APPENDIX. TRANSFER OF THE PROPERTY RENTED BY RICHARD THIS indenture, made the 21st day of May, in the second year of the reign of our sovereign lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God Queen of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. Between Agnes Arden, of Wilmcote, in the county of Warwick, widow, on the one part, and Alexander Webb, of Bereley, in the same county, husbandman, on the other part, witnesseth that the said Agnes Arden, for divers and sundry considerations, hath demised, granted, set, and to farm let, and by these presents demiseth, granteth, setteth, and to farm letteth unto the said Alexander Webb and to his assigns all those her two messuages, with a cottage, with all and singular their appurtenances in Snitterfield, and a yard-and-a-half of arable land thereunto belonging, with all lands, meadows, pastures, commons, profits, and commodities in anywise thereunto appertaining, situate, lying, and being in the town and fields of Snitterfield aforesaid, all which now are in the occupation of Richard Shakespeare, John Henley, and John Hargreave, to have and to hold the said two messuages or tenements and cottage, with their appurtenances, a yard-and-ahalf of land arable, and all other the premises, with all and singular their appurtenances, unto the said Alexander Webb, his executors and assigns, from the feast of the Annunciation of our Lady next ensuing the date hereof until the end and term of forty years next and immediately following fully to be completed and ended, if the said Agnes Arden so long do live, yielding and paying therefor yearly during the said term unto the said Agnes Arden or her assigns forty shillings of lawful money of England, to be paid at two terms in the year, that is to say, at the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, and the Annunciation of our Lady, by equal portions. And the said Alexander Webb covenanteth by these presents to discharge, pay and save harmless the said Agnes Arderne of all manner of chief rents, and suit of court due to the lord of the fee, and all other charges belonging to the aforesaid messuages or tenements; and if it happen the said rent of forty shillings to be behind, unpaid in part or in all, after any of the said feasts or days of payment at which it ought to be paid, as is aforesaid, by the space of one month, being lawfully asked and demanded, and no sufficient distress can or may be found in and upon the premises by the space of six weeks next after any of the said feasts, that then it shall be lawful to the said Agnes Arden and her assigns to re-enter and have again their premises, and every parcel thereof, as in her first estate; and the said Alexander Webb, his executors and assigns thereof, to expel and put out, anything herein contained to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding. Also the said Agnes covenanteth and granteth, to and with the said Alexander and his assigns, that the said Alexander, his executors and assigns, shall have, enjoy, and take, during all the said term, sufficient housebote, ploughbote, cartbote, and hedgebote, with lops and shreds growing and being in and upon the premises, or any parcel thereof, for the defense and use of the same houses and closures, without doing any waste. Also the said Alexander Webb covenanteth by these presents yearly to repair, maintain, and keep all, and all manner of necessary reparations pertaining and belonging to the aforesaid tenements, cottages, having sufficient timber on the aforesaid grounds, if any be there to be had for the same. And the said Agnes Arden and her assigns [let] the said two messuages or tenements, with the said cottages, a yard-and-a-half of land, and all other the premises, with their appurtenances, unto the said Alexander Webb, his executors and assigns, for the said yearly rent in manner and form aforesaid, against her and her assigns, shall warrant and defend during the said term of forty years, if she live so long, In witness whereof, the parties aforesaid to these present indentures interchangeably have put to their seals the day and year above written. WILL AND INVENTORY OF ROBERT ARDEN. IN the name of God, Amen, the 24th day of November, in the year of our Lord God 1556, in the third and the fourth year of the reign of our sovereign lord and lady, Philip and Mary, King and Queen, &c. I, Robert Arden, of Wilmcote, in the parish of Aston Cantlow, sick in body, and good and perfect of remembrance, make this my last will and testament in manner and form following: First. I bequeath my soul to Almighty God and to our blessed Lady Saint Mary, and to all the holy company of heaven, and my body to be buried in the churchyard of St. John the Baptist, in Aston aforesaid. Also, I give and bequeath to my youngest daughter Mary all my land in Wilmcote, called Ashby, and the crop upon the ground sown and tilled as it is. And 67. 13s. 4d. of money to be paid over ere my goods be divided. Also, I give and bequeath to my daughter Alice the third part of all my goods movable and unmovable in field and town, after my debts and legacies be performed, besides that goods she hath of her own at this time. Also, I give and bequeath to Agnes, my wife, 67. 13s. 4d., upon this condition, that [she] shall suffer my daughter Alice quietly to enjoy half my copyhold in Wilmcote during the time of her widowhood: and if she will not suffer my daughter Alice quietly to occupy half with her, then I will that my wife shall have but 31. 6s. 8d. and her jointure in Snitterfield. Item. I will that the residue of all my goods, movable and unmovable, my funeral and my debts discharged, I give and bequeath to my other children, to be equally divided amongst them by the discretion of Adam Palmer, Hugh Porter, of Snitterfield, and John Skerlett, whom I do ordain and make my overseers of this my last will and testament, and they to have for their painstaking in this behalf 20s. apiece. Also, I ordain and constitute and make my full executrixes, Alice and Mary, my daughters, of this my last will and testament; and they to have no more for their pains-taking now as afore given them. Also, I give and bequeath to every house that hath no team in the parish of Aston, to every house 4d. These being witnesses : Sir William Bouton, curate. Adam Palmer. John Skerlett. Thomas Jhenkes. William Pitt. With other mo. Probat. fuit, &c. Wigorn, &c. 16° die mensis Decembris, anno Domini, 1556. The Inventory of all the Goods movable and unmovable of Robert Arden, of Wilmcote, late deceased, made the 9th day of December, in the third and the fourth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord and Lady Philip and Mary, King and Queen, &c. 1556. Imprimis. In the hall, 2 table-boards, 3 chairs, 2 forms, 1 cupboard, 2 cushions, 3 benches, and one little table with shelves, priced at 8s. Item. 2 painted cloths in the hall and 5 painted cloths in the chamber, 7 pairs of sheets, 2 coffers, one which priced at 19s. Item. 5 board cloths, 2 towels, and 1 diaper towel, priced at 6s. 8d. Item. 1 feather-bed, 2 mattresses, 8 canvases, 1 coverlid, 3 bolsters, 1 pillow, 4 painted cloths, 1 which priced at 11. 6s. 8d. Item. In the kitchen, 4 pans, 4 pots, 3 candlesticks, 1 bason, 1 chafing dish, 2 catterns, 2 skellets, 1 frying pan, a gridiron, and pot hangings, with hooks priced at 27. 11s. Ed. Item. 1 broach, a pair of cupboards, 1 axe, a bill, 4 naggers, 2 hatchets, an adze, an mattock, a iron crow, 1 vat, 4 barrels, 4 pails, a churn, a kneading trough, a long sieve, a handsaw, priced at 17. Os. 2d. Item. 8 oxen, 2 bullocks, 7 kine, 4 weaning calves, 241. Item. 4 horses, 3 colts, priced at 77. Item. 52 sheep, priced at 77. Item. The wheat in the barns and the barley, priced at 187. Item. The hay and the peas, oats and the straw, priced at 31. 6s. Ed. Item 9 swine, priced at 17. 6s. 8d. Item. The bees and poultry, priced at 5s. Item. Cart and cart gears, and plough and plough gears, with harrows, priced at 21. Item. The wood in the yard, and the batten in the roof, priced at 17. 10s. Item. The wheat in the field, priced at 67. 13s. 4d. WILL OF RICHARD HATHAWAY. IN the name of God, Amen. The 1st day of September, in the year of our Lord God 1581, and in the twenty-third year of the reign of our sovereign lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God Queen of England, |