Barcheston Warwickshire
'Here lyeth the bodyes of William Willington of Barson Esquyer and Anne his wyeffe which Willam dyed the fyrste daye of Maye in the yere of our Lorde God Mo ccccco lv (1555) unto whose soules and bodyes God graunte a joyfull resurrection. Amen.'
He lies in the south aisle chapel he built.
William born c1480 was the elder son of John Willington 1512 of Todenham, Gloc whose Will suggests he was a grazier
Aged c 20 years of age, he inherited 100 shillings from his grandfather William Willington, also 12 silver spoons, a silver jug & the best bed with its hangings. He was also entrusted with the administration & sale of 2 tenements - one in Banbury & the other in Stratford, for the support of a chaplain at Todenham.
His interest in the manor of Barcheston was first recorded in 1504 when he acquired some land from one of the 5 freeholders, William Torch.
On 13 Nov 1505 he leased the manor of Barcheston from owners William & Henry Durant, for whom his future grand-father in law Sir Robert Throckmorton, had acted as trustee since around 1476.
He m1 c1506 Anne 1537 daughter of Richard Middlemore of Edgebaston & Margery daughter of Sir Thomas Throckmorton of Coughton and Margaret co-heiress of Sir Robert Olney www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/epdmot
Children - At least 13 in total - 7 heiress daughters surviving.
1. Margaret )
2. Dorothy ) died young
3. Alice )
4. Margery 1546 m1 Thomas Holte of Aston 1546 son of William Holte & and Joan Knight m2 Sir Ambrose Cave 1568 flic.kr/p/at7ZrU
son of Roger Cave of Stanford & Margaret Cecil (heiress daughter Margaret flic.kr/p/at5kgK m Sir Henry Knollys 1582 son and heir of Francis Knollys, of Rotherfield Greys by Catherine Carey flic.kr/p/9idhGn cousin of Queen Elizabeth)
5. Goditha 1580 m Basil Feilding 1582 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/8782n80571 of Newnham Paddox 1582 son of William Fielding 1547 & Elizabeth Pulteney / Poulteney www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/5x1477yDmR (tombs at Monks Kirkby) (Their daughter Ann Peyto is at Chesterton www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/LYjxY7)
6. Elizabeth 1583 m Edward Boughton 1548 of Lawford Hall Newbold on Avon 1548 son of William Boughton by Ann Danvers
7. Mary c1510-1553 m (1st wife) William Sheldon of Beoley & Weston 1570 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/2776L25Ts9 son of Ralph Sheldon 1546 & Philippa Heath www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/dz18222M73 (parents of Ralph Sheldon 1613 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/V5jw11m5y6 : William m2 Margaret daughter of Sir Richard Broke: Widow of William Whorwood
8. Margaret m 1531 Sir Edward Greville of Milcote `1559 flic.kr/p/Rt98Ci only son of Sir John Greville 1546 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/t224Z8 & 2nd wife Elizabeth daughter of John Spencer of Hodnet
9. Anne m Francis Mountford of Kingshurst
10. Katherine 1592 flic.kr/p/4T8xt2 m1 William Catesby of Chastleton son of Sir Richard Catesby 1553 flic.kr/p/9gsN49 & Dorothy Spencer m2 Richard Kempe 1552 of Longdon m3 Sir Anthony Throckmorton of Coughton son of Sir George Throckmorton & Katherine Vaux flic.kr/p/dxXipV
In 1506 he entered into a bond of 1000 marks to his mother-in-law, Dame Margery, to secure lands in Stratford, Banbury & elsewhere immediately; they were to be held by feoffees in trust for himself, his wife & their children. Any future purchase of land worth £9.13s 4d would also be held by trustees on Anne's behalf, which suggests the possibility that this agreement formed part of the marriage settlements, perhaps Anne's jointure lands.
William bought the manor from Henry Durant in 1507. In 1509 he inclosed 310 acres of the demesne arable, converting the whole into pasture with the exception of 64 acres, for the cultivation of which he employed one plough. He also destroyed four messuages, with 10 virgates of arable—the virgate here being 22 acres—and a cottage. As a result these 220 acres were also put out of cultivation and 24 persons were rendered homeless and reduced to lamentable misery, lacking food and work.
However his answers to the king's officers during the hearings in the Chancery & Exchequer courts, suggest that much of this was false & that the manor had been impoverished & run down long before his 1507 purchase It may even have been partly enclosed by a previous lord.
On his father's death in 1512, William inherited 400 sheep, the leases at Upton & Upton Abell & the Todenham pastures.
His tax assessments are illuminating. He was appointed as a collector of the subsidy of 1524 when he worked alongside the older gentry families but apparently, not subsequently. He was assessed on lands worth 104s & taxed £3.6s.8d.
His trading ventures were supported by a wool house & 2 fishers' cottages in Calais & a counting house in London, England. On his death they passed to the Bradwey family with whom William's family had had a long association,
In 1529 he & his wife joined the Guild of the Holy Cross based in Stratford upon Avon.
His wealth increased with much of it invested in land.
In Nov 1536 he recorded the dispositions which are the earliest record of those finally outlined in his Will - arrangements he changed several times. On this occasion he created a trust with William Dauntsey, Alderman of London, Sir Robert Middlemore & an unknown William Baron. Its purpose was to give his first wife a life interest in the manor of Barcheston, before going on to describe an impressive list of lands. Some already formed the dowries of his daughters.
His first wife Anne died about 1537 of "a sickness in the brest" . At the time Michael Dormer, mercer & Alderman of London, had written proposing a suitable second wife to which William replied "he would have no other heirs" - & turned the proposal down.
His assets rose steadily over the years; in the subsidy of 1543 he was taxed on lands worth £40 & later on goods of £500. ]
In 1544 his name was noted in a Muster Book intended to show "what soldiers may be furnished by gentlemen" but the extent of his obligation was not recorded.
Eventually he m2 in 1545 Anne daughter of Richard Littleton & Agnes Winnesbury heiress of Pillaton : Anne was the widow of Thomas Middlemore / Mydelmore 1521 of Edgbaston & Studley (brother of his 1st wife) with 2 daughters Margaret wife of Edward Underhill; & Winifred wife of Francis Stanley (a Faculty Licence was issued to permit him to marry, without banns & in whatever church he chose). Anne is buried in Tredington.
He preferred to pay a fine of £30 rather than accept the knighthood offered on the occasion of the Queen Mary's marriage in 1554 to Philip of Spain.
On 14 Nov 1554 William settled the manor of Barcheston on himself and his second wife Anne. Trustees were Sir Robert Throckmorton, Sir Edward Greville, Robert Middlemore & Francis Stanley.
He made his Last Will on 28 March 1555 with generous provisions. Cash bequests were arranged for the poor of the surrounding villages. It rehearsed the provisions for the dowries of the only daughter Elizabeth, unmarried & not betrothed in 1536 & for the children of the 2 who had been widowed & re-married (Holte & Catesby) but added nothing further. He probably felt he had done as much as was necessary for his daughters, who had secured advantageous marriages to men of higher social status than their fathers.
Family trouble broke out immediately after his death. It may well have seemed to the sons-in-law that William had favoured the kin of his second family rather than his first. His second wife seems to have inspired some dislike, which was probably suppressed during William's life.
His Will's provisions had given a life interest in Barcheston to second wife Anne & possession after her death to her cousin, William Barnes. Granted previously to his son-in-law William Sheldon & clearly a matter of some importance to him, there was a dispute over who should inherit. It started immediately upon his demise & continued for a further 9 years before being resolved. During the court case, he was said to have possessed more than £3000 in money & was owed a further £2000 in debts. He was also said to have been nearly blind & to have been coerced into signing a codicil which he could not properly see. But the provisions of a man as wealthy as he & with as many sons in law, one of whom who had been deprived of the manor previously assigned him, was a target for a challenge.
Eventually Ralph Sheldon son of William Sheldon inherited Barcheston manor which descended in this family until early 19c )
In 1905 the tomb was restored. According to the Tamworth Herald, ‘the ancient alabaster tomb…had a coat of paint and the dirt of ages removed from it’ and it was rebuilt. The work was ‘done to the order of Mr John R Willington, a lineal descendant’.
- Church of St Martin, Barcheston Warwickshire
Barcheston Warwickshire
'Here lyeth the bodyes of William Willington of Barson Esquyer and Anne his wyeffe which Willam dyed the fyrste daye of Maye in the yere of our Lorde God Mo ccccco lv (1555) unto whose soules and bodyes God graunte a joyfull resurrection. Amen.'
He lies in the south aisle chapel he built.
William born c1480 was the elder son of John Willington 1512 of Todenham, Gloc whose Will suggests he was a grazier
Aged c 20 years of age, he inherited 100 shillings from his grandfather William Willington, also 12 silver spoons, a silver jug & the best bed with its hangings. He was also entrusted with the administration & sale of 2 tenements - one in Banbury & the other in Stratford, for the support of a chaplain at Todenham.
His interest in the manor of Barcheston was first recorded in 1504 when he acquired some land from one of the 5 freeholders, William Torch.
On 13 Nov 1505 he leased the manor of Barcheston from owners William & Henry Durant, for whom his future grand-father in law Sir Robert Throckmorton, had acted as trustee since around 1476.
He m1 c1506 Anne 1537 daughter of Richard Middlemore of Edgebaston & Margery daughter of Sir Thomas Throckmorton of Coughton and Margaret co-heiress of Sir Robert Olney www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/epdmot
Children - At least 13 in total - 7 heiress daughters surviving.
1. Margaret )
2. Dorothy ) died young
3. Alice )
4. Margery 1546 m1 Thomas Holte of Aston 1546 son of William Holte & and Joan Knight m2 Sir Ambrose Cave 1568 flic.kr/p/at7ZrU
son of Roger Cave of Stanford & Margaret Cecil (heiress daughter Margaret flic.kr/p/at5kgK m Sir Henry Knollys 1582 son and heir of Francis Knollys, of Rotherfield Greys by Catherine Carey flic.kr/p/9idhGn cousin of Queen Elizabeth)
5. Goditha 1580 m Basil Feilding 1582 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/8782n80571 of Newnham Paddox 1582 son of William Fielding 1547 & Elizabeth Pulteney / Poulteney www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/5x1477yDmR (tombs at Monks Kirkby) (Their daughter Ann Peyto is at Chesterton www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/LYjxY7)
6. Elizabeth 1583 m Edward Boughton 1548 of Lawford Hall Newbold on Avon 1548 son of William Boughton by Ann Danvers
7. Mary c1510-1553 m (1st wife) William Sheldon of Beoley & Weston 1570 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/2776L25Ts9 son of Ralph Sheldon 1546 & Philippa Heath www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/dz18222M73 (parents of Ralph Sheldon 1613 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/V5jw11m5y6 : William m2 Margaret daughter of Sir Richard Broke: Widow of William Whorwood
8. Margaret m 1531 Sir Edward Greville of Milcote `1559 flic.kr/p/Rt98Ci only son of Sir John Greville 1546 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/t224Z8 & 2nd wife Elizabeth daughter of John Spencer of Hodnet
9. Anne m Francis Mountford of Kingshurst
10. Katherine 1592 flic.kr/p/4T8xt2 m1 William Catesby of Chastleton son of Sir Richard Catesby 1553 flic.kr/p/9gsN49 & Dorothy Spencer m2 Richard Kempe 1552 of Longdon m3 Sir Anthony Throckmorton of Coughton son of Sir George Throckmorton & Katherine Vaux flic.kr/p/dxXipV
In 1506 he entered into a bond of 1000 marks to his mother-in-law, Dame Margery, to secure lands in Stratford, Banbury & elsewhere immediately; they were to be held by feoffees in trust for himself, his wife & their children. Any future purchase of land worth £9.13s 4d would also be held by trustees on Anne's behalf, which suggests the possibility that this agreement formed part of the marriage settlements, perhaps Anne's jointure lands.
William bought the manor from Henry Durant in 1507. In 1509 he inclosed 310 acres of the demesne arable, converting the whole into pasture with the exception of 64 acres, for the cultivation of which he employed one plough. He also destroyed four messuages, with 10 virgates of arable—the virgate here being 22 acres—and a cottage. As a result these 220 acres were also put out of cultivation and 24 persons were rendered homeless and reduced to lamentable misery, lacking food and work.
However his answers to the king's officers during the hearings in the Chancery & Exchequer courts, suggest that much of this was false & that the manor had been impoverished & run down long before his 1507 purchase It may even have been partly enclosed by a previous lord.
On his father's death in 1512, William inherited 400 sheep, the leases at Upton & Upton Abell & the Todenham pastures.
His tax assessments are illuminating. He was appointed as a collector of the subsidy of 1524 when he worked alongside the older gentry families but apparently, not subsequently. He was assessed on lands worth 104s & taxed £3.6s.8d.
His trading ventures were supported by a wool house & 2 fishers' cottages in Calais & a counting house in London, England. On his death they passed to the Bradwey family with whom William's family had had a long association,
In 1529 he & his wife joined the Guild of the Holy Cross based in Stratford upon Avon.
His wealth increased with much of it invested in land.
In Nov 1536 he recorded the dispositions which are the earliest record of those finally outlined in his Will - arrangements he changed several times. On this occasion he created a trust with William Dauntsey, Alderman of London, Sir Robert Middlemore & an unknown William Baron. Its purpose was to give his first wife a life interest in the manor of Barcheston, before going on to describe an impressive list of lands. Some already formed the dowries of his daughters.
His first wife Anne died about 1537 of "a sickness in the brest" . At the time Michael Dormer, mercer & Alderman of London, had written proposing a suitable second wife to which William replied "he would have no other heirs" - & turned the proposal down.
His assets rose steadily over the years; in the subsidy of 1543 he was taxed on lands worth £40 & later on goods of £500. ]
In 1544 his name was noted in a Muster Book intended to show "what soldiers may be furnished by gentlemen" but the extent of his obligation was not recorded.
Eventually he m2 in 1545 Anne daughter of Richard Littleton & Agnes Winnesbury heiress of Pillaton : Anne was the widow of Thomas Middlemore / Mydelmore 1521 of Edgbaston & Studley (brother of his 1st wife) with 2 daughters Margaret wife of Edward Underhill; & Winifred wife of Francis Stanley (a Faculty Licence was issued to permit him to marry, without banns & in whatever church he chose). Anne is buried in Tredington.
He preferred to pay a fine of £30 rather than accept the knighthood offered on the occasion of the Queen Mary's marriage in 1554 to Philip of Spain.
On 14 Nov 1554 William settled the manor of Barcheston on himself and his second wife Anne. Trustees were Sir Robert Throckmorton, Sir Edward Greville, Robert Middlemore & Francis Stanley.
He made his Last Will on 28 March 1555 with generous provisions. Cash bequests were arranged for the poor of the surrounding villages. It rehearsed the provisions for the dowries of the only daughter Elizabeth, unmarried & not betrothed in 1536 & for the children of the 2 who had been widowed & re-married (Holte & Catesby) but added nothing further. He probably felt he had done as much as was necessary for his daughters, who had secured advantageous marriages to men of higher social status than their fathers.
Family trouble broke out immediately after his death. It may well have seemed to the sons-in-law that William had favoured the kin of his second family rather than his first. His second wife seems to have inspired some dislike, which was probably suppressed during William's life.
His Will's provisions had given a life interest in Barcheston to second wife Anne & possession after her death to her cousin, William Barnes. Granted previously to his son-in-law William Sheldon & clearly a matter of some importance to him, there was a dispute over who should inherit. It started immediately upon his demise & continued for a further 9 years before being resolved. During the court case, he was said to have possessed more than £3000 in money & was owed a further £2000 in debts. He was also said to have been nearly blind & to have been coerced into signing a codicil which he could not properly see. But the provisions of a man as wealthy as he & with as many sons in law, one of whom who had been deprived of the manor previously assigned him, was a target for a challenge.
Eventually Ralph Sheldon son of William Sheldon inherited Barcheston manor which descended in this family until early 19c )
In 1905 the tomb was restored. According to the Tamworth Herald, ‘the ancient alabaster tomb…had a coat of paint and the dirt of ages removed from it’ and it was rebuilt. The work was ‘done to the order of Mr John R Willington, a lineal descendant’.
- Church of St Martin, Barcheston Warwickshire