The Last Will & Testament of Richard Atkins (abt 1580-abt 1637)

For an overview of the LW&T of Richard Atkins see 'Richard Atkins (died 1637) and Edward Barnard (died 1627)'

For detailed notes, see the the last page of this transcription.

LW&T of Richard Atkins; 20 June 1636

In the Name of God Amen, the twentieth day of June, Anno Domini one thousand six hundred thirty six, and in the twelfth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King Charles, over England

I, Richard Atkins of Sutton Benger in the County of Wilts, being sick in body but of good and perfect memory, ^ I praise God therefore, ^ do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner and form following.

That is to say, first I bequeath my soul into the hands of Almighty God, hoping only by the death and passion of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to enjoy life everlasting, which God of his infinite goodness and mercy grant it, Amen.

And for my worldly estate I dispose thereof as followeth.

First, I give and bequeath to the Cathedral Church of Sarum twelve pounds.

Item. I give to the poor of Sutton Benger twenty shillings.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my daughter Joane Atkins the sum of seven hundred pounds in money, to be paid unto her at her age of one and twenty years, or at her day of marriage [which ? ] shall first happen, or when six months after any of those terms so as she match her self to the liking of her mother and her overseers;

but if she shall happen to die before she marry, that then my mind is that one hundred pounds to be given to the four daughters of my son Robert Atkins that are now living and one other hundred pounds to the two children of my daughter Elizabeth Jaques.

And I give to my daughter Joane Atkins one featherbed and one bolster with the furniture belonging in the chapel chamber.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my son Robert Atkins:

the cupboard board standing in my chamber with a chair there standing; the bedstead with the great press in the great chamber; the table boards in the hall;

the great garnar for corn, the yoatinstone, the furnace, the boards and form with the cubord in the kitchen;

the bed and bolster that my maid lie on, and the bed and bedstead that my man lie on, with the furniture.

Item. I give to Bridget Atkins and to Katherine Atkins and to Anne Atkins and Jane Atkins, the daughters of Robert Atkins, five pounds apiece.

Item. I give to Richard Jaques and to Bridget Jaques the children of Elizabeth Jaques, my daughter, five pounds apiece.

All the rest and residue of my goods and chattels moveable and immoveable, my debts and legacies and funeral expenses discharged, not herein before bequeathed, I give and bequeath to Bridget my wellbeloved wife, whom I make my sole executrix of this my last will and Testament.

And I do appoint my son in law Anthony Neate and my son in law George Jaques to be overseers of this my last will. And for their payment I give them twenty shillings apiece.

And I do hereby revoke and annul all former wills by me herebefore made. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year above written [ 20 June 1636 ]

Richard Atkins [signed]

[witnesses]

Probatum

[In Latin; there is no clear date, and the only name appears to be that of Bridget Atkins, his wife and executrix.)

Endnotes

1. Until the 1500s, Sutton Benger effectively had two masters. The parish church was responsible to Salisbury Cathedral, and the vicar looked after the spiritual well-being of the parishioners. But the village (the Manor of Sutton Benger), and all the houses and land, were owned by Malmesbury Abbey. The Abbey had a priest at Sutton Benger; he managed the estate, and ensured that all income went to the Abbey. He lived at Manor Farm, and had a chapel attached to the farmhouse. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in about 1540, the Manor was taken from Malmesbury Abbey and eventually passed into the hands of the Long family. The Abbey’s priest was out of a job, and the chapel became a bedroom.
2. The Cathedral Church of Sarum is Salisbury Cathedral.
3. The reference to the 'chapel chamber' (bedroom) suggests that he was living at Manor Farm, which had its own chapel. See also the LW&T of Robert Atkins (1670/71), which also references the chapel chamber in the Inventory; Robert was probably the son and heir of this Richard.
4. A bedstead was just a frame with slats, wooden boards, or rope laid across, on which to put a mattress. The board that was used on the base of a bed was itemised separately from the bedstead. Similarly, boards that made up the surface of a table were itemised individually.
5. A ‘garnar’ was a chest, storehouse or small barn for grain or flour. Here it appears to be just a large chest, possibly in the kitchen. The word ‘yoatinstone’ is not found in general dictionaries but appears in several Sutton Benger wills; it is believed to be a whetstone or millstone. As with tables and beds, the boards in a cupboard could be itemised separately.
6. There are no witnesses named, and no signatures.