Deopham History

William Purchas

Also spelt Purches

Contents

Early Years

It is stated on the local history website of the Gamlingay History Society1 that William Purchas was born in Gamlingay which they describe as “an ancient village on the Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire border”. No date of birth is given.

1488 Extent

The Extent of the Manor of Deopham of the Prior & Convent of Canterbury 1488 recorded that at that time William Purchas owned 112 acres of freehold land on which he was required to pay 14s 5d per annum in rent to the Manor of Deopham of the Prior & Convent of Canterbury. Details of these pieces of land are recorded against references 124 – 175 in the table on the page containing a transcription of the 1488 Extent.

A search for William Purchas in this timeframe pointed to a William Purchas, Mercer, who lived in the City of London. He was the Mayor of London from 1497 to 14982.
It has also been recorded that William Purchas was a Chamberlain of the City of London from 1484 – 1492 and an Alderman of the City of London from 1492 – 1502.3
This person seemed an unlikely candidate for a Deopham landowner.

William Purchas of London, mercer

Francis Blomefield

Francis Blomefield‘s account of the rectors of Morley recorded the following for 1480 where it appears that William Purchas held part of an advowson for the neighbouring parish of Morley; this identified a link with Norfolk, but not with property ownership in Deopham:-

1480, Sir Thomas Ward, priest, whom I have already mentioned. Will. Purchas of London, mercer, John Fortescue, Esq. Will. Boleyn4, Hen. Heydon, Will. Southwell, Esqrs. John Ward, alderman and grocer of London, Henry Spelman5, and Thomas Lovell, Gents.6

Will of William Purchas

A less tentative association between the City of London and the villages of Deopham and Morley comes in his will. Firstly, he identified himself:-

In dei nomine, Amen.
The 4th day of the month of January the year of our Lord god 1501,
I, William Purches, Alderman, Citizen and mercer of the Citie of London, being of hole mynde and in good memorie laude and praising be unto allmyghty god, make and ordeyne this my present testament in the forme that followeth:-
Furst I bequeath & recommend my soule unto allmyghty my maker and my redeemer and to the moost glorious Virgin his moder our lady Saint Mary and to all the holy company of  Saints and my body to be buried in the Parishe Churche of Saint Lawrence in the old Jury of London.

A few pages further on, William Purchas made legacies in his will for Morley and Deopham; this referred to “my poor tenants” in Deopham. This makes the link to Deopham very secure:-

Item: I bequeath to the Worke of the bodies of the Parishe Churches of Saint Botulph and Saint Peter in Morley in the counte of Northfolk by even portions 66s 8d;
Item: I bequeath to be disposed among the poor householders and my poor tennants in Deptham in the said Counte after the discretion of Robert Fuller, 30s;
Item: I bequeath in like wise to be disposed amongst the poor householders and my poor tennants in the parish of Morley aforesaide after the discretion of the Curate there, 40s.

On the next page, the relationship of the ex-mayor of London to Deopham is further consolidated; in the following passage he detailed the provisions for an annuity for his wife which was to be funded by the sale of his property in Deopham and Morley. The property is defined as including a Manor. No record has been found of him having a manor in Deopham; it is possible that the manor referred to is the Manor of Shadwells otherwise Cockerells in Morley.

Item: I bequeath to Margaret my wife in the name of her dower and purpart belonging unto her or the whole that she may clayme after the lawe, usage or custome of the Citie of London or after any other lawe, usage or custom of all my goods, catells and detts in marc[es] redy money and as much plate of goldsmythes werke as will extende to the value of £50 and the harness7 of all myne household and stuff of householde [be]longing unto my hall, parlour, Pantry, Botery, Kechyn and Chambers at this daie being in my dwelling place within the Citie of London, the residue of my saide plate excepted and forprised;

Also, I bequeath and will that the saide Margaret my Wife shall have & receyve yerely by the hands of myne Executors from the daie of my dycease forthwarde during her naturall life 40 marces sterling at 2 termes of the yere that is to have on Fests of Ester and Saint Mighell the archangell by even porcions;
The furst time of payment therof to begynne at the first of the second 2 Fests which shall happen to falle next after the dycease of me the saide William Purches;
And I will that the same yerely 40 marces8 be hadde of the money comyng and growing of the sale of my Manor, Lands and tenements in Deptham and Morley, whatever they happen to be, in the Counte of Northfolk,

Provided allway that if the saide Margaret my Wife or any other person or persons for her or in her name such title or interest after my dycease clayme etc. etc.

The will continued with a long “provided” clause which essentially said that if Margaret his wife tried to “clayme” more out of his estate than that which was defined in the will, she should have nothing.

Marriage

In 1466 John Norlong died: like William Purchas, he had also been a mercer and based in the parish of St. Lawrence of Jewry in the city of London. William Purchas was an executor of John Norlong’s will along with William Pratte & Lady Anne Boleyn, Widow. (Lady Anne Boleyn had been the wife of Geoffrey Boleyn who died in 1463 – another mercer. She was the great grandmother of Queen Anne Boleyn.)

The will9 of John Norlong “citizen and mercer of London”, left his wife Margaret various household chattels and …

… £300 of goode and lawful money of England in name of all her dower10 and purpart11 to her in any maner wise belongyng or apperteynyng of and in all and al maner myn other goodes, merchandises and chattels whatsoever the be, And I will that the said £300 be to her paide in all goodely and possible hast after myn decease ….

Much space was also given for provisions in the event that his wife had borne him a child by the time the will was in effect.

When William Purchase married Margaret Norland she would have been both wealthy and socially well connected. Whether or not it was her funds that enabled the acquisition of land in Deopham and Morley has yet to be determined. Certainbly her £300 inheritance would have purchased a substantial landholding in Norfolk. However, it is interesting to note that the will12 of Margaret Purchas indicated that she had links of her own to these villages, with Morley being the more significant:

Item: I bequeath to the parishe church of Morley in the Countie of Norff, £40;
Item: I bequeath to the parishe church of Deopham in the same Countie, 20 marcs.

No stipulations were made as to how the money should be spent. Elsewhere the gifts are for specified purposes, such as one for a convent in London which was to …

… to pray specially for my soule, the soules of my fader and moder, the soules of John Norlong and William Purches, late my husbands, and for all Christian soules.

Additional notes from the will of William Purchas

The above quotations were selected to show the link between the William Purchas, mercer of London, and the property owner of the 1488 Extent of the Manor of Deopham. The following additional extracts broaden the picture:

William Purchas bequeathed £33 6s 8d …

… to be disposed by myne Executors … in brede, flesshe, fisshe, drynk and money as they shall find most convenient to be done at any one tyme or at severall tymes among the poor householders dwelling in the Parish of Saint Lawrence aforesaid and in other parisshes next adjoynyng … to pray specially for
– my soule, and for
– the soules of my fader and moder,
– the soules of Geffrey Bolleyne,
– John Norlang,
– John Sutton,
– Thomas Fabian, clerk and
– Alice Fabian, late wife of the same,
– Thomas Dureased, and
– all Christian soules.

  • Geoffrey Boleyn had been a fellow mercer, and husband of Lady Anne Boleyn, referred to above as an executor of John Norlong’s will;
  • John Norlong was the first husband of Margaret, who became the wife of William Purchas.

Bibliography

Elizabeth Norton: The Boleyn Women: The Tudor Femmes Fatales Who Changed English History;
Caroline Barron & Anne F. Sutton: Medieval London Widows, 1300-1500, pg 133

Acknowledgments

With thanks to Daniel Korachi-Alaoui at the Canterbury Cathedral archive for locating the William Purchas will;
ChatGPT has assisted with cracking the more stubborn words from the source documents.

Footnotes

  1. http://www.gamlingayhistory.co.uk/ ↩︎
  2. The period of his holding office as Mayor of London is confirmed here: https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/PURC1.htm ↩︎ ↩︎
  3. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/london-aldermen/hen3-1912/lxiv ↩︎
  4. William Boleyn was the son of Geoffrey & Anne Boleyn – see further under Additional notes from the will of William Purchas on this page. ↩︎
  5. Henry Spelman appears in the Extent of the Manor of Deopham of 1488 as a landowner. ↩︎
  6. Francis Blomefield: History of Norfolk/Volume 2/Forehoe ↩︎
  7. Harnesse at this time could mean equipment/furnishings, not merely horse tackle. ↩︎
  8. i.e. £26 13s 4d a year ↩︎
  9. National Archive, ref PROB 11/5/206 ↩︎
  10. Dower: the portion of her husband’s estate to which a widow was entitled for her lifetime. ↩︎
  11. Purpart means a person’s allotted share or portion, particularly a share due on division of property. ↩︎
  12. National Archive, ref PROB 11/17/103 ↩︎
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DateChange
19/9/26Published