Nicholas Daniell

Who was Nicholas Daniel, and what was his relationship to Sutton Benger? To answer those questions it is necessary to start with the Atkins family.

The Atkins (or Atkyns) family and their descendants were the tenants of Manor Farm throughout much of the 1600s and early 1700s; while their landlords, the Long family, were minor nobility, the Atkins family were one step lower down the social ladder and were ‘only’ relatively wealthy gentry. And another way in which they differed was that the Longs were staunch Royalists and supporters of the Church of England; but the Atkins family were Nonconformists and included at least one member of the family, Leonard Atkins, who fought for the Parliamentarians in the Civil Wars, and was Nicholas' grandfather.

Leonard’s daughter Anne had married a Nicholas Daniell of Dinton, near Salisbury; and their son was another Nicholas Daniell, born in 1677. For various reasons, Nicholas (junior) became an heir to the Atkins family, and received several bequests in Wills from 1692 to 1700, including property in Sutton Benger, Seagry and Malmesbury. He probably lived in the village from about 1700, and although he didn’t have the lease of Manor Farm, he probably had a similar-sized property – possibly Gate Farm.

Dinton parish register, 1677

Spaniels

Nicholas was also close friends with, and possibly related to, the Ashe family. This family had made their fortune in the clothing trade; several members of the family were MPs, and they had bought various Manors across Wiltshire, including Langley Burrell and Dinton, Nicholas’ original parish. Nicholas was an Executor for an Ashe from Westbury, and mentions Joseph Ashe of Langley Burrell several times in his own Last Will & Testament (LW&T). Nicholas clearly knew many of the ‘county gentry’ – one of his bequests is to three of them:

To my good neighbour Joseph Ashe the elder of Langley Burel; to George Duckett of Hartham Park; and to Ayliffe Whyte of Kington St Michael, I leave to them each £10. And to each of them I give one of my spanniels and desire their care of them.

... Spaniels ...

Sutton Benger

Nicholas’ lengthy Will has over one hundred individual bequests of money and land; his estate would probably be worth well over £1,000,000 today. It is quite unique in the way it lists the names of over twenty five Sutton Benger parishioners.

I give to my cousin Elizabeth, the wife of John Langley of Sutton aforesaid, the sum of £10. To my tenant Philip Brooks, if he be my tenant at my decease, I give the sum of £10. To my tenant Nicholas Stagg, if he be also my tenant at my decease, I give the sum of £5.
To each of them:
Thomas Coleman the elder;
Richard Baily;
William Bryant the elder;
Thomas Beaber;
Jasper Wheeler;
William Messiter the elder;
Daniel Gale the elder;
Daniel Deek the elder;
Francis Howell the elder;
Robert Ferris [of the pound ?];
Joseph Barrenton the elder;
William Bond;
Isaac Ferris the elder;
Richard Coller;
Robert Shingles the elder;
Lovel Haswell the elder;
John Thorne the elder;
Mary Barnard, spinster;
Hannah Jones, spinster;
Joan Barnard, widow;
Mary, the wife of William [Hawks ?];
Bridget Barnard, spinster;
Michael Messiter, widow;
Frances, the wife of Thomas Gleed;
and Hannah Baker, widow;
Briget Wastfield, widow;
All now or late of Sutton aforesaid, the sum of £5.

All now or late of Sutton

In another bequest, Nicholas mentions his leasehold estate 'situate in Sutton Benger aforesaid called Ferris or Croftland. Which tenement is now in the possession or occupation of my tenant Nicholas Stagg.' Unfortunately, there is no other record of a house or land with such a name, and it is not possible ot work out exactly where it was.

Woodland Burial

The LW&T does not seem to mention any close family or relatives, and the assumption is that he was unmarried. Unfortunately, no record of his death burial can be found. The LW&T does not include the usual introductory lines (eg, ‘In the Name of God, Amen’) and does not have the standard lines about commending his soul, etc. It is therefore possible that he was a staunch Nonconformist and that other relevant records have been lost; however, he does not seem to have been a Quaker.

But the most unusual clause in his Will comes with the final part, where he asks for a ‘woodland burial’. Which is probably why we do not have a record of his death or burial – which was in 1725 or early 1726.

I do desire to be interred in the Close of (Joseph Ashe) adjoining to the North Side of the Coppice situate in Langley Burel aforesaid, under the side of the said Coppice where there is a footpath leading from my house to his house.

And therefore request … that it be done accordingly and that my funeral be performed without the ceremony of Priest, Bell, Book or Candle, and that no more than five pounds be expended thereabout. And I would have a stone erected at the place with this Inscription:

From Gout and pox and plague – and women free;
From Law and Physick and Divinity;
And Knaves and fools of every Degree;
From care, fear, pain and hard necessity
Am fixed in what a happy state am I

From gout and pox and plaug ...

In Conclusion

So, if you ever happen to be walking in a wood, somewhere between Sutton Benger and Langley Burrell, and trip over a stone with an inscription on it … please could you let me know.

Please get in touch if you are related in any way to any of the people mentioned in this story and can add to their stories, or if you want to know any more about them.

PS

There is another great 'story' associated with the Ashe family of Westbury, and the Will that Nicholas was Executor for. Please get in touch if you want to know more ...

Also, there are a couple of Malmesbury-related bequests from Nicholas which are another good insight into the 1700s. Especially if you are interested in fishing and/or Thomas Hobbes.

Is there any particular story from Sutton Benger’s past that you want to know more about? Please get in touch:

by phone: 01249 721731
by email: hello@bengertrails.co.uk