The Translated Will of Matthew Wynge of Banbury

(The paragraphing was added for ease in reading)

This will was updated April 18, 2007 thanks to Paul Gifford who also translated the Probate which was in Latin





AUGUST 9, 1614

I, Mathew Wynge of Banbury in the conntie of Oxford Taylor being of perfect memory thanks be to God I do make this my last will and testament in mannor and form following;

Inprimis- I bequeath my soule to God my master and to Jesus Christ my redeemer and my body to be buried in Banbury Church yard.

Item I give and bequeath to the poore of Banbury tenne shillings.

Item I give (and bequeath) ( "and bequeath" has a line drawn through it) onto Fulke myne eldest sonn the lease of my home which I now dwell in and twentie pounds in money.

Item I give to Thomas my second sonne thirteene pounds.

item I give to John my thryd sonne fortie shillings.

Item I give to Robert Chammberlayne my sonne in law tenne pounds.

Item I give to Johana my daughter twentie shillings.

Item I give to the children of Fulke my eldest sonne aforesaid as follows: To Anne his eldest Daughter foure pounds a fetherbed and two payer of sheets. Item I give to Dorcas his second daughter three pounds a woll (wool?) bed two payer of sheets and the best brass pot. Item I give to Mary his youngest daughter three pounds and two payer of sheets or bolster a coverlet. Item I give to Matthew his sonne, five pounds & the meddle brass pott the ? sheets and a blankett.

Item I give to John Wynge the sonne of Thomas Wynge my second sonne aforesaid fortie shillings.

Item I give to Debora Wynge the daughter of John Wynge my third sonne and to John his sonne twentie shillings a piece.

Item I give to John Nicholls the sonne of John Nicholls my sonne in law twenty shillings.

Item I give to William Wynge the sonne of James Wynge my fourthe sonne twentie shillings.

Item I give to Thomas Chammberlayne the sonne of Robert Chamberlayne my sonne in law twentie shillinges.

Item I give to the children of Richard Gullins vizaviz to John four shillings six pence to Thomas fourteen pence and to Phoebe twelve pence.

Item my will is that if any of my childrens children shall decease that then such legacy that I have bequeathed to them shall remayne to surviving brother or sister or such child or children to be equally divided amongst them

Item my will is that James my fourth sonne shall not repaye the fiftie shillings English he owes me but be aquitted of the same.

Item I give unto Anne my wife thirtie poundes of lawfull English money to be payed to her by two several payments within the space of one year from my decease. My will is that she shall also have the free and quiet use of my hall house lower chamber yarde and leaneto, our little house in the same and also the use of all the rest of my household stuffs is bequeathed in my will so long as she shall remayne wydowed and no longer.

Last of all I give the rest of my goods as bequeathed (my debts being paid and funeral discharged) onto my children viz to Fulke" Thomas' John' James' and Johana to be equallie divided amongst them.

Item I make my first sonnes Fulke and Thomas exectutors of this my last will and testament and I appoint my loving friends Mr. Thomas Whatley Mr. Nichodemus Edens and Mr. John Nicholls my overseers of this my last will and I do give them three shillings a piece: And if any doubt or ambiquity do arise concerning this my last will and testament my will is that to be determyned and ended by by those my payed overseers or two of them. And hereunto I have set my hand and seal the day and year above written.

The mark of Matthew Wynge. Those being called to be wittnesses Thomas Hall & Allen Nicholl



My thanks to Paul Gifford, descendant of Sarah Wing & Robert Gifford for sending me his corrections & additions to this will. Paul was able to identify "lower" chamber yarde. He was also able to identify Mr. Nichodemus Edens and correct the 2nd witness...Allen Nicholl

He then contributed the Probate that was in Latin and which I basically ignored because I do not have any foundation in Latin. His translation of the Latin is below.




PROBATUM fuit testamentum suprascriptum apud London coram Mag[ist]ro
Edmundo Pope legum doctore Surrogato venerabilis viri Dni Johannis
Benet militis legum etiam doctoris Curie Prerogative Cantuariensis
Magristri Custodi sive Commissarij legitime constituti decimoquinto
die

[next page:] Mensis Novembris Anno D[omi]ni millesimo sexcentesimo
decimo quarto Juramento Fulconis [not sure about this last word] et
Thome Winge filiorum n[atu]rium et legitimorum dicti defuncti et executorum in eodem testamento nominat[ ] Quibus commissar sive
Administratio bonorum Invid et creditorum dicti defuncti de bene et
fideliter administrand or ad Dei Evangelia Jurat.

Some of the words and word endings aren't right---it would be easy enough to find the formula by searching on Google the particular combinations of words. Essentially this means that the will was proved at London before Mr. Edmund Pope, LL.D., Surrogate Judge, and Sir John Benet, Judge of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, on 15 November 1614 by Thomas Winge, natural and legitimate son of the deceased, and executor named in his will, and he was appointed to administer his goods, credits, etc.








Approximate values of money during the Elizabethan era:

Shilling (s.)...$25.00
Pound...$500.00

Wages: Yeoman: 2 to 6 pounds per year ($1000-$3000 )
              Minor Parson: 10 to 30 pounds per year ($5000-$15000)
              Esquire: 500 to 1000 pounds per year ($$25000-$50000)

There seems little doubt that Matthew Wing worked hard and saved diligently. His class in life was probably between that of a Yeoman and a Gentleman. The fact that his relative, John Wing, (who was possibly his brother) became a Chief Burgess for life indicates that the Wing's were climbing the ladder to a higher social-economic plateu.

Bear in mind that these are all approximations:

Matthew Wing's will in dollars:

To the poor of Banbury = 10 shillings ($250.00)
This would buy 125 loaves of bread, or 10 pairs of shoes, or 62 pounds of soap.

To son, Fulke Wing = the lease to the house and 20 pounds ($10,000.00)
The bequest that Matthew left to Fulke is the surest evidence that Fulke became the tailor in the family after the death of his father. There is little question that the house the Wing family lived in also doubled as the shop that Matthew Wing worked out of. The front of the ground floor probably served as the shop and the window shutter might have swung downward into the street to create a kind of shop counter. This probably had a canopy overhead to protect against rain. Tradesman and craftsmen commonly worked at home.


To son, Thomas Wing = 13 pounds ( $6500.00). Thomas was in the military.

To son, John Wing = 40 shillings ($1000.00)
Matthew left Rev. John Wing only $500.00 more than he left his grandchildren. The reason for this is probably because John was the only son that we know of that was sent to Oxford. Perhaps the agreement was that John would pay for his education by forgoing a portion of his legacy...although John would not have gone on to Oxford if he had not proven that he was a scholar to begin with.

To son-in-law, Robert Chamberlain = 10 pounds ($5000.00)
This bequest may have been a part of the dowry that went with Joan Wing when she married Robert. There may have been an agreement that the dowry would be payed upon the death of Matthew Wing.

To daughter, JoAnne (Joan) (wife of Robert Chamberlain) = 20 shillings ($500.00)

It should also be noted that although James Wynge is apparently alive at the time his father wrote this will that Matthew did not leave James any money although he did aquit him of his debt of fifty shillings. (if my calculations are correct that would be about $1250.00 in current money).

To Granddaughter, Anne, Fulk Wing's daughter = 20 shillings ($500.00)

To Granddaughter, Dorcas, Fulk Wing's daughter= 20 shillings ($500.00)

To Granddaughter, Mary, Fulk Wing's daughter= 20 shillings ($500.00)

To Grandson, Matthew, son of Fulk Wing = 20 shillings ($500.00)

To Grandson, John Wing, son of Thomas Wing = 20 shillings ($500.00)

To Granddaughter, Deborah Wing, daughter of John Wing = 20 shillings ($500.00)

To Grandson, John Wing, son of John Wing = 20 shillings ($500.00)

To Grandson, John Nicholls, son of Elizabeth Wing = 20 shillings ($500.00)

To Grandson, William Wing, son of James Wing = 20 shillings ($500.00)

To Grandson, Thomas Chamberlayne, son of Joan Wing = 20 shillings ($500.00)

To John Gullins, son of Richard Gullins (relationship unknown) = 4 shillings, 6 pence...a little over a $100.

To Thomas Gullins, son of Richard Gullins (relationship unknown) = 14 pence...I have no idea how much that would be.

To Phebe Gullins, daughter of Richard Gullins (relationship unknown)= 12 pence...
For now the relationship between the Wings and the Gullins will have to remain a mystery. There are any number of possibilities to imagine concerning their link.

If my conversion of shillings and pounds are correct and if I added everything properly the total cash sum of Matthew Wynge's will is $27750.00, not including the debt that he forgave James which amounted to approximately $1250.00....

Matthew's will is practically a King's ransom to the middle class citizen of 17th century England. Half of the population of England from 1600 to beyond the time of Matthew Wing's death were considered poor to destitute.  Whenever times of depression overwhelmed the cloth areas, country weavers suffered great losses. Rowland Vaughan recorded in "his Booke" for the year 1604: "There bee within a mile and a halfe from my house five hundred poor habitations; whose greatest means consist in spinning Flaxe, Hempe, and Hardes. There is not one amongst ten that hath five shillings to buy a Bale of Flaxe, but are forc'd to borrow money to put up their trade and run to Hereford (loosing a dayes worke) to fetch the same."