A small selection of mid sixteenth to early seventeenth century English handwriting examples that we have collected and transcribed. Words within the quotation marks are those shown. Ten out of ten to anyone who can read number four without looking at the transcription - scroll down carefully!
Seven examples below from: 1547 / 1550 / 1563 / 1578 / 1604 / 1606 / 1612
1.
I bequethe to evry one "of
my god chylldryn apeyste" xiiij£
[Will of William Tyllcott, Nailstone, Leicestershire, 1547]
2.
My bodye to be buryed in "the
Chirchyard of Saynt Botolfe" aforesaid
[Will of Henry Teylecott, Colchester, Essex, 1550]
3.
Janr Item "Homfridus
Taylcote filius Leonarde" bap
[Bishops's Transcript, January 1563/4,
Nailstone, Leicestershire]
4.
One greate Skommer, one "chaffingdysshe,
one ffryingpan", one greate platter
[Will of William Taylecote, Colchester, Essex, 1578]
5.
Itm I do gyve unto "Grace
Taylecote my dawghter" one Bedstedle
[Will of John Taylecott, Braintree, Essex, 1604]
6.
mony to be "distributed
the day before" my buriall unto the poore
[Will of John Talcoat, Colchester, Essex, 1606]
7.
my bodye to be buryed in the sepulcher "in the pishe church of Nelston afforesayde"
[Will of Thomas Taylecote, Nailstone, Leicestershire, 1612]
These are just a few examples showing different styles. If you want to know more there are plenty of books on this subject. One inexpensive booklet we have found very useful is 'A Secretary Hand ABC Book' by Alf Ison, Berkshire Books, ISBN 1 871941-08-3. It is very easy to use and gives many variations of the same letters, included also are some worked examples of documents from the same period as above. Two other booklets you may find useful are: 1) 'A Glossary of Household, Farming and Trade Terms from Probate Inventories', Rosemary Milward, Derbyshire Record Society, ISBN 0 9505940 1 6 2) 'A Latin Glossary for Family and Local Historians', Janet Morris, FFHS, ISBN 0 907099 89 0. See also the Glossary here on this web site.
Thanks to the wonders of technology, the books
above are now available to buy
from Amazon online:
** There are more books on our 'Home' page (link below) **
Click
for a copy and full transcription
of the will of Jonathan Tayllcoate
of Saddington, Leicestershire, Tallow Chandler (candle
maker), 1731.
Clicking on one of the following numbers will take you to a full transcription of the document containing the corresponding numbered extract above. These will show you some of the terms used during the period and may help with transcription of your own wills etc.
Who were these people?
1. William (c1500 - c1547). Very likely to be 11x G Grandfather of David John Tylcoat. Evidently a farmer living in Nailstone, Leicestershire. The family appears to have come from 'across the border' in nearby Warwickshire. This line includes the present day TYLCOAT spelling. ID#401
2. Henry (c1500 - c1551). Living in Colchester in later years and possibly a pewterer. Wife Ellen. Probably of the same family as William (1.) but a section of the family that moved to Essex. We have found links between the type of cloth made around Colchester and the breed of sheep farmed in Leicestershire. ID#402
3. Humphrey (c1563/4 - Oct 1626). Appears to have moved from Nailstone to Manchester, where he was a preacher. Wife Alice. Buried in Manchester Cathedral. His Probate Inventory, written 1st March 1626[/7], is held at Lancashire Record Office ref: WCW 1627 TAYLECOATE, Humphrey. ID#672
4. William (c1530 - c1578). Son of Henry (2.), two daughters, Anne and Helen. Of St. Mary's, Colchester. Sole executor to his will was John (6.). ID#700
5. John (1562 - 1604). Pewterer & Brazier living in Colchester, son of John (6.) and father of John who emigrated to America. Wife Anne Skinner. This line includes the present day TALCOTT spelling. ID#408
6. John (c1535 - 1606). Out-lived his son (5.). Pewterer in Colchester, probably the one to receive the original Grant of Arms [ see picture of the Talcott Arms, 1632, (.jpg 118KB) and accompanying notes ]. This line includes the present day TYLECOTE spelling. It is unclear whether he was born in Essex or Warwickshire. Married 1. Alice Wells 2. Marie (or Mary) Pullen. ID#404
7. Thomas (c1570 - c1612). Probably a farmer, in Nailstone. Wife Sarah. His will makes interesting reading and from the handwriting of his signature and that of the will it appears it was all his own work. From it we see that he wished his sons to be as well educated as himself - "I will that William And John my sonnes bee kept to scoolles [?that they (....) of my (....)] can write & reede in befitting manner". ID#918
Tips for getting started: First photocopy the photocopy you got from the Record Office - this
will become your 'working copy'. Put the other one away. Rule under all the lines in
pencil and number them in the margin. On a pad of lined paper number every other line
(giving you effectively 'double spacing' and room to write corrections etc.). Go through
the copied document line by line picking out words you can easily positively identify and
write them on the corresponding lines on your lined paper - in the same place they appear
in the copied document. By now you have probably got a whole alphabet and may even be
lucky enough to have some complete sentences. The rest isn't always easy - but at least
you have a starting point! Most wills of that period start with something like: "In
the name of God Amen the 10th day of June in the year of our Lord 1604 [then often the
King's name - king of England Scotland France Ireland etc.] I Joe Bloggs of Loose
Chippings in the County of Essex, bricklayer, etc. etc." Now you have more
letters and words. Visit Hay-on-Wye and buy yourself the full version of the Oxford
English Dictionary (the Compact Edition goes for about £20 second hand). Read it.
Note: The
same word (or person's name) may be spelt various ways within the same document! For
an indication of spelling
variations take a look at the 93 we have so far found for Tylcoat
/ Tylecote / Talcott.
Good luck!
[ Then you can get as annoyed as we do when you see
people copying your work
- without so much as a citation, let alone a thank you! ]
Handling the originals of one or two of the documents above, written on parchment or vellum, and up to 450 years old, was a real privilege. If you have anything like them at home they really ought to be given (or permanently loaned) to a County Record Office - where they will be kept in a humidity & temperature controlled environment so that others may benefit from seeing them in the future. A special thank you to the staff for their assistance at the C.R.O.s of Essex, Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Lancashire.
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See also the University of Cambridge Faculty of English "English Handwriting 1500-1700"
Copyright © Dave & Sue Tylcoat 1999-2004
This page last modified
14 November 2006