John Cowper, the Elder of Hengham, 1556

Date: 1556 to 1556
Location: Hingham, Norfolk, England
Surnames/tags: Cowper Cooper

Contents 1 Contents 2 Introductory Notes 3 Transcription conventions 4 Persons mentioned 5 Will 6 Probate 7 Notes

Contents

Introductory Notes

The will of John Cowper the elder of Hingham, Norfolk, England was written on 11 October 1556 and proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Norfolk 31 December 1556^[1]

The will is a register copy, written in English over four pages. The text is fairly easy to read. The paper/parchment is in good condition.

Transcription conventions

• spelling, punctuation, line breaks and capitalisation are recorded as in the document, with the following exceptions to aid readability:
• capital I is silently modernised to I or J as appropriate (eg "Joan", rather than "Ioan")
• ff at the start of a word is silently modernised to F (eg "First", rather than "ffirst")
• additional paragraph breaks may be included to increase readability of large amounts of text
• superscript letters are silently lowered, except where these relate to money (eg li s d), dates (eg th) or titles (eg Mrs)
• abbreviations/breviographs are expanded with the additional letter(s) in square brackets, except symbols for money (li s d) and the ampersand (&)
• the letter thorn is recorded as "th" in square brackets (eg "[th]e", rather than "ye")
• short series of missing/illegible letters are recorded with a period for each letter thought to be missing/illegible in square brackets; longer gaps are described with an editorial note
• editorial notes are italicised and in square brackets
• names and relationships are highlighted in bold
• footnotes are used to clarify archaic terms, difficult text and discrepancies
• u/v and i/j are recorded as they appear; even where modern usage would dictate one over the other (eg "haue", rather than "have" if the third letter is clearly a "u"; "vnto", rather than "unto" if the first letter is clearly a "v")
• the virgule, signifying a pause (comma, semi-colon, colon or full-stop), is recorded using a forward slash /, but only when such intent is obvious (the virgule is often indistinguishable from various check marks and otiose flourishes that are of no significance)

Persons mentioned

The will mentions the persons below. Modern/alternative spellings for names have been included where appropriate, to help search engines find this page.

• John Cowper the elder Testator
• Alice wife of testator
• John Cowper son of testator
• Walter Cowper son of testator
• Robert (Cowper) son of testator
• Rychard (Cowper) son of testator
• Symon (Cowper) son of testator
• Thomas (Cowper) son of tesator
• John Fawkes son in law of testator
• Katering daughter of testator
• Wylliam Woodcock godchild of testator
• John Couper'godson of testator, son of Peter Cowper, relationship to testator unknown
• Rychard Baraclowe godson of testator
• John Cowper the son of Thomas Cowper, relationship to testator unknown
• Syr Walter Cowper brother of testator. A priest not Sir as in a knight, Sir usedas a title for clergy.(this is his will https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSN8-1S8T-F?i=476&cat=278818
• Stephen Longe witness to will
• Rychard Magges parish priest, witness to will
• Robert Agges witness to will

Will

In the name of god amen the xi^th
daye of October in the yeare of our lord god
m^th ccccc lvj^tie I John Cowper the elder
of Hengham in the countye of norff being in
good and hooll mynde thanks be to god make and
declare thys my testament and last wyll in manner
and fourme following Refusing and adnulling all other
testaments and wylles by me made in tymes past

Fyrst I bequeath my Soule to allmightye god
trusting to have the benyfyght of his glorious
p[re]sence amongst the Saints in heven And my
bodye to be buryed in the southesyde of the church
yard of Hengham aforsayde

Item I wyll that my Executors shall bestowe at the daye of my
buryall in the quyer vi^s viij^d And to be delte than
to the pore people vj^s viij^d xx^s And at my xxx^tie

[page 2] Day geven as at my buryall daye aforsayde And
also I do give xlvj^s viij^dto be delte therof yerelye
vj^s viij^d tyll yt be fullye payed
Also I give to the
parrysshe churche of Hengham tenne shillings

Item
I give and bequethe unto Alice my wyif all my
Stuff and Implements of houshoulde two neate and
the best horse beast that I shall chance to have at
the daye of my decesse all my Swine cattall and
all my ffowles

Item I give and bequeath unto the
sayde Alice my wyif yerlye ffrom my decesse du
ring the hooll terme of the naturall lyef of the
same Alice fowere marks of lawfull monye of
Englande to be payde to hyr quarterlye by even
portyons by myne Executors or thexecutoures
of them or by one of them most of that debte
which John Cowper my sonne oweth unto
me

Item I wyll that the sayde Alice my wyef
shall enjoye and have to hyr and hyr assignes
all suche Somes of corne and grayne wood
keping and pasturage of cattall as shalbe comynge
and growinge as well from John Cowp[er] my sonne
hys heyres executors and assignes by vertue of
an indenture made betwene me and the sayde
Alyce of thone partye and the sayde John my

[page 3] sonne of thother parte as also from Walter Cowper my
sonne hys heyres executours and assignes by vertue of
an Indenture made betwene me and the sayde Alice of
thone parte and the sayde Walter of thother parte ffrom
the daye of my decesse during the hoole terme of the
naturall lyef of the same Alice soo that the same
Alice shall not take or clayme at the lawe anye
dowrye or thred parte in any these lands tenements
and heredytaments which I have soulde unto the sayde
John my sonne and unton the sayde Walter my sonne
or any p[ar]cell of the same And if the same Alice
shall take or clayme at the lawe suche dowrye
or third parte in the p[re]myss[es] or anye parte thereof
I will that then all the sayde corne and grayne
wood and keping or pasturage of cattall or monye
and all other things geven by my wyll or else
anye other wayes comynge or i[n]cominge from the
sayde John Cowper and Walter Cowp[er] my sonnes
shall cease and remayne styll in thands of the same
John Cowper and Walter Cowper my sonnes there
heyres and assignes to their owne uses according
to the porcyons that shulde p[ro]cede from them Anye
thing aforsayde to the contrarye notwithstanding

Item I give to Robert my sonne or hys heyrs
Tenne pounds and Seven pounds therof to be payed

[page 4]
in the yere after my decesse and thother three pounds the
yere after that
Also I give to Rychard my sonne xxv^li
to be payed to hym or to hys heyrs executours or assignes
Seven pounds a yere to be payed next after Robert be
payed And I give Symond my sonne Tenne
pounds to be payed to hym or to hys heyrs five pounds
a yere next after Rychard be payed
And also I give
to Thomas my sonne and hys heyrs Thirttye
pounds to be payed next after Symon be payed vij^li a
yere

Item I give and bequthe unto John Fawkes my
sonne in lawe tenne marks ov[er] and besydes xx^tie more
conteyned in one obligacyon wherin I stande bounde
unto the same John Fawlkes Seven pounds a
yere tyll the sayde twenty pounds be fullye and
truelye payed

I give to Katering my daughter in
lawe twenty shillings

I give to Wyll[ia]m Woodcock
my godchylde twety shillings to be payed hym at
thage of xviij^ten yeares

And I give to John Coup[er]
my godsonne the sonne of Peter Cowper vi^s
viij^d and Rychard Baraclowe my godsonne vj^sviij^d
to be payed at xviij^ten years of age

I give to all my
other godchildren xij^d apece and to all my bellchildren^[2]>
unbequethed being borne at my lyef daye vi^s vi^d apece
to be payed at thage of xviij^ten years

Also I give to

[page 5]

John Cowp[er] the sonne of Thomas Cowper vj^s viij^d
at thage of xviij^ten years And if anye of my bellchildren
departe thother of the brethrene and systerne to have that
parte providyd always I wyll that the sayde legaces
shall not be otherwyse payed them that all suche debts
as I doe owe by my kindes of bonds be fyrst payed
or discharged anye things afore to the contrarye not
w[ith]standing

And I doe ordeyne and make my Exe
cutors John Fawkes and my sonne Rychard And
I will and desyre my brother Syr Walter Cowp[er]^[3]
to be Sup[er]viso[r] of this my p[re]sent testament beque
thing hym for hys labour xx^s These being wytt
ness[es] Stephen Longe p[ar]ysshe prest Rychard
Magges Robert Agges w[ith] others<br

Probate

This testament was proved at Norwich before Master Edmund Cowsen, commissary and official in and throughout the Archdeaconry of Norfolk, the last day of the month of December in the year of Our Lord one thousand five hundred and fifty six, and the administration of the goods etc was committed to the executors named in the said testament, being sworn in due form of law &c

Notes

1. ↑ ANF will register Liber 16 (Beales) fo. 279 - Cowper, John, elder, of Hingham 1556
2. ↑ bellchildren - archaic term for granschildren
3. ↑ Sir is a title for a priest rather than a knight in this context