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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 June 2012
I send for your inspection, and that of the Society of Antiquaries, some extracts from the Household and Privy-purse accounts of the Lestranges of Hunstanton, during the reigns of Henry the Eighth and his children. They appear to me of considerable interest, as detailing the expenditure of the better sort of gentry at that period, and as throwing much light upon the method of life pursued by them.
page 418 note a Stathe, Sax. ɼτað, ripa, a word in common use in Norfolk for a wharf.
page 419 note a Sir William A Parre here mentioned was brother to Queen Catherine Parr, and afterwards created Marquis of Northampton. He was nephew to Lady Lestrange, being son of Sir Thomas Parr by Elizabeth daughter of Lord Fitzhugh, who was her half brother; her mother Elizabeth daughter of Lord Fitzhugh having first married Sir William Parr, Knt.. and secondly her father Nicholas Lord Vaux. See Dugd. Bar. ii. 304, 380.
page 420 note b Pardoner, a seller of pardons or indulgences, See Chaucer.
page 421 note c Chrostyde. The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
page 421 note d Probably Thomas Ashley, Esq. of Melton Constable.
page 421 note e Sir Henry Sharnburn was Vice-Admiral of England, and one of the Norfolk Knights appointed to attend Henry VIII. at the Champ de Drap d'Or. He was killed in a sea-fight with the French. The family of the Shernborns, seated at Shernborn in Norfolk, flourished there for many centuries.
page 422 note f The Lord of Misrule, as he was most commonly called, was anciently a chief performer in the Christmas festivities of every great household. See Brand's Pop. Antiq. vol. i. p. 387, and the different works there cited.
page 422 note g A basket, or pannier. Sax. manδ.
page 423 note h A net.
page 423 note i John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, married Anne daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and died 18th Hen. VIII. (1527.)
page 423 note j Bear-ward.
page 424 note k Mrs. Margaret Ferefreye was the housekeeper at Hunstanton.
page 425 note l Mixtelyn of store. Mixtelyn means rye and wheat ground together, of which the inferior brown bread was made. See Holinshed's Descr. of England. Various articles of consumption, in these Accounts, are mentioned as “of Store.” Thus in this case mixtelyn of store, a pigge of store, a malard of store, &c. &c. This signifies mixtelyn not bought, but taken from the storehouse, and the pig or malard from the larder or store-room: the produce of the demesne.
page 425 note m Mr. Roger Wodehouse, afterwards knighted. Sir Roger Wodehouse of Kimberley married Elizabeth Ratcliffe, aunt to Sir Thomas Lestrange.
page 425 note n Sir Richard Jernyngham was second son of John Jernyngham of Somerley in Suffolk.
page 425 note o Edmund Bedyngfield, probably second son of Sir Edmund Bedyngfield of Oxborough, by Margaret Marshal his second wife.
page 425 note p John Cressener occurs frequently in these Accounts. He appears to have been a ward of Sir Thomas Lestrange, and married his daughter Elizabeth. He was of Marley in Norfolk.
page 426 note q John Mathews, who was the last Prior of Coxforth Priory in East Rudham.
page 426 note r Edmund Cobb, Esq. of Sandringham, Norfolk, and Robert Brampton, Esq. whomarried his sister.
page 427 note a Probably Margaret daughter of Thomas Lestrange of Walton, and wife of John Lestrange, Esq. of Massingham, uncle of Sir Thomas.
page 427 note b He was second son of Sir John Wymondham of Felbrigg by Margaret daughterof John Duke of Norfolk.
page 428 note c Robert Vowell, last Prior of Walsingham.
page 428 note d Lady Robsart. Elizabeth daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Kerdeston, Knt. of Norfolk, married Sir Theodorick or Terry Robsart, Knt. by whom she had John Robsart, mentioned in p. 430, who was father of Amy Robsart, wife of the celebrated Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, whom her husband was said to have poisoned.
page 429 note e Sir Thomas Bedingfield of Oxburgh married Grace daughter of Lord Marney, living 1530.
page 430 note f Qu. whether Ann daughter of John Shelton, Sheriff of Norfolk in 1505 and1523, by Ann Boleyn his wife? Afterwards married to Sir Edmund Knevet.
page 433 note g A burthen.
page 435 note d Mary dau. of Hen. VII. married to Lewis XII. of France in October 1514. After a three months' widowhood she remarried to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. She died in 1533, andwas interred in St. Mary's Church at Bury. She and her husband visited Lynn, according to Mackarell, in 1527. By this Account it seems they were there in 1521, and that Mackarell's date is erroneous.
page 436 note e A sort of forester's green cloth, for which Kendal in Westmoreland was famous.
page 437 note f The Clergy always taking their tithe in kind, at this period, were of course under the necessity of selling the produce of it, which appears to have been the transaction here mentioned.
page 438 note g “Redynge,” for marking sheep with a red mark. Probably some mixture of ochre.
page 440 note h A particular account of the ceremonies used in this and other countries from Good Friday to Easter Day, commemorative of Our Saviour's Resurrection, will be found in the Vetusta Monu-menla, vol. iii. pl. xxxi, xxxii. Tapers and lamps were provided by individuals to burn before a representation of the Holy Sepulchre at that time, in almost all our Churches; and where these were not bestowed, gatherings, as appears from Parish Accounts, were frequently made for lights.
page 441 note i Sir Francis Lovel of Harling, Knt.
page 441 note k Thomas Fermeσ, Esq. of East Barnsham, who was afterwards killed in Kett's rebellion, at Castle Rising, where the rebels had a camp.
page 442 note l Qu. Oakley ? where a branch of the Mordaunts were settled.
page 451 note a St. Leonard's Priory at Thorpe, founded by Herbert de Losinga, celebrated for an image of King Henry VI. which was reputed to have worked miracles.
page 453 note b Nicholas Lord Vaux of Harrowden, father of Lady Lestrange. He died in the 15th Hen. VIII. his will was proved 3d July that year.
page 453 note c Sir Thomas Houghton parson of Anmer, paying rent for the farm at Swanton. One of the great causes of complaint against the Catholic Clergy of this period was their hiring farms, and thereby neglecting their parochial duties.
page 453 note d So before, p. 468. Country Fairs were of great importance and utility ata period when the conveyance of goods was difficult; as they afforded an opportunity fur the purchase of various things not commonly to be procured. In consequence, the resort to them was considerable. The tolls, upon the booths erected, generally belonged to the lord of the manor.
page 457 note e Trussing beds, were beds used in travelling, when it was the custom for persons of consequence to carry their beds with them. See the Northumberland Household Book.
page 457 note f Pulham in Norfolk was at this time celebrated for its manufacture of hats, dornecks, and coverlits, which were made there in great quantities; and by an Act passed in 1551 for the advantage of the citizens of Norwich, forbidding any one out of the City, except in some corporate or market town, to make any of these commodities, these manufactures at Pulham were excepted.
page 457 note g A porringer.
page 458 note h To dyte, or dight; to dress.
page 459 note i The Drurys were a distinguished family in Norfolk and Suffolk for many generations. They were settled at Riddlesworth and Besthorpe in the former county. Sir Thomas Lestrange's mother was of this family.
page 460 note k A trunk.
page 461 note l Saye, silk. See Fairy Queen, b. i. c. iv. “All in a kirtel of discolour'd say.” Shaksp. Hen. VI. “Thou say, thou serge, nay thou buckram lord.”
page 461 note m Armour; military accoutrements.
page 462 note n In this year, 1522, Henry the Eighth made war, in conjunction with the Emperor Charles the Fifth, against Francis the First of France. Hence the subsidy here mentioned.
page 466 note o A saddle with a malle or trunk attached to it.
page 467 note p Evidently a lawyer and auditor of the Accounts. He married Anne Ratcliffe, uterine sister of Robert Lestrange, Sir Robert Lestrange's father. Lady Lestrange calls him uncle, in consequence, in a later page of these Accounts.
page 467 note q Afterwards Sir Christopher Jenny of Cressingham, Norfolk. He was made a Judge of the Common Pleas in 1539.
page 467 note r Probably William Knightley, Esq. whose daughter Winifred married Robert Coke, Esq. of Mileham, & was mother of Lord Chief Justice Coke.
page 467 note s Nisi prius.
page 467 note t Mr. Conyngesby, of Wellington, afterwards a Judge.
page 467 note u Sir John Spelman of Narburgh, afterwards one of the Judges of the King's Bench.
page 468 note x This person was employed in various services for the Lestrange family. He was doubtless a priest, by the appellation Sir, which was commonly bestowed upon the parochial ecclesiastics of that day. The fact of his receiving regular wages is worthy of notice. In p. 435, he is paid “for his costs in fechyng hom of the children from Breckylls.” He was probably their tutor.
page 468 note y To pack.
page 469 note z Slawte skynnes; skins of animals slaughtered. Slawte, the past participle of the old English to sle, or slay.
page 470 note a A sea pie.
page 470 note b The Editor of the Forme of Cury interprets “Leches,” cakes or pieces. Randal Holme makes Leche to be a kind of jelly made of cream, isinglass, sugar, almonds, &c.
page 472 note c Sic.
page 473 note d The Heydons of Baconsthorpe were amongst the most distinguished of the knightly families of Norfolk. This Sir John Heydon died in 1551, aged 82. Sir Roger Lestrange, uncle of Sir Thomas, married Ann Heydon his sister.
page 473 note e The mention of Lady Cheney and her family here and elsewhere, seems to indicate a relationship to the Lestranges at this period; though it is not discoverable by what connexion.
page 480 note f St. Mary Overy s.
page 482 note g Robert Mordaunt, Esq. who married Mary daughter and heir of John Lestrange, Esq. of Little Massingham, Norfolk.
page 482 note h William Castleton last Prior, and first Dean of Norwich.
page 482 note i A bittern ?
page 483 note a Augustin Steward, Alderman of Norwich, married Elizabeth daughter of William Rede of Beccles, gent.
page 483 note b Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, wife of Sir Thomas Boleyn, afterwards Earl of Wiltshire, and mother of Queen Anne Boleyn.
page 483 note c Grace daughter of Henry Lord Marney, wife of Sir Thomas Bedingfield of Oxborough, Knt.
page 483 note d Sir Thomas Lovell of Barton Bendish, and Catherine daughter of Sir Thomas Woodhouse of Kimberley, Knt.
page 483 note e Sir Thomas Lovell's brother.
page 484 note f These were nephews of Sir Thomas Lovell, K.G.
page 484 note g Catherine sister of Sir Thomas Lestrange, wife of Hugh Hastings of Elsing and Gressenhall, afterwards a knight.
page 484 note h Probably Richard Coote of Bio-Norton, Esq. and Margaret Calthorpe his wife.
page 485 note i Qu. Lord Abbat of Sempringham in Lincolnshire?
page 485 note k William Yelverton of Rougham, Esq. and Anne his wife, daughter of Sir Henry Fermor of East Barsham.
page 485 note l John Woorton, Esq. of Tuddenham, who married Elizabeth sister of Sir Thomas Lestrange.
page 486 note m Eldest son of Sir Henry Fermor of East Barsham, Knt.
page 488 note n Edmund son of Sir Thomas Windhani.
page 488 note o John Castle of Raveningham, Esq.
page 488 note p The women of Hunstanton.
page 489 note q Formerly the midwife was the only person attending officially upon an accouchment, no medical man being present. She was therefore a more important person than in our time, and was accompanied by her assistants. The midwives had dispensations from the Bishops to baptize the children which were born, in case of need.
page 489 note r Robert Rateliffe, Lord Fitzwalter, afterwards Earl of Sussex; he had considerable estates in Norfolk which he inherited from the Lords Mortimer of Attleborough.
page 489 note s Christopher Coningsby, Esq. of Wallington, killed at the battle of Musselburgh in the reign of Edw. VI.
page 490 note t Brother of Sir Hugh Hastings of Gressenhall.
page 491 note u By this and various other passages it appears that this part of the Accounts was kept by Lady Lestrange herself.
page 492 note x Carriers of goods on foot.
page 494 note y The Hermits or anchorites were recluses who occupied cells in various places, sometimes in church-yards: and a heap of ruins in Hunstanton church-yard leads me to suppose that the anchorite here mentioned had his cell there, and that he received a regular salary from the Lestranges, as by this Account.
page 494 note z At a later period, in 1605, Thomas Valenger was town-clerk of Lynn, and founded an almshouse in South Lynn.
page 495 note a Perhaps Edward third son of Sir Thomas Wodehouse of Kimberley. This Edward was living at this time.
page 495 note b William Wingfield last Prior of Westacre. He surrendered his Priory for a pension of £40 a year, and subscribed to the King's Supremacy in 1534; and afterwards married and became Rector of Burnham Thorp in Norfolk.
page 495 note c Catherine, daughter of Lord Vaux and sister of Lady Lestrange, married Sir George Throck-murton of Coughton in Warwickshire.
page 496 note d The Priory of Peterston in Burnham Overy.
page 496 note e Henry Parker, Lord Morley, son and heir of Sir William Parker by Alice Lovel sister and sole heir of Henry Lord Morley.
page 498 note f Confirmed.
page 501 note g In the margin it is said “For all the s'unts bord wages.”
page 502 note h Sir William Butts, Physician to King Henry the Eighth.
page 506 note i Sir Thomas Lestrange was one of the King's Commissioners to receive the temporalities of the priory of Westacre. These accounts of the purchase of land are obviously of dissolved religious houses.
page 507 note k An ell ?
page 508 note l Haghmon Abbey, of Austin Canons, in Shropshire.
page 508 note m The tutor accompanying the boy to College.
page 509 note n We have just seen that this boy was at College.
page 509 note o Here is a younger son's annuity, £5 a year at that time. A few entries lower, however, this fifty shillings is called his quarter's annuity; so we may hope he had £10 a year. He appears by subsequent entries to have had various articles purchased for him, in addition to this allowance. This Richard Lestrange was Sir Thomas Lestrange's second son, and was afterwards “Customer of Lynn.”
page 509 note p Mending.
page 511 note r Calve's skin.
page 511 note s The Northern Insurrection, which became so formidable in this year, 1537; and which resulted from discontent at the suppression of Monasteries, extended itself into Norfolk. This rebellion, called the Pilgrimage of Grace, was secretly approved of by the Duke of Norfolk, whom Henry the Eighth had sent to head the royal army against it. In Norfolk the disturbances began at Walsingham, from a dislike of the suppression of the Abbey there. Doubtless the execution of traitors at Norwich, here mentioned, refers to some of those in arms against the King on this occasion.
page 512 note t Thomas Lord Audley was then Lord Chancellor.
page 513 note u A jack, a coal of mail.
page 514 note x See before, in the note, p. 440.
page 515 note y At this rate the perpetual curacy of Ingaldesthorpe was then worth £5. 6s. 8d. per annum. These payments for benefices are worthy of remark, the transfer of impropriations to laymen from the Monasteries having just commenced.
page 515 note z The Abbot of Lilleshull, in Shropshire, who possessed the manor of Holmenext the Sea before the dissolution, and by this appears to have retained an annuity from it afterwards.
page 521 note b Crowche, a cross. The feast, of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14th.
page 522 note c Anne Boleyn was crowned June 1st, 1533. She was related to most of the Norfolk families, and was nearly allied to the Lestranges, through the Heydons of Baconsthorpe.
page 522 note d At St. Edmondsbury. The Duchess of Suffolk, daughter of King Henry the Seventh. See noted, p. 435
page 524 note e Poison for rats.
page 525 note f It appears by this that the plowmen and labourers, employed for the cultivation of the land retained in his own hands by the landlord, were lodged and boarded in the house. In the account of the building of a Norfolk Hall, at a date a little subsequent to this period, I find the Plowman's Hall mentioned as one of the rooms.
page 526 note g Cray fish.
page 526 note h Pierpoint.
page 528 note i Anthony Gurney, Esq. of West Barsham and Great Ellingham. He married Margaret, daughter and coheir of Sir Robert Lovel, Knt. one of the representatives of the Lords Mortimer, of Attle-borough.
page 534 note a The chapel of St. Andrew in Dersingham, which was attached to Binham Priory.
page 535 note b St. Peter ad vincula.
page 535 note c Hallowmass.
page 536 note d Sir Richard Southwell of Wood Rysing was a great favourite of Henry the Eighth; one of the Commissioners at the suppression of Monasteries, and one of the executors of his will. The Southwells of Wood Rysing were a knightly family there, settled for several generations. Ann daughter of Sir Thomas Lestrange married Anthony brother of this Sir Richard Southwell.
page 536 note e A pottel of Bastard. Barrett in his Alvearie, or Quadruple Dictionary, 1580, says that “bastarde is muscadell sweet wine.” Shakspeare in the first part of Hen. IV. speaks of brown bastard.
page 537 note g Denney, near Waterbeche, in Cambridgeshire.
page 538 note h Thomas Manners first Earl of Rutland of that family.
page 539 note i A limitour was a Friar who had a licence to beg within a certain district:
“He was the beste begger in all his house:
And gave a certaine ferme for the grant,
None of his bretheren came in his haunt.”—Chaucer, Prol. to Cant. Tales, v. 253.
page 539 note k Warden pears.
page 543 note l Treen, wooden dishes.
page 543 note m Augmentations.
page 544 note n Qu. Chaunc. for Chancellor.
page 545 note o Norwich.
page 546 note p Obviously her bride's wardrobe: her portion on her marriage to Mr.Calthorpe, is mentioned in two or three entries in pp 544, 545.
page 547 note q Bags.
page 547 note r Medical assistance.
page 548 note s Sir Thomas Wyat the poet, who was employed by Henry VIII. on various embassies.
page 550 note t The only English Bibles at this time were those of Tyndale and Coverdale and their associates, printed abroad in 1526 and 1532. The former contained the New Testament only. This purchase of a Bible by Sir Thomas Lestrange may possibly indicate a tendency towards the opinions of the Reformers.
page 552 note u Steers.
page 553 note x Anne daughter of Lord Vaux of Harrowden, widow of Sir Thomas Lestrange.
page 554 note y Lavenham in Suffolk.
page 555 note a Mary daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, wife of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, natural son of Henry VIII.
page 555 note b Mortelake.
page 555 note c Pillion.
page 563 note a Fathom.