William Brockett of Hitchin III - The Broket Archive

William Brockett of Hitchin III Yeoman
b 1560 or 61, d 1623

Son of William Brokett II of Hitchin, see the separate page. A Yeoman Maltster like his grandfather before him.1 The records all point to the fact that he lived all his life in Hitchin.

Contents of this page:
1. Contemporary namesakes
2. Birth date
3. Wife and children
4. Wider kin network
5. Other records
6. Last testament and Will
7. Eldest son Edward

1. Contemporary namesakes

William of Essendon Gent, b 1521-6, d 1611. Clerk of the Peace for Hertfordshire 1570-1603.
William, eldest son of William of Essendon Gent. ‘Gent aged 46 or more’ in 1610 in his father’s IPM, thus b c 1564. Died 1626.
William, b aft 1556; Citizen of London, d intestate 1607. He may have been the William Brockett was recorded carrying letters from the Privy Council to Sussex in 1601 to muster horsemen to fight the Spanish army which had landed in the South of Ireland.2 It seems unlikely that this William working in Westminster was William III of Hitchin.
William Brockett. Admitted Gray’s Inn 1612, “son and heir of John Brockett of Kimpton, Herts, Gent. What became of this William?
William, Governor of Kinsale 1642-5, d 1655.
William, Servant to the Earl of Sussex, imprisoned in London 1628 aged 25-7, therefore b c 1601.

2. Birth date

Although in 1538 each parish in England and Wales was ordered to keep a register of baptisms, marriages and burials, many didn’t start doing so till Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558.3 Hitchin registers began to be kept in 1562, and while his younger brother’s baptism was recorded on 28 Nov that year, William III’s baptism had been earlier so wasn’t recorded. In his Will written 4 Sept 1563 their father William II enjoined his wife “to set and keep my two sons at school”, so in late 1563 neither son was yet at school. And we know that William II married Alice Papworth between 12 Feb 1560 and mid 1561, see the separate page. So allowing for at least a year between the two boys, William III would have been born in 1560 or 61. When he married on 6 Feb 1593, he was therefore aged 32-33. And when his last child was baptised 17 years later on 13 Jan 1610, he would have been 49-50.

On William II’s death in Sep 1563, his widow Alice was left with two infant sons and as was often the custom she soon remarried, and went on to have a second family of 10 children with George Underwood, a prosperous Yeoman from nearby Weston. Presumably the two Broket boys grew up with their mother Alice in the Underwood household, and the two houses in Hitchin which their father had bequeathed to them when they reached 20 may well have been rented out in the meantime. William III would have reached 20 by 1580-81, which was the year the next record has been found of him, see below.

3. Wife and children

In 1593 as an established Yeoman in his early 30s with a large house and land worth at least 40s, but still unmarried, William Brockett was an eligible match for the eldest daughter of a Yeoman family from the nearby village of Holwell, c 3 m N of Hitchin. This was Katherine Hanscombe who had been baptised there 19 Jun 1570 daughter of Mathew and Alice.4 And in 1593 “februrye The 6 daie were maryed William Broket & Katherin Hanscombe“.5 They lived in the large house on Bancroft Street, purchased by his grandfather, shown by the couple’s combined initials ‘WKB 1600’ carved into a fireplace.6 Katherine was a good 10 years younger than William and outlived him as his widow by a quarter of a century. With little doubt she was the “Widow Brocket” buried 1649 in nearby Shillingon (2 m W of Holwell). Records have been found of her alive in 1623 and 1641, but deceased by 1658.

Children of William and Katherine, all baptised in Hitchin:7

  1. Edward bap 28 Dec 1595 Hitchin. “The 28 daye was baptized Edward the sone of William Broket”. We call him ‘Edward Brockett III of Hitchin’. Married Johanna d/o John THAME of Leicestershire. Sole executor of father’s Will of 1620. Date of death not yet known. See further details below.
  2. William bap 14 Aug 1597 Hitchin. “The 14 daie was baptized Wil’m the sonne of Wm’ Brocket”. Alive in 1620—bequeathed 10s in father’s Will of that year. No record of his marriage has been found but it’s probable he was the William married to Alice in the 12 Nov 1638 Hitchin record “The 12th day buried the sonne of William and Alice Brocket stillborne”. No other contemporary Hitchin Williams are known. No further record found so far.
  3. Hanscombe bap 1 Jan 1598/9 Hitchin. “The same daye [1 Jan 1598/99] was baptized Hanscombe the sone of Wm Brocket”—obviously named after his mother’s family. Bequeathed 10s in father’s Will of 1620. He moved to London, where banns and marriage with Anne, widow of Hugh BRUER are recorded 1622-3 St Martin Vintry, City of London,8 and the burial there on 28 Nov 1625 of “Edward Brocket S. to hanscome Bro[…]”.9 No further record has currently found of either Hanscombe—with his distinctive name—or Anne. He wasn’t listed as a householder paying rent in St Martin Vintry parish in 1638.10 He is more likely to have been recorded in the 1625 Subsidy for the parish, or even the 1621 one.11 It is mistaken speculation that the family become Quakers and returned to Hitchin, and son Edward was the later Edward Brockett of Hitchin, imprisoned for Quaker beliefs in 1657, see the separate page. For more details on the records:   Read more
    It’s possible that the couple had other offspring, records of whom have been lost or not yet found. The mid 17th C was a period of plague, civil war and fire. St Martin Vintry church itself was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and never rebuilt, and it’s fortunate that the 1617-48 register survived at all.
  4. John bap 9 Nov 1600 Hitchin. “The 9 daie was baptized John the sonne of William Broket”. Bequeathed £20 on reaching 23 years in father’s Will of 1620. John Brockett, Grocer of Pirton, Herts, brought a case to Chancery against brother Edward in Feb 1652:19    Read more
    We have found no record of a marriage for John, but we could speculate that he was the father of “Samuell the sonne of John Brockett baptized the 24 of Februarie 1625″ [i.e. 1626] in Radwell.20 Radwell is c 5-6 m N of Hitchin and Pirton. It may well have been this Samuell who had emigrated to Virginia by 1657. No definite further record has been found of him in England, and no other possible emigrant Samuel is currently known.
  5. Alice bap 11 Jul 1602 Hitchin. “The 11 daye was baptized Alice the daughter of Will’m Brocket”. The only known child not mentioned in father’s Will of 1620. No further record found so far.
  6. Thomas bap 9 Oct 1604 Hitchin. “The 9 daie was baptized Thomas the sone of William Broket”. Alive in 1620—bequeathed £20 on reaching 23 years in father’s Will of that year. Bequeathed 10s—as one of many legacies including several to Hanscombes—in the 1608 Will of William Feild of Pirton, Yeoman:21 “to Thomas Brookett the sonne of Will’m Brookett x s and to all the rest of his children v s a peece to be paid [within sixe monthes next after my decease]”. Thomas was scarcely 4 years old, but given the Hanscombe references elsewhere in William Feild’s Will, and that Pirton—where brother John later lived—is only c 3 miles from Hitchin, this was hardly likely to have been Thomas son of William Brokett of Essendon Esq/Gent, who appears to have lived further south in Hertfordshire, and was aged c 40 in 1608 so unlikely to have been dubbed a child or “son of” anyone, see the separate page. No further record found so far.
  7. George bap 10 Aug 1606 Hitchin. “The 10 daie was baptized George the sonne of Will’m Broket”. Alive in 1620—bequeathed £20 on reaching 21 years in father’s Will of that year. In 1631 a George Brocket married Margery FARMER in London Diocese.22 No further record found so far. George, bap Hitchin, is to be distinguished from the later George of Wheathapmstead and Watford Gent (1631-75), see the separate page.
  8. Mathew bap 17 Apr 1608 Hitchin, probably named after his maternal grandfather. “The 17 daie was baptized Mathew the sonne of Willyam Broket”. Alive in 1620—bequeathed £20 on reaching 21 years in father’s Will of that year. In 1634 a Mathew Brocket married Dorothy HALL in St Anne Blackfriars.23 St Anne Blackfriars was in Farringdon Ward Within in the City of London and was burnt down in the Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt, the parish being united to St Andrew Wardrobe.24 He hasn’t been found as a householder paying rent in London in 1638.25 He may have been recorded in the 1645 Subsidy for the parish.26 On 9 Jul 1641 “Mathew Brockett of the liberty of the Tower of London Shoomaker aged 33 or thereabouts” [i.e. b c 1608] was a deponent in a case brought by William Falcon (executor of the Will of Everett Falcon and Administrator of the estate of Elizabeth Falcon widow) against Robert Petty (executor of the Will of George Petty) and others.27 Mathew was asked about the tenements in question and what was the yearly rent. He said he had lived in one of them for 5 or 6 years, rented from a Mrs Collett for £10 a year. This would have been from c 1635, when aged c 27. Here is Mathew’s signature to the deposition, which shows he had had some education:
    C24_664 Mathew Brockett 1641 signature
    No further record has been found of Mathew so far. Only the following namesake contemporaries are known:

    • Two, possibly three, who lived in Lincolnshire in the 17th C, but not apparently in London. A baptism record has only been found for the Mathew, son of Richard Brockett, baptised 1605 in Moorby, see the separate page. Burial records of two Mathews have been found a couple of miles further south in Mareham Le Fen, one in 1678, who with wife Alice had a daughter there in 1640 and who was probably baptised 1605 in Moorby, and the other in 1694, who died a bachelor, see the separate page.
    • Matheus Brocket who married in York City in 1608, see the separate page.
  9. Agnis bap 13 Jan 1610/11 Hitchin. “The 13 daie was baptized Agnis the daughter of Willyam’ Brocket”. Bequeathed £20 on reaching 21 years in father’s Will of 1620. Bequeathed £40 in John Hammond of Pirton’s Will of 1641 as “Agnes Brockett daughter of Catherine Brockett, widow”, so was presumably unmarried then (aged c 30). 27 years later she was bequeathed £50 in James Hanscombe of Shillington’s Will of 1658 as “Agnes Burrow, widow, daughter of sister Katherine Brockett”. There was also a bequest in the same Will of £20 to Mary, daughter of Robert Burrow deceased now wife of William Burre”, who could have been a daughter of Agnis.

4. Wider kin network

The Hanscombes. This Yeoman family was dominant in Holwell (c 3 m N of Hitchin); in the 8 years between 24 Jan 1565 and 19 Mar 1573 the Parish Register recorded 38 baptisms, marriages and burials, 11 of them Hanscombes. Katherine’s family was the largest Hanscombe family there at the time and she was one of upwards of 10 surviving children. Her eldest brother Robert stayed in the large house (capital messuage) in the village but other siblings moved to neighbouring villages, like Pirton, Shillington and Meppershall. Her younger brother James Hanscombe of Shillington also operated in Hitchin—he paid 3s on goods worth 60s in Hitchin in the subsidy of 1588.28 The Wills of Yeomen Robert of 1571, proved 1573, of his son Matthew (Katherine’s father) of 1592, and of his son James of Shillington of 1658, reveal the wealth and names of the extended family. Katherine and/or two of her children were mentioned in the Wills of all three:

  1. Robert Hanscombe of Holwell, Yeoman, written 1 Nov 1571:29 Bequest to Katherine, daughter of Matthew Hanscombe, a red heifer, 2 years old.
  2. Mathew Hanscombe of Holwell, Yeoman, written 12 Aug 1592:30 Bequest to eldest daughter Katherine £100 and 5 pairs of sheets.
  3. James Hanscombe of Shillington, Yeoman, written 27 Nov 1658:31 Bequests to sister Joan Hamond £40; to Edward Brockett son of sister Katherine Brockett deceased £40; to Agnes Burrow, widow, daughter of sister Katherine Brockett £50; and to Mary, daughter of Robert Burrow deceased now wife of William Burre £20.

The Hammonds. William had a double connection by marriage to this wealthy Yeoman family of Pirton. His eldest son Edward’s mother in law was Cecily Hammond of Pirton, see below; and William’s wife Katherine’s younger sister Joan Hanscombe, bap 22 Jul 1596 in Holwell32 married John Hammond, a wealthy Yeoman of Pirton. John was Cecily’s brother. In his Will, written 25 Sep 1641, proved PCC 1641 3 Aug 1642,33 John left bequests, among many others, of

20s to his sister Cicelie Thame, widow 20s.
£100 to Johan Brocket, daughter of Edward Brocket, at 21 or marriage.
£40 to Agnes Brockett, daughter of Katherine Brockett, widow.

His widow Joan Hammond of Pirton, nee Hanscombe, in her Will written 28 Jan 1660, proved 6 May 1662, 34 left bequests, among many others, to:

“my Neece Joannah Vaus the wife of Thomas Vaus the daughter of my Nephew Edward Brockat all that my Messuage or tenament wherein I now dwell sittuate & in Pyrton”. Comment: Joannah Vaus was actually her great niece—daughter of her niece Joan Thame and nephew Edward Brockat.
“the two children of my sister Brocket the summe of twelve pence apeece”. Comment: These are the children of William Brocket III and Katherine Hanscombe, see above. One would probably have been Agnes, the youngest child, bap 1611, who was recorded in 1658. The other one isn’t known, but her bequest suggest that all but one of the other 7 recorded in 1620 or later were then—1660—alive.
“Deborah the daughter of Thomas Vaus & Joanah his wife the summe of forty poundes … at the Age of 21th yeares … And alsoe I doe give vnto her the saide Deborah the ioyned bed with the fetherbed & boulster to it that standes in the litle chamber ouer the drink Buttery with one brass ketle and sixe peuter dishes to be given to her at the decease of her Mother”.
“vnto Joannah Vause the daughter of Joanna Vause my neece the summe of forty poundes … at her age of one & twenty yeares … vnto the saide Joanah Vause the ioyned bed in the chamber ouer the other Buttery with the fether bedd & boulster to it one brass ketle & six peuter dishes to be given as her sisters are”.
“All the rest of my goodes & Chattels vnbequeathed I freely give & bequeath vnto Joanah Vause my loveing Neece whome I doe make and ordeine the sole executrix.”

5. Other records

1580: William was witness to a property transaction [to follow]

1581: William was witness to a property transaction [to follow]

1588: William was recorded as one of 79 Hitchin taxpayers in the subsidy of 1588, paying 2s 8d for land worth 40s:35

William Brockett in the subsidy of 1588

James Hanscombe paid 3s on goods worth 60s.

1591: A Rental of Hitchin that listed rents due for half a year recorded a freehold property for William Brockeyt with an additional one added after 1600:36

William Brockeyt's copyhold p 10v 1591

Transliteration:37+Read more

This Bancroft Street residence was the large family house originally purchased by his grandfather in 1538. Cumin seed was presumably used in cooking. The Rental next listed his great uncle Edward I‘s freehold. Some pages later it listed their copyhold dues. William was due 20d on 5 acres of arable land in Wratton (that his grandfather had left his father in 1556) and also 4d on “2 acres of arable land somtyme gravlies & late Drapers”:39

William Brockeyt in the 1591 Hitchin Rental

The Rental recorded a further payment in 1600 of 4d “for 2 acres of arable, somtyme thomas gravlies & late thomas Drapers”:40

William Brocket's copyhold p 1600

1597: On 7 Apr William Brokett of Hitchin Yeoman purchased property from William UNDERWOOD of Weston Yeoman.41

1598: William Brockett was assessed in Hitchin at 10s 8d tax for £4 in goods.42 No Brokets were assessed in Pirton or Weston. In Ippollitts Richard Brockett was assessed at 4s for 20s in land.43 William’s stepfather George Underwood was assessed in Weston for £10 in goods.44

1600: On 1 Dec William Brockett of Hitchin Yeoman purchased 3 acres of meadow, arable land and pasture called Dolphins Slade in Welchmans Croft, Hitchin, and 8½ acres of other arable land in Welchmans Croft from Henry BOWIER of Hitchin Gent for £66 in fee simple:45+Read more


Its rent was added to the 1591 Rental of Hitchin Manor, see above.

1601: A William was recorded working in Westminster at this time. It is unlikely that he was William III of Hitchin.

1615-16: William was one of the Churchwardens of Hitchin Parish Church, with Richard Laundey and Simon Lucas, minister John Huddleston, and duly signed the register:47

Wm Brocket III of Hitchin's signature 1615-16

1622: On 8 Jul James Spurling of Weston Gent sued in Chancery against William, Maltster.48 James Spurling was the brother in law of George Underwood (1565-1617), the half brother of William Brockett.49

1622/3 27 Jan: William was buried. “The 27 day was buried William Brockett”.50

6. Last testament and Will

William signed his Will with a shaky hand on 3 Sep 1620:51

William Brockett's signature 1620

Eldest son Edward, executor, lost no time in proving William’s Will on 22 Feb 1622/3,52 Apart from household effects, half of which he left to his wife Katherine, William made only monetary bequests. The residue he left to his eldest son and executor Edward. This would have included the large family residence in Bancroft Street and any other property he held in Hitchin—indeed Edward sold some of it within a few days, see below. William’s cash legacies amounted to £101.


1. In the name of god amen the Thirde day of September in the yeare of our Lord god One Thowsande
2. Six hundred and Twentye and in the yeare of the raigne of our soueraigne Lord Kynge Iames by
3. the grace of god of Englande Fraunce and Irelande the Eightenthe and of Scotlande the Fowre and
4. Fiftithe defender of the faythe &c I Willyam Brockett of Hitchin in the Countye of Hertforde
5. yeoman beinge sicke in bodye yet of good and perfecte mynde and Memorye thankes be to god for it
6. Doe make ordayne this my laste Will and Testament in manner and forme followinge, Firste+Read more

Sons William and Hanscombe—over 21 by then—were to be given their 10s straightaway, the younger sons and daughter later: John and Thomas £20 each when they reached 23, George, Mathew and Agnis £20 each when they reached 21. The suit brought by John in 1652 suggests that Edward, the executor, didn’t pay these later legacies.

7. William III’s eldest son: Edward Brockett III of Hitchin 1595-

Baptised in Hitchin 28 Dec 1595. “The 28 daye was baptized Edward the sone of William Broket”.53 Even though he may not have lived in Hitchin most of his married life, we call him ‘Edward III of Hitchin’, since he owned property there till his early 40s. It also helps distinguish him from his cousins Edward I, II, III and IV of Walsworth, a half-hour walk away. He was sole executor of his father’s Will, written 1620.

Edward Brockett III married Johanna eldest daughter of John THAME of Leicestershire in St Martin, Ludgate, City of London, by licence 18 May 1620. Two neatly-written records survive: “May. The eighteenth day was married Edward Brockett and Jone Thame maid with a licence out of the faculties”,54 and “May The xviijth day was maryed Edward Brockett and Jone Thame mayde Lysanc’ Facultys”.55 Camden’s Visitation of Leicestershire mistakenly recorded them already married in 1619:56
John THAME was the heir of Robert Thame of Chinnor, Oxfordshire, heir of John Thame of Chinnor, Oxfordshire Esq.57 According to the Visitation Johanna’s father married Cisley d/o John Hamon of Burton, Herts. There is no Burton in Herts and this was no doubt a misnomer for Pirton, near Hitchin. Edward’s aunt Joan Hanscombe married John Hammond of Pirton, Yeoman, see above.

Edward and Johanna’s children:

  1. William baptised and buried 11 Apr 1621 Hitchin. “The 11 day was baptized William the sonne of Edward Brocket. The same day was buried William the sonne of Edward Brocket”. Although they were married in London—by licence—it is clear that Edward and Johanna baptised their daughter Joan in Hitchin in 1622, so it is safe to assume that this William was also their child, baptised as he was 11 months after their marriage.
  2. Joane bap 10 Jul 1622 Hitchin. “The 10 day was baptized Joane the daughter of Edward Brocket the younger”. The term ‘younger’ shows that there was another Edward Brockett in the area at the time. His uncle Edward II of Hitchin who had moved to Dunton had died by 1598, and his great uncle Edward I of Hitchin had also died by then, see the separate page. This must therefore have been Edward I’s son Edward I of Walsworth—a half hour’s walk away—and who had died by 1538. Joane was mentioned in the Will of great uncle John Hammond 1641, proved 3 Aug 1642, see above.58 She married 1650, St Thomas Southwark, Thomas VAUS. Joanna was sole executrix of the Will of great aunt Joan Hammond 1660,59 see above. Issue: Deborah and Joannah, both under 21 in 1660, when left bequests by Joan Hammond.

Soon after the death of his father Edward began to sell the family property in Hitchin. On 26 Feb 1622/3 Edward Brockett of Hitchin, Yeoman, sold 3 half acres of arable land in Welchmans Croft, Hitchin, that his father had purchased in 1600, to Edward LUCAS of Ickleford, Miller, for £15:60 +Read more


Edward’s signature is on the deed:61
+++
Edward Brockett's signature 1623

Dolphins Slade and other land in Welchmans Croft appears to have been acquired by Thomas Suerties of Hitchin, Yeoman, (see next) who on 10 Apr 1638 sold it to Thomas Hamond of Pirton, Hitchin, Yeoman.62 By 1676 the same property for a rent of 8d per annum, “once of a certain Thomas Sureties, afterwards of William Lucas, [Yeoman]” was held by William Lucas the elder, son of Anne Lucas who then held the Bancroft St residence, also sold by Edward Brockett, as follows.63

Edward and his wife also signed 3 deeds of covenant to levy fines, the first two on 10 Feb 1630 and the third on 10 Feb 1631:

  1. Between Edward Brockett Yeoman of Shenton, Leicestershire, and his wife Johane,64 and Andrew SEWERTYE of Hitchin, Gent: a capital messuage in Bancroft Street, Hitchin, and 41½ acres of land in Hitchin and St Ippollitts.65
  2. Between Edward Brockett Yeoman of Shenton, Leicestershire, and Joan his wife, and Thomas SEWERTYE of Hitchin, Maltster: property in Bancroft Street and elsewhere in Hitchin and Ippollitts.66
  3. Between Edward Brockett Yeoman of Shenton, Leicestershire, and Johane his wife, and Francis HUCKELL of Hitchin Yeoman, and Thomas HUCKELL of Hitchin Yeoman, his son and heir: a capital messuage in Bancroft Street in which Charles RAYNER did lately dwell and 41½ acres of land belonging to the said messuage which premises were sometime the land and tenements of William Brockett late of Hitchin yeoman deceased, father of the said Edward. And also a close of pasture called Silver Street Close containing 7 acres late the land of John Mattock Gent and 3 acres of arable land in Moremead Field now in the tenure of F and T Huckell to their use.67

Here is the translation of a final concord of 24 April 1631 between Andrew SEWERTYE and John DAYE plaintiffs and Edward Brockett and Johanna his wife deforciants of a messuage, a garden, an orchard, 44 acres of (arable) land, 5 acres of meadow and 10 acres of pasture with appurtenances in Hitchin alias Hutchin and Ippollitts: +Read more


Although Edward and Johanna married in London, they baptised both their known children in Hitchin over the next two years, and for the sale of arable land in Welchmans Croft in 1623 Edward was “of Hitchin”, but he was not recorded in the list of taxpayers for Hitchin in 1628,69 and by the 1631-2 sale of the Bancroft Street property he and wife Joanna were “of Shenton, Leicestershire”—presumably Joan’s family’s territory. So it’s unlikely that he was the Edward Brockett who married in 1635 in Ippollits, near Hitchin, to Ann PAPWORTH and had a daughter there Ann bap 30 Mar 1637.70 In 1652 Edward’s brother John told a Chancery court that for 9 or 10 years after 1623 Edward’s whereabouts was unknown to him but then he settled somewhere in Wales, where he was then. Between 1608-63 TNA has no other tax lists for Herts with names of individuals. But he was still alive 27 Nov 1658 when James Hanscombe of Shillington left him £40 in his Will. However the Edward Brockett recorded with 4 hearths in Hitchin in the April and September 1663 hearth subsidy returns for the whole of Hitchin hundred, which included Pirton,71 would have been Edward II of Walsworth b by 1617 d 1687.

Page Last Updated: March 27, 2022

Footnotes

For full bibliographical details please see the sections Publications or Glossary.

Expand

[1] As shown by the 1622 case brought by Spurling against William (TNA C3/378/60).

[2] Hine n d p 68.

[3] Hey 1998 p 341.

[4] Holwell Parish Register.

[5] Hitchin Parish Register

[6] Fleck and Poole 1999 p 31.

[7] Quotations below in inverted commas are all transcriptions from the Hitchin parish registers, images accessed on FMP May 2021, with any comments or explanations not in inverted commas.

[8] London Metropolitan Archives Reference Number: P69/MTN5/A/004/MS05158, images accessed on Ancestry.com 14 May 2021.

[9] London Metropolitan Archives Reference Number: P69/MTN5/A/004/MS05158, f 34r, frame 33/263, transcription on frame 153/263, accessed on Ancestry.com 14 May 2021.

[10] T C Dale, 'Inhabitants of London in 1638: St. Martin's in the Vintrey', in The Inhabitants of London in 1638, London 1931, pp 132-135, accessed on British History Online 13 May 2021.

[11] TNA E179/147/543 and E179/147/504, not yet consulted, and possibly available on the FHL Films 2228703 and 2228702.

[12] London Metropolitan Archives Reference Number: P69/MTN5/A/004/MS05158.

[13] At Ancestry.com, images accessed 13 May 2021.

[14] London Metropolitan Archives Reference Number: P69/MTN5/A/004/MS05158 f 17r, frame 16/263; FS transcribed it as a marriage and her name as BRUETT.

[15] Frame 119/263.

[16] f 27r, frame 26/263; FS transcribed it---correctly---as a marriage, but her name as BRICE.

[17] London Metropolitan Archives Reference Number: P69/MTN5/A/004/MS05158 f 34r, frame 33/263, transcription on frame 153/263.

[18] f 36v, frame 35/263.

[19] TNA C2 ChasI/B167/98 summarised.

[20] Radwell Parish Register, image accessed from FMP 26 Jan 2020.

[21] Written 29 Aug 1608, proved Wheathampstead 31 Jan 1608/9, Archdeaconry Court of Huntingdon, Registered copy wills, 1606-1609, vol 18 ff 113v-114r, Family History Library film 0187865; with thanks to James Lively for this Will.

[22] Boyd's 1st miscellaneous marriage index, 1415-1808, transcription © Society of Genealogists, accessed on FMP 15 May 2021.

[23] Boyd's marriage index, 1538-1850, transcription © Society of Genealogists, accessed on FMP 15 May 2021.

[24] Harben, A Dictionary of London, London, 1918, accessed on British History Online 15 May 2021.

[25] T C Dale, The Inhabitants of London in 1638, London 1931, accessed on British History Online 15 May 2021.

[26] TNA E179/147/590 part 14, not yet consulted but possibly available on the FHL Film 2228704.

[27] TNA C24/664, found via the Bernau Index, Aug 2019. Image of the signature reproduced by kind permission of the National Archives licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

[28] TNA E179/248/17.

[29] Proved Bedford 10 Apr 1573. A summary can be found on the Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue item ABP/W1573/133.

[30] Proved Bedford 12 Oct 1592. A summary can be found on the Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue item ABP/W1592/34.

[31] Proved Bedford 14 Feb 1661. A summary can be found on the Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue item ABP/W1592/34.

[32] IGI.

[33] TNA PROB 11/190/148. A summary can be found on the Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue item HE212.

[34] HALS 56HW46.

[35] TNA E179/248/17. Reproduced by kind permission of the National Archives licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

[36] TNA SC 12/31/12—thanks to Bridget Howlett for this reference. Reproduced by kind permission of the National Archives licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

[37] Thanks to David Bethell.

[38] Communication from David Bethell.

[39] TNA SC 12/31/12 p 10v. Reproduced by kind permission of the National Archives licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

[40] TNA SC 12/31/12. Reproduced by kind permission of the National Archives licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

[41] HALS 28563.

[42] TNA E/179/121/260 and E/179/121/269.

[43] TNA E/179/121/269 but not present in E/179/121/260.

[44] TNA E/179/121/260 and E/179/121/269.

[45] HALS DE/Pm/19100 lines 6-17.

[46] Sold by son Edward 1623 Edward to Edward LUCAS of Ickleford, Miller, for £15.

[47] Hitchin Parish Register, published by FindMyPast, image courtesy of Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies, accessed 12 Aug 2019.

[48] TNA C3/378/60.

[49] Information from James Lively 7 Apr 2019.

[50] Parish Regiater, image accessed on FMP 17 May 2021, but not indexed by them, nor by FS nor Ancestry.com.

[51] HALS 9HW80. Restored signature reproduced by kind permission of Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies.

[52] HALS 9HW80. An online image of the Will is available from FamilySearch's database Probate records of the Hitchin Division of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon, 1529-1857, in the section 'Original Wills 1600-27' initial B, image 192, film 1520112, DGS 8307348, (accessed 17 Jul 2019). Line numbers have been added here for reference.

[53] Quotations here and below in inverted commas are all transcriptions from the Hitchin parish registers, images accessed on FMP Feb 2019.

[54] London Metropolitan Archives Reference Number: P69/MTN1/A/002/MS10213, image accessed on FMP 16 May 2021.

[55] London Metropolitan Archives Reference Number: P69/MTN1/A/001/MS10212, image accessed on FMP 16 May 2021.

[56] Fetherston, p 130.

[57] Visitation of Leicestershire, p 130, Chinnor is c 4 m SE of Thame.

[58] PROB 11/190/148. Thanks to Henry Gray for this reference.

[59] HALS 56HW46. Thanks to Henry Gray for this reference.

[60] HALS DE/Pm/19106. For the original Latin contact the Archivist of this website.

[61] Reproduced by kind permission of HALS.

[62] HALS DE/Pm/19114, 19115

[63] Howlett 2000 p 73.

[64] Signed Joane Brockett in a neat hand.

[65] HALS DE/Pm/19109. .

[66] HALS DE/Pm/19519.

[67] HALS DE 3204.

[68] HALS DE/Pm/19109.

[69] TNA E 179/121/337.

[70] IGI.

[71] TNA E179_248_23 and 24