Meet the people of Long Melford

Notes and more from the earliest-surviving Long Melford parish register. Aside from the Martins, Cloptons, Cordells/Cordwells, Darcys, and Savages of the town, whose names are well-known, there are many other people from Long Melford’s past for you to meet.

Unusual names

  • Feargod Stebbing was baptised here in 1600.
  • A chap called Theophilus has a surname that no one writing in the register can decide how to spell. He’s Jeece and Jeese in just one entry, then he’s Jees, Gees, Gee, etc.

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The butcher, the baker, the musician, the clothier, the weaver…

  • William Dash, who died in 1600, was the “inkeeper of the White harte in this towne”.
  • Stephen Sheapard was “a master of Artes and somtimes schoolmaster of this towne.” He died in 1600.
  • A woman only named “Jane” was buried in Long Melford in March 1609/10. We might not be told her surname, but we are told that she was “a Recusant”. It’s not surprising to find someone labelled as a recusant Catholic in Long Melford’s register, as the prominent Martin family who lived in the town were recusants as well. She’s very likely to have known them.
  • John Hogg, buried here in 1613, was “a pasinger from St Edmond Bury.” He presumably died on his journey.
  • Long Melford boasted several musicians: John Coe, “blind man teacher in the arte of musique” died in 1610, just after his father, Henry Coe the elder. Richard Loxton was a “master of musique and servant to the Right Worshipful Sir Roger Martin” – Richard died in 1634.
  • Sir James Croft, knight, was buried here in August 1624. He appears in the book “Savage Fortune” (eds. Lyn Boothman, Sir Richard Hyde Parker) mentioned as a friend of the Darcy family.
  • Thomas Partridge was one of the clothiers in Long Melford: his profession is recorded when his son Richard was baptised here in 1633.
  • Richard Curtice (Curtis) was one of the weavers, and his daughter Sarah was baptised here in 1633, his occupation recorded in the register.
  • Some “ancient Batchelors” were buried here: Thomas Lee in 1632 and William Aggas in 1634.
  • Children of William Smith, “the butcher”, were being baptised here in the 1640s. This differentiates him from William Smith, in a piece of excellent nominative determinism, “the smith” – this other William Smith had children baptised in Melford at the same time.
  • And, also in the 1640s, there was a Thomas Smith, butcher in Melford too – and another Thomas Smith, “de Acton”. Presumably Thomas Smith the butcher and Thomas Smith from Acton were different men. And maybe Thomas Smith the butcher was related to William Smith the butcher. Thomas Smith the butcher was buried here in February 1647/8.
  • Thomas Wood, “a souldier”, was buried here in September 1646. This may have been due to the Civil War (around this time, several unnamed soldiers were buried in Wivenhoe, and it’s known that a skirmish had broken out between rival factions there at the time).
  • William Shave, the farmer, lost his wife in July 1647, and William Shave the carpenter, died in December the same year.
  • In February 1650/1, Edmond Rule was “found dead in the street as he was turning home & judged to dye in a swoond by the crowners quest.”
  • Mr Samuel Boardman (spelt Bordman in the register), rector intruder – “intruder” is written in the same handwriting and squashed in just above “rector”. Boardman was a Puritan minister, and came to Melford after his “brother-in-law” Seth Wood resigned in 1648. The register for this period is written up by a later rector, Clement Ray, so it’s Ray who described Boardman as an “intruder”. (See Barker’s History of Long Melford).

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Tragic deaths

  • Various waves of the plague ended many lives in Long Melford. A note entered in the register towards the end of 1604’s burials says: “This Plauge lasted from the beginninge of May to the end of September in wch 5 monthes The Tottall that died & are her registred were juste one hundred & nineteene men woomen and children.” Thomas Cooper and Suzan, wife of Edward Clerke, were buried on 10 May 1604, and have the ominous words “First of the plauge” written beside their names.
  • Tragically, in March 1600, “a whole household [was] buried.” This was Clement Hibble and his family. His sons John and William were both buried on 4th March 1599/1600, followed by daughter Mary two days later, and another daughter Elizabeth on 9th March. Sarah was buried on 12th, Clement on 15th, and finally, his wife Alice was buried on 16th March. Clement left a will, held at Suffolk Archives, but if all his household had died, one wonders if he had any family left to inherit anything. This doesn’t appear to have been during a widespread epidemic, and there’s no other clues in the register to help, but clearly something infectious had taken root in his family.
  • John Read died in 1598; he “drowned at the hill milne.”
  • In 1601, an unnamed child was “found dead in the hall mill damme.” It sounds as if no one knew who this poor child was.
  • In 1607, a little boy called Robert was buried in Long Melford. No surname is given or parents’ names – all we’re told is that his “parentes wer not knowne.”
  • We know a lot about Alice Wyat, who died in August 1617, as she received an unusually long and informative note in the burial register: “dau to Richard Wyat borne at Sudbury & late servant to Thomas Johnson of Pentlowe in Essexe: was drowned by accident at Hume mill in Mellford in Suffolk the 28th of August & was bur in Mellford churchyard.”
  • In July 1611, a boy named only as John was buried in Long Melford. He was “a strange boy killd with a cart.” At this point, “strange” or “stranger” tend to mean that this isn’t a local person, rather than there being anything especially odd about the unfortunate John.
  • In 1618, Rose Sheapard died in childbirth. What this poor woman must’ve gone through doesn’t bear thinking about, as she delivered conjoined twins: “Rose the wiffe of Wm. Sheap. was delivered of a childe with 2 faces 4 arms 4 leggs.”
  • James Flower died in 1621, from falling off his horse.
  • Jonathan, son of Theophilus Gee (also Jeece, Jees, Jeeze, Geese etc), “was drowned at the Bridge in the hart lane” in the summer of 1627.
  • In 1632, the unnamed child of an unnamed “Travellinge woman” was born in “Kentwell barne” and died soon afterwards.
  • Thomas Payne, “a vagrant sent one to this Towne because hee was borne here” was buried in Long Melford in February 1633/4. This demonstrates what happened because of the Poor Laws and the decisions made about which parish a person was deemed to “belong to”. It’s possible Thomas was the son of William Payne, baptised in Long Melford in January 1575/6.
  • In 1634, the “Flogging Pit” claimed the lives of two people by drowning: William Page, “a London prentice in this towne comminge from London was drowned in the floggin pitt” in the June, and William Chapman, “whoe was drowned in the flogging pitt” in the November. Coroner’s inquests were held on both deaths; by the time the pit claimed a second life, the coroner must’ve despaired.
  • “Edward Drew and Mary his wife having beene married 43 yeeres lay both sick and dyed & were both buried in one grave in the church” on 22 August 1638.
  • “Wm. Malkin of Ballington falling from his horse & soe dyeing the 25th day being Satturday Ane. Dom. 1639 on whom the Coroner sate with his jury: was buried the 26th day.” William’s sudden death was tragic, but it’s also astonishing how quickly the coroner’s court was held – perhaps on the Sunday, with the burial taking place immediately afterwards on the same day. We’re not told who the coroner was (was it the same person who had to look into the Flogging Pitt deaths a few years earlier?), but they may have been a Long Melford local so could sit quickly on any unexpected deaths.
  • Alice Spencer died in January 1641/2. The note seems to imply a violent, frightening death, which I don’t feel I can write about here. Some of the words are difficult to decipher as well. (I’m recording it here without going into specifics, though, as it was not an insignificant event).
  • Roger Garrold was buried in February 1647/8: “which was killd with an empty cart overthrowing uppon him (as hee was fetching of a load of wood home for his Master) was found smuthered under the cart wheele with the [nave?] on his back[end of word, or more letters lost on page edge?] whom the Crowner sat.”
  • Sarah, a daughter of “John Clarke, a sherman of Colchester”, was buried on 28th July 1648. The siege of Colchester ran from 12th June to 28th August, so the Clarkes might’ve sought refuge in Long Melford.
  • Richard Phipps, “a corperall under Capitaine Puckle marching from the seege of Colchester fell sick & bur” on 13 September 1648.
  • Will. Menham died in 1649: “who was killd falling of a cart loaden with timber & the wheele (short, uncertain word) went over his head & soe forward to his thigh one whome the Crowner satt.” [that’s two accidental deaths caused by carts in the space of two years, in just one parish.]

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The “bretheren of the hospitall”

Sir William Cordell left a bequest in his will to build almshouses for “twelve aged men” and a warden. It opened in the 1570s and was called “The Hospital of the Blessed Holy Trinity”. The first resident to receive a note in the burial register telling us he lived there was Thomas Burrowes, who died in 1601. By 1649, we see the first “women of the hospitall” being buried in Long Melford.

Hospital staff

  • John Allen, governor of the hospital, was buried in Long Melford in 1607
  • Mr Gilbert Somerton, a subsequent governer, was buried in 1632
  • John Hills, the warden, was buried in 1649.
  • Mr Ralph Swindall, the warden, was buried in 1652.
  • Mr Edward Cordwell, the warden (presumably related to Sir William), was buried in 1658.

The brethren and sisters

  • John Crisp, died 1603
  • Thomas Gray alias Heath, died 1603
  • John Winckfeeld [Wingfield?], died 1603
  • Nicholas Beard, died 1603
  • John How, died 1604
  • John Cornwell, died 1605
  • John Gray alias Heath, died 1607 (brother of Thomas?)
  • William Smith, died 1608
  • Barnaby Hurrold, died 1610
  • “Ould Williams”, died 1611
  • Henry Lacy, died 1612, “a scoller” as well as one of the “bretheren”
  • Richard Gentleman, died 1612
  • Richard Todd alias Tindall, died 1612
  • John Hum, died 1612
  • Edward Howe, died 1613
  • Gilbert Willis, died 1616
  • William Polle, died 1617
  • William Rosbrooke, died 1619 (Rushbrook?)
  • Francis Euers, died 1619 (Ewers or Evers?)
  • Andrew Monson, 1619
  • Simon Nicholson, died 1621
  • Hercules Turner, died 1621
  • George Diggons, died 1621
  • Roger Beard, died 1622
  • Father Masson, died 1622
  • Nicholas Talmage, died 1622
  • John Goodchild, died 1623
  • Henry Godward, died 1624
  • John Gager, died 1624
  • Robert Colman, died 1624
  • Giles Shawe, died 1624
  • Thomas Dread, died 1625
  • John Hammond, died 1625
  • Sage Lorkin, died 1626
  • John Kinge, died 1626
  • William Browne, died 1627
  • John Chrispe, died 1628
  • John Phalkoner, died 1629
  • John Snellinge, died 1630
  • George Hamblinge, died 1631
  • Richard Gentleman, died 1633
  • John Manhood, died 1633
  • Thomas Honiball, died 1633
  • Lawrence Allen, died 1633
  • Robert Price, died 1634
  • John Dash, died 1637
  • Willliam Hubbert (var. Hubbard), died Feb 1637/8
  • John Manhood, died 1638
  • Father Sutton, died 1640
  • John Tuck, died 1642
  • George Richardson, died 1648
  • Thomas Willis, died 1648
  • Father Griggs, died 1648
  • Robert Gouldinge, died 1648 (he gets extra large writing and a manicule – pointy finger)
  • Elizabeth Shaw, died 1649
  • Jeffry Brock, died 1649/50
  • John Fortescue, died 1651
  • Gabriell Gates, died 1651/2
  • Benjamin Dale, died 1651/2
  • Robert Longe, died 1652
  • John Keep (or Keeper?), died 1652
  • George Collen, died 1652
  • Christopher Munings, died 1652/3
  • Cooke, 1653
  • John Ray, 1654
  • Thomas Lee, 1656/7

In 1603, the wife of “Bannston Smeeth” was buried in Long Melford (her forename isn’t recorded). A note tells us that “Hee was one of the brethren in the hospitall.”

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Compiled by Helen Barrell from her transcriptions of Long Melford’s parish register.