Also sited in the church but now dismantled during a Victorian refurbishment was a large gallery of possibly late 18th century date on the front of which was inscribed in large capitals...'Joseph Kitelee, Thomas Kitelee, William Swannell, Benjamin Churchill the names of the principal inhabitants of the parish at whose expense it was built for their own accommodation'. Our Tooth and Panter ancestors were also among such inhabitants and intermarried with the Swannell, Churchill, Rainbow, Nicholls, Truelove and Kitelee families of both Castlethorpe and Hanslope. All appear to have enjoyed a fair degree of wealth and as an indication of their standing in the community certain documents relating to the Castlethorpe Enclosure Award of 27 March 1793 show Messrs. Kitelee, Rainbow, Swannell, Nicholls, and my grandfather Charles Tooth as ‘officials’ and ‘Trustees of the Poors’ Land’.

Sir Thomas' daughter-in-law, the Lady Anne Tyrell wife of his son Sir Peter, was in fact the grand-daughter of Sir Walter Raleigh she being the daughter of his son Carew. Following Judge Sir Thomas’ death in 1672 the Lady Anne and Sir Peter resided with their family in the ‘Manor’ House at Castlethorpe until their deaths. Lady Anne was buried on 24th January 1709 and Sir Peter on 11th March 1711. Their son Sir Thomas - Sir Walter Raleigh's grandson - survived them and lived there with his daughters and co-heirs Harriett and Christobella until his death in 1714. The sisters moved elsewhere in the county to live and later married. At her third marriage Christobella became the Right Honourable Viscountess Say & Sele and lived at Grendon Underwood near Aylesbury. She died in 1789 aged 94 and published sources relate that even at that age she still dressed and acted as though a girl of eighteen which, for those subjected to her company, must have been a sad, amusing or wearing experience. Harriett married James Lamb Esq., of Kirtlington, Co. Oxon. who died in 1777 and whom she survived until 1785.

The Castlethorpe Census Return of 1841 dated 10th June lists William Tooth, miller, aged 70 and his wife Susannah, also aged 70. William could be said to be very long in the Tooth (sorry!) and no doubt having spent so long in the mill harness he found it impossible to stop pulling the cart. With no telly yet in the house to watch he would probably have spent most of his time in the mill building enjoying a pipe o’ baccy while keeping a beady eye on his employees. On the 20th June, just ten days after the Census information had been given, Susannah died and was buried four days later. Ten months after this, on 8th April 1842, the couple’s 21-month old grand-daughter Katherine died and four days later was interred in her grandmother Susannah’s grave. Whilst on a visit to Castlethorpe churchyard in 1988 I discovered and photographed their gravestone memorial. At the time it was not in situ but was being used - or rather abused - as part of a pathway leading to the gravedigger's shed! The memorial reads: ‘In Memory of Susannah wife of William Tooth who departed this life June 20 1841 aged 32 years [also] Katherine, daughter of James and Jane Tooth who departed this life April 8 1842 aged 21 months’ and ‘tis religion that can give, wholesome pleasures when we live, ‘tis religion can supply, solid comfort when we die’. Note the error made by the mason when engraving the stone - Susannah was about 72 when she died not 32. There are visible signs that he made a token attempt to correct his mistake but with little success. Note also that, with regard to Susannah’s ages as stated above there appears to be an error between the age given for her in the Census, 70, and her age at death, 72, as per the burial register entry. Her age recorded in the Census should have been the latter but in the 1841 enumeration only the ages of adults were rounded up or down to the nearest five years thus Susannah’s real age was rounded down to 70. The ‘James’ referred to on the gravestone was one of William and Susannah’s nine sons - of whom more later - in trade as a butcher with a shop in Castlethorpe village. Miller William died in 1850 and was buried at Castlethorpe on 30th June aged ’82 years’.

Only three of William and Susannah's nine sons reached adulthood. William the eldest of the trio barely made it as his mortality ended with his death at Castlethorpe where he was buried on 12 February 1821 aged ‘24’. This William was the couple’s second child born after the burial of William their firstborn who’d died at the mill house in 1795 when only 15 months’ old.

The youngest of William and Susannah’s three sons, John, was baptised at Castlethorpe on 8th March 1799 and married there on 3rd February 1826, his bride being local girl Elizabeth Harris. According to the baptismal entries for his offspring John’s trade was that of miller so he was obviously working at the mill with his father. By December 1831 the couple had baptised three daughters: Catherine on 4th November 1827; Mary on 10th January 1830 and Elizabeth on 28th December 1831. On the very day that third daughter Elizabeth was being baptised her father was being buried! Only one month prior to his death his second daughter Mary had died and was buried on 17th November 1831. John’s wife Elizabeth must have been distraught as in the five years since her marriage in 1826 she’d given birth to three daughters, suffered the death of one and that of her husband as well. She may have lost another of her two surviving children, third daughter Elizabeth baptised on John's burial day in 1831, possibly sometime between that event and 1841 as her name does not appear in the family’s Census entry for that year nor any of the subsequent ten-yearly Census returns. Her absence tends to support my assumption that she did indeed die although there is no relevant burial entry for her in the Castlethorpe registers.

The 1851 Census for Castlethorpe lists miller John’s widow Elizabeth as ‘schoolmistress’ and their surviving daughter Catherine, as a ‘lacemaker’. Two years later Musson and Craven’s Directory, 1853 informs us that she was teaching a class of twenty-five pupils. Mother and daughter’s listings in subsequent ten-yearly Census’ paint a basic picture of their lives together. In the Census of 1861 Elizabeth’s age is given as 61 and Catherine’s as 33 and this time the latter is described as ‘assistant’ to her mother the ‘schoolmistress’ (see page 8 this episode for a transcript). The Census of 1871 has Elizabeth as ‘late school-mistress’ and Catherine as ‘lacemaker’ again. Ten years later still, in 1881, Elizabeth is listed as ‘school-mistress’ though this was probably a courtesy title as it is doubtful if she was in fact still teaching. She died on 11th October 1884 aged circa 84 sorely missed by her no doubt faithful and supportive 56-year old spinster daughter Catherine who lived on for another 24 years and died aged circa 80 on 6th April 1908. Both are buried at Castlethorpe.

William and Susannah Tooth’s son James, baptised 7th February 1802, married Jane Cowley at Castlethorpe on 1st July 1825. A butcher in the village with a leased shop he was following the same trade as that practised by our mutual ancestors the Panters. Castlethorpe Census return of 1841 lists James and Jane living in the village with one son and five daughters: Charles; Ann; Elizabeth; Mary; Jane and Catherine. But according to the Newport Pagnell Census return for 1851 (a town nearby), they were living and trading

there at Abbey End. Only three daughters are listed at home: Elizabeth, 20, ‘straw-bonnet maker’; Mary 16, ‘dressmaker’ (who later married Wm. Martin Bromwich, a draper) and Jane 13, ‘scholar’ (at school). The Castlethorpe Census return for 1861 confirms that James and Jane had returned to their home village, with daughter Jane 22 and now a ‘dressmaker’ so the rest of the brood appear to have left home. Living-in with James and Jane were their grandchildren Charles Tooth-Jones, ‘butcher’, aged 15 and Harriett Tooth-Jones,‘scholar’ aged 9. They were the issue of James’s daughter Ann, who’d married Isaac Jones at Castlethorpe in 1845. Young Charles was almost certainly being taught the butcher trade in his grandfather James’ shop as the Census return of 1871 shows him aged 25 still in the shop, probably slaving away with the meat cleaver whilst his aunt Jane was perhaps dress-making for dear life. The pair were home-bred staff, ideal for whipcracking chastisement and both subservient to a fault perhaps. I visualise them now, working flat-out morning, noon and night in order to keep the oldies James and Jane, now circa 70 and 66 respectively, in back-parlour comforts.

The Tooth family home and shop in South Street Castlethorpe

Meanwhile, back at t’mill... the building was converted to a family home many years ago and normally one would never get to visit and see the inside regardless of what former close connection one's ancestors had had with the place. However, this time luck was on my side as for several years past the owners, Mr and Mrs Young, had been holding an annual open-day in aid of Multiple Sclerosis funds. The forthcoming event was announced in the local newspaper which is how it came to my notice and fortune favoured me yet again as only at the last minute did I happen to spot that the very last occasion that this event would be held was to be in July 1998. This would be the last opportunity I would have to visit the property so with camera akimbo I set off hotfoot for Castlethorpe Mill. Mr Young the owner was greeting everyone personally and when I queried whether or not the name Tooth meant anything to him he affirmed that it most certainly did. He was a retired builder who’d bought the property many years ago and it was obvious he’d used his practical experience to restore the mill sym-pathetically when converting it into a home. Some of the mill machinery from my grand-uncle William's time was still in situ and I was allowed to handle surviving artefacts which he had probably used. A marvellous opportunity to touch one’s past - literally!

A codicil refers to ‘…my heir Hannah Sherington, spinster…’ whom I later confirmed was his niece aged ca.22 and the daughter of Samuel and Mary. Two years prior to Charles' death in 1734, his father Charles Panter - my six times great-grandfather - died aged ca.84. Charles junior was the sole executor of his father's will but the probate for it was not granted until 30th May 1736, two years later, by which time Charles junior himself was deceased and had been buried for over a month! As he was in no position to take up his executor duties the grant of probate was amended to record his untimely death and confirm the appointed substitute, Charles junior’s nephew, Richard Panter. This young relative was under 21 so probate was granted during his minority to a John Gooday, gentleman, of Bradwell, Bucks.

As lace merchants the two Charles Panters, father and son, would no doubt have purchased the output produced by the cottagers of Hanslope and Castlethorpe and surrounding area. The county of Buckinghamshire was renowned for its lacemaking and Hanslope lace was considered to be particularly fine. The record for Charles senior's marriage to the woman who became his wife, Elizabeth ?, is missing from the local registers so frustratingly her maiden or widow surname is unknown but it is hoped that the entry may well turn up elsewhere in the course of time. Charles and Elizabeth gave life to four sons and five daughters, the youngest destined to become my five times great-grandmother Mary Tooth (formerly Sherington, nee Panter). Actual birth dates are not usually given in early baptismal registers so calculating an individual’s correct age throughout their lifetime is impossible. However, in Mary’s case I was able to narrow down the date of her birth to within two months which becomes important when attempting to ascertain the number of issue she had by Samuel Sherington. On 24th January 1687, two months prior to Mary’s baptism, her parents Charles and Elizabeth had buried a child of the same name therefore Mary was probably born sometime during the two months following that event and her baptism on 29th March when she was so-named obviously in memory of her recently deceased sibling.

The revelation in Charles Panter junior’s will dictated a search for the record of the marriage of Mary Panter to Samuel Sherington but little did I know it would prove to be yet another of the missing variety. Inevitably I started with the Castlethorpe and Hanslope registers but lack of success dictated yet another trawl through the records of many other Buckinghamshire parishes. After putting-in much effort I eventually stumbled across not the marriage record for Mary Panter and Samuel Sherington as expected but that for John Tooth and Mary Sherington, Samuel’s widow! The event took place at Gayhurst, not far from Castlethorpe, and is recorded not in the original register which is missing but on a tattered Bishop’s Transcript sheet thus…

‘16 February 1720 married John Tooth and Mary Sherington’. The script is almost illegible and part of the sheet's edge is disentigrated due to age and damp, partly corrupting John's forename, circumstances which made me feel somewhat more benevolent toward myself for having missed the entry when I viewed the page first time round years ago.

Mary's first husband yeoman Samuel Sherington, the son of Alexander Sherington, was baptised at Hanslope on 21st October 1677 and died at Castlethorpe where he was buried on 22nd September 1714 aged about 37. His marriage to Mary Panter is not recorded in the registers of either place or indeed those of any other local parish. Missing register entries may be due to an oversight by the minister as it was not uncommon for a cleric to perform a ceremony and then register the details later, a practice which could and often did give rise to errors and omissions. It is possible that the event occurred elsewhere in the country and it is hoped it may be located with further research.

While making the fruitless search of the Castlethorpe and Hanslope registers for Samuel and Mary's marriage record I took the opportunity to extract all entries relating to the Sherington family and amassed a gratifying number from which I produced a pedigree covering five generations, 1621 - 1737. As our descent is via Mary’s second marriage to John Tooth not her union with Samuel Sherington, we have no connection with his family through him. However, a bloodline with the Sheringtons is secured for us via the marriage of Anne Elliott and John Tooth at Castlethorpe in 1792. This John, a grandson of John and Mary Tooth whose marriage I'd been seeking, worked Castlethorpe Mill with his brother William Tooth, the tenant miller (see episode 3). Anne Elliott was a daughter of Priscilla Sherington-Elliott nee Sherington-Hambledine, a daughter of Mary Sherington who married John Hambledine. Their marriage is recorded in both the Castlethorpe and Hanslope registers as 2nd November but both give conflicting year dates…the former 1733, the latter 1732.

On my Sherington pedigree the name ‘Samuel’ occurs in four of its five generations. Mary Panter of course married the Samuel baptised in 1677 but as already explained the record of the event has still to be located. The arrival of likely issue, which I've attributed to the couple via baptismal entries in the Castlethorpe registers, poses a dilemma. A first child, baptised in1701 was buried in 1703. Others followed in 1703; 1706; 1708; 1709; 1711; and finally a Hannah in 1714 (the niece referred to in the will of Charles Panter junior). At the time of the 1701 baptism Samuel Sherington would have been about 24 years old while Mary Panter,

born in 1687, would have been a child of only 14! The fact that the baptismal register entries give only Samuel's name and omits that of his wife is frustrating. Various local records indicate that there was no other Samuel Sherington in the area at that time who could have fathered the issue, which more or less confirms Samuel, baptised in 1677, as being the man who fulfilled that role. The baptism of 1703 would have seen Mary aged only 16 when a marriage and the birth would be a possiblity but doesn’t ‘feel’ right. By the time of the 1706 baptism she would have been about 19 when childbearing becomes more feasible so on the line pedigree I suggest an unsubstantiated marriage date of circa 1705.

With regard to the earlier baptisms of 1701 (Elizabeth) and 1703 (Mary) and possibly that of 1706 (Jane)… until other evidence surfaces, I can only assume that two or maybe all three of these children were Samuel’s issue by an earlier marriage. This would seem to be the most likely explanation as Samuel, being ten years older than Mary, was a prime candidate to have been married before. He was already aged about 24 in 1701 when the first child was baptised and if my assumption is correct then a first wife could have departed this life sometime after the 1703 baptism and prior to that of 1706 or perhaps 1708. But if that were indeed the case there is no entry in the local registers for either a marriage to or a burial of a first wife. It was the usual practice for a marriage to take place in the bride’s parish so that relatives and neighbours could see that everything was ‘legal and above board’. Also fairly common was for a person, prior to death, to express the wish that they be buried in their parish of birth. If Samuel did indeed have a first wife and both their marriage and her burial were recorded in registers that have survived, they may be found elsewhere.

In 1708 the authorities caught up with our Samuel which resulted in him appearing at the Aylesbury Quarter Sessions on 15th July. The charge reads: 'Indicted... Samuel Sherington of Castlethorpe for converting his house into two tenements... fined 3s. 4d.'. Perhaps he’d forgotten to apply for planning permission? By this time he must have married Mary Panter and if so perhaps she came with expensive tastes so in order to afford to indulge her occasionally he probably resorted to a little sub-letting to raise the necessary cash! Following this brush with the law in 1708, a further four children arrived on the scene starting with Elizabeth in that same year. Katherine came along in 1709; Priscilla in 1711 and Hannah in 1714 but again, the register entries for all these baptisms omit the mother’s name.

The tower and spire of Hanslope Church said to be the finest in North Buckinghamshire

The ‘founding father’ at the top of my Sherington pedigree is nine times great-grandfather Samuel Sherington who married Anne Lingard at Hanslope on 18 January 1621. She was the widow of William Lingard, minister of the parish since at least 1605 the year in which he'd married her as nee Hillyer. They had two sons and five daughters. Minister William died in 1620 and was buried on 15th April after which Anne wasted no time in marrying Samuel Sherington as their wedding took place only nine months after her husband departed this life. As widow of a minister she probably felt she still had standards and a position to maintain which may account for the fact that following her marriage to Samuel exactly nine months elapsed before any issue appeared on the scene. Their firstborn were twins Samuel and Thomas jointly baptised on 8th October 1621 but both died and were buried at Hanslope three days later.

A name which appears often on the Sherington pedigree is that of ‘Alexander Sherington’. In the book ‘Sherington: Fiefs and Fields of a Buckinghamshire Village ’ (Cambridge University Press, 1965) is a tabular pedigree headed ‘Sherington of Filgrave & Leckhamstead ’ (the former place lies near Sherington village and the latter between Buckingham and Stony Stratford). It spans the period 1200-1300, the gap between the latter date and the 1621 start date of the Sherington pedigree being about 320 years. Yet despite this lengthy period of time the commanding name on both pedigrees which catches the eye is ‘Alexander Sherington’! The book relates that this family were responsible for founding the village bearing its name which still exists today.

Where was five times great-grandfather John Tooth prior to 1720? I speculate that he came from the Midlands, a yeoman farmer who may have been offered the chance of transferring to the Castlethorpe area or perhaps he purchased land there himself. For centuries, the cluster of

Sir Walter was hanged in 1618 and I wonder if perhaps his spirit visited his grand-daughter and her family during their time under the very roof that, in years to come, would give shelter to our grandfather and his family. Bearing in mind the various official positions Sir Thomas Tyrell held and his association with the King, my imagination kicks in once again to consider if any great names may have graced the property with their presence prior to my ancestors’ time there.

Sir Peter's wife the Lady Anne died in 1708 and he too died only three years later in 1711. She had given birth to six daughters and one son (Sir Walter Raleigh's great grandchildren of course). The son Thomas, (bap.1669), succeeded to the title upon the death of his father after which he lived on in the house with his two daughters for only three years until his death in 1714. He joined his parents and the rest of the Tyrell family - not forgetting the Tooths, Panters and the rest of course - in Castlethorpe churchyard (see episode 2). Sometime after his death his daughters Christobella and Harriett moved elsewhere and later married.

Between 1724 and 1730 - under an Act of Parliament - the manor and estate were sold to pay the fortunes of the co-heiresses Christobella and Harriett. It was purchased by Sarah, Dowager Duchess of Marlborough and it was under the provisions of her will that the manor and estate were conveyed to her grandson John Spencer, Esquire of Althorpe, Northamptonshire and thus it eventually descended to the Spencer family. This explains how in later years grandfather Charles Tooth and also his son, my grand-uncle William Tooth the miller, came to be long-term tenants of one of the Earls Spencer, ancestors of the late Princess Diana.

At about the time the Tyrell house was being sold, Charles Tooth was born to my grand-parents John and Mary Tooth. He was baptised on 29th May 1726 and on 5th April 1762 married Ann Swannell at Castlethorpe, by licence. The surviving licence allegation document of 1762 records the ages given when the licence was applied for: Ann was 24 and Charles 32. But his baptism in 1726 meant that he was at least 36 years old! Charles himself would no doubt have obtained the licence and presented it directly to the minister at the ceremony so Ann, not having had sight of it, may always have thought that Charles was eight instead of twelve years her senior! Perhaps he looked young for his age and thought he could get away with it but it’s possible that with no birth certificate to serve as an aide memoire he had genuinely forgotten his age, a common failing at that time (Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths did not commence until July 1837).

That my grandmother Ann Tooth should come to be residing at the ‘big house’ was only to be expected as, judging by her father’s will, she would then be living in the manner to which she was accustomed. By the standards of the day her parents Joseph and Mary Swannell were extremely wealthy. They had married at St. Mary Aldermary in the City of London on 3rd June 1730. Mary’s surname is given as Chaturn but other entries indicate that it was probably Chater or Carter and she was of St. Swithin’s parish while Joseph was of Newport Pagnell (research into their ancestry is in the queue). They are not shown on the line pedigree (appendix C) but as my five times great-grandparents they are of the same generation as John and Mary Tooth. The Swannell’s offspring were all born at Castlethorpe… two sons, William and Joseph (my grand-uncles) and four daughters, Ann (my grandmother) and Catherine, Frances and Elizabeth (my grand-aunts). As referred to in an earlier paragraph Ann married Charles Tooth on 5th April 1762. Four months later, on 25th August, her sister Elizabeth married Charles Panter. He was the son of Anne Panter (nee Tooth), sister of Charles Tooth and was therefore the latter’s nephew (see episode 5, page 1 for a helpful pedigree chart). Joseph Swannell’s will, written on 10th March 1774, describes him as a ‘gentleman of Stony Stratford, Bucks'. It was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 30th March 1775 and its content certainly confirms Joseph to have been wealthy as this summary indicates: to son William a house and outbuildings at Castlethorpe and £200; to son Joseph the present family home with garden at Castlethorpe and £200; to both sons the property situated in Cornhill, City of London (via other sources, No. 11) occupied by Richard Wells, stationer, in trust for the rents therefrom to be paid solely to Joseph’s widow Mary and at her decease, sold for best price in order to fund the cash legacies: £200 each to Catherine, Frances and Ann, £50 to grand-daughter Mary and the £200 each to William and Joseph. The wealth evident in this document is only part of the assets many of my ancestors seem to have accumulated during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries which, calculated at today’s rates, would surely amount to a considerable sum. My will sources total: eleven for Panter; three for Tooth; three PCC for Panter and two PCC for Swannell (for PCC explained see ‘Miscellanea’).

Of Charles and Ann Tooth’s six offspring four survived: John, baptised 1764, was buried in 1769; William, baptised 1768 (the miller, see episode 3); John, baptised 1770 was buried in 1772; John, baptised circa 1773, married Ann Elliott; Ann, baptised 1777 married Charles Rainbow and Mary (no baptismal record) married his brother William Rainbow. The Rainbow family owned property in the area and records appertaining to their holdings make up a deposit at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies referred to as ‘The Rainbow Estate’.

It is not known exactly when Charles and Ann Tooth took over the tenancy of the remaining portion of Sir Thomas Tyrell’s house at Castlethorpe. Sometime prior to their occupancy part of the building had been demolished leaving an L-shaped portion standing. As yet no illustrations or engravings showing the building prior to alteration have come to light. However, the property has been written-up and photographed for many publications such as the ‘Royal Commission on Historical Monuments’ (1912) and ‘Buildings of England’ (Pevsner, 1994). A relevant quote has been selected to accompany the photo that appears on page four of this episode. The photo gives us an indication of what the original building must have looked like - probably a very substantial, rustic, country house of stone. Solid certainly but a classic Blenheim Palace or Woburn Abbey it could not have been. During and since my grandfather’s time there, the house has been known as Castle Yard and also Castle House, the reason being that it was built on the castle site 150 yards west of the church. Quotes from the book ‘The Tyrells of England’ (Brown, 1982) refer to the alterations that previous owners have made to this period property: ‘this old house has once again become a single private residence, but in the process has suffered considerably at the hands of those renovating and converting it for modern living’ and ‘the destruction and alterations of two and a half centuries… ground floor walls have been removed and doorways altered even to the extent of cutting through an old fireplace… bringing the roof space into use as rooms has involved the removal of the tie-beams’. However, various features from Sir Thomas’ day still remain and in spite of all its conversion faults it has attracted listed building status.

The first evidence confirming Charles and Ann’s tenancy is recorded by the document ‘Assignment of Chattels’ dated 7th November 1787 but they would certainly have been living there prior to that time. The document measures 24” wide by 19” and bears 57 densely-packed lines of readable script penned across its full width. Charles’ signature is excellent and his seal is affixed. He must have been going through a bad patch at that time as it appears he could not afford to pay his Land Tax or Poors’ Rate - perhaps farming had been disastrous that year. The document relates that Charles was supported by his brother John Tooth, his brother-in-law William Swannell and John Nicholls and that all parties had considered a private sale as being the best method for disposal of the goods.

Charles’ live and dead stock and possessions were appraised, valued and listed until the amount outstanding had been realised. His three supporters presented the agent with their Bond in the sum of 'three hundred and forty-six pounds, five shillings and twopence-halfpenny’ plus a further ‘fifty-four pounds and eleven shillings’ being a half-year’s rent due. As a formality Charles provided his three Bondsmen with a Bill of Sale but the bequests in his will of 1807 suggests that they did not actually remove the goods thus indicating that he managed to repay the loan which to all intents and purposes they’d made. The document’s value to us is priceless as it shows every stick of furniture, warming pan, pewter plate and brass candlestick in our grandfather’s home of 218 years ago! The list of stock, goods and chattels referred to (see pages 10 and 11 this episode) is quite an eye-opener and confirms the fact that this was no pauper or cottager but a man of substance and means even if he was in debt! After all, Charles was living in what was left of Sir Thomas Tyrell’s former home which, even in its altered state, was probably still of some prestige.

In the assignment document the household contents have been itemised room by room which is the same method as used to compile the copious inventory which is attached to the will of Dame Bridget Tyrell, Sir Thomas’ third wife. There may be no illustration in existence showing the house prior to alteration but the inventory of her possessions made when the property was whole is an excellent substitute, perhaps even more telling as its content affords a much better idea of the great size of the place. It lists all Dame Bridget’s household goods, furnishings, jewellery and paintings, etc., among the latter being portraits of the King and Queen. The inventory reveals that the original house had the benefit of five living rooms, fourteen bedrooms, eight service rooms and ten closets. A full transcript of Dame Bridget’s inventory will be found as appendix D.

Of Charles and Ann Tooth’s children mentioned earlier, two sons and two daughters survived and would have lived at the ‘big house’ until the time came for marriage and the move away. As described in episode 3, Charles and Ann’s eldest son William became Castlethorpe’s long-serving miller. He married in 1792 and in 1794 took over from his father the responsibility for the mill taxes and continued to work the mill with the help of his brother John, Charles and Ann’s second son. John it was who married Anne Elliott, also in 1792, and they became my grandparents in the generation after Charles and Ann. In 1793 Charles, with four others, acted as an official for the parish enclosure procedure taking place in that year. The next documented evidence we have for him is an Althorpe Estate rent book dated 1796 (see transcription on page 4, episode 3), showing him at

People possessing land with an annual value of at least forty shillings qualified for jury service and this duty fell to some of our Panter ancestors. One such was Gilbert the butcher (bap. 1644), nephew of my grandparents Robert and Elizabeth Panter (see episode 1), and he is first from the list of Panter entries. His attendance was required as a juror at the Easter Session held at Aylesbury on the 22nd April 1680. The record states that he forfeited his recognizance bond of £10 due to non-appearance and that his sureties (guarantors), his brother William Panter, butcher and Hugh Renne, farmer, both of Hanslope, forfeit £5 each. Making journeys 325 years ago must have been fraught with difficulty and Gilbert would have needed an early start and a fast horse in order to cover the 20 miles or so between Hanslope and Aylesbury. But on that morning perhaps he fancied a lie-in and if he did it cost him dear!

At the Trinity Session held at Wendover on the 13th July 1693, William Panter, butcher of Hanslope and brother of the Gilbert mentioned above was, (with others), indicted for ‘trading as badgers without a licence.' Badgers was a term applied to corn dealers and

itinerant traders, also known as higglers or pedlars. They were required to comply with the law by obtaining a licence but to avoid the relevant fee many risked being caught trading without one. 'Badger' cases were innumerable and regularly feature in Quarter Session Records. According to those for the Trinity Session at Chesham, Bucks. on 18th July 1695, William Panter was at it again!

The Gilbert referred to earlier had a son also named Gilbert (bap.1667) who, at the Michaelmas Sessions held at Chepping Wycombe, Bucks. on 8th and 17th October 1702, snitched on a Hanslope neighbour, Joseph Parrett, informing the court that he had ‘spoken scandalously of Colonel Mountjoy Mortimer calling him a cheating rogue and a pitiful dogg’ [sic]. There is no indication as to what transpired after that little outburst.

At the Easter Session held at Aylesbury on 4th April 1706, ‘William Panter and Dorothy his wife (with others), were indicted for rescuing William Panter junior, butcher of Hanslope, from the custody of several bailiffs after he had been arrested at the suit of Thomas Creake’. Sounds like they Panters were a violent lot and certainly looked arter their own!

The Epiphany Session at Aylesbury on the 12th January 1710 recorded that …‘prisoner Francis Panter (and others) was supplied with one loaf a day at the price of tuppence a loaf’. Later that same year, at the Aylesbury Michaelmas Session on 5th October, Francis, having got his loaf and in spite of being in gaol wasn’t afraid to speak up for himself…’ Francis Panter complained that his loaf of bread was not the weight it should have been. The complaint was upheld and the bakers were discharged and others appointed’. Good for you, Francis! Still on the bread line…in the following year, the Epiphany Session at Aylesbury was on the 11th January and this time - referred to as felons in Aylesbury gaol - we have…’prisoners supplied with bread: John, Francis and William Panter’. Sounds as though most of the family were doing a stretch!

Moving on 13 years… this time the Session was at Buckingham on the 8th October 1724 and the Panters were getting tough: ‘Indictments…Christopher Panter, bargeman and Mary his wife, Mary and Hanna [sic] Panter, spinsters, with others and all described as of Wolverton, for riotous behaviour, forcibly entering the house of John Clarke and taking thence a turnspit jack, five pewter plates, a pewter dish, a brass skimmer and a firegrate and assaulting James Thornton. Bringing the prosecution: Elizabeth Clarke and James Thornton’. They obviously had a cart sale in mind for that little lot!

My grand-uncle William Panter, along with two other people, witnessed Elizabeth Lane’s will written on 4th January 1685 and proved 9th May 1694. Acting as a witness in those days was perhaps a duty taken more seriously than it is today. Bearing in mind Elizabeth’s background and standing, her request that William perform this service meant that he must have been either a trusted acquaintance who was sufficiently in her confidence, or her friend.

It is intriguing to speculate on the nature of any relationship that may have existed between William Panter and Widow Elizabeth. He and his family were among the more well-off inhabitants of Castlethorpe, Hanslope and surrounding area. Collectively they would have formed the group with which Elizabeth and William Lane socialised and the latter’s brother Luke Lane had witnessed several documents on behalf of my ancestors many of whom left a will. These records are enlightening and give a good indication of the comfortable life style the Panters must have enjoyed. Many are described as 'gentleman' or 'yeoman farmer' (see footnote). They were also in trade as butchers, lace merchants, innholders, etc. so as candidates for entertaining they were at least worthy of consideration by Elizabeth and her husband. As long as the couple’s guests knew how to behave socially and which knife and fork to use and could also avoid making either a fool or a mess of themselves we must assume that Liz and Bill considered them acceptable company. At that time, although people were aware of their 'place' in the community, class was not as rigidly structured and enforced as in the Victorian and Edwardian periods when it was the norm to treat those above one with deference and those below with contempt.

Yeoman: 'person qualified, by possessing free land of forty shillings annual value, to serve on juries and vote for a Knight of the shire. Small landowner, farmer, person of middle-class engaged in agriculture'

Certainly it would have been possible for William Panter to have been Elizabeth’s friend as he was among the local crowd she and her husband would have known and had to mix with. Being the daughter of her father she may well have been introduced to some very notable people and may possibly have attended the royal court.

Gayhurst House, 2½ miles north-east of Castlethorpe, was the setting where part of the drama was played-out. It was there that owner Sir Everard Digby not only entertained Guy Fawkes, the explosives man of the operation, but also contributed £1,500 toward the expenses of the venture (or misadventure as things turned out). As Sir Everard’s great house is close to Castlethorpe and Hanslope the subterfuge would have been going on almost under the very noses of our ancestors as they went about their daily routine. As we know the plan to blow up Parliament came close to fruition but was foiled. Sir Everard, minor part or not, was committed to the Tower in 1605 and in 1606 was taken to trial at Westminster where he pleaded guilty. Three days later he was hanged, drawn and quartered near St. Paul’s Church.

The earlier house at Gayhurst, begun in 1597 was, for a very short time, owned but not lived in by Sir Francis Drake who'd been given it by Queen Elizabeth on his return from the Indies. Gayhurst church lies within the grounds of and close by the present house. Our family’s link with the place was via my grandparents John and Mary Tooth whose marriage was to take place in the old church on 16th February 1720 just prior to its demolition. The new church was completed and consecrated in 1728 and ten years later, on 19th November 1738, it was chosen as the venue for the marriage of John and Mary’s daughter Anne Tooth to her cousin Richard Panter. She was my grand-aunt and Richard it was who, in 1764, became the insolvent debtor committed to Aylesbury Gaol (see episode 10).

On 16th April 1699 at Hanslope parish church, a Mary Digby married William Panter. There is a possibility that she was related to Sir Everard Digby’s family. Although ‘Mary’ is a very common forename, judging by the Digby family pedigrees it seems to have been one much favoured by them. Since this parish register entry came to light every available genealogical source appertaining to the period and the area was searched for individuals or families bearing the name Digby. The fewer instances of the name locally the more likely it is that Mary was indeed connected with the family in some way. My research covered the area surrounding Gayhurst taking in several villages and the fact that references to the name are as scarce as hens’ teeth leads me to be hopeful that the evidence confirming a link may yet be found …but don’t hold your breath!

I believe that Mary’s husband William Panter was the same William who witnessed the will of Elizabeth Lane, daughter of Sir Thomas Tyrell, (episode 8). If my assumption is correct William was certainly moving in the right circles for him to be considered suitable for marriage with a member - albeit minor perhaps - of another ‘up-market’ local family. Sir Everard’s eldest son, Sir Kenelm Digby imprisoned at Winchester for his loyalty to Charles 1st in 1642 and subsequently exiled - had five children one of whom, John, left a will dated 1673 (proved in 1690). In it he refers to daughter, Margaret Maria who married Sir John Conway, Kt. of Boddruddan, Flintshire so obviously this ‘Mary’ was not the one in the frame to marry our William! She was issue from John Digby’s second marriage to Margaret, daughter of Edward Longueville Esq. of Wolverton, (four miles from Hanslope and Castlethorpe) so John married a ‘local girl’! Wolverton was also home to members of William Panter’s family so he was certainly in the area during the Digbys’ time there. John Digby’s will states that he was ‘late of Hanslope’, William’s home village, which again suggests that he may have been known to John’s family. Perhaps he (John), was in the habit of entertaining Digby relatives from elsewhere and if this was so and William was invited he may have had the chance to become acquainted. A few years later manorial records relate that another William Panter and a James Digby were involved in a joint property and land venture. But the finding of the documentary evidence needed to actually prove our connection with the Digbys will require crossed fingers and a very large slice of luck!

Although the exterior of Gayhurst House remains unchanged the interior has been converted into several up-market apartments held via leasehold agreements. Tradition relates that the house still retains some ‘artful contrivances for the concealment of the parties to the Gunpowder Plot’. Quite a talking point for those owners whose apart-ments happen to contain these ‘facilities’.

Mary’s first husband was a Samuel Sherington by whom she had four, maybe six, daughters (see episode 4). By John Tooth she definitely had three sons and two daughters. Their firstborn, Anne Tooth baptised at Castlethorpe in 1721, was married on 19th November 1738 also at Gayhurst. The groom was her first cousin, Richard Panter (bap.1717), a farmer whom fate had decreed would later become an insolvent debtor. His father Richard Panter was a brother of Anne’s mother Mary thus making him Anne’s uncle. Richard senior’s sibling relationship to Mary also meant of course that Richard junior, Anne Tooth’s groom, was Mary’s nephew. To add to the confusion, by marrying Anne, Richard junior also became Mary’s son-in-law! (the pedigree chart on page 1, episode 5 should help clarify). Groom Richard, my grand-uncle by his marriage to Anne, is also my kin in his own right via our mutual ancestors the Panters.

Bishops’ Transcripts: are single sheets of parchment listing the entries from a parish’s registers for the previous year - in other words 'carbon copies'. They were sent by the parish Minister at each year-end to the Bishop of the Diocese in which the parish was situated. They are far from perfect and sheets for random years can be missing. Of those remaining many are tattered, torn or illegible but they are invaluable for confirmation of entries recorded in the registers or, hopefully, for replacing those contained in missing registers, as in John and Mary's case referred to above.

I must relate the bit that Gran did for the war effort but under duress from the Billeting Officer. She took in three evacuees from London but as befits co-habiting with a lady in her eighties these arrivals were not the usual be-labelled infants but three old souls of Gran’s age group. There was widow Mrs Osborne of the cackling laugh, loud voice and few teeth; spinster Rose Ponter, a gentle old girl of quiet and unassuming nature with rosy cheeks, a nice smile and a cheery ‘helloeee’ for everyone; and Alex Johnston – an artist I seem to remember, crowned with a shock of white hair. The two old dears always wore ankle-length dresses or skirts as did Gran so whenever in their aged company one felt so much part of the past. At first she must have regarded the trio as interlopers in her home and knowing of her short temper I dread to think what life must have been like for them. Perhaps there were times when the three conspired together with the intention of effecting a Colditz-style escape in the hope of returning to London in order to take their chance once again with Hitler. But that’s being unkind to dear old Gran especially as, after the war, their cohabitation continued with some degree of tolerance all round. What a pity that my passion for family history only started after Gran’s death because now, as an adult, I would relish the opportunity to speak with that aged lady whose memories would provide such an informative and interesting link with the past.

The search thus far for Gran’s Sansom forbears has taken-in the counties of Beds., Oxon. and Northants. Work on the line ceased about twenty years ago but recommenced recently and has proved to be very promising. The Sansoms were also of yeoman stock which bodes well and their land and property transactions are recorded in the Launton Manorial Court Rolls and other records. Their wills too give an indication of a fair degree of wealth. Launton, one mile from Bicester, developed around a small crossroads in its centre on one corner of which sits a large detached period property called Greyhound House for which the Oxfordshire County Records Office holds a collection of mortgages, deeds and other documents 1772-1844, which record the Sansom’s tenancy there.

Appendix A: page 3

Then there was the case of Thomas Sansom, Phoebe’s brother-in-law and licensee of the Fox & Hounds Public House. He was fined at the Bicester Brewster Sessions in 1881 for allowing drink to be sold out of hours by a Silas Heritage, son of Thomas' housekeeper Mary Heritage. Silas apparently was ‘minding the pub’ while Thomas and Mary were away ‘haymaking’ …tut! tut! With all this scandal going on it was no wonder that Gran Elizabeth Jane and her three sisters, my grand-aunts, Harriett, Miriam and Charlotte, all high-tailed it to Leighton Buzzard at express speed in order no doubt to escape the nudge, nudge, wink, wink to which they were probably subjected by their neighbours!

Grand-aunt Harriett Sansom married gardener Thomas Pratt at All Saints Church, Leighton Buzzard in 1867. They lived in Vandyke Road and later Bedford Street (I was born in a Victorian terraced cottage in this same street) and in later life widow Harriett was resident at the Wilkes almshouses in North Street. In 1896 grand-aunt Miriam Sansom also wed at All Saints, the groom being Frederick James Parsons, a railway signalman of Bedford Street. They set up home in Springfield Road, Linslade. Grand-aunt Charlotte Sansom - with the accent on the grand - became housekeeper to the equivalent of the town Mayor, Chairman of the District Council, William Sharp Page. By his will (a copy of which I have) he gave Page’s Park and Page’s Almshouses to the community. I never met grand-aunt Charlotte as she died prior to my birth but when I visualise her I see a tiny figure dressed in black, wicker basket akimbo, striding down the High Street as if she owned the place, shopping for her gentleman. Following Mr. Page’s death Charlotte, a spinster aged 51, married his cousin widower John Drage, a baker of Hockliffe Street and Parish Clerk at All Saints Church. They lived at No.49 Hockliffe Road named - according to the arched keystone over the front porch - ‘Strathallan’. The house still stands today, one of a pair situated either side of a graceful archway leading to the rear of the premises. I well remember my Mother recounting to me a visit that she and her sister Mary made to this lady their aunt who, in answer to their doorknock, appeared and haughtily instructed

PCC WILLS

Since 1858 the granting of probate has been a civil matter handled by Probate Registries in London and elsewhere. Prior to 1858 it was granted by ecclesiastical courts. Generally, in cases where a testator’s property lay within one archdeaconry their will was proved by the relevant Archdeaconry Court which, in the case of my Panter and Tooth wills, was the Archdeaconry Court of Bucks. Where testators had property in two different ecclesiastical districts probate was granted in one of two special courts… the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) or the Prerogative Court of York (PCY), the former being the senior court. Put simply…York dealt with probate for testators in the northern half of the country and Canterbury for those in the south. Probate for testators who died while at sea or in foreign parts and were not therefore in an ecclesiastical district, was also dealt with in either of these special courts. A PCC or PCY will may indicate that the testator was of some substance and in respect of my two Panter and three Swannell PCC wills this was indeed the case.

THE BRICKHILL TOOTHS

With regard to the sons of England’s yeomen and their chosen calling in life social history tells us that some went ‘up’ into the professions: doctors, lawyers, clergy, etc. having spent time at a university, and others ‘down’ into the basic trades: carpenters, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, masons, etc. My great great grandfather Samuel Tooth (bap.1793), son of yeoman John Tooth of Castlethorpe, relinquished the land worked by his father, became a master-carpenter and moved a few miles south to settle in Great Brickhill, Bucks. where he spent the remainder of his life working on the estate of the Lord of the Manor, Sir Philip Duncombe Pauncefort Duncombe. Note on the line pedigree (appendix C) Samuel Tooth senior as referred to above and his son Samuel (born 1837), also a master-carpenter… they and examples of their skilled workmanship are highly spoken of in the book Great Brickhill in the Mid-1800’s (Michael Warth, 1988). This publication also includes references to the Tooths’ successful business, and their cottages and workshop. Other members of the Tooth family are mentioned including my maternal grandfather Henry George of Leighton Buzzard, shown in an 1861 Census entry aged a year old and living in the village with his parents Samuel and Sarah. Sadly, I never knew H.G. as he died in 1921. His wife Elizabeth Jane - Granny Tooth - outlived her husband by 37 years and died in 1958. The Tooth family of Great Brickhill are well documented in the Duncombe estate deeds and papers which include the estate surveys of 1858 and 1863 in which their various cottage homes are listed with details of each property’s state of repair.

CONTRIBUTIONS FOR IRELAND 1642

In late 1641 rebellion broke out in Ireland when thousands of Protestant men, women and children were murdered and others fled to England and Wales. A substantial army was to be sent to deal with the situation and for once the King and Parliament were in agreement so in 1642 an Act was passed to raise £400,000 from the nation via parish collections, to be used - supposedly - for the relief of Protestant refugees. The surviving returns of contributors are held at The National Archives, Kew. Our Castlethorpe and Hanslope ancestors contributed: grandfather Robert Panter and brother Gilbert both paid 6d.; a grand-uncle William Panter, 5s.0d; his son William, 1s.0d. Sir Thomas Tyrell - as one would expect - contributed £10. As my five times great-grandfather John Tooth did not arrive in the area until ca.1720 the name ’Tooth’ does not appear in the lists.

the items below relate just a few of the fascinating research finds recorded in my files. The foregoing episodes all dealt with maternal families but the following items, except the first two, are extracted from data acquired during research into my paternal ancestry

[Maternal]: Bastardy Examination Document 1712

Matthew Cherry [bap.1690], Lace Merchant of Bletchley, brother of my six times great-grandfather John Cherry [ca.1678-1764], was the subject of a Bastardy Examination in which Elizabeth Bazely, a local spinster, claimed she was pregnant by him. The child, Martha, was baptised 22 June 1712. To ensure that a putative father paid for the upkeep of the child the Overseers would made every attempt to establish his name by verbally examining the Mother before a Quarter Sessions Court, a JP or the Overseers the written record of which may survive today. In Matthew’s case the Quarter Sessions Court sitting at Aylesbury on 17th July 1712 recorded that he refused to pay maintenance so a warrant was issued for his arrest! No doubt the system then was the precursor of today’s Child Support Agency!

[Maternal]: The Reverend Arthur William Sansom, [1887-1973]

This benign and distinguished-looking gentleman, easily taken for a banker,politician or aristocrat, was a great grandson of John and Hannah Sansom of Launton, Oxfordshire, my three times great grandparents. The Revd. and my maternal grandmother Elizabeth Jane Tooth (nee Sansom) were second cousins. Born at Launton in 1887 Reverend Arthur trained and qualified as a Baptist minister at Oxford and then served periods at Stantonbury, Bucks; Kettering, Northants.; Basingstoke, Hants. and Worcester. He married lily Tompkins in 1911 and in 1951 they retired to Cradley village Worcestershire where in 1961 they celebrated their Golden Wedding. Lily passed away three years later and Arthur died in 1973 survived by their only daughter Hilda.

The William Northern referred to in the item above was baptised at St. George’s Church, Hanover Square, London on 10 January 1808. At Kettering, Northants. parish church on 21st September 1834 he married Ann Smith, [bap 1815-1883]. They were my great great grandparents in the direct male line. Their firstborn, Joseph [1835], died at nine months old. Next came Sarah [1838], then Emma [1841] and finally Joseph George [1843], my great grandfather. William died at 9 York Square, Leicester on 6th April 1868 from ‘apoplexy and paralysis’, (heart attack and stroke). Grandmother Ann Northern's second marriage took place at St. Martin’s Church, Leicester on 26th October 1874 the groom being Thomas Patrick Bartlem, a widower of about 51 years old. Grandmother Ann Bartlem’s death certificate (1883) revealed that there had been an inquest into her death and while those particular records have not survived local newspaper reports proved to be a mine of information. Nine years after Thomas and Ann’s marriage she suffered a terrible accident. At the time the couple were living in Desborough, a village on the outskirts of Leicester. On 6th December 1883 Thomas had left for work leaving Ann alone in the house. She tripped over the hem of her dress and fell onto the fire setting herself alight. Her screams brought the neighbours rushing to her aid but in view of the limited medical knowledge and facilities at that time it is doubtful if they would have been of any practical help. One wonders how long she waited for a doctor or if one ever came at all. She then had to endure the journey to Leicester Infirmary probably in a basic conveyance over roads hardly worthy of the name. Grandmother lingered in the Infirmary for seventeen days until 23rd December when she died from ‘burns and exhaustion’ - surely a merciful release.

Elizabeth Cline was the 12 year old sister of my great great grandfather Charles Cline [ca.1814-1868] and was therefore my great great grand-aunt. She and her family were living at 8, Abbey Place, Bethnal Green Road in March 1829 when, according to a detailed statement she made to the Middlesex Justices at their Sessions in April, she was subjected to a very unpleasant experience. Her mother Temperance Cline (my three times great-grandmother), had sent her to the local pawn shop with a silk handkerchief to pawn for cash. When the shop had cleared of customers the assistant, a William Worley, exposed himself to Elizabeth. He made no requests of her, used no force and no physical contact took place. According to her statement, she appears to have remained calm and having suitably reprimanded him left the shop and hurried home. It is to Elizabeth’s credit that she seems to have dealt with the unpleasant situation in a manner that belied her years. Frightened to reveal this event to her mother she confided in her young friend Amy Cotton who lived next door. Amy then told her mother Mrs Cotton who in turn advised Elizabeth’s mother of the incident. Temperance immediately contacted the police and also made and signed a statement as did young Amy and her mother. I have copies of the documents relating to the case - The King v William Worley - but so far I've been unable to locate the record detailing the sentence passed on the accused.

[Paternal]: 'Queenie’ and ‘Audrey’ – theatrical ancestors!

When these two thespians first came to my notice I wondered why my Father had made no mention of them especially as the familial relationship between all three was fairly close as were their childhood homes in Leytonstone, Essex.

'Queenie'; Emily Brown (nee Northan)

Born in St.Pancras ca.1887, Emily was the daughter of my great grandparentsJoseph George and Caroline Union Northan. She was Dad's aunt and my grand-aunt. Queenie Luck’ was the none-too-original stage name she chose for herself when she toured in musical comedy shows through-out the country. She must have met her future husband as one of those expectant hopefuls known as ‘Stage Door Johnnies’ as he was a Captain in the R.A.S.C. thus some-what ‘up-market’ I surmise! Toby (Ernest Charles) Brown, aged 34, married Emily at Brentwood, Essex in 1919.Their marriage certificate states that she was an ‘actress’ aged 25 (she was actually about 32). The two witnesses were RASC officers - a Major and a Lieutenant. Toby and Emily had one child, Valerie Joy Northan-Brown [1925-2004] who, after her marriage in 1956, moved to the States. I heard only recently that she’d passed away. During Toby’s army service in WW1 he was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery in fighting the fires that resulted after the German bombing of Constantinople. Between the first and second world wars he trans-ferred to the RAF and in the latter conflict served as a Squadron Leader in the north of England in charge of a bomb-disposal unit and later in India as a Liaison Officer. Emily died of stomach cancer at 212, Sussex Gardens, London, W2 in 1951. Toby’s death details are being researched.

PCC Wills
Census Returns
Parish Registers
Poor Law Records
International Genealogical Index
Archdeaconry Court of Bucks. Wills
Archdeaconry Court of Bucks. Marriage Licences

Miscellaneous:

Divorce Records
Bucks. Electoral Registers
Jackson’s Oxford Journal 1848
Althorpe, Northants. Estate Papers
Castlethorpe Enclosure Award 1793
Lipscomb’s Buckinghamshire (1847)
Launton, Oxon. Manorial Court Rolls
Bucks. Contributions for Ireland 1642
The Tyrells of England (Brown, 1982)
Militia & War Office Service Records
Buckinghamshire Posse Comitatus 1798
Echoes of the Past (Cole & Dawson, 1976)
Calendars of State Papers Domestic (TNA)
Bucks. Quarter Sessions’ Records 1678-1730
Origins of English Surnames (Reaney, 1979)
Buildings of England: Bucks (Pevsner, 1994)
Middlesex Justices Quarter Sessions’ Records
Greyhound House, Launton, Oxon. Documents
History & Topography of Bucks.(Sheahan, 1862)
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (1912)
Victoria County History of Buckinghamshire (1905)
Dept. of Environment Listed Buildings (MK Borough, 1984)
Water Mills of Buckinghamshire vol. 2, (compiled by H. E.S. Simmons)

Inner Temple, Strand, London:Treasury Office

In the Hall. A faire Shovellboard table with the board, three formes, a faire Ovall-Table, a large square table, Seaven high redd leather chaires, a leather Carpett upon the Ovall table, a Pendulum Clock and Case, foure ordinary pictures Two Tinn Sconces wth. Socketts, a three cornered woodden stoole, a new bell, my husbands Eschochson or Majestic an Excellent lock and key with bolts to the doore.

In the Buttery, a large Table, a forme, one of the foure tables that belongs to the Dining roome, another little table upon wch. the presse for Linen stands, a press for Linen, a Glass case or Cubbord the wall, a large presse with two doores and two cubbords to keepe foule linen in, three shelves and three loose boards against the wall a Buttery Napkin baskett A voyder baskett an Old baskett for Trenchers A wooden voyder for glasses a round Iron frame for a waxlight and a brasse Sconce, a paile wth. an Iron baise to wash glasses in, two new window shutters Two locks &; keys to the buttery & roome within it.

In the Parler, The old greene hangings and upon them new green printed parragon hangings with Staves gilt leather, a Chimney picture of the Story of Hester The King and Queenes pictures and Duke of Yorks Three pictures of the seasons of the yeare five little pictures of Luther and Perkins a Sheppard and Sheppardes and a little boy with a bitch and her puppies, a Sydeboard table, a good Cloth Carpett edged with gilt leather a green printed Stuffe carpet edged with gilt leather and two green bayes Carpetts to lye uppermost, three window curtain rodds a large wallnutttree Cane Chaire a large Couch of greene Cloth covered with greene bayes and upon that a covering of new green printed parragon, a looking glass, three elboe chaires, with turned pillers twelve high Chaires, with turned pillers whereof two are upon the Staires three low chaires with turned pillars a little stand stable with greene and gold Seaven old green plush cusheons quilted Sixteen new green parragon quilted cusheons and one new green squob of the same for the Couch Chaire. A round wicker Skreen, a fire grate fire shovell and tongs with brasse knobs a paire of Andirons with broad double brasses An Iron wth. a Phenix Skreen fanns a paire of bellows a paire of Snuffers and Snuffedish foure long flower potts of bastard China and a Cricket, Three locks and keys to the parler and garden doores with bolts, foure gold colour Searge window Curtaines.

In the Kitchen Two Dressers and Shelves behinde the doore, a good Jack Double pullies and lead weights weighing forty two pounds, a long barr of Iron in the Chimney to hang the pott hangers on two pott hangers with an hooke to hang on them, a large fire grat with two wings two barrs at the bottom five barrs on the side and one barr loose to hold up the Wood fires a greate paire of Tongs, a plaine fire Shovell a fire shovell with a grate, a paire of greate Cobirons or Racks and two loose iron hooks on them, a fire forke, a fender, two iron dripping pans, two greate spitts, two middling spitts, two little spitts the one double, one baste forke, two iron cleavers, a trimming knife one iron pott with hooks one iron kettle both weighing ninety eight pounds one little brasse pott one little iron pott with hooks, one large Copper pott with a lidd tin'd one lesser copper pott wth. a lidd tind and great brasse Skellit and three lesser ones three brasse Sawce pans large and tin'd over one little brasse ladle and two brasse Skummers one brasse chaffing dish, one brass morter with an Iron pestle one stone morter with a wooden pestle, one large and two lesser Trivetts one gridiron, one tin dripping pann one tinn grater Cullender broyler pudding pan and a pan with a false bottom to boile fish in one-copper pan tin'd over with a false bottom to stew Carps in, one copper pot tin'd to drinke in, one brass larding pinn one iron to draw foule with one iron and two large wooden peeles two large and one little frying pans two Alchymy Spoones, one greate Salt Tubb with a Cover and a padlock one little Salt box a wood skreen to sett before the meate at the fire, a tub to put water in, a tub to receive the water in and one for the hogswash A Souce Tub, one wooden platter two greate bowles and three dishes one basket for Sea Cole and one pair of bellows Two wooden foure footed stooles a rack for bacon and one mincing block, pewter one venson pasty plate and one large charger belonging to it, Twelve dishes of the largest size, twelve dishes of the next size four Intermesses to them foure pye plates, one large intermesse for a grand Sallett with broad brims and armes in the middle, foure large Sallett dishes one Disart with five sallet dishes of a size belonging to it, six dozen of trencher plates foure porrings. twelve Scuocers one large and one lesse pewter bason, one large cisterne, two large flaggons one lesser flaggon of another fashion, one pewter pott to wash glasses in with a ladle one large and three lesser paire of Candlesticks.

In the Inner larder within the Kitchen Six shelves foure formes and a tressell to sett Tubbs on, one large lesser powdering tubbs with Covers, one greate one lesser Sowre Tubbs one paire of Scailes and a pound lead weight, one haire Sieve, one pepper mill three earthen potts for kitchen shelfe one stone bottle for vinegar.

In the little roome under the staires. Two little barrells for verjuice, a tressel they stand on a baskett for Charcole, a deale box for Candles, a Chest of drawers for spice.

In the back kitchen foure tables two Oven lidds, a paire of Scailes with an iron beam a chaine to hang them on, and an Iron halfe hundred weight, two new Spinning wheels a paire of Woodden racks.

In the Inner Larder in the back kitchen, Twoe shelves One stand one forme and a board on it a Salting Trough for bacon, a safe for cold meate, a window Shutter, a greate flower Tubb with a cover a lesser flower Tubb with a covr. a flower barrell and an Oatmeale Barrell, a locke and a key to the doore.

In the Meale house four shelves and a board for A Seate, one table, one greate kneading trough with an hand scoup an Iron Scraper and a lesser trough, a greate meale tub with a cover two greate and two lesser tressells one meale ladder, one haire, one lacene sive, onerowling pin a lock and key to the doore.

In the great Seller Thirteene upright hogges heads, two little rundletts one Candle Chest foure stands the hogsheads stands on, one tubb The Tappins of bier falls in, one greate Funnell.

In the little Ayle Seller. One Tearce, two stands the Ayle stands on, two little rundletts.

Upon the Staircase Twenty four pictures greate and little viz: Bacchus or Autumne over the Buttery doore, a little peece of fruite over the parlor doore Twelve Caesars, Herord and John Baptists head Hunting of the Stagg: Martir. T Bera & I Calvin Orpheus. Ahasuerus and Hester, a Countrey farme, a little water peece, a garden house in water colours, a round table, two Turkey worke chaires.

In the greene and silver roome. The hangings round the Chamber of greene and silver leather with fourteene new skins of the same and a square skreen of the same, one hanging shelfe of green and gold one stand for water of green and silver two new square tables one with a drawer a picture over the Chimney one paire of iron dogs for the Chimney one sett of new fashion brasse Andirons viz: Two Andirons two dogs one fire shovell one paire of tongs and two screws to hold them, one paire of bellows one paire of Snuffers three curtaine rodds, one elboe chaire two little chaires foure folding stooles excludeing the loose wrought covers, two greene Curtaines for winter one lock and key for the Doore Two white window Curtaines.

In the Calicoe or little roome over against it. The hangings round the Chamber of stript Stuffe wth. two Curtaines and rodds a bedsted matt cord and three curtaine rodds foure Curtaines and valance of stained Calicoe and lined with white Calicoe wth. tester head piece and Inner valance of the same, a large counterpaine of the same stained calicoe lined with dimity a table cloth wth. three lapps and Two Cases for two low stooles of the same a new feather bedd, Two feather bolsters and two feather pillows two good new white blanquetts and a close worke Coverlid, a stript table cloth upon one of the tables two new tables wth. Drawers one greate elboe chaire of red leather wth. a case of greene Searge Two high Turkey worke chaires two low stooles of red leather one Turkey worke Cusheon one lookeing glass with a doore frame one Stand for water one close stoole and pewter pann a lock and key to the doore.

In the Dineing roome The hangings round the roome of gray and gold gilt leather Three King Henry's Pictures, one little picture in a gold frame of water coloures Two greate gilt Sconces with Socketts one Skreene of the same gilt leather Six elboe Chaires of wainescott colour with turned pillars, one elboe blacke Chaire with turned pillars Twelve high chaires of the same garnished with gilt nailes Two spannish tables two black stands a picture over the Chimney of hunting the Stagge, an Indian large matt for the Seate eight white Callicoe window curtains four white Curtains for the drawing roome doore and window Six curtaine rodds three large yellow paragon curtaines of twelve breadthes for winter one large white paragon Curtaine of three breadthes foure window clothes stript wth. gold and silver gilt leather Two Carpetts with lappetts of gold coloured Searge stript and edged wth. gilt leather for the Spannish tables, foure gold coloured Searge Carpetts for the foure greate tables when sett together in this roome Nineteene figured velvett Cusheons and two of the blacke chaire backs lined wth. the same three dozen and marble coloured paveinge tiles for the Chimney Six greate and two little Scollop dishes for the Chimney one flower pott gilt with a Cherubim one paire of gilt bellowes Two white paragon Curtaines over the doore A lock key and bolts to the doore.

In the withdrawing roome The hangings round the roome of gold coloured Searge, One white paragon Curtaine for the winter, one square picture of fruite and Lobsters, one lesser picture of David and Abigail, three King Henry's pictures eleaven little pictures in gold frames, two blacke elboe chaires with turned pillars one blacke Table, two black Squobbs with broad Seats Six gold colour tabbey Cusheons a window cloth stript with gold leather two little heads for the window upon two little China dishes, two woodden flower potts gilded all over with gold a blew glasse bottle rib'd with Gold.

In my neece Annes Chamber The hangings round the roome of greene bayes with a picture over the Chimney one window Curtain rodd, a bedsted three curtain rods wth. a greene Searge laced bedd foure curtains Tester head peece double valance with a broad Silke fringe and a large counterpaine of the same Two feather bedds, Two feather bolsters and one pillow.

More in my neece Annes Chamber, Two white woollen blanquetts one redd rugg One greene flagg Chaire a feather Cusheon with a bucke on it, one high red leather Chaire a low red leather chaire and stoole with greene searge Cases a plaine wainescott Chest with foure drawers, one high Chest of drawers that stood in my husbands studdy for writings, a wainescott chest to hang clothes in a large blacke leather truncke and one lesser trunck to keepe house linnen in a large redd leather truncke with a Crowne in nailes upon the lidd, a red window Curtaine a paire of Iron doggs for the Chimney two locks and bolts to the doores.

In my womans Clossett copper Coffin for Venison, one greate Copper Sawce pann tinn'd over three greate copper preserving panns tinn'd over, one Copper drinking pott with a lidd one large brasse scummer one little brasse ladle, foure brasse skillitts and one little skillitt, three tinn'd boxes with lidds one tinn'd box without a lidd for coller beiffe one new tinn Stew pann, one tinn pann with a false bottom to boile fish, one new tinn grater without a bottome, one tinn pasty pann, one tinn dridging box two tinn covers one tinn Coffee pott one Tinn hoop to bake a cake in three dozen and a halfe of tinn biskett panns five tinn fishes for fresh Cheese and Creame two tinn prints to cut paste for garnishing one brasse jagging iron a preserveing furnace two little iron Chaffing dishes one stone morter and a woodden pestle one paire of brasse scailes and five weights one woodeen voyder one box with drawers for spices, one greate deep box wth. lock and key another deale box one broad hanging shelfe and nine other boards with two boards to hold up the pewter, a board to wash white Sarcenetts on a frame to wash Points De Venee Six little woodden dishes to boile puddings in, three maple trenchers one rowling pinn, a spoone, a wooden Slice three dry Cowes a case for a looking glasse, one joint stoole and a three cornered stoole, a forme and two short tables twelve baskets for fruite, a round basket for the desert Six little sives Tenn earthen panns of severall fashions, one pipkin one Sillybub pott, two Scollop dishes and two plates of white mettle foure pitchers Two long blew and white potts to stow plums in eight gaily potts with pickles in them two earthen potts with Covers to keepe Sugar, three greate wide mouthed glasses for pickles Six urinalls whereof three Crooked, a greate maine little glasses vialls and potts one little iron trivett two broad irons to sett before the fire one frying pann, a jack chaine and a peece of an iron chaine an earthen perfumeiner pott a lock and a key to the doore.

In my Clossett within my womans a Table and five shelves, one red leather chaire covered with green, a joint stoole a deep box for fruite, a long shallow box for jelly glasses seaven other large boxes, four deale boxes, foure wainscott boxes Two little barrells for brandy foure Tinn sheetes, and one sheets of glasse one tinn Tankard two tinn sawce panns two tinn spitting boxes twelve tinn new candlesticks one new tinn Cullender five white Scollop dishes two white plaine Creame bowls six white plates twelve little porringers Sixteene white Custord dishes, seaven greater, five lesser white shallow Custord dishes two white pint potts foure lesser white potts, three greate white porringers Twenty three shallow gaily potts for marmalade tenn marmalade glasses thirty gaily potts for sweete meats foure white basons and foure blew and white basons Twelve white Chamber potts foure little white potts with ears, foure pewter Socketts for Candlesticks eight Scollop Shells a lock and a key to the doore.

In my owne Chamber, the hangings round the roome of black and yellow brancht stuffe one large dimity blanquet one greene Sarcenett quilt lined wth. stained Callico two turkey worke Cusheons and one black plush leather cusheon one chaire & three low stooles of red leather with sad coloured Covers to them two ordinary little tables with drawers, one plaine wainescott chest of drawers, one wainescott settle a folding skreene with Six leaves, a little wainescott skreene two little hanging shelves, one fire shovell tongs two iron doggs, one paire of bellows snuffers and a Trivett six Coffee Cupps & foure potts one pewter Standish sand box houre glasse pully a reading frame three window Curtaine rodds one brasse Candlesticke with an handle a white chamber pott a wainescott shutter for the window, one grate two brimles pewter basons a lock and key to the doore.

In my maides chamber a bedsted and mattres three curtaine rodds foure curtaines and valance of stript stuffe with a buckrom tester, one feather bed and feather bolster, a pallat feather bed and bolster one greene rugg two white woollen blanketts, two little feather pillows one brasse warming pann, one little brasse candlestick, a large presse and four shelves Two large chests for foule Linnen with a stand to it, a woodden stand for water and a woodden stoole, a lesser woodden for foule linnen five deale boxes one close stoole and pewter pann a window shutter one old haire and one old leather trunck black.

In the Oyster-shell Chamber The hangings round the room of red flock worke A bedstead matt and Coard a new large feather bed and feather bolster and two dozone pillowes an old blanquet next the bed two new white woollen blanquets one new Scarlett coloured rugg.

More in the Oyster-Shell Chamber, foure feild curtaines head peece tester and Counterpaine of thred damaske all edged with fringe, five cases for a Couche and foure foulding stooles and a Cusheon of the same stuffe two square tables with a drawer in one of them, one armed chaire with Turned pillars, one high woodden chaire and a red searge Cusheon foure foulding stools with quilts and a foulding footestoole of gilt leather one red stand for water Three Curtaine rodds for the windows, five window Curtains of stained Callicoe Two Table clothes of the same with three laps one paire of Andirons with brasse knobbs, one paire of Doggs, a fire shovell one paire. of tongs bellows and Snuffers a lock key and bolt to the doore.

In the little Chamber over aginst the Oystershell roome, the hangings round the roome of stript stuffe green and yellow Two window Curtaines of the same with two curtaine rods for them a bedsted with wainescott head matt Cord and three Curtaine rods foure Curtaines and valance of greene searge with silke fringe with a head peece and buckrom tester, a feather bedd, a feather boulster and feather pillowes all very good Two square tables the new one wth. a drawer two white woollen blanketts, one good red rugg one Red one greene carpetts for the tables One Red stand for the water one close stoole and pewter pann one elboe chaire of red Cloth and a Turkey worke Cusheon, one Turkey worke high chaire Two stooles with red and gold leather one broken lookeing glasse a lock and key to the doore.

In the Closett within the greene chamber, foure broad boards for table and shelves the hangings round the roome of greene stript stuff and a long table Cloth of the same a settle with a greene searge Case with a silke fringe a close stoole & a pewter pan.

In the Laundry roome, a bedsted matt and Cord without head and Tester a feather bed and feather bolster, a flock bed and two flock bolsters Two white woollen blanquetts, one yellow Coverlid one large square Table, Two lesser Tables, one napkin beater, one forme, two folding stooles one broken, one Cheese presse & a tressel it stands on, one large Chest with lock and key for linnen three Basketts for clothes five hampers for Linnen one line or bed Cord, one old white blanquett to smooth on, one old yellow Coverlid to put wooll in, a fire grate shovell Tongs an iron before the fire one paire of bellows a lock and key to the doore.

In the roome even with the Laundry roome, a bedsted wth. wainescott head and Tester Matt Cord and three Curtaine rods, foure Curtaines and vallance of grey searge with a silke caul fringe, a feather bedd two feather boulsters and Two feather pillows all good, one grey rugg two good white woollen blanquets the hangings round the roome of old stript stuffe and three window rodds one Elboe and three gray Searge chaires three red leather chaires, covered with green one high Cupbord & one Chaire Table one large woodden chest for linnen with two locks and keys one lesser woodden Chest with two locks and keyes, one paire of old Andirons with brasse knobs a lock and key to the doore.

In the Chamber over the Oyster shell roome The hangings round the roome of stript stuffe, a bedsted with wainescott head and tester matt cord and three curtaine rodds foure Curtaines and vallance of red Searge with silke fringe Two good feather bedds one feather bolster one flock bolster and two feather pillowes Two good white blanketts one good red rugg another new bedstead matt Cord and three Curtaine rodds four blew Searge Curtaines and valance stript with blew and white silke lace and silke fringe with an head peece and buckrom Tester one good one worse feather bedd, one feather bolster, one flock bolster two feather pillows, Two white woollen blanketts and one blew rugg one window Curtaine and rodd one of the foure dineing roome tables one table cloth of liots one Cupbord with two shelves and another with a drawer one short Couch covered with greene Searge one low stool covered wth. greene two high red leather chaires covered with greene covers a lock and key to the doore.

In Bcde the Butlers Chamber, foure yellow bayes Curtaines and vallance one new yellow cloth Coverlid Two shelves and one little table with a drawer &: one forme a lock and key to the doore.

In the middle garrett, a bedsted matt cord three curtaine rodds four stript Curtaines & valance, a feather bed a flock bedd two feather bolsters, two white woollen blanketts, and one greene rugg one high red leather chaire two of the Dineing roome tables, and a peece of hangings upon one of the tables a lock and key to the doore.

In the Clossett within the middle garrett, One new green one old green, one old red ruggs, one new yellow woollen Coverlid three new white woollen blanquets two short feather bolsters, one flock bolster new matting one woodden stand for a looking glasse a lock and key to the doore.

In the roome between the middle garrett and Erstwhile chamber, a new high bedstedd matt cord and rodds foure stript Curtaines and valance, a new trundle bedd with a Canvas laced a feather bed and feather bolster and a flock bed and bolster all good, one old white blanquet one old yellow Coverlidd one settle a lock and key to the doore.

In Erstwhile the Balys Chamber, a bedsted matt cord three curtaine rodds foure stript curtaines and valance and a buckrom Tester, one feather bed, one feather bolster one flock bolster one little blew quilt Two white woollen blankets one greene rugg one square table with a drawer one red leather carpett one drum and sticks, one high red leather chaire with a greene Case, a lock and key to the doore.

In the Drying garrett One Trundle bed frame a round table with a drawer a peece of an high Cupbord, a bedsted for the darke coloured bed and three Curtaine rodds corded together two good stills and an old still head three good hampers, one black case for a lookeing glasse, a lock and key to the doore.

In the Dayrye, a Cheese presse, four hanging shelves, with the instruments they hang on eight table shelves with their frames, one Table one old wainscot forme one bench with two tressels it stands on, Six kymnells , two Cheese Tubs one old whey tubb six Cheese fatts, two paire of Cheese tongs two sutors one Chime Seaven Creame potts one paire of butter scale with a pound stone one butter board three steps to stand upon one stoole two Bennett potts, one Skim dish one quart one pint dishes one Cheese sive, one butter print one Kiner two milke pales one water pale.

In the Chamber over the Dairay. Three broad shelves Two formes Two old Cheese boards Two old Hampers one Stoole.

In the Poultrey houses two new penns in the first house, Two penns in the Second one old Bowie there one old bucket five Chicken troughes, one greate turkey penn in the third house one Chicken pen and one Henn penn.

In the Brcwhouse A furnace or Copper, two brasse brewing kettles a Cowler a mcashing fatt, . . one kiner, under the mash fatt one working fatt a lesser working fatt one long trough a box sive one water spout two link hangers and one iron Barr. Washing vessells in the Brewhouse Three bucking tubbs foure kiners one old washing tubb one long washing tubb Two old formes to sett the buck on one old stoole.

In the Chamber over the Brewhouse foure hampers, one pack Sadie three little old barrells, one Ark to putt feathers in, five old little barrells.

In the Mill house one tub to worke drinke in, one Crutch to kill sheep on one little square Copper kettle one little brasse kettle one hey tubb one little hand paile one Shuttle one ladeing pale one old barrell one old chicken pen one old hogg buckett.

In the Mens Chamber Three Bedsteads two old feather bedds Two old flock beds two pillows, two bolsters foure old blanketts, One old rugg One yellow and one greene Coverlidd.