Will of William Milton, brewer and fuller, 1542

Milton’s will is in traditional Catholic form requesting burial in Basing churchyard and leaving bequests to the high altar (12d) and to the cathedral (2d). Sadly there is no inventory but the equipment left to his two sons indicates activity as a brewer and a fuller. This is the period when Basingstoke’s cloth industry was at its height. The five daughters are each left 1 cow, so he had some farming interest too. Oddly, both sons were called Thomas.