Edward
Curtis, burgess of Wells in the fifteenth century
Niall
C.E.J. O’Brien
On 14th October 1413 Edward Curtis, burgess of Wells, made his will in which he asked
to be buried in the nave of the church of St. Cuthbert of Wells before the
altar of the Holy Cross.[1]
Who was Edward Curtis who didn't like to lie out under the British weather with
the other people of Wells? This article will explore the records for Edward
Curtis and search for some notes relating to the people who were beneficiaries
to his will.
Edward’s
funeral
As mentioned earlier
Edward Curtis asked to be buried in the nave of St. Cuthbert’s church. To
modern eyes this may seem strange as all the benches, pews and chairs added in
over the years has filled much of the previously open space in the nave. In
medieval times there were few chairs in the nave area. People just stood around
and the old people went to the wall for support.[2]
In 1243 the chapter of
Wells directed that no lay people could be buried before the west door of the
cathedral (situated on the east side of Wells; Cuthbert’s is on the west side)
but “greater people” who belonged to the church could be buried within the
cathedral.[3]
The same rule may have applied at St. Cuthbert’s. Edward Curtis was not the
only lay person to find burial in the nave of St. Cuthbert’s. Other prominent
people in Wells society and commerce were buried inside the church of St.
Cuthbert. In 1416, John Horewood, burgess of Wells, asked to be buried in the
nave of St. Cuthbert’s church before the High Cross.[4] In
1457, Edith Gaskyn, a widow, asked to be buried in the church of St. Cuthbert.[5] In
1482 John Hochyn, burgess of Wells, asked to be buried in the church of St.
Cuthbert before the altar of the Holy Cross in the nave. Also in 1482 we have
notice of Walter Baker of Wells, who wished to be buried in the church of St.
Cuthbert before the altar of St. Nicholas.[6]
The most famous burial within
the church in the early fifteenth century was that of Thomas Tanner, burgess of
Wells. In his will of 1401 Tanner asked to be buried under the south window
within the chapel of the Blessed Mary in the church of St. Cuthbert.[7]
Part of this chapel later became known as Tanner’s Chapel.[8]
St. Cuthbert's church at Wells from fotothing.com
To help accomplish Edward’s
desire for burial within the church he paid 40 shillings to Sir William
Hampine, vicar of the church, for tithe payments he forgot to pay.[9] The
name of Sir William Hampine does not appear in the list of vicars of St.
Cuthbert’s produced by Thomas Serel and so the will of Edward Curtis makes a
welcome addition to our knowledge base. Hampine was still vicar in 1416.[10]
It is not known what
type of funeral monument was erected for Edward Curtis. Was it an inscribed
paving stone or some grander monument? Many changes have taken place within the
church over the centuries. In 1561 the central tower of the church collapsed or
was removed. Serel wrote in 1875 that many gravestones within the church were
removed over the years and the location of many graves was by then forgotten.[11]
Edward Curtis also gave
40 pence to Sir Thomas atte Wood, chaplain and 2 shillings 6 pence to every
chaplain being and celebrating in the church of St. Cuthbert. He further gave 6
pence to each of the three clerks at the church. Additional gifts were made to
six other clerks, namely, Sir John Alampton (vicar of Wells in 1417), Sir
Walter Mone, Sir William Pokyngton, Sir Thomas Byngham, Sir John Crede and Sir
William Predy.[12]
Sir William Pokyngton
appears a few times in medieval Wells. In the 1408 will of Thomas Terry, canon
of Wells, Pokyngton is forgiven a debt of 4 marks which he owed to Terry. In
1411 Pokyngton got 2 shillings 5 pence in the will of William Felawe, rector of
Portshead. In 1414 Pokyngton was granted the administration of the will of
Richard Drayton, canon of Wells and similar administration in 1419 for the will
of William Excestre, canon of Wells.[13]
Church
fabric gifts
As in many medieval
wills people gave donations to the fabric funds of churches and abbeys. Edward
Curtis gave 20 shillings to the fabric of St. Cuthbert’s church and 6 shillings
8 pence to the fabric of St. Andrew’s church at Wells which was the cathedral
church for the Diocese of Bath and Wells.[14]
Outside of Wells Edward
Curtis gave 10 shillings to the fabric of the church at Axbridge.[15]
To get some idea of what this gift would mean to the churches involved we need
to check some surviving fabric accounts. In the Wells cathedral fabric accounts
for 1457 two hundredweight of lead would cost 5 shillings per hundred while
lime cost 5 pence per quarter.[16]
In the Exeter Cathedral fabric accounts for 1323-4 the weekly wage of a
carpenter was 2 shilling 2 pence while a plumber and his assistant would cost 2
shillings 8 pence per week and two labourers in the stone quarry would cost 22
pence.[17]
Edward Curtis
remembered Wells and Axbridge in his will but also gave donations to religious
houses in Bristol. The Friars Preachers of Bristol got 6 shillings 8 pence as
did the Friars Minors.[18]
Other
burials in and around St. Cuthbert’s
Apart from the notices
above of people wishing to be buried within the church of St. Cuthbert we have
records of other people around Wells who wished to be buried in the churchyard.
In 1407 Richard Groos, burgess of Wells, asked to be buried in the churchyard
of St. Cuthbert’s Church.[19]
In 1412 John Cogan of Wells asked to be buried in the churchyard of St.
Cuthberts.[20]
In 1448 Thomas Franckeleyn of Eston in the parish of St. Cuthbert, asked to be
buried in the churchyard of St. Cuthbert’s Church.[21] In
1477, another burgess of Wells, Thomas Hywood, asked to be buried in the church
of St. Cuthbert.[22]
Edward’s
family
At the time of his will
in 1413 the mother of Edward Curtis, called Cibilla, was still living. He gave
her £5 which was entrusted to John Yenan of Axbridge. John Yenan was to deliver
such money as Cibilla may need for time to time. If there was still some part
of the £5 still on-hand at the death of Cibilla, it was to be distributed
amongst chaplains to pray for “all the faithful deceased”.[23]
The involvement to John
Yenan of Axbridge along with the bequest to the fabric of the parish church at
Axbridge would strongly suggest that Edward Curtis was originally from there
and had moved to Wells at a later date. The Bishop of Bath and Wells held land
in Axbridge and his officials sometimes held meetings there. The five mile journey between Axbridge and Wells would therefore not be so strange or foreign.[24]
Edward Curtis mentions
no brothers or sisters nor any children. After all gifts and expenses had been
paid his wife Alice was to get the residue of his estate.[25]
Axbridge church
The
beneficiaries
In the list of
beneficiaries Edward Curtis gave to John Meryfield 20 shillings and to his
wife, Matilda, 6 shillings 8 pence. I have yet to find another record of John
Meryfield to add some biography for this beneficiary. Other beneficiaries who
got 6 shillings 8 pence each were Joan, wife of Thomas Walsingham, and Thomas Nony of
Axbridge.[26]
Thomas Walsingham was
made freeman of Wells in 1409. Walsingham appears as pledger for other freemen
in 1418, 1435 and 1436.[27] Documents
of Wells Corporation cited Thomas Walsingham as holding a shop in Sadler Street
in 1427 at 10 shillings rent.[28]
Two further people got
40 pence each, namely, Margaret the Silk woman and Juliana Hythe.[29]
There was a Juliana Huth mentioned in the will of Thomas Tanner of Wells in
1401 but it is unclear if the two similar surnames mean the same person.[30]
Gifts
to two sides
In his will Edward
Curtis made a gift of one penny to six poor people every Friday for a year. He
also gave a loaf of bread to every poor person who attended the day of his
funeral. People often gave gifts to poor people who attended their funeral. But
if God was not overly impressed with these gifts Edward asked for 300 masses to
be celebrated on the day of his funeral or “with all haste” after the funeral.[31]
Other wills of the same time ask for a few masses. One will from 1407 had
Richard Groos, burgess of Wells, asking for over 400 masses for all the
faithfully deceased.[32]
Executors
of the will
Edward Curtis appointed
three people as executors of his will, namely, his wife Alice, William Wey and
Richard Setter.[33]
When the will was proved on 12th November 1413 William Wey and
Richard Setter were granted administration.[34]
The relationship
between Edward Curtis and William Wey was a close one. In 1410 when William Wey
was enrolled as a freeman of Wells, Edward Curtis and Thomas Wey acted as
pledges that William would pay the wine, wax and gloves required for his
admission. William Wey didn’t have to pay an entry fine as he had married the
widow of a former burgess, Robert Asscheby.[35]
William Wey quickly
became an important man in medieval Wells. His name appears a number of times
in the roll of freemen between 1413 and 1423. There he took the pledge that a
number of named persons would pay the fine required on their being admitted as
freeman.[36]
The other executor and
administrator was Richard Setter who was another good friend of Edward Curtis.
In 1410 Edward Curtis acted as pledger for Richard Setter when being admitted
as a freeman. Like William Wey, Richard Setter gained admittance because he
married the widow of former burgess, John Blithe.[37]
In 1423 Richard Setter and his wife Christiana granted their mansion house on
High Street and two cottages on New Street to the town council. These
properties were the gift by John Blithe to Christiana when she was his wife.[38] Between
1421 and 1425 Richard Setter acted as pledgers for new freemen entering Wells.[39]
Other
information
In the will of Thomas
Tanner of Wells in 1401 mention is made of his servant Edward Curtis, as said
earlier. Tanner mentions three other servants but it is Edward who got the
biggest gift of 100 shillings.[40] At
first sight a person called Edward Curtis living in Wells at the same time as
we are researching would seem to be the same person. But how could a servant in
1401 rise to claim burial within the church of St. Cuthbert within twelve
years. From other sources we learn that Edward Curtis of 1413 is a different
person from Edward Curtis the servant.
In the freedom roll of
Wells borough Edward Curtis was admitted a freeman in 1403 as a merchant which
is a far cry from a servant. As a stranger to the town Edward Curtis had to pay
a fine for admittance which he shortly after paid in full.[41]
This fine was 10 shillings plus wine and gloves to the town council.[42] Edward’s
home town of Axbridge would not be big enough to provide a living for a
merchant compared to the cathedral city of Wells. At Wells, Edward Curtis would
have the local people as customers along with the numerous clerics living in
and around the town, and visiting pilgrims.
It is possible that
Edward Curtis trained as a merchant in Bristol or conducted business there as
he made gifts to two religious houses in that city, as noted above.[43]
Other people of Wells had business activities in Bristol. Thomas Tanner of
Wells had two cellars and three shops along with other property in Bristol.[44]
As said earlier, in
1410, Edward Curtis acted as pledger for Richard Setter and William Wey to be
admitted freemen of the town.[45] But
unlike Richard Setter who had property in Wells, Edward Curtis does not appear
in any property deeds as owner or witness.[46]
As a merchant it is very likely that he had property in the town but no such
property appears in any published books that this author has access to.
We also have no record,
as yet, of what type of merchant business Edward Curtis was involved in. A
document from a court case, if such exist for Edward Curtis, may help as it
does for John Langley, merchant of Bristol. In 1427 we learn that Langley
traded in paving stones some of which he imported from Flanders.[47]
Without these extra
documents we are left with only a brief picture of the person of Edward Curtis.
With no family or identifiable property to follow we are left with a will and
300 masses for the faithfully departed.
===========================
End of post
===========================
[1]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500 (Somerset Record Society, Vol. 16, 1901), p. 64
[3] J.A.
Bennett (ed.), Report on the Manuscripts
of Wells Cathedral (Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1885), p. 37
[4]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 74
[5]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 178
[6]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, pp. 237, 257
[7]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 6
[8]
Thomas Serel, Historical notes on the
Church of Saint Cuthbert in Wells (Wells, 1875), p. 20a see illustration
[9]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500 (Somerset Record Society, Vol. 16, 1901), p. 64
[10]
Thomas Serel, Historical notes on the
Church of Saint Cuthbert in Wells (Wells, 1875), p. 118; Rev. F.W. Weaver
(ed.), Somerset Medieval Wills, 1383-1500,
p. 74
[11]
Thomas Serel, Historical notes on the
Church of Saint Cuthbert in Wells (Wells, 1875), p. 142
[12]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, pp. 65, 94
[13]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, pp. 38, 47, 68, 76
[14]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[15]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[16]
J.A. Bennett (ed.), Report on the
Manuscripts of Wells Cathedral, p. 288
[17]
Audrey M. Erskine (ed.), The accounts of
the fabric of Exeter Cathedral, 1279-1353 (Devon & Cornwall Record
Society, New Series, Vol. 24, 1981), part 1, p. 152
[18]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[19]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 25
[20]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 55
[21]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 160
[22]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 230
[23]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[24]
J.A. Bennett (ed.), Report on the
Manuscripts of Wells Cathedral, pp. 37, 39, 64, 205
[25]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[26]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[27]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters (Somerset Record Society, Vol. 46, 1932), pp.
135, 138, 143, 144
[28]
Anthony J. Scrase & Joan Hasler (eds.), Wells
Corporation Properties (Somerset Record Society, Vol. 87, 2002), pp. 30,
178
[29]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[30]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 8
[31]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[32]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 47
[33]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[34]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, pp. 65-6
[35]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters, p. 135
[36]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters, pp. 136, 137, 138, 139
[37]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters, p. 135
[38]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters, p. 105
[39]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters, pp. 139, 140, 141
[40]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 8
[41]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters, p. 133
[42]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters, p. xxvi
[43]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 65
[44]
Rev. F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval
Wills, 1383-1500, p. 7
[45]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters, p. 135
[46]
Dorothy O. Shilton & Richard Holworthy (eds.), Wells City Charters, p. 105
[47]
J.W.B. Chapman & Mrs. Leighton (eds.), Calendar
of Inquisitions Miscellaneous, Vol. VIII, 1422-1485 (Boydell Press &
National Archives, 2003), no. 20
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