Generously funded by the University of Exeterâs Public Engagement with Research Fund. Many thanks to the knowledgeable and generous attendees at our two recent workshops (June 2024) at The National Archives and the University of Exeter. Both days were marked by lively conversations and the fruitful exchange of ideas have kindled plenty more flames to […]
In this monthâs post, one of our Expert Volunteers shares her research into one of the wills she came across when transcribing pages for our project. Liz Wood, archivist and project volunteer There is a formula, a routine, to official copies of probate records. The same impersonal clerical hand, standard phrases about mind, bodily health […]
Emily Vine Early modern folk frequently added âconditionsâ to their wills: that a sum of money would not be given until a beneficiary reached the age of twenty-one, got married, or entered a certain profession, or threats to disinherit those who behaved poorly or ignored parental instruction. These caveats and contingencies reflect a key reason […]
Our third will of the month, that of affluent fashionable lady Helen Spratt (d.1726), is as long and as detailed as that of the Lincolnshire farmer Ralph Wrighte [link], and is full of rich detail about Helen’s possessions and what they meant to her. She itemises silk dresses, crimson quilts, and chinaware, and sets out […]
Emily Vine Whatâs in an early modern will? On the one hand the answer to this question is straightforward â according to the legal definition a will is the documentary instrument by which a person regulates the rights of others to their property or family after their death. Yet their value as historical records is […]