Catalogue description Will of Mrs Frances Ashton of London, wid., marked 'Eleventh Probate'

Her body to be buried in Dunstable Church near the graves of her dec bros, Mr Thos and Mr Wm Chew

£200 - to erect monument for her

£300 - for funeral expenses. Exors can provide mourning as think fit

to the poor of the parish of Dunstable

- £100 to be distributed within 10 days after her dec to those who do not receive alms by minister lecturer and chwardens

to poor of St Giles without Cripplegate, London 'where I now live'

- £100 as above

to poor of Lt St Bart, London

£100 as above

to trustees of charity school of St Giles, Cripplegate

- £4 p.a. as long as such school continues, payable in January each year

her dau, Eliz 'reputed wife' of Jn Mayor [sic] 'hath by her undutifulness and Marriage without my consent (in case she be really married or by living with him) as if she had been married so far disobliged me that she cannot reasonably expect any Share of my Estate yet nevertheless in respect of her weakness and Incapacity of which ill designing people took an advantage ...' By a lease and release of 24 and 25 Sept 1714 certain trusts were created which she now declares void

Is desirous that dau shd be supported while living apart from husb so devises to trustees:

farm in Edlesborough, Bucks, (in occ Wm Ginger)

another farm in Edlesborough (in occ Jas Gardner)

farm in Cowbridge End, in Luton (in occ Math Gutteridge)

another farm in Luton (in occ Math Gutteridge)

farm and malthouse in Luton (in occ Math Gutteridge)

prop in Dunstable (in occ Wm Webb, Rich Smith and Humph Daniel)

4 messuages in Smithfield without Barrs and in St John's St in par of St Sepulchre's, London (in occs Thos Hollyoake, Bart Gibbs, Ralph Hall, and Rich Bradley)

Trust - while Eliz lives apart from Jn Maynor [sic] under direction of trustees, trustees shall pay profits etc from above prop to support her in handsome manner

No ch of hers to have any benefit

If dau lives with husb, then profits from prop to be pd to persons to whom prop has been devised after death of sd dau (as in revoked lease and release)

If dau survives husb and remarries without consent of trustees, then same provisions as above. If marries with approval, then profits etc to husb and then to ch, equally, at 21

also to trustees

- farms at Luton (in occ Thos Dorrington)

- Vinegar Acre, in occ Jn Bissaker, near West Green, Dunstable

- 1 ac land in Churchfield, near Englands, in tenure of Humph Daniel

Trust - to settle estates to provide fund of £6 p.a. for each of 6 almswomen in almshouses 'by me lately built' in Dunstable, which shall be those as worship in the Church of England on the Sabbath in Dunstable, to buy them a gown and petticoat all of the same colour and for firing and other necessaries, payable quarterly

- further fund for repairing sd almshouses and for paying 20s yearly for dinner for trustees

- for fund of £5 4s p.a. to be laid out at 2s per week in bread to be presented at Dunstable church on Sundays after morning service among the poor people who are most constant at divine service

- to raise 30s p.a. to repair clock given by her to Dunstable schoolhouse

- any remainder to be distributed among almswomen also to trustees

- farm at Edlesborough, Bucks (in occ Mr Jane and Mrs Meade)

for benefit of Minister and churchwardens of Dunstable and trustees of the charity school and Master of sd school, to apply 1st year's profits, after her dec, to place forth one of the charity children educated at the charity school as an apprentice and to buy him 2 suits of clothes during his apprenticeship

2nd year's profits to set a ch educated in the Charity school up in trade after apprenticeship, and so alternate years children must have been in school for 3 yrs

they are not to be apprenticed after the age of 14

When only 3 trustees still surviving, then at request of Minister and churchwardens of Dunstable, they shall convey premises to 6 more persons nominated by the Minister

to Thos Aynscombe, Charterhouse Yard, London, after death of testator's dau, without issue

- messuage etc without Smithfield Barrs called the Christian Coffee House in occ Ralph Hall

- tenement in St John's Street [St Sepulchre's, London] in occ Thos Hollyoake, grocer

to neph Jas Cart, after death of Eliz etc

- other appurtenance without Smithfield Barrs, in occ Rich Bradley, poulterer

to sis, Mrs Jane Cart

- £100

to niece Eliz Gilbert

- £50

to Eliz Gilbert's son, Thos Chew Gilbert

£100

to Phil Aynscombe, son of sd Thos

- £100

to Rev Mr Jn Dickenson, curate at Dunstable

- £10

all to be pd within 12 mths of her dec

to cousins Mrs Blandida Marsh, Mrs Mary Lockington and Mrs Jane Marsh

- ring of 1 gn value, to each of them

to sd Thos Aynscombe, Jas Cart, Hen Hankey, Jas Osbaldeston and Sam Troughton (her trustees)

- £100 each

- (if testator's dau die without issue) annual rent charge of £100 arising out of lands in Beds, Bucks and Herts

Trust - £95 (of above £100) to be pd in Jan each year to discharge out of prison poor prisoners in Ludgate and Compters in London and the Marshalsea in Southwark. Sums not to amount to morethan £5 apiece

- £5 (residue) to be used for trustees charges in above and for assistance for her dau

Trustees shall allow at least £400 p.a. out of rents and profits of estate for maintenance of dau, during time she shall live under direction of trustees, and £36 p.a. for wages of 2 women servants i.e. £30 p.a. for a woman servt 'who shall be a person of good understanding, conduct and behaviour' who is well-educated, has lived well, bet ages of 35 and 55, to be kept as companion, advisor and assistant. Rem £6 is for cook or house servt

Remainder of personal estate to trustees to be disposed of in same manner as laid down after death of dau

Public stock or Govt security or E India or S Sea Bonds are to be purchased from personal estate and the overplus of the income of the real and personal estate during lifetime of dau

After death of dau without issue - remainder of all real estate to trustees on trust

Trust - one moiety in Jan each year for support of 30 poor clergymen 'of sober life and conversation'

- other moiety for clergymen's widows

Trustees are also appointed exors with power to appoint others

Must be always 5 exors. To receive £15 p.a. each

Some person to be appointed to receive rents and to keep accounts. To receive such salary as exors think proper wits Jos Hankey

A Akehurst

Rich Adams, clk to Mr Troughton 30 Mar 1727

Will proved (P C C) 22 Dec 1727

Appointment of new executor

Phil Aynscombe appointed in place of Jas Cart (d 9 Oct 1731)

28 Dec 1731

Appointment of new executor

Reference to court cases in Chancery 5 Mar 2 Geo II [1729]

bet: - Attorney Gen (at relation of Jn Bissaker) - plts

exors - dfts

and wherein Jn Raynor and w Eliz - plts

AG and exors - dfts

Jos Hankey, Fenchurch St, London, Esq, alderman, and Nath Troughton appointed exors in place of Phil Aynscombe (now dec) and Sir Hen Hankey, alderman (also dec) 8 Mar 1736

Appointment of new executor

Jas Turner, Stoke Newington, gent, appointed in place of Thos Aynscombe (d 9 Oct 1740) 15 Jan 1740

Appointment of new executor

Thos Hankey, Fenchurch Street, banker, appointed in place of Jas Osbaldeston (d 31 Mar 1742) 12 Apr 1742

Appointment of new executor

Jos Chaplin Hankey, Fenchurch Street, London, Esq., appointed in place of Sam Troughton (d 9 Mar 1750) 29 Mar 1750

Appointment of new executor

Sam Troughton, Clement's Lane, London, gent, appointed in place of Jas Turner (d 8 Dec 1753) 20 Dec 1753

Appointment of new executor

Thos Hankey, Fenchurch Street, London, Esq., appointed in place of Sir Jos Hankey (d 28 June 1769) 28 July 1769

Appointment of new executor

Rev Harry Hankey, East Bergholt, Suffolk, clk, appointed in place of Sir Thos Hankey (d 3 July 1770) 24 July 1770

Appointment of new executor

Hen Troughton, Cranbrook, Kent, appointed in place of Jos Chaplin Hankey (d 18 Oct 1770) 30 Oct 1773

Appointment of new executor

Robt Hankey, London, banker, appointed in place of Nath Troughton (d 11 Oct 1780) 25 Oct 1780

Certificate of Fred, Abp of Canterbury, recording the various changes of executors 20 Nov 1780