Lowesby Probate Material

Lowesby is one of six deserted or shrunken villages within a small area in the east Leicestershire wolds. It was once of some importance, with a grant for a market and fair in the 14th century, although by the reign of Elizabeth I only four families (and many sheep) were living there. Its population expanded in the 19th century, with the advent of the railway, and it even had its own village school, which closed in the 1960s. With such a small population in the Stuart period, there is little probate material, but the few inventories that were lodged with the church courts offer an interesting window into the life of this small community. Here we see the shepherd, with a significant flock of his own as well as a herd of cattle, and even widow Mychill kept a few sheep and owned what may have been a very busy spinning wheel.

Nicholes Husse, shepherd, 1675

Elizabeth Mychill, widow, 1682

Anthony Pick, shepherd, 1691

Elizabeth Pick, 1698

Robert Timson, shepherd, 1698

You may also be interested in the probate material from the adjacent settlement, Cold Newton, which is in the parish of Lowesby.