King Charles
The Boon Hen
The Will of James (1653) The Will first provides that his loving Wife Mary should have 'her rights according to the Law and Custom'.. To his second son, Henry he gave Elam Grange in Morton and seven cottages belonging to it. Two closes called Stephen Flatts. An annuity of £3 per annum bought of John Lacy in Midgley. Four houses in Ovenden (including Long Can and Yew Tree) One of these four houses was occupied by Isaac Starkey, and he could have been a relative of Nicholas Starkey, who married James's daughter Grace in 1643. Warley Mills and kilns.. To his 4th and youngest son Thomas of Kershaw House, he left Kershaw House Five houses in Ovenden An annuity of £5.18.4d A number of houses and a Fulling Mill at Keighley. A rent out of the Upper Fulling Mill and a house at Wadsworth. Land in the Parish of Chipping in the County of Lancaster.. To the poor of the upper end of Warley and of Midgley he left £3.To the poor of Ovenden 20s. To the poor of Morton 20s. To the Minister at Luddenden 40s (shillings). |
"It is appropriate to
bring to an end, this part of the history by mentioning
the Will of James dated
the 17th October, 1653." I have observed that in those days, Wills were often made only days before the death of the Testator. In this case it was but one week between the stated date of the Will and the date of James's burial. In view of the complicated provisions in the Will, one hopes that James was as he stated `weak in body, but of perfect mind and memory'. Cromwell was in power, in Parliament, and had just been proclaimed Lord Protector. These must have been hard times for Royalists such as James. I see that he commenced by stating the date as the seventeenth day of October 1653. Before and after this period Wills gave the date as the .. year of the Reign of..... Charles the First was in prison but James was a practical man and did not risk a reference to his King. It should be noted that the following Will was not proved until 1663 at York. This was because during the 'troubles' the York Probate was suspended and Few Executors would undertake the journey to London. Some of the difficulties and much of the litigation which followed could have resulted from the uncertainty of James's Will and this ten year gap during which the contents of the Will might have been misunderstood or falsified. James
in his Will makes no reference to either the Mansion at
Murgatroyd or that called Riddlesden Hall. He made no
bequest to his son and heir, John of East Riddlesden
Hall. John was however, appointed one of the Trustees
with Thomas. From this I deduce that his heir succeeded
to these Estates
'inter vivos' in other words `in
the lifetime' of James and prior to the Will." |
"So we come to the end of the long life of James Murgatroyd of Murgatroyd accounted by his neighbours to have been worth some £2,000 a year. He was a great figure, well in control of his vast affairs and forceful in character. Perhaps later events could in part be attributed to uncertainty over his Will (particularly as it could not be proved for ten years), perhaps his sons were not of the same calibre but for whatever the reasons, from this time onwards things began to go awry." |