DHCreated as a
Millennium Project
Millennium Project
There is a book (1540) in Lincoln Cathedral. (Deddington was in that diocese, before Henry VIII made Oxford a bishopric in 1542.) One extract (in Latin) headed “Deddington deanery; in the church there”, says:
“James Brooke has frequented and still frequents the company of the wife of Richard Perkins, in spite of many monitions from his neighbours. He denied the charge and on 11th October 1540 at Chipping Norton produced Thomas Brown and Richard Stilgoo (sic) with whom he took oath and purged himself. The judge warned him “that he should not have access to the company of the said woman, sub pene excommuncationis” – under threat of excommunication. An early soap-opera moment. Always have a friend or two who will swear you were with them at the time and not with Mrs Perkins.
The entirely innocent James Brooke turns up once more. I have lots of old 17C documents on parchment, but only one as old as 1551. It is in Latin. The heading reads “A release from Henry Milward to William Arys for the cottage in the Nave Street and the possession taking”. The Arys/Aris family turn up a lot in Stilgoe documents, and knowing more about them might solve some mysteries. The meat of the writing is the handing over of a cottage, a garden and a close totalling one and a half acres from Milward to Arys. The interesting bit for us is the names of the witnesses – Wilyam ffrenche, Umfre Edmunds (the first reference I have seen to the Christian name Humphrey in Deddington – the name is important later), (iii) Clemens, James Brooks, John Styllgo, Thomas Stilgo, Raffe Trewman then being tenant, Edward Carther, Robart Braggyns, (iv) Holt. Thomas Blyngco. Nycolas Stillgo withe other more”. Three Stilgoes, three spellings, and surely the same James Brooke/Brooks, still thriving eleven years after the threat of excommunication if he went near Mrs. Perkins.
“James Brooke has frequented and still frequents the company of the wife of Richard Perkins, in spite of many monitions from his neighbours. He denied the charge and on 11th October 1540 at Chipping Norton produced Thomas Brown and Richard Stilgoo (sic) with whom he took oath and purged himself. The judge warned him “that he should not have access to the company of the said woman, sub pene excommuncationis” – under threat of excommunication. An early soap-opera moment. Always have a friend or two who will swear you were with them at the time and not with Mrs Perkins.
The entirely innocent James Brooke turns up once more. I have lots of old 17C documents on parchment, but only one as old as 1551. It is in Latin. The heading reads “A release from Henry Milward to William Arys for the cottage in the Nave Street and the possession taking”. The Arys/Aris family turn up a lot in Stilgoe documents, and knowing more about them might solve some mysteries. The meat of the writing is the handing over of a cottage, a garden and a close totalling one and a half acres from Milward to Arys. The interesting bit for us is the names of the witnesses – Wilyam ffrenche, Umfre Edmunds (the first reference I have seen to the Christian name Humphrey in Deddington – the name is important later), (iii) Clemens, James Brooks, John Styllgo, Thomas Stilgo, Raffe Trewman then being tenant, Edward Carther, Robart Braggyns, (iv) Holt. Thomas Blyngco. Nycolas Stillgo withe other more”. Three Stilgoes, three spellings, and surely the same James Brooke/Brooks, still thriving eleven years after the threat of excommunication if he went near Mrs. Perkins.