3 October 1648 Will of Walter Chester of London, merchant tailor (proved 16 October 1648)

Source: TNA, PROB 11/205

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In the name of God Amen, the third
day of October in the yeare of our lord god one thousand six hundred fortie
and eight & in the foure & twentie yeare of the raigne of our sovreign lord
Charles by the grace of god kind of England Scotland France and Ireland defender
of the faith &c I Walter Chester Cittizen and Marchantaylor of London being
Crasie in bodie but of PERfect minde and memory praysed be god due therefore
make and declare this my PREsent last will & testament in mannr & forme following
vizt Firstand principally I comend my soule into the hands of allmightie
god my Creator trusting assuredly for salvacon by thalone merrits of my
blessed lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And my bodie I comitt to the
earth from whence it came in assured hope of a glorious resurreccon 
willing that the same shalbe buried in a decent and Christian manner
at the discrecon of my executors and Overseers hereafter named wthn
the parrishe cChurch of st Mary Aldermary London and as neere the
place of buriall of my sonne Walter Chester as there conveniently may be
And as touching such temporall estate as it hath pleased the goodnes of
allmightie god to bestowe on me I dispose thereof as followeth Imprimis I
will and desire that there shalbe bestowed upon my buriall about the sume
of CC l and that there shalbe fiftie poore Gownes given to fyftie poore
men to weare at the same tyme And I will ?? all such debts as I shall
truly owe to any person or PERsons at the tyme of my decease shalbe truly
payed them within as short tyme after my decease as conveniently may be
And my debts & funeralls being paied or defalked my will and minde is
that all the rest of my goods Chattles wares ready money and debts
whatsoever shalbe devided into three equall parts and porcons according
to the Custome of the Cittie of London One third part whereof I
give and bequeath unto my loveing wife Jane Chester as due unto her
by the sayd Custome, one third part thereof I give and bequeath
unto and betweene my twoe sonnes Thomas and Charles Chester equally
to be devided betweene them according to the sayd Custome my sonne
Thomas alloweing the sume of seaven hundred pounds wch I have allready
given and payed him upon his marriage to be as part of his share of
the said third And thother third part thereof I reserve to my self to
pay and performe the legacies and bequests conteyned in this my last
will according as I shall herein after appoint the same That is to saye
First I give and bequeath unto my sayd sonne Charles Chester ?? sume
of three hundred pounds of lawfull money of England over and above his
orphanage par?? belonging to him by the Custome of the said Citty of 
London And my will is that he shall have the said CCC l in respect his
Brother Thomas hath more land and houses then he hath Item I give
and bequeath unto my brother Willia Chester the sume of ten poundes
to make him and his wife mourneing And I give and bequeath unto and
amongst his Children the sume of twenty pounds equally to be devided
betweene them or such survivors of them as shalbe liveing at my decease
And I will that the said xx l shalbe payed into the hands of my
said Brother for and to the use of his Children wthn one yeare
after my decease And whereas I have a Statute of my brother Wm
for money wch he oweth me as by defeazance thereupon made appeareth
I doe hereby give the same and all the benefitt and advantage as shall
or may arise thereby unto his sonne Walter Chester (the sayd 
Statute & writeinge touching the same being now remayning in my hands


And I will that they remayne in my executors hands for the use of my Coson
Walter untill he come to his lawfull age of one & twenty yeares And my
will is that my brother William pay unto my executors all such other money
as he oweth me over and above the said debt due upon the said statute
Item I give & bequeath unto my brother John Renstrop the sume of five
pounds of lawfull money of England And I will that my executors paye
the sume of Fyftie pounds to him according to my bond for the good of
his Children according to my sister Renstrops request before shee dyed
And I give unto his fower Chidren five pounds a peece to buy them
mourning Item I give & bequeath unto Dr Gell Parson of the parrish of 
St Mary Aldermary aforesaid the sume of five pounds of lawfull money
of England in token of my love to him and as for a Gowne and my
funrall srmon And to Mr Coster the Clarke of the same parish xls for
a mourning Cloke Item I give and bequeath unto the poore of the
parrish of St Mary Aldermary aforesaid the sume of xl s to be paied
into the hands of the Churchwardens of the same PARish and by them
to be distributed unto & amongst the said poore on the day after my
buriall Item I give and bequeath unto and for thuse of the poore
of the PARish of St James in Bristoll the sume of ten pounds to be
paied to the Churchwardens of the same parrish for the tyme being
wthin twelve moneths next after my decease And I will that ye said 
Churchwardens and their successors Churchwardens shall yearly forevr
wth the increase of the same x l laye out x s in bread & distribute
the same on New yeares day yearly amongst the poore of the said
PARish forever It being the same day wch my father formrly setled
money for the preaching of a srmon there yearly And I give and
bequeath unto and for thuse of the said poore of the said parrish
of St James in Bristoll all that debt or sume of twentie and seaven
pounds wch I formrly paied for Captaine Harrison late of the said City
of Bristoll decd as a suretie for him And I will that my executors
doe assigne all their interest wch they may clayme in and to the same 
debts as executors to me to the Churchwardens of the same parrish
for the tyme being or such other person or PERsons as they shall appoint
thereby giveing them power to aske demand recover and receave the
same of and from the executors administrators or assignes of the said
Captaine Harrison decd to and for thuse of the said poore of the said
parrish And my will is that the Churchwardens of the same PARish
for the tyme being shall with the increase of the said xxvii l or such 
part thereof as shalbe recoverd or receaved buy soe much bread as
the same increase shall amount unto after the rate of six pounds
PER Cent p and and distribute the same amongst the said poore on New
yeares day yearly forever Item I give and bequeath unto my kinswomn
Mary Holbrook the sume of ten pounds to be payed to her owne hands
as her necessity shall erquire the same Item I give and bequeath to
my brother Doorebarr and his wife xl s a peece to buy each of them
a Ring to weare in remembrance of me Item I give and bequeath unto
my Cosin Mr Hugh Browne of Bristoll soe much black Cloth as
will ???e to make him a mourning ???te and Cloke to weare in 
remembrance of me Item I give & bequeath to my daughter in lawe Mary
Chester my high guilt Bolle And to my grandsonne Thomas Chester
my great guilt Bolle for them to keepe as in remembrance of me &


as they were the Chester And I will that all the rest of the plate wch is
my owne shalbe equally devided betweene my two sonnes Thomas and Charles
And I will that my sonne Charles shall have the fellow of the Cup I gave my
sone Thomas after he was married And I will them to keepe the same in re-
membrance of me but my will is that my wife shall have thuse of the same
plate dureing her life And for the plate wch was my brother Williams and
wch I redeemed from pawne My will is that my brother Willm or any
of his Children shall desire to have the same or any part thereof that then
they shall have the same upon his or their paying to my executor such money
as I am out for the redempcon of the same plate or such part as they
shall desire to have And in case he or they shall not desire the same that
then my will is that the same shalbe equally devided betweene my sonnes
And whereas upon my sonne Thomas his marriage I did by Indenture settle
all that my messuage and lands in Redcrosse nere Bristoll in the County of
Gloucester on my self and wife dureing our lives and the life of ye longer
liver of us And after both our decease on my sonne Thomas and Mary
his wife and the heires of my sonne Thomas forever Nowe my will is that my
said wife shall enioye the same for the terme of her life And after her
decease then my said sonne Thomas and Mary his wife and the heires of my
sonne Thomas forever according to the purport and true meaneing of ye said
Indenture and of the said parties to the same Item I give devise & bequeath
all other my messuags & Tents in bristoll (except such as I have herein after
bequeathed to my sonne Charles) to my said sonne Thomas and to his heires & asss
forevr saveing and my will is that my wife shall have and enioy one third
?? of the Rent of all the said messuags or tents for and dureing her nrall life
Item I give devise & bequeath to my sonne Charles Chester and to his heires
and asss forevr all that my messuage or tent and Inne comonly called on
knowne by the name or signe of the Lambe and all my land & ground thereunto
belonging scituate lyeing and being at or neere Layfords gate nere the sayd
Citty of Bristoll in the said County of Gloucr saveing only and my will is
that my sayd wife shall have and enioy to her owne use for and dureing her
nrall life one third part of the Rents of the said Inne and land thereto 
belonging And I will that my said wife shall laye out in the substantiall new
building of the said Inne the sume of three hundred pounds out of her owne
estate wch shee hath promised me to doe And in regard thereof I did the
more willingly settle the said messuage & land in Redcrosse on her for terme of
life as aforesd Item I give & bequeath to my said sonne Charles all that my ???
of all those my two messuages or tents & lands thereto belonging scituate lyeing 
and being at Hewson in ye PARish of Walthamcrosse in the County of Essex
wch I bought and purchased of my Cosen Anne Prince weddowe and all my
estate and interest in the same lease & PREmisses thereby devised The rest &
resude of all & singuler my goods Chattles ready money and debts whatsoever
by me herein unbequeathed after my debts payed and funralls discharged I wholly 
give devise and bequeath unto and betweene my said 2 sonnes Thomas and
Charles equally to be devided betweene them part and part like And I
ordaine and appoint my said 2 sonnes Thomas & Charles Chester the full & sole
executors of this my last will & testament And I ordaine & appoint my loveing
frends Andrew Beech DraPER and my Cosen Mr Abraham Haynes to be overseers
of this my last will and testamt earestly desireing them to be ayding & assisting
to my executor in for and concerning the execucon thereof the best they can And 
I give and bequeath unto the sayd Andrew Beech the sume of tenn pounds


to buy him and his wife mourning And to my Cosen Haynes five pounds to buy
him mourning for their paynes herein to be taken And I doe hereby revoke and
make frustrate all former wills legacies bequests executors and Overseers by me
heretofore in any wise made willed or bequeathed And doe will that these PREsents
and every thing herein conteyned shall be as and for my last will and testamt
and none other or otherwise In wittnes whereof to this my PREsent last will and
Testamt conteyned in eight sheets of paPER I the sayd Walter chester have
subscribed my name to the lower end of every sheete and sett my seale to the
first and last sheets yeaven the day and yeare first above written Walter
Chester Sealed published declared and delivered by the said Walter Chester
as and for his last will and testamt this third day of October 1648 in the 
presence of us Wm Tatton Charles Peck & Henr Arnold scr

Probatum fuit 
[this paragraph continues in Latin to grant probate on 16 October 1648]
decimo sexto die mensis Octobris Anno Dni Millimo sexcemo quadregesimo octavo
[to]
Thome Chester filii 

Last Modified: Tuesday, 06-Mar-2018 19:08:54 NST