| Will of John Coustyn of East Mersea dated 12 November 1503 transcribed from Essex Record Office D/ACR 1/78/1.
Transcription, abstract etc by Trevor Hearn February 2022
Abstract
John Coustyn of East Mersea
Date of will: 12th November 1503
Date of death: unknown
Date of Probate: unknown
The soul of the testator is bequeathed to God, Saint Mary and the Holy Company of Heaven. His body is to be buried in East Mersea Churchyard.
20d is bequeathed to the High Altar for forgotten tithes and 10s to Paul's Pardon. 20s is bequeathed to a priest to sing a trentall in East Mersea Church for the soul of the testator.
The house and lands of the testator in East Mersea are bequeathed to Katheryn, wife of the testator, for the rest of her life and, following her
death, to his son John. John will pay 33s 4d to each of his sisters upon inheritance. Should John die before Katheryn and the said house and lands
are to be sold by Richard Kynot for a fee of 6s 8d and the daughters to each receive 5 marks. The residue of the proceeds is to be disposed by Richard Kynot for the health of the soul of the testator and the souls of the testator's friends.
The residual personal estate of the testator is bequeathed to Katheryn who is also appointed executrix.
Witnesses to the will: the parson of Norton Thomas Bromhem and Robert Crips. Richard Kynot is appointed supervisor.
Transcription
There is a translation to Modern English further down the page
Page 1
Test[amentu]m Joh[ann]is Coustyn de Estmersey
In the name of god Amen the xijth day of Nove[m]bre in the
yere of our[e] lorde god ml vC & iij I John Coustyn of
Estm[er]sey in the dioc[es] of london hole of mynde make my
testame[n]t & last Will in this Wise First y gyve & bequeth
my sowle to almyghti god our[e] lady saynt mari & to
all the holy company in hevyn m[y] body to be buried in
the church yarde of Estm[er]sey a forsaid It[e]m y bequeth
to the hie Awt[er] of the same church for my tithes forgoten
xxd It[e]m I bequeth to pawlys pardon [Note 1] ijd It[e]m y
bequeth xs to a prest to syng a tryntall [Note 2] for my
soule in the church of m[er]sey a forsaid It[e]m y bequeth
to Kat[er]in my Wif myn howse & my lands terme of her
lif liyng in estm[er]sey & aft[er] the decese of the said
Page 2
Kateryn y will it remayne to John my son paiyng to eche of
his sisters xxxiijs iiijd And if it hape the saide John my
son die before Kateryn my Wif then y Will the saide
howse & lands be sold by Richard Kynot & he to have
for his sale vjs viijd or els[e] be his assignes & then eche
of my daughters to have of the saide sale v marks
a pece & the residewe of the same mony y Will Ri
-chard Kynot dispose it for the helth of my soule & all
my fryndys soulys The residewe of all myn[e] other
good[es] & Catell[es] moveable & unmeveable y gyve
& bequeth them to the saide Kateryn my Wif whom
y make myn[e] executrix Witnes the p[ar]son of Norton
Thomas Bromh[e]m & Roberd Crips Also y make the
said Richard Kynot sup[er]visor yevyn the day & yere
a foresaid
Modern English translation
The will of John Coustyn of East Mersea
In the name of God, Amen. The 12th day of November in the
year of our Lord God 1503. I, John Coustyn, of
East Mersea in the diocese of London, whole of mind, make my
testament and last will as follows. First, I give and bequeath
my soul to Almighty God, our Lady Saint Mary, and to
all the Holy Company in Heaven. My body is to be buried in
the Churchyard of East Mersea aforesaid. Item: I bequeath 20d
to the High Altar of the same Church for my unpaid tithes.
Item: I bequeath 2d to Paul's Pardon. Item: I
bequeath 10s to a priest to sing a trentall for my
soul in the Church of Mersea aforesaid. Item: I bequeath
to my wife Katherine my house and my lands lying in East Mersea
for the rest of her life and after the decease of the said
Katherine I will that it remains to my son John who shall pay 33s 4d
to each of his sisters. If it should happen that the said John my
son dies before my wife Katherine then I devise that the said
house and lands are to be sold by Richard Kynot who shall have
6s 8d for selling the same, or his assigns, and then each
of my daughters are to have 5 marks apiece from the sale proceeds.
The residue of the sale proceeds shall be
disposed of by Richard Kynot for the health of my soul and the
souls of all my friends. I give and bequeath the residue
of my personal estate to my wife Katherine whom
I appoint my executrix. Witnessed by the parson of Norton
Thomas Bromhem and Robert Crips. I also make the
said Richard Kynot supervisor. Given the day and year
above written.
Note 1 Paul's Pardon: a chantry chapel attached to St Paul's Cathedral to which people bequeathed money for the salvation of their souls
Note 2 Trentall: a set of thirty requiem masses, said on the same day or on different days; also payment for this. (Source: OED)
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