William Anne (abt. 1425 - 1451)

Born about 1425 in London, England [uncertain]

Died 24 Dec 1451 at about age 26 in Southwark, Surrey, England

Biography

William was buried in the Chapel of St. Mary in London, and the inscription on his tomb has been preserved, which shows that he was the son of Alexander Anne, Recorder of London. William is described as a gentleman of Greys Inn, so he was probably a lawyer, like his father. His will describes him as being "of North Aston" so he is undoubtedly in the line of the North Aston Annes. Based on the research in the Victoria history for the parish of North Aston,^[1] he was probably the elder brother of the next of the North Aston Annes, John Anne Esq.. This appears to be confirmed by the text of the will which refers to "John' Anne fra' meo", "[to] my brother John Anne."^[2] The Victoria history probably errs in supposing that they were the sons of William Anne of Frickley, Yorks. since the epitaph (and circumstantial evidence) make it quite clear that Alexander was the present William's father. It does seem that Alexander was probably one of the Frickley Annes though.

Records of Grey Friars, where he was buried, show that he lay sick in a hospice called "Le Whitehors" in Southwark, styling him "William Anne, the elder, of North Aston."^[3]

While the date of his death is known exactly from the tombstone, his birth year is unclear, but it was probably in the early part of the 15th century.

Sources

1. ↑ A P Baggs, Christina Colvin, H M Colvin, Janet Cooper, C J Day, Nesta Selwyn and A Tomkinson. "Parishes: North Aston," in A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 11, Wootton Hundred (Northern Part), ed. Alan Crossley (London: Victoria County History, 1983), 6-21. British History Online, accessed July 25, 2018, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol11/pp6-21.
2. ↑ UK National Archives Will of William Anne, Gentleman of North Aston, Oxfordshire, PROB 11/1/230, http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D967272
3. ↑ "Wills relating to Grey Friars, London: 1432-81," in Additional Material For the History of the Grey Friars, London, ed. C L Kingsford (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1922), 92-109. British History Online, accessed July 25, 2018, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/grey-friars-additional/pp92-109.

• Christian Oliver Steer, Burial and commemoration in medieval London, c. 1140-1540, Ph.D. Dissertation University of London, September 2013, p. 57, https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/files/19528031/STEER_Burial_and_Commemoration_in_Medieval_London_c_1140_1540.pdf