richard Bowyer]
  3. Item Thom[a]s Dostetur ijs [2s] [Thomas Dowsetter/Dowset]
  4. Item Robard Mede ijs [2s] [Robert Mead]
  5. Item Thomas Wolray ixd [9d] [Thomas ??]
  6. Item Robart kekynge viijd [8d] [Robert Keking?]
  7. Item Rychard Wales viijd [8d] [Richard Wales]
  8. Item Mother skylton iiijd [4d] [Mother Skilton]
  9. Item margarytt Sawlen iiijd [4d] [Margaret Sawlen]
  10. Item Wyllem phelyp iiijd [4d] [William Phillip/Phelp]
  11. Item john bokk [blank] [John Book]
  12. Item John kynge iiijd [4d] [John King]
  13. Item john Akkynsone iiijd [4d] [John Atkinson]
  14. Item Robart Aschebye iiijd [4d] [Robert Ashby]
  15. Item Robard Rolfe iiijd [4d] [Robert Rolf]
  16. Item Wyllem Aylett iiijd [4d] [William Aylett]
  17. Item Father braybroke iiijd [4d] [Father Braybrook]
  18. Item harry rerdlay ijd [2d] [Harry ??]
Bygwod quart 19. Item John Matkyn iiijd [4d] [John Matkin]
  20. Item Thom[a]s More viijd [8d] [Thomas Moore]
  21. Item Robard Melburne vid [6d] [Robert Melbourne]
  22. Item Rychard Sanders[o]n viijd [8d] [Richard Sanderson]
  23. Item henry sharpe viijd [8d] [Henry Sharpe]
  24. Item John Carver ijd [2d] [John Carver]
hywode qter 25. Item Wyllem longe iiijd [4d] [William Long]
  26. Item \John/ playell iiijd [4d] [John Playel]
  27. Item Robard p[ar]car att caunare iiijd [4d] [Robert Parker at ??]
  28. Item Jone glascokke viijd [8d] [Joan/Jane Glascock]
  29. Item father howchy[n] viijd [8d] [Father Hutchinson?]
  30. Item Robard hochyn viiijd [8d] [Robert Huchinson?]
  31. Item John hankyn iiijd [4d] [John Hankin]
  32. Item Rychartt P[ar]car iiijd [4d] [Richard Parker]
bosshopwode qter 33. Item John longe junior xxd [20d] [John Long, junior]
  34. Item Henry longe ijs [2s] [Henry Long]
  35. Item John Nyghtyngale iiijd [4d] [John Nightingale]
  36. Item Rychartt carpentr vjd [6d] [Richard Carpenter]
  37. Item Thom[a]s kyunt[o]n iiijd [4d] [Thomas ??]

Commentary
Line 17 & 29: Father = ‘old man’ ie a local aged man

Line 8: Mother = ‘old woman’ ie local aged woman, probably a widow as this is a list of heads of households.

Line 2: Church End, the area of the parish where the parish church is located (nearly one mile from the main town)

Line 19: Bigods Quarter – an area in the north of the parish.  Bigods was one of Great Dunmow’s medieval manors.

Line 33: Bishopswood Quarter – an area to the south of the parish.

Notes
Text in square [brackets] are The Narrator’s transcriptions.  Line numbers are merely to assist the reader find their place on the digital image.

The early-modern spellings of the inhabitants of Great Dunmow have been transcribed into modern English so that genealogists, family historians and other researchers can pick up these names via internet search engines.  Please leave a comment if you can improve the modern-day spelling.  The other hundred or so names written within this list will appear over the next few days, followed by an analysis of the names on the list and the reason for the church collection.

Notes about Great Dunmow’s churchwarden accounts
Great Dunmow’s original churchwardens’ accounts (1526-1621) are kept in Essex Record Office (E.R.O.), Chelmsford, Essex, D/P 11/5/1.  All digital images of the accounts within this blog appear by courtesy of Essex Record Office and may not be reproduced. Examining these records from this Essex parish gives the modern reader a remarkable view  into the lives and times of some of Henry VIII’s subjects and provides an interpretation into the local history of Tudor Great Dunmow.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Index to each folio in Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts
– Great Dunmow’s Churchwardens’ accounts: transcripts 1526-1621
– Tudor local history
– Building a medieval church steeple

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Transcript fo.3r: Great Dunmow’s collection for the church steeple (part 3)

Great Dunmow's churchwarden accounts Essex Record Office D/P 11/5/1 fo.3r

Transcription of Tudor Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts (1525-6)

1. Item Wyllem barcar viijd [8d] [William Barker]
2. Item John hrady(??) iiijd [4d] [John ??]
3. Item mother hotte iiijd [4d] [Mother Hot]
4. Item John Maryou iiijd [4d] [John Mayor]
5. Item Thom[a]s myllett ijd [2d] [Thomas Millet]
6. Item John Scoryar \nichell/ [blank] [John Scoryar]
7. Item Cateryn Lott viijd [8d] [Catherine Lot]
8. Item Wyllem Davy iiijd [4d] [William Davy]
9. Item Mother Longe xxd [20d] [Mother Long]
10. Item Jone palgrave wedow id [1d] [Jane/Joan Palgrave, widow]
11. Item Wyllem baysy xijd [12d] [William Bass?]
12. Item Robard Fest iiijd [4d] [Robert Fest]
13. Item baldwyn tyler nichell [blank] [Baldwin Tyler]
14. Item Thomas Farethe[??] iiijd [4d] [Thomas ??]
15. Wyllem Nyghttyngale iiijd [4d] [William Nightingale]
16. Item Robard bothe ijd [2d] [Robert Both]
17. Item Stevyn Sturt[o]n ijd [2d] [Steven Sturton]
18. Item Wyllem Sewerd viijd [8d] [William Seward]
19. Item Edmund Fuller iiijd [4d] [Edmund Fuller]
20. Item Nycolas Aylett xvid [16d] [Nicholas Aylett]
21. Item Nycolas parcar viijd [8d] [Nicholas Parker]
22. Item Wyllem p[ar]son iiijd [4d] [William Parson]
23. Item John Exylby iiijd [4d] [John Exilby?]
24. Item Jamys Stowte iiijd [4d] [James Stout]
25. Item Wyllem mede iiijd [4d] [William Mead]
26. Item Rychard Cokke xijd  [4d] [Richard Cook]
27. Item Wyllem tayler glover viijd [8d] [William Tayler, glover]
p[ar]sonage downe 28. Item Thomas Dygby iiijd [4d] [Thomas Digby]
29. Item John Alyn iiijd [4d] [John Allen]
30. Item Thom[a]s kyng iiijd [4d] [Thomas King]
31. Item George owr nychell [blank] [George Ower?, none]
32. Item John Weste iiijd [4d] [John West]
33. Item Thom[a]s Thake ijd [2d] [Thomas Thake]
34. Item John Harvy iiijd [4d] [John Harvey]
35. Item Robard mason iiijd [4d] [Robert Mason]
36. Item Rychard storyer iiijd [4d] [Richard Story?]
37. Item mother bowyer iiijd [4d] [Mother Bowyer]

Commentary
Line 3, 9, & 37: Mother = ‘old woman’ ie local aged woman, probably a widow as this is a list of heads of households.

Line 6, 13, & 31: Nichell – Latin for ‘none’ ie this household did not contribute any money towards the collection.

Line 28: Parsonage Down, an area of the parish next to St Mary the Virgin parish church.

Notes
Text in square [brackets] are The Narrator’s transcriptions.  Line numbers are merely to assist the reader find their place on the digital image.

The early-modern spellings of the inhabitants of Great Dunmow have been transcribed into modern English so that family historians and other researchers can pick up these names via internet search engines.  Please leave a comment if you can improve the modern-day spelling or transcribe any of my question marks.  The other hundred or so names written within this list will appear over the next few days, followed by an analysis of the names on the list and the reason for the church collection.

Notes about Great Dunmow’s churchwarden accounts
Great Dunmow’s original churchwardens’ accounts (1526-1621) are kept in Essex Record Office (E.R.O.), Chelmsford, Essex, D/P 11/5/1.  All digital images of the accounts within this blog appear by courtesy of Essex Record Office and may not be reproduced. Examining these records from this Essex parish gives the modern reader a remarkable view  into the lives and times of some of Henry VIII’s subjects and provides an interpretation into the local history of Tudor Great Dunmow.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Index to each folio in Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts
– Great Dunmow’s Churchwardens’ accounts: transcripts 1526-1621
– Tudor local history
– Building a medieval church steeple

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Transcript fo.2v: Great Dunmow’s collection for the church steeple (part 2)

Great Dunmow's churchwarden accounts Essex Record Office D/P 11/5/1 fo.1v

Transcription of Tudor Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts (1525-6)

1. Item myles doklay iiijd [4d] [Miles Dorkley]
2. Item John Swetynge viijd [8d] [John Sweeting]
3. Item Robarde Suttun iiijd [4d] [Robert Sutton]
4. Item myles pumfrett iiijd [4d] [Miles Pumfret]
5. Item Roba\r/d parcar bocher iiijd [4d] [Robert Parker, butcher]
6. Item Thomas veutun iiijd [4d] [Thomas Ventun ??]
7. Item John Carvar iiijd [4d] [John Carver]
8. Item Wellem George vid [6d] [William George]
9. Item \[illegible]/ John P[ar]car tyler [blank] [John Parker, tyler]
10. Item John kynge habbardasshar iiijd [4d] [John King, haberdasher]
11. Item John Saucum ijd [2d] [John ?]
12. Item Thomas Clerke viijd [8d] [Thomas Clark]
13. Item Rychard Fuller xijd [12d] [Richard Fuller]
14. Item Father best nichell [blank] [Father Best, none]
The hye strete 15.Item John Decon viiijd [8d] [John Deacon]
16. Item Essabeth barun iiijd [4d] [Elizabeth Brown/Baron]
17. Item Andrew Powlter ijd [2d] [Andrew Poulter]
18. Item Thomas Averett xijd [12d] [Thomas Everit]
19. Item Thomas harvy xvid [16d] [Thomas Harvey]
20. Item father Dane iiid [4d] [Father Dane]
21. Item Elisabeth grene iiijd [4d] [Elizabeth Green]
22. Item Rychard Dyctatt viijd [8d] [Richard Dowsett]
23. Item John p[ar]car whelere viijd [8d] [John Parker, wheeler]
24. Item Mother skypton xijd [12d] [Mother Skipton]
25. Item John hunwykk iiijd [4d] [John Hunwick]
26. Item John vyntner iiijd [4d] [John Vintner]
27. Item John bykner xijd [12d] [John Bikner]
28. Item wylyem hotte iiijd [4d] [William Hot]
29. Item Rycharde prentyc viij [8d] [Richard Prentice]
30. Item Robard Draper xijd [12d] [Robert Draper]
31. Item Mother parcar wedow viijd [8d] [Mother Parker, widow]
32. Item Wylyem blythe iiijd [4d] [William Blyth]
33. Item Thomas hert nichell [blank] [Thomas Heart, none]
Bullok rowe 34. Item John Suttun iiijd [4d] [John Sutton]
35. Item Thom[a]s Godsalfe ijd [2d] [Thomas Goodself]
36. Item harryy keme iiijd [4d] [Harry Kemp]

Commentary
Line 14 & 19: Father = ‘old man’ ie a local aged man

Line 23 & 30: Mother = ‘old woman’ ie local aged woman, probably a widow or spinster as this is a list of heads of households.

Line 14 & 32: Nichell – Latin for ‘none’ ie this household did not contribute any money towards the collection.

Line 15: The High Street, an area of the town about one mile away from the parish church.

Line 34: Bullock Row, a street in the town behind the area of the High Street.

Notes
Text in square [brackets] are The Narrator’s transcriptions.  Line numbers are merely to assist the reader find their place on the digital image.

The early-modern spellings of the inhabitants of Great Dunmow have been transcribed into modern English so that family historians and other researchers can pick up these names via internet search engines.  Please leave a comment if you can improve the modern-day spelling.  The other hundred or so names written within this list will appear over the next few days, followed by an analysis of the names on the list and the reason for the church collection.

Notes about Great Dunmow’s churchwarden accounts
Great Dunmow’s original churchwardens’ accounts (1526-1621) are kept in Essex Record Office (E.R.O.), Chelmsford, Essex, D/P 11/5/1.  All digital images of the accounts within this blog appear by courtesy of Essex Record Office and may not be reproduced. Examining these records from this Essex parish gives the modern reader a remarkable view  into the lives and times of some of Henry VIII’s subjects and provides an interpretation into the local history of Tudor Great Dunmow.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Index to each folio in Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts
– Great Dunmow’s Churchwardens’ accounts: transcripts 1526-1621
– Tudor local history
– Building a medieval church steeple

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Transcript fo.2r: Great Dunmow’s collection for the church steeple (part 1)

Great Dunmow's churchwarden accounts Essex Record Office D/P 11/5/1 fo.2r

Transcription of Tudor Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts (1525-6)

1.  Thys ys the cownt of thomas savage John
2.  Skylton John nyghtyngale & John clerke cherchwardens
3.  of myche Dunmowe electe & choes be ye hole p[a]rysche the
4.  upon ye dedicacion day the yere of owre lorde god m cccccxxvi [1526]
[gap]
5.   Resaynyd of ye perrysche to the makyng off ye Stepyll
6.   \Imp[ri]mis/ M[aster] Robard Sturt[o]n sumtyme    vycar of a late tyme vs [5s] [Robert Sturton, retired vicar]
7.   mayster vycar thatt now ys vis viijd [6s 8d] [William Walton, vicar]
8.   Item for Sur John mylton iijs [3s] [Sir John Milton, parish priest)
9.   Ite[m] for Sur Wyllyem Wree xxd [20d] [Sir William Wree, parish priest]
10. Item M[r] kynwelmerche xviijs [18s] [Mr Kynwelmarshe]
11. Item Robard lovedaye vs [5s] [Robert Loveday]
12. Item John parcer Fletcher xxvjs viijd [26s 8d] [John Parker, fletcher]
13. Item John longe the elder xs [10s] [John Long, the elder]
14. Item Wylyem Whale iijs iiijd [3s 4d] [William Whale]
15. Item Wylyem Struttan ijs viijd [2s 8d] [William Sturton]
16. Item Raff Melburne xxd [20d] [Ralph Melburne]
17. Item wylyem fyche xxd [20d] [Willliam Fitch]
18. Item John Dygby xiid [12d] [John Digby]
19. Item Wylyem Sauder xxd [20d] [William Sauder]
20. Item John Ramsolde xijd [12d] [John Ramsold]
21. Item Grefyn Apryce ijs [2s] [Griffin Aprice]
22. Item John Colen xxd [20d] [John Colen]
23. Item John Cokke xxd [20d] [John Coke]
24. Item John Bemyche [blank] [John Bemish]
25. Item Thomas Bemyche ye elder xviiijd [18d] [Thomas Bemish, the elder]
26. Item Thomas Bemyche junior xiijd [13d] [Thomas Bemish, junior]
27. Item Thomas Weytt Wheler iijs of iiijd [3s 4d] [Thomas White, wheeler]
28. Item Thomas Weytt otherwyce callyd turner xijd [12d] [Thomas White alias Turner]
29. Item Thomas Savage iijli vis viijd [£3 6s 8d] [Thomas Savage, churchwarden]
30. Item John Joye xxid [21d] [John Joy]
31. Item John Freke xijd [12d] [John Freke]
32. Item John Foster xijd [12d] [John Foster]
33. Item John Tottryche viijd [8d] [John Tottrich (or Dottrich)]
34. Item John raynolde dyer viijd [8d] [John Reynold, dyer]
35. Item Thomas moyne viijd [8d] [Thomas Moyne]
36. Item John Skylt[o]n iijs iiijd [3s 4d] [John Skilton, churchwarden]
37. Item Robard maye xijd [12d] [Robert May]
38. Item Robard sturt[o]n cherche clark viijd [8d] [Robert Sturton, church clerk]

Notes
Text in square [brackets] are The Narrator’s transcriptions.  Line numbers are merely to assist the reader find their place on the digital image.

The early-modern spellings of the inhabitants of Great Dunmow have been transcribed into modern English so that family historians and other researchers can pick up these names via internet search engines.  Please leave a comment if you can improve the modern-day spelling.  The other hundred or so names written within this list will appear over the next few days, followed by an analysis of the names on the list and the reason for the church collection.

Notes about Great Dunmow’s churchwarden accounts
Great Dunmow’s original churchwardens’ accounts (1526-1621) are kept in Essex Record Office (E.R.O.), Chelmsford, Essex, D/P 11/5/1.  All digital images of the accounts within this blog appear by courtesy of Essex Record Office and may not be reproduced. Examining these records from this Essex parish gives the modern reader a remarkable view  into the lives and times of some of Henry VIII’s subjects and provides an interpretation into the local history of Tudor Great Dunmow.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Index to each folio in Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts
– Great Dunmow’s Churchwardens’ accounts: transcripts 1526-1621
– Tudor local history
– Building a medieval church steeple

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Transcript fo.1v: Great Dunmow’s local history – medieval manors

Great Dunmow's churchwarden accounts Essex Record Office D/P 11/5/1 fo.1v

Transcription of Tudor Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts
(late 1520s)

1. Thys ye the cownte of Thomas Savage John
[large gap]
2. The churche \yard/ Fence
3. Imprimis on the sowthe syde begynnyng at the tenement of John keme
4. downe est ward ij p[er]che to be made bye clapton hall and bumstede hall
5. Next olyves makes one p[er]che
6. the next mynchyn dit[to] p[er]che
7. the next martelle motrelle makes dit[to] p[er]che
8. the next portery makes dit[to] p[er]che
9. the next byrde \howse/ that Garrett dwellythyed makes dit[to] p[er]che
10. the northe syde the fence
11. Fyrst the parsonage begyns at the vykaryge wall one p[er]che
12. the next Newton hall makes one p[er]che
13. the next lynllsaw one a p[er]che
14. the next John long for hys hawse and land called brodegoes one p[er]che
15. the next younges so called makes dit[to] p[er]che
16. the next Mr Raymond for ?olys dit[to] p[er]che
17. the next Mr Joyner for frestone hall otherwyse called byggood ij p[er]che
18. the next John mylbarne for markes hall & ij p[er]che
19. all the Fence from the fence of marke downe to
20. the mede ys comonly made bye the p[ar]ysshe besyde

Commentary
The first line of this folio is the start of a heading for the churchwardens’ yearly return. The rest of the page (in a different handwriting) appears to have been written at a later date and is a list of some of Great Dunmow’s manors. This was possibly written in 1528-9 around the same time that there was a collection within the parish church for a church fence. However, the handwriting on this folio is not the same as handwriting on the page where the collection for the fence is detailed (fo.7r).  The names of the men written on this folio can be cross-referenced to other entries in the churchwarden accounts to date this folio to the late 1520s.

The medieval manors mentioned on this folio were:
Line 4: Clopton Hall (also known as Southall)
Line 5: Olaves (also known as Shingle Hall, in modern times known as Olives)
Line 6: Minchins
Line 7: Martels (also known as Martins)
Line 12: Newton Hall
Line 17: Bigods (also known as Alfrestons)
Line 18: Merks Hall

(Two of Great Dunmow’s other medieval manors were not mentioned in this list – the manors of Great Dunmow and Little Garnetts)

Today the majority of the original medieval buildings have long since gone but the legacy of Great Dunmow’s medieval heritage remain within the names of farms, roads and areas of Great Dunmow. The manor-house of Newton Hall was rebuilt in the nineteenth century but the majority of its land is now taken up by the sprawl of the local Helena Romanes secondary school. Merks Hall has been rebuilt in recent years and is now the home of today’s new generation of wealthy landowners – popstars; The Prodigy’s Liam Howlett and his wife Natalie Appleton of All Saints are its current incumbents.

Terminology
perch:
a unit of measure used for measuring length, area and volume
imprimis: (line 3) ‘In the first place’. Used at the start of a list of items.

Notes about Great Dunmow’s churchwarden accounts
Great Dunmow’s original churchwardens’ accounts (1526-1621) are kept in Essex Record Office (E.R.O.), Chelmsford, Essex, D/P 11/5/1.  All digital images of the accounts within this blog appear by courtesy of Essex Record Office and may not be reproduced. Examining these records from this Essex parish gives the modern reader a remarkable view  into the lives and times of some of Henry VIII’s subjects and provides an interpretation into the local history of Tudor Great Dunmow.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Index to each folio in Great Dunmow’s churchwardens’ accounts
– Great Dunmow’s Churchwardens’ accounts: transcripts 1526-1621
– Tudor local history
– Great Dunmow’s Medieval manors

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.