The will of John Blake at Erlestoke, Wiltshire in 1574 rather caught my interest a couple of days ago. I decided to transcribe it (I have a dozen or so Somerset Blake wills as well that I will start to transcribe to help sort out the Blake families there). Wiltshire continues to intrigue me because of its proximity to Andover Hampshire where I find my Blake family but also it adds to information for my one name Blake study at the Guild of one name studies.
Erlestoke, Wiltshire is commonly called Earl Stoke these days and it is located about 6 miles NE of Westbury and to give it a location with respect to the Blake family of Calne and Quemberford it is 11 miles S. A few places are mentioned in the will, namely; Imber which is 3.4 miles south of Erlestoke, East Lavington (now Market Lavington) is 3 miles east, Devize (now Devizes) is 6 miles north north east, Kelve (perhaps this is now Keevil) and Keevil is 3.9 miles north west, Easterton is perhaps East Town and it is 5 miles west. How this John Blake relates to the Blake family at Calne in this time period is unknown to me at this time of writing.
Unfortunately he only mentions his mother's name Johane, his brothers Robert and John (interesting to have a brother called by the same name and this does happen in the Blake family), his sister Agnes Blake, his daughters Margaret and Alice, and his friends/workers. John, and Robert are very usual names in the Blake family. The reference to Alice Wight daughter in law is a mystery - has he been married twice and acquired a step child or did a son die and his wife remarry! Searching the National Archives site I did find that in 1393 John Blake had witnessed a Grant at Wodelond for a croft called Chynnokescroft at Stokke near the close called Ynlond which rather caught my interest but didn't answer the question of whether this was the Blake family at Erlestoke in 1574!
One of my projects is to extract all the Blake names from the Protestation Returns extant in Wiltshire and having briefly looked at these records in Salt Lake City in 2008, the number of Blake males listed in 1641/42 in Wiltshire is large.
Since I transcribed the will I decided to post it on my blog although this bears absolutely no reference to the work that I have been doing on the Somerset Blake family. It was simply a will that caught my eye as I was looking through my Wiltshire wills.
Transcriber: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 9 Apr 2012
Source: Wiltshire Record Office, P2/5Reg/188A
Name of Testator: John Blake
Place: Erlestoke, Wiltshire, England
Type of Record: Will
Dated: 10 Apr 1574, probated 26 Apr 1574
Read: Electronic file
Condition: smudges, 16th century, bold copy, script
[In margin] Blake
[In margin] A
1 In the name of god Amen the tenthe daye of Aprill in the yere of o[u]r lorde god
2 one thousande fyve hundred three score fourtenne I John Blake of Erlestoke
3 in the countie of Wilts yeoman beinge vizited w[i]th sicknes how be it of good and
4 p[er]fett remembrance I praise god therfore do ordaine this my present testa
5 ment concerninge therin my laste will in manner and forme folowinge first
6 I bequeathe my soule to Almightie god my creator and maker hopinge to be
7 saved by the only mearitts of Christ my saviour and Redeamer and my bodye to
8 the earthe to be buryed in the churche of Erlestocke forsaid and for that I geve
9 to the said church iiij busshells of malte and a busshell of wheate And as
10 touchinge my worldly goods my will is to be disposed as folowethe Imprimis I
11 gyve and bequeathe unto Alice Wighte my daughter in lawe three yewes
12 to be delyvered unto her presently after my deceasse Item I geve and bequeathe
13 unto my sister Agnes Blake vj s viij d that Ambrose Losse of East lavington
14 dothe owe me to be paide at St James Daye and two busshells of pure
15 wheate that William Potter of Easterton dothe owe me to be paid att
16 harvest next Item I geve and bequeathe unto the same Agnes Blake my
17 sister a quarter of barley to be paide at harvest next and a blacke cassoke
18 Item I geve unto my mother Johane Blake eighte busshells of barley to be paide
19 presently after my deceasse and also a cassocke and a hatt Item I geve and
20 bequeathe unto William Tucker my daye man one acre of pease sowen at
21 Imber and one acre of otts Item I geve and bequeathe unto John Blake my
22 brother one acre of wheate in the shorte claye And one acre of beanes
23 shottinge upon broke halve and all my apparrell save my best coate Item I geve
24 and bequeathe unto Thomas Crosse the thirde of one halve of beanes and
25 the thirds of one acre of pease against the hill Item I gyve unto Thomas
26 Grannte a busshell of beanes Item I geve unto Richarde Tyllye a busshell of beanes
27 Item I give unto John Gylle my tasker xij d Item I gyve unto the goodwiffe Bolter
28 a busshell of wheate and a busshell of mawlte Item I gyve unto the goodman
29 Bolters twoe children John Bolter and Trystram either of them a sheape Item
30 Mr. Frannces of the Devize owethe me xx s the w[hi]ch I do forgyve itt him
31 Item Richard Wodshall of Kelve owethe me for seven quarters of mawlte
32 at xiiij d a busshell and three quarters of wheate meale at xviij d a busshell
33 the w[hi]ch dett I gyve the one halfe of it unto Chr[ist]ofer Cromwell and the
34 other halff I forgyve him if he will paye the one halff _myetly otherwise
35 I gyve the whole dett unto the said Chr[ist]ofer Cromwell Item I gyve
36 unto the said Chr[ist]ofer Cromwell a busshell of beanes Item I owe unto
37 Henry Yevans of Erlestocke xxx s vj d for a mare that I bought of him
38 Item the said Henry Yevans owethe me for iiij dosen of Reede at vi d of
39 a dosen cometh to xii s ij d Item I do owe unto Richard Coke v l vj s viij d to
40 be paid at and in the feast of St Michaell the archangell next cominge
41 Item I owe unto Chr[ist]ofer my servante xj s vj d and a paire of shooes
42 if he serve forthe his covenante Item I gyve unto every one of the Ringers
43 xij d a peece All the rest of my goods moveables and unmoveables my detts
44 and legacies beinge paid I geve and bequeathe unto my two children Margarett
45 Blake and Alice Blake my daughters whom I do make ordaine and make
46 my whole executors ioyntly of this my last will and testament to be equally
47 devyded betwixt them by my overseer And I do appoint Mr. Edward
48 Longe to have the tuition and bringinge upp of Margarett Blake my daughter
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49 and her portion of goods untill she be of the age of fouerteene yeres And then
50 she to have the use and proffitt of it her selff And the other of my daughters
51 Alice Blake I do appoint Robert Blake my brother to have the use and tuition
52 and bringing upp of my said daughter and her portion of goods untill
53 that she come to the age of fouertenne yeres And then she to have the use
54 and proffitt of her said goods And if any of my said children do dye before
55 they come to the age of fouertenne yeres that then her portion of goods
56 shall remayne to the other lyvinge And if bothe my said children do dye
57 before they come to the age of xiiij yeres that then I will that their
58 two portions of goods to remayne unto Robert Blake my brother Item
59 I geve unto my brother Robert Blake my best coate And I do request
60 and appoint the right worshyppfull Mr. William Brnncker esquyer
61 to be my overseer of this my last will and testament to see my detts
62 and legacies paid and my will p[er]formed And I do gyve unto the said
63 Mr. William Bruncker my best cowe for his paynes Theis bearinge
64 wittnes Chr[ist]ofer Cromwell Thomas Grante Richard Teye w[i]th others
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