Cliddesden Probate Material 1561-80
The three surviving wills and inventories, all from the 1570s, reflect a mixed agricultural community. Two testators had flocks of 225 and 120 sheep respectively, as well as wheat and other arable crops. One was a beekeeper. Their opening statements of religious faith show that the Elizabethan settlement had become embedded in the parish.
These transcriptions have been made from copies of original probate documents supplied by HRO. Words have been modernized and punctuation added to make reading easier but names have been transcribed as written. Words in italics indicate omissions in the original document which have been added to make sense of the text. Words in square brackets indicate that they have been transcribed as seen but where the meaning is unclear. Cliddesden is described as being in the county of Southampton, the old name for Hampshire.
The wills of Cliddesden rectors are published in a separate section of Explore.
A glossary is attached of unusual words. Links to the documents are below.
Content derived from research undertaken as part of the Victoria County History project
