Men and Names of Old Birmingham

MEMORIALS

F

LD B I R M I N G H A M .

anfc Jiame0; FOU VDBRS, P!EE!nOLBBBX, P!EE!nOLBBBX, FROJL

IfVDWELLERS,

THIRTEENTH TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

WITH PAXFICULARS AS TO

MEMORIALS

F

LD B I R M I N G H A M .

anfc Jiame0; FOU VDBRS, P!EE!nOLBBBX, P!EE!nOLBBBX, FROJL

IfVDWELLERS,

THIRTEENTH TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

WITH PAXFICULARS AS TO

PREFACE.

iv

PREFACE.

old English Institutions throu gho ut all England. Th ough its ininiediate subject is local, therefore, its interest and allplication are gen eral. he facts he re collected touching transactions in Wyclif‘s time, add to the general interest of the subject. The same is true of the illustrations given of the growth of Eng lish Surnames. Re al men and women are here grouped, instead of speculative theories on the origin of names. Let it not be supposed that this work pretends to be a isto ry f Birm ingham , even for t he times it to uch es on.

TABL E

OF CONTENTS.

PAGR

T l e P ed ig r e of P la ce s, n d of he "

ark " of Birming ham

er so s. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..

VI

TABLE OF CONT ENTS. r.vc.n

The new Church begun,

A.D.

Appointing a Chaplain gree

...................................

....................................................................

ent betw een th e

A.D.

1375

en of

eri ten d

1381

53

The Original Agreement, with Translation Robert 0' the Grene Licence in A.D.

..........................

..,..,............................................

ortmain

or the endow

ent of th e Chaplain of De riten d,

1383 es in na

The

d the i\Ionlts of Tylceford,

64 es

Deer-gate-enc

............................................

MEN AND NAMES OB

D

BIRM NGHA

6

BIRhIINGHARI AN ANC IENT "RIARI

either of these, but which yet have a story to tell that is not less interesting and no t less instructive th an either of th others. Th ere are towns whose beginning s are hoary w ith which have not been lifted, by factitious accident, into sudden greatness th at has rem ained stationary, or ha s decayed avay but which have gone on, from solid beginnings, steadily growing and prospering, and are now aniong the be st- lm om centres of intelligence, industry, and independence, in the country and therefore are the best safeguards to the State. Such

town is Birm ingham .

he history of its great an-

TH E PRESENT, BOR

TH E PAST.

likely to divert him from looking at the story of the place into wandering am ong the pedigrees f a person. ut the Place has a pedigree which it concerns all wlio are now part f it to know. ha tev er B irmingham man pretends to despise this pedig ree, is little likely to do any h onour to th town. The science of to-day is founded on the science of yesterday, and that of yesterday rests on earlier steps, each trodden in its day. d th e science f to-day cannot be trul y und erstood esc ep t by tracing th ose earlier steps. Only th e charlat an preten ds to a sudden revelation of ne w science. -4nd

8

NAMES AND PLACE S.

the heaping up f dust and rubb ish. t I now propose to pu t toge ther a w links in th e chain f th e Pe dig ree of Birmingham. I take links th at have a na tura l connection with one another, and which throw light upon what, while it is f gene ral intere st to all th e tow n, mill be found to ha ve also a special personal interest to many. Men whose names we know not, can have but a hazy existence in th e ost vivid im agin ation . er e we re men before Agamemnon ; but we lmow Agamemnon, while th e others have, for us, no existence. I propose to re-people the Birmingham of the olden time ; and to make some of the

" RESPECTABLE " MEN.

The universal spirit and the living breath of all the Institutions lmown and cherished from the earliest times by the Common Law of England, before empirical Acts of Parliament became the ever-changing fashion, were the principles, that every man is an item in the State ; finds his place in it as a mem ber of th e comm unity wh erein he dw ells; and has positive duties to fulfil towards it, in that community, as his contribu tion to t t common good of which, as an item in the St ate , he enjoys th e benefits. he prac tical basis on wh ich thos e active In stitu tion s rested was, th at th e m en f a neighbourhood must know their own business better than any one else can know i ; and th t they will themselves more honestly

0

RECORDS OP ENGLAN D.

Zczc-zuo?$hi?zess, to use the good old word—can only consist

in th e fulfilment, by every man, of his duties to his n eig hb ou r, his neighbourhoo d, and his country. e educa tion f m en was thus true and constant, and not merely superficial and delusive. They learned hat the y themselves would have to as real items in the State and responsible members of the ir own neighbourhood, om th e ha bitu al practice wh ich was seen before their eyes throughout their childhood and youth and till their o m time came. Happily, it was an incident to this thoroughly practical system of true education, life, and citizenship, t.ht not only

"P

PE

" N AM E .

special subjects are innu erab le. A w have been pr int ed an incomparably greate r mass remains in manuscript. very large and invaluable quantity of them is collected in the Public Record Office; but great quantities still remain in other Pu blic and also in many Private collections. Th Rolls of Shires, of Hundreds, of Cities and Boroughs, of Co urts of L aw, ‘ anor ourts, of Parish es, of asa tion f Inq uirie s ade on special occasions :— all the se, and many others that it would be tedious to enumerate, tell us the men and the names that have lived in England, and have kept the inh eritan ce safe for us, th ro ug h many centuries. In addition to these, a very rich mass of Records, giving the like infor-

2

SOUR CES OF SUR NAR EG.

Szwnmzes, adopted at first merely for the sake of further distinguishing individual men, only become PanziZy names when they have been used as " names of continuance " in the same family through more than one generhon.

Surnames became originally added on to en's " prop er names,— 1) Fro m the place w hence they came, or here they lived: and of this class there are two distinct kinds; the one (a being the names of towns or other territoiial lsnown places; the other (6 being names taken from the particular spot or thing in or near to which the person dwelt,—as a

N AM ZS A M> " A D D I T I O N S . "

From some personal characteristic, either of body, mind, or habits. (5 From a mere whimsical nickname, the humour of which made it become attached to the man and his family. Instances of all these sorts of surnames will found among the men and names with which shall re-people old Birmingham. n describing en in formal ritings, now, it is usual to pu t after th e nam e w hat is called th addition that is, a statement of the place of dwelling, together with profession, trade, or position in life. will have been seen that surnames themselves were originally, in most cases, nothing else

4

DESCSIPTIVE PARTICLES.

ticle had become in such common use that a translation of it into La tin was no t tho ug ht of; and sometimes me find th a man of marked character would not allow his good English name to be thus distorted into Latin. Intelligent readers would be rather astonished to find the ere translated form " de " subs tituted or " f " by m odern writers mentioning such names as Florence of Worcester, TVil iam of alm esb ury, Gervase of ilbu ry, Geo y of Moriouth . nd th e boldest am ender of th e te t f Shalcspear would pause before pu ttin g "cle," in place of th e En glish word, in the mouth of Sir William Lucy when he asks—

CHANGES OF SHA PE AND SPELLING,

sprang from local residence; the former being descriptive of a man who liired near a small wood (and we have also the equivalent nam es " Littlewo od " and " Smallwood"), and who was therefore called " at te lt e; " the latte r being descriptive of a m who lived nea r a. larg er w ood, and w ho was therefore called " att e mood." In th e one case, th e pa rticle was by-and-by dropped, and the family surname becam " lte ;" in the other case, the particle was run into one with the latter word of the description, and the family surname became " Attwood." Th ere was, no t long ago, a nam e

f old standing in B ir-

1G

FULLER ON NARIE-CHANGES.

wickshire name of "Broke," though still lingering in that shape in one or two rare instances, has settled down into Brooke."* But much greater changes than these have taken place, both in the whole shape of some surnames, and in the spelling of what is eant to stand for the same name. This cannot be better illustrated than by quoting the words of old Fuller :f— t is necessary to observe, th at Sirnames f families have been frequently altered, some families deposing their old, and assuming nezc names, on several occasions But chiefly for,

"B1R.MINGHAM

S

SURNAME.

Hence it is th at th e same name hath been so of en disguised, unto th e stag ger ing of many, who have mistook them for different. , . . The name of Roper in Darbyshire, changed from ilfuswd Rzcbmsputhu, Rospeu~, Rouspee, Rooper, Roper. . . . However such diversity appeareth in the eye of others, I dare profess that I am delighted with the prospect thereof."

Other changes in names took place common some centuries ago, f w riting in place of syllables. e places of often got transposed; just as has been instances of morcls in common use

through the habit, so ith contracted m arks th e lett er s, too , have done in such familiar as "bird," instead of

cLITTLE

BII:BIINGHABI."

of Eirm ingh am " of the Hiinclreds of or th a l Sou th Erpyngh am in the County of orfolk. nd , his atte ntio thus roused, he painfully prosecutes his search, he will find, in certain othe r Ro lls, called " Coram reg e Rolls," a com plete record of the outrage above named, and will learn that it was committed at " Litfle Bi~wiinyhnm " apud parvam Birniingliani, ad mauerium domini Walteri cie Birmingham"], in the County of JTorfolX’. On the other hand, the nam e " de Birm ingham " may be ou cl given to a man in the old L atin Re cords , and th place me ant may be Birm ingham in W nrviclrsh ire, and yet

OUND

,

N A.D.

.

added, by Act of Parliament, to the ancient Officers who fulfilled th e du ties of Conservators of th e P eac e. I find th at the first Commission thus issued was dated Sth March, 1327 ; and iii that Commission the oiily two Conservators named for th e County of TVar~ick are " T’illia m of Birm ingham " ‘Joh n urda k." Th is very plainly shows the positioii th en held by th is family in th e County. A few years late r, hen a esh A ct f Parlia en t had increased th e num ber of these Conservators (then first called " Justices of Peace ") to five, at th e outside, of th e " most orthy," I find, again, that, in the first Commission issued under the new Act, and

OTTrNERSHIP

OB

LAND,

t i v e ; the first of them b eing taken from a hom estead ; th e last two being taken f om th e we cnomn arw icksh ire The record thus reniaining on this Patent Roll, is the last of a set of three documents that once existed, of which the two earlier ones have bee n lost. or is th e loss surprising for they were both written on small pieces of parchment, of which th e biggest was not large r tha n one of these pag es. Th ere was a third one, also separate, w hich h ad the great seal of Eng land attach ed to ; and it is of this third one th at th e docum ent above quo ted om th e at nt R oll is copy, preserved there as a per ane nt record of a at te r th at con-

AND ITS OBLIGATIONS.

without which our fathers were unable to conceive of the righ tne ss f any preten ce to th e possess on of land. his triple obligation was, Military Service, works for the Defence of the realm, and the maintenance of I-Iighways and Bridge.,. But, besides these, which concern the State as a whole, other obligations and services were attached to the possession of land, which were of first-rate importance towards the work ing of the Institu tions of the country. Am ong these were, the obligation to attend the Courts or assemblies where the business of the neighbourhood was done, and to take part in the business done there; to serve on juries; to make the pay-

2

HE "DEA D HAND.

It will be seen at a glance, that this very simple but complete system for ensuing the fulfilment of men's obligations and maintaining the institutions of the land in action, would be broken in upon if any man were let grant away his land, or pa rt f it, to a person or body which, from th e na tur e f its existence, could not discharge all or some of the above-named insep arable obligations and services ;— unless, ind eed , i t could be clearly shorn, that land enough remained to the grantor to guarantee the full discharge of the original obligations and services by himself. Wow Corporate Bodies,* whether lay or clerical, and all priests in their corporate capacity as

LICENCE

MORT-MAIN.

due of such fees, and which from the beginfiifig were provided for ihe clt$eelxce of the Raalm , we w rongfidly withd~nw~i," this statute declares that, " if any person, religious or other," holds such aliened lands [that is, lands thu s gran ted away], th e imediate lord, whoever h e be, may " ente r into the land aliened, ithin a year from th e tim e f the alienation, and hold it in fee as an inheritance;" that, if this immediate lord does not thus enter into and take possession of the land, the nest immediate lord may enter into and take possession of it, within half a year after the yeay's close; and that the light of thus entering and taking possession shall pass on and belong to each " edius," one after th e other, un til, if no

4

THE WRIT

D

UOD

DAMNUM,

almost invariably begin, as might be expected, by referring to th e general Law forbidding m ortniain. he docum ent f 1285, which has led to these re arks, is such a " Licence in &lortmain."s Such a Licence in Mortm ain could not, ho ve ve r, be gra nted at pleasure, or upo n caprice. Fix ed and regular prelim inary steps had to be taken; and what these were, deserves the most careful attention from all who value free institutions, or wish to understand them. he first of these prelim inary steps w as, th e issue of a W to the Escheator?. of the County wherein the land lay,

A CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARD.

" edius," or, if more t ha n one, how many, existed betw een the intending grantors and the Crown; and, furthermore, whether the lands that would remain to the intending grantors, after cha rge of all the services, cha rges, and o bligations of all kin ds the discharge of which was the condition under which they he ld th eir land s. If an y of these services or obligations sho uld be escaped from, through the granting of any of the land mortnzain, a heavier bu rde n tha n before w ould of course fall on oth er persons, an d o th e cou ntry ould sn er. he closing words of the writ ad pod clamnum put this with a very striking clearness. he inqu iry was to be made int

6

NQUIRY ESSENTIAL.

pon this rit there fo owed the Inq uiry . he result th at inquiry was embodied in a docum ent where in w ere always recorded the Ncimes of the good and law-worth by whom the inquiry had been ade. t is mu ch to be r egre tted th at the record of the in quiry held before the issue of the Licence in Mortmain of 1285 has been lost; for it would have given us twelve more names of early Birmingham freeholders. If this Inquiry showed that the grant would not be to any one's injury, and would not cause the evasion of any obligations or services, nor th e chx rging and bur de nin g of

A PRIOR'S "PARDON."

W I L L I A M OF BIRMINGHAM, and

RAN ULPH OF RUGBY, was

fol

lowed by several neigh bours, who added the ir contributions towards the en dow men t of th e Priory of St. Thom as th postle. ost of these endow ents were, individually, no large; and it was this fact, doubtless, that led to the oversight of the Writ ad pod damnum, in each of th e separate cases. Bu t, pu t altogeth er, th e am oun t of these end ow men ts was larg e, and t e risk of forfeiture becam e dangerou s to th e Pr iory . So, jus t twenty-five years after th e Licence in ortma in which has been already quoted, a " Pa rdon " was obtained by the Prior of Birmingham, which is recorded on

8

GIVER

AX

GIFTS.

record, I put [sic] after the surnam e. he description f th gifts m ade I transla te in each case, and use th e m ode rn spelling GIVEXS, AND GIFTS MADE, TO THE PEIORP OF ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE, IN BIRMINGHA&!t, BETWEEN A.D. 255

D A.D. 1310

seven acres and one rood of land, in BordesIey. WILLIAN OF BURNINGEHAII, twenty-two acres of land and half an acre of meadow, in Birmingham. ROGER THE , four acres of land in the same GEOFFRY OF COFTON, one acro of a,nd in the same WILLIAN CORBYN, half an acre of land in the same town. NICHOLAS IN TEE DALE, one acre of land in the same tmm. JOHN OF SONERY,

THE LAV AND THE KlSG. NICHOLAS IN THE DALE, ILL IA N

one acre and i half of land in Duddeston.

O F T H E S HA W E ,

one me ssuag e an d half a

virgate*

of

land in the same town. RALPH WONBESTRONG, ROGER OP LITTL E BARR E,

acres and one rood of land in Saltley. tw o acres and one rood

f land in th

same town. SIXION OF ROK EBY PETER ATTE BROKE THONAS

[ R u g b y ] , h al f a n ac r e of [sic], four-peace of ren t in

M~YDENHACHE,

d i n t h e sa m e t o w n . rd ing to n.

te n acres of land in A ston

This " Pardon " bears the date of Berviclr-upon-Tweed, on the 26th day of December, in the fourth year of Edward the Second (1310). it h th at carefulness to keep ithin th

0

THE FEUDAL SYSTER

As to th e first point, it is o comm on a thi ng for po litica l a nd social writers and talkers to assume a wholly imaginary state of things, as having existed u nde r w hat they call by t e hazy nam e of " the feudal system," th t hen a reade r comes, fo the first tim e, across a tru e pic ture of th e past, such as ha now been qu oted , and others th t l pre sen tly follow, he mill natu rally be puzzled. rit er s of some pretensions eve tell their readers that the Laws relating to land in England have been framed, and are upheld "for the express purpose of keep ing the land in th e hands of a w pro prie tors of depriving the peasants and small shop-keepers of any part of it, and of the influence which its possession confers; and

AND ENGLISH PREEHOLDERS.

Law s of En glan d, is ritten in the form of a dialogue b etw een himself and the young Prince, which is represented to have been carried on during th e exile of bo th in France . xplaining to the Princ e how i t is that, in En gland , indepe nde nt Ju ries are able to be p t in action in wh atever case arises in any p art of th e country, Fo rtescu e says:-—" Th same country [England] is so filled and replenished with landed men, that therein so sm all a little hunalet canno t be found wherein dwelleth not a knight, an esquire, or such a h ouseh older as is the re com monly called a Fra nk lin, enriched with great possessions; and also other freeholdem, and

3

HOW TO IIESCRIBE A MAN.

illustrate the growth of surnames in England, and to the 17ariety of forms in which some of these have come domn to us. Of the above eleven names, Corbyiz remains to this day in th at shape Ayyidet seems preserved to us under the several shapes of the place fiikleys, and the names Ingley, lizyull, Aybt, dult, all lriiown in Birmingham: Joii seems known to us under thr disguise of JoZZy Cissor, Pwzist, Lzcmbard, ha d proba bly no t long lost th ei r descriptive pa rticl e ; th e first bein g in fact th e at in d for " arver (Scissor); and perhaps it ought to have been thus set down in th e lis t; bu t, having no particle before it in th e origina l, I have left it in the dignity of a tru e surna e.* Preust

DALES, WOODS, AND BROOKS.

boughs, ancl scented the air with its sweet May-flowers, in the place whence this man took his name, and since the shepherd gathered his flock around him there, at sunrise, and told their number over, that he might be surely able to rep ort, at even-song, th at the tale was right.* ut the ol name by which the spot was known more than five hundred and fifty years ago in Birm ingh am , still ling ers in " ale nd ," and I shall show th at the re formerly stood th ere le all." Th e surname "D al e, " the descriptive particle being dropped, remains a Birmingham surname. The name Roger atfe gate is, in the La tin, " Eo gerus ad portam ." e perha ps lived ne ar to the gate whence " Der-

MEN AND WOMEN

QUALITY.

he surnames " ercer," " Carpenter," " een ," and Kean," l be immediately recognized as sprung f om othe rs in this list, th e partic le, as in oth er cases, hav ing been dropped. And the nam e " le " s a respectable modern name, sprung, no doubt, from an ancestor whose shortness of sight led to his ge ttin g th e niclrname f " th mole." Ckstiaiza the mggede, The two names Clurice the claye, give curious examples of surnames that have sprung fiom personal characteristics. n the old or th ern tongue, there is th e word " da ’ and in th e closely kind red An glo-Sason the re is th e word " claag." oth have uch t e same original

FOUNDERS

son

Of

RAGN AR

CBAUNTRXES.

HAIRY-BREECHES

[LO D-B RO K].

THO RD

and

had a son named SNORXI, who married THORHILD They had THE PARTRIDGE, daughter of THORD THE LOUD. a son named THORD HORSEHEAD." F~~IDGERD

he r f th e " Pa rdo n " which has supplied us w ith these relics of the Men and Names of Old Eirmingham, seems to have made it thorou ghly know n to the freeholders f th town, tha t it was unfitting to ake any endow ment itho ut going through the regular course which the Law required. Less than twenty years after its date, W A L T B R O F C L O D E S -

36

G R O U P S OF P B E E H O L U E R S .

Blicie ztxoris ejtis, et aniiwbzis eoricm Ricudi

et Alicie czim a6

liac lzice entiymuerzc nt]. T h e W r i t nd pod dnmzum for the foundation of the j%st chauntry, wa issued on the 19th February, 1350 ; and Inquiry under it was held on the Frida y st afte th feast of Saint Marlr the Evangelist (25th April) in the same year. The names of the freeholders who formed the jury fo this inquiry W€m,—\VLLLIAM V E I U T S ; — J O H N C O ~ B P N ; — J O H N HOLT [sic];—JOHN

THE P O R T E R ; — ~ I L L I A M

NEUPORT;—

THOMAS M A R ES CR A L ;— TH O H F AS C O R B P N ; — J O —ADAM

PACKEWODE ;— JO IIN TIIE DEYSEE

— J O H N TH

FPCHELERE;—and, JVILLIAM TH

COLSULL BLRJLINGHAHL RIEP.

THE DEYSEER

BIRMINGHAM.

and also found in 1310), and MarescJzal. But the list of 1347 gives us eight (though two pairs of them are the same) out of the twelve names, in which the descriptive particle had been dropped, and which had so become true family surnames ; namely, Moys (twice), Page, P urys, Burgeys, Cole(twice), and Frewes. In the list of 1330, there are four descriptive surnames taken from places, namely John atte holt, Filliam of Ne wpo rt, John qf’ Co leshill Adam of Packwood. The list of 1347 does not contain a single name

of this class. e list of 1330 contains also four oth er nam es belonging to classes of which not a single example is to be found in the list of 1347; namely, names descriptive of office,

8

GREE GR EETI TING NG THE " MEY ."

tax . Form erly, wh en subsidi subsidies es were gran ted by the Com mons to th e Crown, Crown, the Clergy gra nted a separate subsidy. subsidy. Fifteenths," T e n t h s , " ‘Half-tenths," mere names given to such subsidies. subsidies. e C lergy-grant was ell kno n as " disme,"— quite a distinct distinct thing , it ust be reme bered, om the " ty " pa payt ytab ab e to th e Clergy. Co llectors llectors of these "dismes" mere appointed, and were recognized by Parliament.” In th e un dre d Rolls of Edw ard the First, I nd " Roger th e disser disser of Co ventry." Th is nam e plainly corresponds, with bu t a slight diff differ eren ence ce in th e spelling, to " the deyseer of Birmingham.

PATRONYMICS.

son of G ilbert, ilbert, Zliomas son of Joln, illi illiam am the Kinqes, William son of Margery. All these are patronymics. Most likely Gilberts, Gilbertson, Gibsow, was the name by which Jo hn was called called among familiar familiars, s, thou gh the nam e, when translated into Latin, was put in a more formal shape. Thomas would, in the same way, be called JoJmson. The Kinges eans the son of a an who had got to be called called " th e ing ," f om th e conspi conspicuo cuousne usness ss ith w hich he had played the part of " King " in some of the public games and shows shows which were then both universal and frequent.* frequent.* here was, indeed, one of of thes e games th at was know n by the express name of " he ing-gam e," and we som etimes etimes find find

0

THE THE "F EE CHAPEL" OF 1350 1350

f Birm ing ha ; and it deser deserves ves in itself itself to be reme bered with an attention greater than a mere Chauntry, though the Chauntry endowment no doubt helped to sustain its importance in the town. On 3rd July, 1350, a Writ ad pod damnum was issued to JOHN O F W I N D S O R , Escheator of arwicksh ire, to hold an In quiry quiry touch ing gra nts proposed to be made by FULCO FULCO OF BIR RICHARD THE SPENSER, of niessuages niessuages and lan ds MINGHAM in Aston and B irming ham , for for the s uppo rt f a Chap lain who should celebrate divine service daily for the souls of W I L L I A M MERCER MARGERY his wife, of ROBMR ROBMR THE SPENSER ISABELLA his wife, of HENRY OX CALDEWELL

THE

W HEY.

names (two being the same) are " surnames of continuance," while six are merely descriptive names; all the latter, except JoJm tJte raggede, bein g take n om places, eith er territoria or special. Th ese are o obvious th at two only among the need any remark. TJ~ornm of Xtretton was no doubt some relation to the Rob ert Strettor, who was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1359 to 1385, and who was one of the parties to a very important transaction that will presently be mentioned. VilZiam of the neowehay bea rs a doubly descriptive nam e. " Neowehay " is a drawling way of spelling " new-hey;" that

2

RELIGION

HITMANITY.

granted, were held of‘ JOHN OF SUTTON at six shillings a year this JOHN OF SUTTON being the " medius " between the lring he ju ry goes on to describe these FU~CO RICFIARD. houses and land, and their actual value ; and adds, that other lands and rents in Birmingham, and elsewherk in the County of Warwick, remained to FULCO R I C H A R D , beyond the proposed endowment, and were held of JOHN OP SUTTON Military Service; and that those remaining possessions were eno ugh to satisfy a ll obligations, " o th at, by th e gift and assignment aforesaid, through default of F M C O RICFIARD, the Country will not be charged or burdened more than has

PIERS PLOWMAN AND JOHN WYCLIF.

he gross remissness, ignorance, and misdoings of the clergy, had been th subject often repeated complaints in Parliament.* native English poet no arose, who boldly denounced, in nervous language, and, though wrapped in picturesque allegories, in the plainest manner, he short-comings and mis-teachings of the clergy, and the mischiefs done by the monastic orders; and who declared, with wonderful simplicity and undistorted truthfulness, what th reality of Christian teaching should be And what Piers Plowman was thus saying in tongue that all the People could understand, and in a manner that was most attractive to them, and in verses that soon became familiar through th land as

4

PARISH CHURCHES.

yclif was the father f the R eformation in nglan d.” the midst of all this,—but, as I have elsemhere shown,+ in imm ediate connection ith it,— a case th t arose ou t of th non-fulfilment of a parson's du ty, was bro ug ht before th Courts of Law; the judgment given in which left no one able any longer to pretend that Parish Churches were raised for the sake of the parsons; and which put at rest for ever any halting doubts as to whether it is within the spirit, and conformable to the practice, of the Common Law of England, tha t the inhabitants f any parish should, of their o m motion and by the ir own consent alone, repa ir th e hurch of

PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY.

reached and long ke pt an extraordinary popularity. Jo hn Wyclif was writing, preaching, and teaching, from about 1361 to 1384. Th e case which pu t the rights of Parishioners in their Pa rish Ch urch beyond a dou bt, was adjudged in 1370. The spirit of the practical Christianity that Piers Plowman taught, may be judged of by the descriptions that he gives of Mercy and Charity:— " Goddes Mercy is moore Than alle hise othere w erkes And a1 the wikkednesse in this world That m an myghte werche or thynke, Nis na-moore to the M ercy of Go

EARLY REFORMERS.

The author of Piers Plowman's Vision is understood to have been a onk f alvern. Jo n yclif found a supporter in John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who was the owner f K enilw orth Castle, and a Ju stice of th e Peace for Warwickshire; while Lutterwort.h, where Wyclif lived from the beginning of 1374 till his death in the last days of 1384, is very nea r to th e borders f arw icks hire. he teach ings of both Piers Plowman and Wyclif would, then, necessarily be well known in the market-town of Birmingham and the neighbourhood. Now it happens that Deritend, though within the Lordship of Birmingham,* lies within the Pa&& f Aston. In th

THE PIRST CHURCH O F T H E REFORRIATION.

through the teachings of Piers Plowman and Wyclif, had grown thoroughly dissatisfied with being dependent, for their religious services, upon Aston Church and its Vicar. t is asy to und erstand th e feelings th at waxed strong and stronger on this subject, and th e settled wish th at arose to have an independent Church of their own within their own bo rd ers ; feelings and a wish tha t were he lpe d to ripen into determination by that important Judgment of Law, which ut beyond dou bt the r igh t f parishioners to repair the ir arish hurch or th eir own use. t seemed to the men of energetic minds who then dwelt in Deritend, to be only applying the same principle one step further if they should

8

THE ADVOWSON.

th e nam e of " Chapels," tho ug h indepe nden t f any Parish hu rch, ight be given from late r records. Th ey seem to have been generally founded, as Parish Churches had bee n, by single, or a few, landow ners. he re are, how ever, some instances that approach more nearly to the manner of foundation of the Church built in Wyclif's time in Deriten d ; tho ug h none seems to b e know n th t is f o early date, and of which the history is able to be recovered in so clear a manner, as the Church that has been ,now known for nearly five hu nd red years as the " Cha pel of St. Jo n the Baptist of Deritend."*

CHOICE OF A SITE.

atten tion. A know ledge f th em may of en he lp to explain the shape of plots of ground, and the position of old buildings, near to the highways of old market-towns and cities. he age of Th e Old Crown Ho use ha s been already shown.* Even were that house not still standing, it could be shown that the part of Deritend whereon the oldest dwellings stood, is th at hich lies on th e left-hand side of the road going from Birmingham towards Warwick or Coventry; the side on which one who came into the town, as old Leland did, rom th e arw ick or Coventry road, would observe th " th e wa ter ran down on th e rig ht ha nd ." t was because the river ran along tha t side, tha t it became the earliest

OF OLD.

malces, will seen, no difference as to the existence of the open strip of ground two hundred feet in breadth. On looking, upon Bradford's plan, at th e space occupied, more than a hund red years ago, by the houses, ith the ir gardens, on the side of the street opposite to The Old Crown House, it will seen tha t the brea dth, all along th at side, om the river to ju st opposite he Old own ouse , is remarkably equal and measurement shows this breadth just two hund red feet. From opposite he Old own House to Bordesley, it widens a little, by encroachment on th e street, bu t the inner line remains the same.* o such regularity is to found on the other side of the street.

THE NEW CHURCH BEGUN.

doubt that the Rea once ran precisely upon, and in fact formed, th e bou nda ry. he course of the river was how ever change d, long ages ago, to suit th e uses f a n ancien t ill th at ill be nam ed here afte r; and it was again changed, after 1784, und er an Ac t passed in th at year, " or rebuilding th Bridg e over th e river Rea, at th e Town f Birmingh am , called idening and varying the co urse of th e said river near t e sai Bridge, and making a weir and other necessary vorlcs to prevent the lower part of the said town from being overflowed." Under the same Act, some alterations were also made in the street near to Deritend ha pe l; including some of the

2

H DIFFICULTIES.

The Old Crown House, and on the other this "propper Chappell," and between them, each side, th e over-sha dowing elms, th t this was indee d " a pre tty street as ever entered."* ut it was no t enough to bu ild a hurc h. Divine Service must be celebrated there . nd h ere our good fathers, th men of Deritend and Bordesley, were met by fresh difficulties. Neither Piers Plowman nor John Wyclif was in much favour am ong any of th e beneficed clerg y. he Reformation of religious teaching and of priestly life which those illustrious fathers of the En glish Reformation tau gh t, was by

THE FINAL ‘AGREEMONT."

5

diocese; and at this time ROBERT STRXTTCIN, whc,m 1 take

to have been a Birmingham man,* was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. t is not easy to judge how far he w l be disposed to take part vith the Vicar, or how far his sympathies ~ould lie with the townsmen. e probably cared little, hoivever, for the &iIoiiks of Ty1ceford.t The negotiations seem to have been tedious; but men who are in earnest, and o are in the right, will gciicrdly carry the day if they quietly but firmly persevere. o it happened with our good fathers who hacl built themselves this new Church in Deritend. They at length succeede

4

THE MEN OF DERITEND,

and true of the inhabitants of Deritend and Bordesley; and th e Bishop of th e diocese. he original of this ve ne rab le docum ent, un ique in its date and kind am ong the records of En glish C hurch fou ndations, lies before m e as I w rite *; an AGREEMENT TOUCHING THE CHOICE OF A CHAPLAIN" D E R I T E N D , A.D. 1381.

ec est co po siS Z orclinaG z in? Prio rem Z onachos Priorat3 b t? M arie de Tykeford Nupertepaynell Lincolii dioc ecctiam pochicllem e sto n ju " Birmyncl

AND THE MONKS OF TYKEFORD.

it is a document of o much historical interest that, while I give a facsimile f it at the end of this morli, I also ut in type here the exact terms f it, together with an English translation. TRANSLATION.

This is an Agreement and Ordinance made between the PRIOR

MONKS

OP THE PRIORY

OF THE BLESSED

MARY

TYREFORD nigh Newport-Pagnell in the Diocese of Lincoln,

appropriators of the Parish Church of Aston nigh Birmingha in he Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield (who are subject

THE MEN OF DERITEND,

moii qui nunc sunt vel impostum erunt in hac pte competen tib3 ex cep tf

: in omib3 semp salvis / et dnm Kicm

Shobenhale ppetuii vicariu ejusdm ecciie de Aston / ac dnm Jofiem

ut to rt militem jDd i Prio rat3 de Tykeford funda torem

ex pte una / et dnm Jofeem de Birmynch m militem dnm de villa sive hamelett vocat Dury3atehende jux Birmynch m situat / ac Galfridii

ote ler /

pjdict villa de ofctum

ren e

Jonem Smyth / Willm Jeffe / ThomaHoldon /Willm Coup / illm

o d / A d m Bene / Kicfn Bene / SimonE Huwet / Ricrn

de B roke / Rof um fflaum vile /

Thoma Chattok / de p)dictf

AND THE MONKS OF TYIIEPORD.

Rfarmonstre hich now are or hereafter s hall be , being re served and in all things always saved); and SIR RICHA~ED SHOBENHALE, perpetual Vicar of the same Church of Aston; SIR JOHN BUTTORT, ni gh t, founder of the aforesaid riory of Tylreford; of the one part: And SIR JOHN OF BIRMINGHAM, Knight, Lord of the town or hamlet called Deritend standing nig h the aforesaid town of Birm ingham ; and GEOFHRY BOTELER ,

ROBERT

O' THE

GR EN E,

JOH N

YT ,

TVILLIAM

JEFT'E, THOLMAS ROLDON, TVLLLISAF COU1%R, WILLIAM DOD, ADA M BR OK E,

B ENE,

R IC I IA R D

ROB EET

BEN E,

S MON

FLAUM VILE, and

HU

ET,

R IG H A RD

TE OMAS CHATTO K,

of

OF th

5

THE MEN

OF DERITEND

Baptis?iG in eadrii Cap ella ad Bap tizan d oiiies et singlos poclinoy pueros dictap villag sive ha ele ttap de ha nd e

: Bordesley infiita ntf ac Pu rifica ne s

pueo p p ipiii Captlm qui in dza Cap ella

urygate-

atrii e

temp

Ci t ce e-

br at ui : / ac eci5 3 dC i poczii oiiies et sin gli dic tap v H sive ha ele ttf de Durygatehencl

Bordesley infra pochiam de

Aston pdici: inliitan tf visita bu nt de Aston in festf Pa sch e ejusdiii eccfie de vit atf S?i Joziis

ston ap tle

m eccfiam

i poch ialem

at al diii 06% SF p DedicaConi p

i 1

Pu rificaG nis

li p X po st

i

e Rlarie Vy gin is it

ti

MOKIG3

TYICEPOBI).

ta nt s aforesaid m ay have a Font; in th e same C hap el, for bap tizing all and e rery th e c hildren of th e parishioners of the said towns or hamlets of Deriteiid and Bordesley dwelling there; ancl Churchings of the mothers of the same children sha ll be solemnized by the C hap lain f th e said hapel for th e ti e bein g. nd also all an d every th e aforesaid p arishioners of the said towns or hamlets of Deritend and Bordesley dw elling ithin th e parish of ston aforesaid, shall visit the ir said parish church of Aston on the feasts of Easter, Christmas, ll Saints, th e D edication f th e same chu rch of ston, Saints Peter and Paul next after the feast of the Nativity of

0

"G IVE N AT DEE TEND, A.D. 1 3 8 1 . "

appo suerun t / Day apud Durpgatehende Pdicf xiij Ju ni j Anno dZi millmo cc s dei grZ Coventf

mo

ciO

octogesimo primo / Et nos RoW3

; LicE EpGs lo i diocesan3 p)ctce

composic"oi conseiisum nfm Pbentes 2 assensum sigillum nTm 9sentib3 apponi fecim3 in robur 2 firmitat2 pmissoy / Day apud XIap70de iiij

to

IQn Junij Anno diii sup d86 / et nTi Cons

vicesimo pEo. Th e terms of this rem arkable docurnent, show th at the men

ROBEET

THE GBENE.

said have put their seals oiie after the other to these presents. Given at eriten d aforesaid, on th e 20 th day of ay in the year of our Lord 13 51 . An d we Ro bert aboveiiaincd, by the grace of God Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, diocesan of the place, giving our consent and assent to the aforesaid agreem ent, have caused our seal to to these presents in assuranc e and confirmation ‘ th e prem isses. Given at Haywode on the 29th day of May in the year of our Lord aforesaid, and of our consecration the twenty-first. Crown Ho use.

From the

Gallorye Chamber

of that

2

A SEAL CUT OFF.

give here an outline of this seal of Robert o the Grene. is na e w ill come before 1 s ore t n once aga in. It will be seen that an empty space is left between the seal f th e Ri nks f Tykeford ncl th t f the Bish op. the docum ent was executed, this space was unquestionably filled ith the seal of the icar of ston. he place for holding the strip of parchm ent on wh ich the seal was pu t, and which passed through the fold in the parchment of the document itself, is plainly seen in th e facsimile. t is ce rtain that this seal was once in its place ; and it is equally certain th t it has been remow cl, no t accidentally t designedly. It is physically impossible, from the way in which one end

BLUNDERS

NAMES.

to it, to say masses for th e souls of those o were d ead, as was the case with the before-named Free Chapel, and ith th e wo C hau ntries in old St. artin's Chu rch. Th spirit of Piers Plowman and of John TVyclif being that which moved the founders of this Chapel, the character and fnnctions of the Chaplain are put in the simple but emphatic words, that he was to be one "fit to administer diyine services before God and the inhabitants of Deritend and Bordesley." Jo n yclif himself igh t have dictated those words. is not improbable that he did so. om ething ust be added as to the M en of D eritend and

4

DE

D

N OF

is repeated, for it occurs again and again through nearly one hundred and twenty years after this time ; and, in every one of these, without esception, though all are in Latin, the name is spelled "Robert 0' the Grene." RicJlard oj’ Broke is al o here incorrectly written. have had th e n am e b % as " at te bro ke ." t is a istranslation into Latin of the very common English particle. Cozqer are instances of names The names PZuzcnzviZe out of which others have gron7n, through the common use of contractions in writing. FZuzonviZe would be often written "Fl”aile," and Cozyer is, in this document itself, written

Eh’DOV’ING

CHAPLAIN.

in ab ita nt s f erite nd and Borriesley, or ou t f th e insensibly arising t practically always lar ge produce of th e Of fertory. ut, ha g achieved th e imp or tan t ends of building the ir own C hurch and getting th eir own haplain, it seemed to some among them that it mould be wise to provide an endowm ent or th e perm anen t support f the Ch aplain. six of them joined together to make up an endowment which should produce at least ten marks a year, a handsome endomen t or th at tim e. esiring to settle this endo~vment ith out delay, the Letters Patent containing the Licence in Ilortain were obtained at once, ith th e clause mentioned beforet

LICENCE IN MORTMAIN

d de

X % s

i concessimu s st licen ciam declimus Q

t hered ibg n?is qu an tum in

% est TV Ro Geffon

om

Holdon Rofito of the Grene Ricti Bene Thome de Belne ‘t Jofii Sm yth qd ipi terr as ten t redclitus c um ptiZ infra po chiam de Aston in Cofii War? ad valorem decem marcag p annii ju ta verii valor? eogd5 qu e de nobis non ten en capite dare possint ‘t assignare cuidam Capellano divina quolib et die in q uad am Cap ella funda ta ‘t or din ata i n ho no re Jofiis Baptiste in hameletto de Duriyatehende infra pochiam

FOR ENDOWING THE

CIIAPLBIN.

hare granted and given licence, for ourselves and our heirs, so

far

ROBERT

as

in

us

is,

to

0 ' THE GRE NE,

WILLIAM

RICHARD

G~BON,

EEN E,

THOMAS

THOMAS

HOLDON,

OF BELNE,

that they may give and assign lands tenements and rents, with the appurtenances, within the Parish of Sston in the County of Warwick, to the value of ten marcs a year [;E6 13s. 4~7.1, according to the true value thereof, which are not held from us in chief, to a certain Chaplain JOHN

SMPTH,

found ed and appointed in hon or f Saint Jo n the Baptist in th e ha let of eriten d w ithin the parish aforesaid. To have and to hold to the same Chaplain and his successors,

8

DAILY SERVICES IN CHURCH.

To these letters patent, the Great Seal of England is attached, by a br ig ht red and green silken cord, n the usual anner. Th e mem orandum as to the paym ent of the thirtyfive marcs, is w ritte n in a different ha nd and ith a different ink om hat were used in the body f th e lette rs paten t. It was evidently added afterwards.“ It will not escape notice, that it is thrice repeated, in these letters patent, that the Chaplain is to perform service in the Chapel euwy doy. This is not specified in the " Agreement" of 1351; but it was clearly the intention of the endowers to ensure that the Church which they and their neighbours had

HO WERE THE ENDOWERS.

th

men who took part in the Agreement

TJLomas Holdon,

Xmyth.

f

69

; namely,

Robert 0' tJze Grene, RicJiard Bene, and John

But I am much disposed to think, also, that the

WWiam‘‘

Gefon " of the former is the same as he William

Jeffe " of the latter.

TJ~omas of Belne is new, unless this

as I suspect it to be, a mere corrupt spelling (the sound

remaining the same) of " Berrze." It is certain that there was much carelessness in these matters.% On the original Let ters Patent, now before me, the name of RicJLard Bene was at first written "Bever." This was o prepoaterous a blunder, in sound as well as in spelling, that when the Letters Patent reached Birmingham, an erasure was made on the place, ancl

DUliY3ATEHENDE."

li e " Be ne " to attract attention when the Licence was read over to those wh om it concerned. t is far less of a vari ation tha n is found in the instances given by Fu lle r.* he interpolated particle "of" ("de in the Latin), would not be thought of any importance. As the place NezuenJzam is in Warwickshire, it will not be uninteresting to add, that the TJiomas of Nezuenhm whose surname attests these Le tters Pa ten t, is nam ed in the Clos Roll of the first year of Richarcl II., as one among three who were Keepers of the Great Seal of England at the time of the death of dward 111. 9 curious accou nt is th er

THE DEER-GATE-END.

yond a question, the old name of this river, and not Dur." Gaelic word, espressing running water, aud is " is also found as the name (sometimes a little disguised) of many rivers in England. fo Deritend "— Der-yat-end "— it remains the End nigh the Deer-Gate."” There are some circumstances connected with the later history of Deritend Chapel that may instructively glanced at. he fraud upo n P arlia en t, unde r cover of which Gilds and other Eodies were robbed of their property, under false pretences, and in the much desecrated name of religion, the beginning of the reign of Edward VI., in order to feed th e rapacity of hun gry courtiers, has b een already described.

2

WM

T OF

decay grad ually fastened on th e old Ch apel of 137 5. I find that, exactly three hundred years after the Chapel was built (namely, in 1675), the Vicar General of Lichfield gave notice th t repairs were needed. Th is seems to hav e stirred up worthy man to im itate the example of those wh o had endowed the Chapel thre e hundred years earlier. On 21st ugust, 1677, HUMPHEXY gave a m essuage and lands at Rowley Regis to Trustees, to aintain the Cha plain and to repair th Chapel; an endowment which is still enjoyed and applied for those purposes by the successors of those Trustees.* Other endowments followed ; but the helping hand came too late to saye the old Chapel, round which clustered so many

IE " OV R-RIDING

HE

AW.

religious and clerical thought and action, and to interfere with the simplicity of Protestant worship. In 1375, the inhabita.nts of Der itend and Bordesley bu ilt a new C hurch bec aus e they chose to do so. In 17 35 , all sorts of myst fica tions about pretended ‘-Faculties were used, to throw dust in their eyes as to what they could do and what they might be allowed to do, in th e way of repa iring and re bu ildi ng and even as to setting up again the font, pulpit, and communion table, that had been used ther e by them and their fathe rs for mo re th an thr ee hu nd red and fifty years!—as if a " Fa cu lty," p ut forth by a Bishop or his icar-General, could really have, in itself, any power whatever, by the Law of

4

.

A CO TG ZEGAT ON IN CH UR CH

England as to the seats in every Parish Church; and Deritend Chapel s a Parish Church so far as erite nd and Bordesley are concerned. " he hu rch is in common for every o n e : wherefore, it is not in reason th t one sho uld have his seat and that two should stand; for no place is more for one than or ano ther."“ " he body of th e Ch urch is comm on to all the inhabitants."+ "A nd indeed, before th e age of our Reformation, no Seats were allowed, nor any different apartment in a Church assigned, to distinct inhabitants; but th e whole Nave or Body f th e Church was co on; and th e whole A ssembly, in the ore becoming postures of kne el-

OLD FREE SITTINGS,

NEWLY FRINGED.

75

siastics of that day wished to persuade them to agree to mischievous encroachments upon the free Lam of England,—• thou gh tha t atte pt was, at any rate . made in open Parliaent.* On the 26th day f Ju ne , 1739, he issued a culty " to set aside the Law f En gland , and to impose " Charges upon the People," at the mere will and pleasure, and by the sole authority, f him , Eichard Rider. e pu forth his edict that pew rents should thenceforth be demanded and enforced for some of the seats in Deritend Chapel. ut i t is very instru ctive to observe, th at even this tra de r in " Fa culties " a trade no t u nlike the older trade in " Ind ulg en ces ") ha d some twinges of conscience. he new

76

ABORTIVE A'JTERIlT O F 1 3 S 2 .

Faculties, which were pleaded before him in his judicial capacity. " t is clear, said that eminent Lord Chief Justice, that these Fac ulties ha ve no va lidity in Law ."* The misfortune is, th t they succeed in deceiving man y peop le into a belief in their validity. Passing now from transactions that reflect so much honour on our Birmingham fathers of Wyclif time , and th e direct benefit of which is still being reaped by their successors after the lapse of nearly five hundred years, some transactions f a ew years la ter ust n t be g lanced at, from which also the town still reaps, in part, though not in the same direct manner, a present benefit.

GILD OF THE

OLY CROS ,

.

th e Cou nty. Th is rit, om wh ich I now copy, recites the Licence of 13S2, as having been granted to " THOMAS SHEL DON, since dead, JO N COLLESHULL, JO N GOLDSAIYTH [sic], Bzcryesses of tJze Tozun of

myngehanz ; " an d th at " now th e Bai

Ber-

s and Com mo nalty o th e sa d town f B erniyngeham ha m prayed us that, in exchange for the said Licence, which never took effect, as they say, we ~o uld gran t to them Licence th at they themselves, in hon or of the Toly Cross,* may m ake an d found G I L D and perpetual Fraternity among themselves in that town, of br eth er en and sustern,+ as well en and women f th e sai town of Berm ingeham as men and women f other towns and

8

THE JURY, AhV ITS FINDING.

that Inquiry shall be made, in the usual mmner whether all th is can be done ithou t loss or illjury to any one, or to th Country." . he Inq uiry was accordingly m ade in B irmingh am , on th Saturday next after the feast of Saint Peter ad vincula (1st August), 1302, by a Jury consisting of the following persons : RICHAR D

SHERPNGTON;—ROBERT

THOBFAS OF TVYR EY ;— JO DAVID

0'

THE

GRENE [sic];-

N OF TVYRLEY ;— JO

V EN DO N ; — R I C H A R D

B OT EL LE R ; — J O

N SPYCER ; N

PHEL IPP ;—

TVILLIAHI G E F FE N ;— L A W R E N C E S J T R H IY ; — J O H N B A R B E R ; —

and, THOMAS PH EL IPP.

OFFICIAL BLUNDERS,

ild of the oly Croqs.* e orough paid $50 for it to th e Cr . hu s th t ild became founded, se~enteen years after eritend hapel had been built. Th e H all of the Gild wa s buil t in N 7 treet, w here th e ree School now stands. None of the names mentioned in the course of these proceedings seems to need special remark beyond what has been already made: but it m7ill be observed, that fresh names come up on every fresh transaction; thus again showing the number of substantial freeholders that formed part of the population of Birmingham in those early times. But this case gives a stiilcing illustration of the astounding

80

BEAUCHAMP

BURDET.

between the statement of affairs as to which I have drawn illustrations from the Patent and other Rolls and Recorcls of a public character, and the enum eration of some f th e en and Names that are to be found in private Charters. It was on Saturday in the third meek before Easter, in the year 1431 , th at this y hap pen ed. he pa rties to it me re clearly marked, as the Beauchamp party and the Burdet LA Y OF BERGEVENNY party. nd it was upon J O A N , that all the blame was cast, and not upon those who wased warm in this affray on her behalf. At the same time, it is clear, from th e nam es recorded , th t it was an af ay in hich many of the better class of the burgesses of Birmingham took

NAMES FROM SERVICE.

places, though the particle of" has, in mo st cases, now gone ou t of use. he re is one instance, the first yet met ith, of double surnam e, — showing how thoroug hly established family surnames had now become. Henry Cooke of Weoley is a step towards t he m odern use additions." few years before, he would have been called Henry of Weoley." But the name Cooke had become a family surname, and a fur the r eans of distinction was found necessary. On th other hand, MereditJh W uZsJman is very plainly Meredith the lYelcJman. TJLomas

Peynton introduces us to the family now known as

2

CHAl TXRS ,

OM

.

A4 " by the use of do cum en ts of a pu bli c ch ara cte r, I ill now illustrate an equal length of time by the use of private Ch arters. Being in possession f a series of such ha rte rs and other private docum ents relating to Birm iagh am , from the year 1401 clown to the present time, I could give somethin g like a traditional Directory f the freeholders. t I will no\v only make from these a few selections, enough to illustrate (1) the transmission of names in the town from generation to generation, and (2) the rise, from time to time, of fresh names which still are or lately were well known here. The names found in the Charters selected for illustration

83

TO A.D. 1426. 1404.

CHARTER RICHARD

MADELEY.

ROBERT

JOHN,CGUPER.

WALTEB B R O N W Y C H .

GRENE.

W I L L I A M G E S T and J O A N

hiswife.

THOMAS HOLDON.

JOHN

HOLDON.

THOVA

GRENE.

TH

C H A B T E R OF 1419. ILLIA N

PORTER.

JOHN

J O H N S Y Y T H son of R O G E R S N Y T H .

RALPH

JO

JO HN

N ACTO N.

T H O N A S L O IS Y ER .

C O U PE R C O U P E R .

"Putch,

surname

SNY TE.

G A N U LL .

WILL IAM

ROGER SIYTH.

the last case

C OU PE R

PACH

[the modern

and perhaps rPage"].

as, n the marriage

CHARTERS, FROM A.D.

is not clear wh at a " chalonnere " eant. Pro bab ly it ha som ething to do ith being aster of a ship or boa t.* may be thought unlikely that this should be so in a midland county; but it is remarkable that TVarwick itself found boatswains for the king, by ancient custom, as we learn from th e Domesclay Bo k- - ; and an instance of an oth er ar ick shire master of a ship will presently be named. The next group of Charters that shall be talten, gives t~7o odern forms $ wh ile most of th e fresh nam es th t now arise, have forms familiar to this day.

.D . 151 7.

85

o was a P ries t, br ou gh t an action f trespass against J O H N SH E D O [the same name as Shyltoiz, Shilton, Shelton, etc.] and HUMFREY BAWDRICR [the ‘Bawdryk" of the last-quoted Charter]. RICHARD FENTON appeared " by J O H N BOTELER, his attorney," and stated his grievance. J O H N SHELDO HUMFREY EATTORICK answered " by HUMPREY In p oint of fact, it was a dis SYMO NDES th eir atto rne y." te ab ou t th e o nership of ce rtain pro per ty in th e t consisting of several Houses, but known by the common name of E N E W -W IN E -C EL LA R " [ununz solarium vocatum le New e-wyne-seley cu?n pertiizentibus in B ymyngh am peFENTON,

6

CHAR

RS,

OM A.D.

of the Invention of the H O L Y CROSS HUMFREY STMONDES WILLIAM SYMONDES. A few years later bring other fresh names before us. CHARTER OF 1629. JOHN ROQERS.

JO EN

GREVE.

S H ~ ST U RL EY .

W IL L B IY :

S

M ~ U R I C E B YD D YL L

G RE V ES

S TO K. RALPH BROKE.

T T HE H O R E -

HE NR Y

OSBURNE.

THONAS BYHULL.

TO A.D.

1557.

87

I th in k n on e of the family have since shown in th e same manner. JOHN HAWICES was M aster of a ship called " he Ti-inity." ar ly in 13 53 , e br ou gh t over in th t ship one his RICI-IARD W A L S S H , a priest, from Irela nd to Eng land. was a bolder u ndertak ing then than it wou d be now. It was a direct breach of the Law; and JOHN HAWICES had to obtain a formal p ardon rom the C m or the of ence in orde r to save his ship from forfeiture. he p ardon, hich he succeeded in obtaining, remains still duly recorded on the Patent Rolls. A ch arte r f a ew years la ter brings up some fresh facts of interest.

5

PLACES IN TE E OLD TOWN.

wholly unch ang ed in sound, and w ith only a slight cha ng of spelling, as Blocbidye.* CHAETEE OF 1586. THONAS FETHERSTON, JOHN DYCICSON

Fzwbeayer.

aZ,ias B A Y L E Y S .

J O H N B IL L N Q SL EY . G E OR G E

RICHAND FORRESTE LIAY FOR RES TE. S

ZL CH E.

R JC H A R D

RICHARD ROTTON.

J E S S E PP E . EL CH E.

EDWARD HAY BERD.

CHARTER OF 1589. EDWARD RASTELL, Drape?.. JOHN SHILTON,

Mercer.

THONAS ALLICOCKE. JOHN JONES.

son of W I L -

LEASE TO JOH N PRETY, GENT.

89

a further special interest; inasmuch as they throw much light both on the old divisions of the town of Birmingham, and up on the old nam es of different places in it, wh ence any odern streets h ave, thou gh it is not commonly sus pected, taken their names. On the 11th October, 1532, EDWARD BIRMINGHAM granted a remarkable Lease to JOHN PRETY,~~ of the Properties, and for the Terms of years, and at the Rents, that follow:— EDWARD BIRMINGHAM, Esquire, TO JOHN PRFTY, Gefi [sic]. WATER MILL to grynde corne, callid HETH MILL . . . with the

water course ‘ all customes . , . wy thin the lordeship

f Brem y-

"FREE CIIAI~EL."

pa rt of manorial p rope rty, l som etimes a very ha rsh use was made by Lords of M anors of the ir ow nership of mills. But Eclward Birmingham was clearly an enlightened man. For he had already, on the 10th May, 1525, made an ad01’eement with Thomas olte, ord f A ston,” tha t th e farmers and millers f the ills f ston m igh t " feche cary and recary al maner griste and come of al maner greyn " for any tenants th at pleased to employ th em in Birm ingham , and that the farmers and millers of the mills of Birmingham ight do th e same or the ten an ts of ston. he re is a liberality and enlightenm ent abo ut this arrangem ent th at must be rath er startling to those who live in the faith th

THE BELLS OF ST. MARTIN'S TOWER.

ha d a regular pa rso n; and the nomination to the parsonage of which was an advowson forming part of the property of the Lord of the Manor. The good men of Deritend, the early but sincere Reformers of 1375, founded a Church for themselves which, though it was plu ndere d, was yet saved thro ug h all the turm oil of Henry VIII. and Edward VI.; and which still remains a place where en ga the r toge ther to worship God. The Lord of Birmingham endowed a church in 1350, which, under the false cloak of ze al for a new Reform ation, hun gry courtiers not only plundered but utterly wiped out of esistence in 1547. Th e advowson of the " law-worth en " rem ains : th

2

E "BO RO UG H"

"FOREIGN."

To understand some of the places named in the following statements, it must said (the facts having become strangely forgotten in modern times) that Birmingham consisted of the Borough Birmingham an Birmingham Foreign," very usual mode distinguishment in ancient places. Deritend always part of the town of so much importance that the whole is usually spoken f as he Bo rough Birmingham and Deritend," though the separate payts are also often named. TENANTS AND TENANCIES OF THE LORD OF THE MANOR OF BIRMINGHAM, A.D. 1536-1545.”

ANCIENT HOMESTEADS. STERKEY

and a pasture called

SLYNG,

opposite th

park of Birming-

ham. JOHN

croft called HILFELD [HILCROFT]

GARNETT,

J O H N ELLYOTT,

Croft called STELEDENYS [ S T E L E D E A N E S ]

LANE [ S O N E R - L O N D ] ,

JOHN

BONDE,

in S O N E R

formerly held by HUGH F L E T E .

pasture or wood called WORSTON, and another pas-

ture called W Y A T P E L D . RICHARD FURNYVALL

and R O G E R

FOXOLL [FOXEOLI] ,

a pasture called

HUNT-CROFTE [ H U N C R O F T E ] ROBERT MYDDELNORE,

lands called L A D Y C R O F T E , G O L D H E L A I E , and

HUNGRE HILL. JOHN FETHERSTON,

crofte called L O R D E S - F E L D S , in Bordesley.

R O B E R T W H Y T W O R T H [who was bailiff of the

m a n o r : no d o u b t be

4

N PA RK

JOHN PXATP, as fam,ey

KYLCUPPE.

f the the ofice o K E E P E R

f the Park Pa rk called

profits thereof, and the .ivyndefal ROTTON [ROTEN] PARKE, with all the profits mo d

d

~ building buildi ng timber excepted, in reversion of of one

T H O U S GPLBERT then Keeper of the Park.*

meadow called called LAKE-NEDOWE, with the moor there JOHN DRAPER, a meadow [see the Lease to John Prety]. [T o houses houses in Egbaston Egbas ton Street Str eet,, called TH

WASHPNG STOLE, an

PAYNTERS HOWSE.]

MARIA

?

t of ROGER RYDDELL, thee pastures called

BPRCHELLS

[BYRCHE-HILL], and two meadows called GREATE BUCK-

STALLS an

past ure called called THE CONYNGRE LPTELL BUCKSTALLS, and a pasture

[inclu [include ded d in the t he Lease Lease to John Pret Pr etyl yl..

TENANTS OE THE OLDEST G I L D .

except one house an d garde n in eritend [now [n ow ar t f he Old Crown Hou se est ate ], and two houses a n d g a r d e n s i n E G G E B A S T O N Street, and one close held by H U N B R E Y S W A N N E j and except the services of the " hrode arrowes " and " brode arrowhedcls," and of ppper, w i t h i n t h e s a i d B o r o u g h a n d D y r e t e n d ; an d exce pt the good s of of felons felons bey on d forty forty shillings.

BY RM YN OR

E A ND ND D Y R E ET T EN D E

had been made Xteward of the manor of Birmiagham by Edward Birmingham; and X O B E R T W H Y T WORTH was his Baih$ So no doubt they now m ade a ver good thing out of it between them. Edward Birmingham himself survived the great wrong he THOMAS H O L T E

96

TENANTS OF THE " FREE CHAPEL," house in

S M AR SH A HUNFREY COTTERELL,

house in

NICHOLAS

ASTON,

JOHN NEWEY,

h o u s e in

BALDWIN BROKE,

JANES MERSHE,

land there.

N E W E Y in the

P a r i s h of

RICHARD NEWEY,

seveval pieces

land there.

piece of l a n d t h e r e . honse an close

THE

land there.

piece of land there.

MARION BROEEHURST,

close

W A R D E N S OF THE C H A P E L ,

ASTON.*

land and a meadow in

ROGER MORE, a house and meadow there. ALICE MICHELL,

LION.

ASTON.

three closes

JOHN FETHERSTON,

called

house there.

THONAS WALTER, COKE

BISNINGEANR

land

MOSELEY.

meadow there.

BORDESLEY.

CI-IAUNTRIES, AND JOHN COCIIES,

CO D GILD.

a house there.

HENRY BIDDELL,

certain lands.

WILLIAN COLENORE,

quit rents.

TENANTS OF THE FIRST CHAUNTRY,

A.D.

1547

JOHN PAYNTER.

MARIA VERNON.

WI LL IA Y

RALPH SERGEANT.

PEYNTON.

ROBEBT BUTLER. S HAWIIES.

RALPH RUSSELL. ELEN FLAVELL.

RICEIARD BUTLER.

THOXAS NARSHALL.

ROBERT MICHELL .

HENRY FOXHALL.

ROGER MICHELL.

RICHAED BRANDWOOD.

RICHARD BRORHURST.

8

OLD STREETS, AN The heirs of RASTELL, a house in the E N G L I S B E M A R K E T T . WILLIAM PAYNTON,

a house near MOLLE STRETE BARRES.

HUMFREY J O R D E N , a house called W H Y T E H A R T E . JOEN BONDE, JOHN

a house in D E R Y A T E N D , n e a r H E A T H M Y L L .

SHYLTON,

a house in M O L L E Street

called T E N T B E C E O F T E

and a house in DYGBATHE, lately of T E O M A S W A L T O N . R~BERT MYDDELMORE,

Lads

a house in EUEBASTON S t r e e t .

Iiozcses

H E N R Y R U S S E L L.

JOH N

ROGER CLOWSE. JOHN

NICHOLLS

BAR RES).

DALEND,

S H Y L TO N .

ILL IA N DALE

END

held by,— S O L EX O R E

fo CoZemore]. A C IN E S

ALTO N.

[? mistake

THEIR INPWELLERS.

Shops

RIGH

Street, held by,—

THOUAS YENO NT.

THONAS BAKER.

JOH N

W I L L I A M P EY N TO N

JO

IL

.

N S H Y L TO N .

LcmZs

hoitses

ILL IA N PEYNTO N. ROGER HA JO

EES .

N VESSEY .

RICHARD

AL KE R.

in the M O L L E [now M O O R ] Street, held by,— E L IZ A B E T H C R A S S E E R . JO HN

S D Y TH E

AMON HATTO N. ALICE

S K Y LL ET T

H E N R Y B A G L EY .

JOH N

MARIA VERNON.

THOXAS

NABSHALL.

n TH E SHAM-

BLES).

THON AS YEMO NS. S B Y L TO N .

99

0

THE GILD HALL, AND ITS OFFICERS

House

DERYATZND, held

Lands, pastzires, JOH N

S H Y L TO N

houses,in the FOREIGN OF BIRMINGHAM, held by,—

(LONGE

n e a r L A K E - N E D O W E ) .*

by R I C H A R D C L E ~ S O N .

CROFT,

RICHARD WALK ER,. HENRY

GEST

JOHN VE SSIE .

JOH N

O S BO R N E

RICHARD SNALBROKE.

RICHARD RICROPT

HE NR Y BYDIJELL.

ROGER CLOVES.

HENRY FOXHALL.

Four cottuges between MERCERS Street and N E W E Street, held by,—

BIRMINGHAM, PAST AND PRESENT.

as th e middle of the fourtee nth cen tury." he long lists of indwellers just given, recall those who were living and movin g as head s of families in th e town exactly two hu nd red years later. nd if the facts are marshalled, by recollec tion, to those who know the place: by a glance at any map, old or new, to those who do not,—it will be seen that exactly the same parts and streets were the busiest three hundred years ago th at are so now. From De ritend, up igbeth, Well Street, Corn Cheping, Bull Ring, High Street, English Market, Dale End and Bull [Chapel] Street:—on the right, Park Street, Moor Street, Cam [Godes Cart] Lane:—on the

2

BIRMINGHAM, PAST

FUTURE.

and transmitted vigour; namely, the spirit of the Institutions that formed the atmosphere in which the men of Birmingha m lived in past ages, and the hab its of fe un der which, animated by this spirit, they grew up to be men ." ha selfinterest and material self-gratification shall be the ends to be aimed at, is ha t G overnm ents tha t sm other freedom and cherish despotism seek to make the doctrine and the practice f an's life. at every an owes a duty, and a full share of his time in order to fulfil that duty, to his neighbours and to his country, is the doctrine and the practice whence England has drawn the living breath of freedom through past

INDEX OF NAMES.

enet, 64

10

INDEX OF NAMES.

Bothe, William, 100. Bothe, William, Junr., 88, 100. Brandwood, Richard, 97. Brindejone, 19. Broke (Broolrej, R.alph, 86, 87, 95. Broke, Baldwin, 85, 96. Broke, Peter atte, 29, 32. Broke, Richard of, 57, 64. Brolrehurst, Marion, 96. Brolrhurst, Eichard, 97. Brolcesby, Henry, 80. Brooke, Brooks, Broke, 16, 33. Brommych, Walte r, 82, 83. Burcott, Henry, 99. Burgeys, John, 36, 37. Burne, Hugh, 78. Burton, William, 95.

Colmore, Robe rt, 97. CoIsull (Coleshill, Colleshd), John of, 36, 37, 76, 77. Colyns, Robert, 98. Cooke, Henry, 80 (see " Weoley"). Cooke, John, 80. Cope, 64. Corbyn, W illiam, 28, 31, 32. Corbyn, John, 36. Corbyn, Thomas, 36. Corpson, Wiliiam, 99. Cottrell, Thomas, 95. Cottrell, Humfrey, 96. Couper, William, 57, 64. Couper, John, 83. Couper, John Couper, 83. Coventry and Lichfield, Ro be rt

INDEX OF NAMES. Feth erston , Thomas, 87, 88. Fitter (see "Vyterre"). Flaumv ile, Robert, 57, 64, 81 Flavell, John, 84. Flavell, El en, 97. Pletcher, Richard, 96. Flete , Hugh, 93. Fokeram , R ichard, 28 , 31 Fo rest, Ralph, 85, 86, 95. Fo rest, illiam, 95 Fo rres te, Xichard son f William, 88. Foxall (Foxhole, Fosoll), Roger, 5, Foxhall, Henry, 97, 100. Foxhall, W illiam, 99. Foxe, Joh n, S?, 94 note. Fraunceys, John, 80.

Groves, Thomas, 100 Gryffythe, John, 96. Gylbert, Thom as, 94. Harp er, A gnes, 99. Harryso n, Christian, 98. asturley , Thomas, 85, 86. Hatton, Hamon, 99. Hawltes, Hawkesford, H awkesley,86. Hawkes, John, 87. Hawkes, Roger, 99. Hawlres, Thomas, 97. Hawltes, William, 86. Hayberd, Edward, 88. Herch, 85. Hegeyns, Symon, 89.

Xene, Alexander the, 28, 32. Eing, William, 97. Kokeyn, Ralph, 28, 31 Kylcuppe, Richard, 94 note. Kynges, William the, 36, 39. JJ Lane, William, 97. Layforde, Thomas, 83. Lee, William, SO. Lenche, John, 84. Lenche, William, 92, 93. Lepper, John, 95. Lisle, Lysle, Lisley, 69 mle. Lichfield, see Coventry. Littlewood, 15. Locok, John, 86.

Michell, Robert, 97. Michell, Roger, 97. Mychell, Thomas, 83, 87. Middelmore, Thomas of, 78. Milwarde, John, 96. Mole, 34. More, Roger, 96. Morys, Geoffry, 36. Norys, Henry, 36, 37. lorys, John, SO. >foul, Eager the, 28, 32, 34. Murdak, John, 19. Myddelmore, Robert, 93, 98. N.

Nash, 33. Naashe, Richard atte, 28, 32, 33

.IND$X OF NAMES. Ph ilip (Phelipp), Joh n, 40, 41 , 78. Philippes, W illiam, 97 Porter, , 83. Po rter, John the, 36, 37. Po rter, illiam, 83. Po rtcr, B obert, 97. Preston, RoLert, 98. Presto n, Thomas, 99. Prety (Praty, Prattye, Pretie), John, 89 93, 94. Preu st, Roger, 28, 31 , 32. Prie st, Thomas, 99.

Rabone, Edward, 8s. Ragg, 34.

10

Ryder, Joh n, 80. Ryd ere, Simon, 85. Rydw are, illiam, 8 3. Seggesley, Jo hn , , 83 Sergeant, Ralph, 97. Skapley, Humfrey, 84. Shaw, 33 am , TVi m of the, 29, 32, 33 Shefeld, Alexander, 80. Sheldon (Shylton, Shilton, Shelton), John , 85, 88, 92, 93, 98, 99, 100. Sheldon, Thomas , 76, 77. Sheldon, William, 98. Shilton, R.obert, 94 note. Shirynton (Sheryngton), Eich ard f,

INnEX ol? NAMES. Sturm y, Laurence, 78. Sutton, Johii , 42. Smanne, Humfrey, 93, 95. Swexson, WilLam, 9 5. Srryfte, Richarde, 85, Ssy fte, Robert, 84. Symondes, Hum frey, 85, 86. Symondes, William, 86, 99. (See " Simondes.") Symons, 87. Syre, T homas, 95. Taylor, Edward, 97. Tofte, 8ir Edward, 89. Tolymoly, William Gest alias, Tycito, illiam, 28, 31.

Walssh, Richard, 87. Walshman (Welchman), Meredith, 80, alter, Thomas, 96. Walthew, Seth, 95. Walton, Thomas, 98. alton, Agnes, 98. arde, John, 78. Warley, Rauf, 89 aryng , Thomas, 92. Waterball, William, 83. elche, George, 88. elche, Xichard, 88. Weley, John, 99. eley, Richard, 96. eoley, He nry Cooke , 80, 81 Whytworth, Ltobert, 92 Note, 93, 95.

.<

**»*}«« (v^nKtiT