Richard Atkins (died 1637) and Edward Barnard (died 1627)

Richard Atkins of Sutton Benger, gentleman, died on about 31 December 1637.

He was probably the same Richard Atkins who was the appraiser of the Inventory of John Atkins (1629). John was probably his brother, and they were the sons of a Leonard Atkins of Sutton Benger, who is also known to have rented land in Kington St Michael in the late 1500s.

Reference to the ‘chapel chamber’ in Richard’s Will shows that he was at Manor Farm, where the previous chapel had become a bedroom after the Reformation (the Dissolution of the Monasteries).

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.

Richard's Will is significant for the amount of money left in bequests: he left £700 to his unmarried daughter, which would be the equivalent of about £125,000 in 2024. This can be contrasted with another Sutton Benger Will from about the same time - that of Edward Barnard (1627). Edward left no money, and his major bequests were a bed, a yearling calf, and an acre of corn.

The detailed Wills of both Richard Atkins and Edward Barnard have been transcribed in full and are now on the website.