Mary Church Will - Medmenham 1770

 Mary Church widow of Medmenham proved 4th October 1770.

[She was the widow of Thomas above].

Says sick and weak of body but of sound and perfect mind and memory.

She wishes to confirm and ratify a deed her husband and she lately made to ?declare? or ?..? the uses of a fine [not a fine in the modern sense but a property transaction].

To her youngest daughter Grace the featherbed, tables, chairs and all other furniture in the chamber testator now has.

Eldest son Thomas gets another bed in the hall chamber with the bedstead bolster and other furniture belonging to it [furniture in this context meant fittings and accessories]. 

All her children get equally share and share alike her stock, crops of corn, grain and hay, utensils and implements of husbandry, cattle, household goods, furniture, chattels and all other personal property after debts and funeral expenses paid. If any of the children express displeasure at this they lose their share.

Sons Thomas, Richard and Mark made the will's executors.

Mary made a mark rather than sign.

Witnesses =Leah Wood, Richard Jenkins,  Thomas Atkinson clerk to Mr Newell of Henley.

CODICIL written the same day.

She is seized of the fee simple of a messuage or tenement with a garden and appurtenances in the parish of Cookham which is let at £2 15 shillings a year. Two rooms and a pantry have lately been added to this property. Mary wills that her daughter Grace receives Mary's rental income and profit from this for her natural life. She is to pay a proportional part of the land tax that will be due on the property.

Witnesses as above.

Sons Thomas and Richard granted probate with third son Mark allowed to claim the same right if he came to the probate court and applied. It was not uncommon where multiple executors are named for only one or two of them to travel to the probate court to get the grant of probate, it presumably having been agreed between them that winding up the deceased estate didn't in fact need all of them and they trust each other enough for only some to act. It can also be because one of the executors was far away, unwell or infirm or just plain too busy by the time the testator died so no longer felt themselves to be a suitable executor. The court nevertheless always reserved them future power to execute if they were living unless they came to the probate hearing and formally renounced their role.

The will of her daughter Grace is already in the blog here. Mark, Grace's brother, features in this will.

Mary was the widow of farmer Thomas Church who died earlier the same year.

This will summary was created from Charlotte Day's transcription of the original p.c.c will held at the National Archives Kew.

We focus on Marlow but try to include some surrounding area content. Over 100 will summaries are available on this blog. See the Will Transcriptions Index. More Medmenham related posts are indexed here.

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