The Will and the Missing Earl

The Missing Earl

Letter about Ralph Allen’s will, Bath Chronicle, 23 August 1764
Letter about Ralph Allen’s will, Bath Chronicle, 23 August 1764

A number of sources I have consulted refer to “Allen’s heir, Earl de Montalt” or use a similar phrase. However, it soon became obvious that there was no Earl de Montalt in Allen’s time or for quite a while thereafter. This intrigued me as it seemed unlikely that an Earl could just ‘disappear’ – even though it seems Lord Lucan managed so to do.

The answer is, of course, that there is no missing Earl. There was an Earl de Montalt (Cornwallis Maude, 1st Earl de Montalt (1817 – 1905)) but he was created in 1886, some 122 years after Ralph Allen died. I suspect the confusion may have arisen as the Earl was known about in ‘folk memory’ from people living in the 20th century and few people realise that he was the first and only Earl de Montalt.

Prior to that there had been four Barons de Montalt (and also four Viscounts Hawarden), including the Earl himself, and most of them were also called Cornwallis Maude – something else almost guaranteed to help create confusion.

The other point about the phrase that became clear is that whilst the Maude family were indeed heirs of Allen it was not quite as simple as that.

Put as simply as possible, in his will Ralph Allen left his estates, as the cutting from the Bath Chronicle of 23 August 1764 shown makes clear, other than personal bequests, to his wife during her lifetime. After she died the Bathampton Manor & estates were to go to his brother Philip and Prior Park in trust to:

  • Gertrude Tucker (abt 1727 – 1796 ), his niece (daughter of his sister Elizabeth) and her issue, sons and oldest first but daughters equally, but if none then
  • Capt. William Tucker RN (abt 1728 – 1770) his nephew (son of his sister Elizabeth) and his issue, sons and oldest first but daughters equally, but if none then
  • Mary Allen Lady Maude (1732 – 1775) (daughter of his brother Philip) and her issue, sons and oldest first but daughters equally, but if none then
  • To whomever was his lawful heir

and his other lands were to go in trust to:

but, after the death of Gertrude Tucker, his niece (daughter of his sister Elizabeth)

I have tried to make clear what happened when in all of this below.

Ralph Allen’s will and the Maude family

1764

Apart from personal bequests, Ralph Allen left everything to his wife Elizabeth Holder ‘during the term of her life’.

1766

Elizabeth Holder dies.
According to the will Bathampton Manor & estates go to his brother Philip Allen.
According to the will everything else goes to his niece Gertrude Tucker – wife of Rt Rev Dr William Warburton Bishop of Gloucester (1698 – 1779) – ‘for and long as she shall happen to live to her own sole and peculiar use, separate and distinct from her present or any other husband’.
Mary Allen marries Hon. Cornwallis Maude (Cornwallis Maude 1st Viscount Hawarden (1729 – 1803)).

1767

Thomas Ralph Maude (Thomas Maude 2nd Viscount Hawarden (1767 – 1807)) born to Mary Allen and Hon. Cornwallis Maude (Cornwallis Maude 1st Viscount Hawarden).

1772

Capt. William Tucker RN dies before Ralph Allen Warburton thus extinguishing the claim of his line.

1775

Ralph Allen Warburton dies in July before his majority and without issue thus extinguishing his claim.
Mary Allen now becomes the heir presumptive. Mary Allen dies in October.
Thomas Ralph Maude (Thomas Maude 2nd Viscount Hawarden), the son of Hon. Cornwallis Maude (Cornwallis Maude 1st Viscount Hawarden) and Mary Allen, now becomes the heir presumptive as Gertrude Tucker is still alive.

1777

Cornwallis Maude (Cornwallis Maude 1st Viscount Hawarden) became 3rd Baronet Maude [Irish, 1705] after the death of his elder brother Thomas Maude who had become the 2nd Baronet Maude on the death of their father Robert, 1st Baronet Maude, in 1750 and been made Baron de Montalt on 8 June 1776. However, when he died without issue the title became extinct.

1779

Rt Rev Dr William Warburton Bishop of Gloucester dies.

1781

Gertrude Tucker marries Rev. Martin Stafford Smith.

1785

Cornwallis Maude (Cornwallis Maude 1st Viscount Hawarden) created 1st Baron de Montalt of Hawarden, Co. Tipperary [Ireland] on 4 May reviving the name of his brother’s title.

1788

Hon. Thomas Ralph Maude (Thomas Maude 2nd Viscount Hawarden) reaches his majority.

1793

Cornwallis Maude (Cornwallis Maude 1st Viscount Hawarden) created 1st Viscount Hawarden of Hawarden, Co. Tipperary [Ireland].

1796

Gertrude Tucker dies.
Her eldest son should inherit according to the terms of the will; however her only child Ralph Allen Warburton had died in 1775 before reaching his majority.
According to the will everything should now go to his nephew Capt. William Tucker RN. However William Tucker had died in 1772 before Ralph Allen Warburton so extinguishing his claim.
According to the will everything should now go to his niece Mary Allen and her children, starting with her male heirs. She had died in 1775 but had married Cornwallis Maude 1st Viscount Hawarden in 1766 and in 1767 they had a son, Thomas Ralph Maude (Thomas Maude 2nd Viscount Hawarden), who is still alive and the thus the next heir after her or her husband as, before 1870, a woman’s inheritance automatically became the property of her husband once she was married.

1798

Hon. Thomas Ralph Maude (Thomas Maude 2nd Viscount Hawarden) marries Lady Frances Anne Agar.

1803

Cornwallis Maude 1st Viscount Hawarden dies. Thomas Ralph Maude (Thomas Maude 2nd Viscount Hawarden) succeeded as 4th Baronet Maude, 2nd Baron de Montalt, 2nd Viscount Hawarden.

1807

Thomas Maude 2nd Viscount Hawarden dies. He had, in 1798, married Lady Frances Anne Agar but they had no children. Cornwallis Maude 3rd Viscount Hawarden (1780 – 1856), his half brother by his father’s third wife Anne Isabella Monck Viscountess Hawarden (1759 – 1851), married in 1777 after the death of Mary Allen, succeeds. He becomes 5th Baronet Maude, 3rd Baron de Montalt, 3rd Viscount Hawarden. He married Jane Crawfurd Bruce in 1811. They had 5 children, only one a son, who was also called Cornwallis Maude (b. 1817).

1856

Cornwallis Maude 3rd Viscount Hawarden dies. Cornwallis Maude (b. 1817) becomes 6th Baronet Maude, 4th Baron de Montalt, 4th Viscount Hawarden. In 1844 Cornwallis Maude (b. 1817) had married Clementina Elphinstone-Fleming. They had 9 children including 2 sons. The eldest son was called Cornwallis Maude (b. 1852). The second son Eustace Mountstuart Maude was born and died in 1859.

1881

Cornwallis Maude (b. 1852) dies.

1886

Cornwallis Maude created 1st Earl de Montalt of Dundrum, Co. Tipperary [U.K.] (1817 – 1905) and was also 6th Baronet Maude, 4th Baron de Montalt, 4th Viscount Hawarden.

Lord Hawarden becomes Earl de Montalt, Bath Chronicle, Thursday 30 September 1886
Lord Hawarden becomes Earl de Montalt, Bath Chronicle, Thursday 30 September 1886

1905

Cornwallis Maude 1st Earl de Montalt (1817 – 1905) dies and, as both his sons had predeceased him without issue before he was created 1st Earl de Montalt, this title lapsed. Robert Henry Maude (b. 1842) son of Very Rev. Hon. Robert William Henry Maude and Hon. Martha Elizabeth Mary Prittie and cousin of Cornwallis Maude 1st Earl de Montalt (1817 – 1905) became 7th Baronet Maude, 5th Baron de Montalt, 5th Viscount Hawarden.

After the death, in 1807, of Thomas Ralph Maude, 4th Baronet Maude, 2nd Baron de Montalt, 2nd Viscount Hawarden the Maude family links with Combe Down were, effectively, broken. Much of the estate had been sold by then and once Prior Park was sold there was little other than the rump of the De Montalt estate to keep them in Bath.

The Will

Will Of Ralph Allen

Extracted from the Register of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury

I, RALPH ALLEN, of Prior Park, in the Parish of Lyncomb and Widcomb, in the county of Somerset, Esquire, being of a sound disposing mind, memory, and understanding (Praised be God), do make and declare this my last will and testament in manner following (that is to say) :

Principally I recommend my soul to Almighty God in full hopes of everlasting life, through the merits and intercession of our only redeemer and saviour Jesus Christ, and my body I remit to the earth to be decently buried in the Church of Claverton in the said county, and as to the disposition of my worldly estates, wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me, I give and dispose of the same as follows, that is to say, I give my wife one annuity, or clear yearly rent of thirteen hundred pounds, for and during the term of her natural life, and chargeable on and made payable as hereinafter mentioned. Then I give and devise to my said wife all that my capital messuages [1] called Prior Park, wherein I now live, with all my Dove houses, coach-houses, stables, outhouses, buildings, gardens, courts, barns, yards and offices thereto belonging. And all the messuages, lands, and tenements which I purchased from Pool (since deceased), and all and every the messuages, lands, and tenements I lately bought and purchased of and from Simon Collet [2] and the trustees of John Marchant, clothier, deceased, and all that my estate called Comb Down, with all houses and buildings. To hold the said Capital messuage with its appurtenances [3], and the said estates before mentioned, to her my said wife, and her assigns, for one hundred years, commencing from the day of my death if she my said wife shall so long live, she repairing and keeping the premises in good and sufficient repair. And I also give my said wife and her assigns, from time to time, full and free Ingress, Egress, and Regress at all times, either on foot or with coaches, chariots, and other carriages of passing and repassing in, by and through and over all or any the new roads by me made from Dole Mead Gate to Combe Down, and of all other ways, drives, and other Roads by me made or to be made or used into, upon, through, and over any of my lands, tenements, or hereditaments in the parishes of Lyncomb and Widcomb, Monkton Comb, Bathampton, and Claverton, or either of them, in the said county of Somerset, and also all my messuage or tenement, with the appurtenances at Weymouth, in the county of Dorset, I give and devise to my said wife and her assigns, for and during the term of her natural life. Item, I give and devise to my said wife and her assigns, for and during the term of her natural life, the free use of my plate, china, and household goods of my said house at Weymouth. Item, I give and bequeath to my said wife all her jewels, rings, watches, seals, trinkets, and all other the Ornaments of her person, absolutely as her own, and I also give her, my said wife, the use of all my household goods, Pictures, plate, china, Linen, implements and utensils of household, which shall be in or belonging to the house wherein I now live at the time of my decease. But in case may said wife shall happen to die without making any compleat or full disposition of her jewels, rings, watches, seals, trinkets, and other ornaments of her person in her lifetime, or in writing by will or otherwise, Item, I do hereby give the said Jewels, Rings, Watches, Seals, Trinkets, or such other part or parts as shall not be by my said wife given away or disposed of as aforesaid, unto my nieces, Gertrude Warburton, wife of the Reverend Lord Bishop of Gloucester, and Mary Allen Spinster, equally between them, share and share alike, and all my household goods, pictures, plates, china, Linen, implements and utensils of household I will and direct, shall be and remain in my dwelling house at Prior Park, and be held and enjoyed by such person and persons to whom I have hereinafter given and devised the said house, in the nature of and as Heirs Loom, except such parts thereof as my wife shall in her life time, or by her will in writing or otherwise give away and dispose, and which gift and disposition I do hereby empower her to make. And I hereby direct that the said jewels, household goods, china, plate, and other things, both in my house at Prior Park and in my house at Weymouth, shall not be liable or subject to pay any of my debts. I give my said wife six of my coach-horeses or geldings, and such harness for such six horeses, and also such two of my saddle horeses or geldings, with two such saddles and bridles as my said wife shall choose. Item, I give my said wife my Coach and Post Chaise, with all appurtenancies belonging. Item, I do hereby charge and make liable all and every my manors, messuages, lands, and tenements, and real estate whatsoever (except what I have before given my said wife for her life), with the payment of my wife’s annuity hereinbefore given to her, and direct the same to be paid at four quarterly payments, Christmas Day, Lady Day, Midsummer Day, and St. Michael the Archangel [4], by equal portions, the first payment to be made on such of the said fEasts as shall next happen after my death, and to be free of all taxes and deductions whatever. And I do hereby invest my said wife with all other powers and remedies for recovering my said annuity by entry and distress, or by receiving the rents and profits of my said estates as fully as if the same was repeated here at large. And I do hereby declare said annuity to be in lieu and discharge of any dower of thirds which she, my said wife, can or may claim out of any my Estates, and whereas by the Articles made on my brother Philip Allen’s marriage with his present wife I am obliged to pay him two annuities of one hundred pounds per annum, each at such times as therein mentioned, and the same is chargeable on all or some parts of my Estates in the parish of Lyncomb and Widcomb, I do hereby exonerate such estates from the payment of the said annuities, and do will and direct the same to be charged and chargeable on my Estate and lands in the Parish of Bathampton, during so long as my said wife shall happen to live. Item, all my and every my manors, messuages, lands, tenements, and hereditaments whatsoever, which are of freehold tenure (subject to my wife’s Estate for life in those particular Estates I have before given to her) I give, devise, and bequeath unto John Chapman, one of the Aldermen of the City of Bath [5], and James Sparrow of the same city, Clerk, To hold to them and their heirs and assigns In trust, that they, my said trustees, or the survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor, do and shall from time to time, and at all times hereafter during my wife’s life, receive the rents, issues, and profits thereof and (after paying taxes, Repairs, and all other outgoings) do in the next place pay and discharge my said wife’s annuity, and do out of the rents and profits of my Bathampton Estate, pay my brother, Philip Allen, annuity or annuities, and do pay and apply the overplus of the nett Profits of all the said Estates (which are not given my said wife for her life) if any be, after such deductions as aforesaid, to my niece, Gertrude Warburton, wife of the Rt. Rev. William, Lord Bishop of Gloucester, for her own sole and separate use, separate and apart from her present or any after taken husband, and her receipt alone to be a sufficient discharge for the same. And from and after my wife’s decease I will my said Trustees, and the survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor shall stand seized of all and every my manors, messuages, lands, tenements and hereditaments of freehold tenure, to. for, and upon the following uses (that is to say) As, to, for, and concerning, all that my Manor, with all lands and hereditaments thereto belonging, situate and being in the parish of Bathampton aforesaid, with all Courts, Royalties, Jurisdictions, and Rights whatsoever thereto appertaining (except the Warren), and also all that my Estate and interest of and in the Lands and Estate I purchased of His Grace the Duke of Kingston, and now out upon the lives of William Skrine, Esq. and his sister, To the use of my brother Philip and his heirs for ever in lieu of the £200 per annum I am obliged to pay him by his said Marriage articles. And I will and direct that my said brother and his heirs do, within six months after he or they become entitled to the said Estate here bequeathed him, release, acquit, and discharge all other my estate and lands of and from the payment of the said annuities for ever after, but in case my said brother shall refuse to accept of such devise and bequest in lieu and satisfaction of such annuity (the same being of much greater value), I then direct the said devise and bequest shall become void, and that they, my said Trustees, do pay him, my said brother, the sum of £5,000 as a purchase for said annuities, which purchase I am empowered to make by the said marriage articles ; and as to all other my manors and messuages, lands, tenements and hereditaments of freehold tenure (including the Warren I have excepted before), and also including all my estate and lands before given to my brother Philip and his heirs, in case my said brother refuses to accept thereof upon the terms aforesaid, to the use of and in trust that they, my said trustees, and the survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor, do and shall with all convenient speed after my wife’s decease, by sale or mortgage of all or any part thereof, raise and levy the sum or sums of money as shall be sufficient to pay and satisfy all my just debts and legacies hereinafter given, in case my personal estate shall not be sufficient for that purpose, and to this further use, intent, and purpose that they, my said trustees, and the Survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor, shall stand and be seized of all and every the same last mentioned manors, messuages, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, or such part thereof as shall remain unsold for the purposes aforesaid, To and for the several uses, intents, and purposes hereinafter mentioned (that is to say) In trust, that they and the survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor, do and shall receive the rents, issues, and profits thereof, and every part thereof, and after paying taxes, repairs, and other outgoings, do and shall, from time to time, pay and apply the neat produce of the said rents, issues, and profits to my said Niece, Gertrude, for so long as she shall happen to live, to her own sole and peculiar use, separate and distinct from her present or any other husband, and her receipt alone shall be a sufficient discharge for the same. And I will my said Trustees, and the survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor shall, during the life of my said niece, be seized of the same lands, messuages, and tenements and hereditaments In trust, to support and preserve the contingent uses and estates hereinafter limited from being defeated and destroyed, but nevertheless to permit and suffer my said niece, Gertrude, to hold and enjoy the rents, issues, and profits of the same premises as I have hereinbefore directed, and from before and after the decease of my said niece, Gertrude Warburton, In trust for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and all and every other the son and sons of the body of my said niece lawfully begotten or to be begotten, severally, successively, and in remainder one after another, as they and every of them shall be in seniority of age and priority of birth, and the several and respective heirs male of the body and bodies of all and every such son and sons lawfully issuing, the elder of such sons and the heirs male of his body, to be always preferred, and to take before the younger of such son and sons, and the heirs male of his and their body and bodies issuing, And in default of such issue, In trust for all and every the daughter and daughters of the body of my said niece, Gertrude Warburton, lawfully begotten or to be begotten, to be equally divided between them if more than one, share and share alike, to take as Tenant in common, and not as joint tenants [6], and the several and respective heirs of the bodies of all and every such daughter and daughters lawfully issuing. And in case one or more daughters shall happen to die without issue of her or their body or bodies, Then as to the share or shares of her or them so dying without issue, In trust for the survivors or survivor, and others or other of them, to be equally divided between or among them (if more than one) share and share alike, to take as Tenant in Common, and not as joint tenant, and the several and respective heirs of the bodies of such survivors or survivor, and others or other of them, and if all such daughters but one shall happen to dye without issue of their bodies, or if there shall be but one such daughter, In trust for such surviving or only daughter and the heirs of her body, And in default of such issue, Then in trust for my nephew, Captain William Tucker, and his assigns, for and during the term of his natural life, without impeachment of waste, except wast, in pulling down houses and buildings, and from and after the determination of that estate to the use of the said John Chapman and James Sparrow, and their heirs, during the life of my said nephew, Captain William Tucker, In trust to support and preserve the contingent uses and Estates hereinafter limited from being defeated and destroyed, and for that purpose to make entries and bring actions as the case shall require, yet nevertheless to permit and suffer the said William Tucker and his assigns, during his life, to receive and take the rents and profits thereof, and of every part thereof, to and for his and their own use and benefit, and from and after his decease, In trust for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and all and every other, the son and sons of the body of the said William Tucker lawfully to be begotten, severally, successively and in remainder one after another as they and every of them shall be in seniority of age and priority of birth, and the several and respective heirs male of the body and bodies of all and every such son and sons lawfully issuing, the elder of such sons and the heirs male of his body to be always preferred, and take before the younger of such son and sons and the heirs male of his or their body and bodies issuing. And in default of such issue In trust for all and every the daughter and daughters of my said nephew, William Tucker, lawfully forgotten or to be begotten, to be equally divided between them (if more than one) share and share alike, to take as Tenants in common and not as joint Tenants, and the several and respective heirs of all and every such daughters and daughter lawfully issuing, and in case one or more of such daughters shall happen to die without issue of her or their body or bodies, then as to the share or shares of her or them so dying without issue, In trust for the survivors or survivor and others or other of them to be equally divided between or among them (if more than one) share and share alike, to take as tenants in common and not as joint tenants and the several and respective heirs of the body of such survivors or survivor and others or other of them. And if all such daughters but one shall happen to dye without issue of their bodies, or if there shall be but 1 such daughter, In trust for such surviving or only daughter and the heirs of her body lawfully issuing, And in default of such issue then in trust for my niece, Mary Allen, and her assigns for and during the term of her natural life without impeachment of waste, except wast, in pulling down houses and buildings, and from and after the determination of that estate to the use of the said John Chapman and James Sparrow and their heirs during the life of my said niece, Mary Allen, In trust to support and preserve the contingent uses and estates hereinafter limited from being defeated or destroyed, and for that purpose to make entries and bring actions as the case shall require, yet nevertheless to permit and suffer the said Mary Allen and her assigns during her life to receive and take the rents and profits thereof and of every part thereof to and for her and their own use and benefit, and from and after her decease, In trust for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and all and every other the son and sons of the body of the said Mary Allen lawfully to be begotten severally and successively and in remainder one after another as they and every of them shall be in seniority of age and priority of birth and the several and respective heirs male of the body and bodies of all and every such son and sons lawfully begotten issuing, the elder of such sons and the heirs male of his body always to be preferred and take before the younger of such son and sons and the heirs male of his and their body and bodies issuing, and in default of such issue, In trust for all and every the daughter and daughters of the body of my said niece, Mary Allen, lawfully begotten or to be begotten, to be equally divided between them, if more than one, share and share alike, to take as Tenants in common and not as joint Tenants, and the several and respective heirs of the bodies of all and every such daughter and daughters lawfully issuing, and in case one or more of such daughters shall happen to die without issue of her or their body or bodies, Then as to the share or shares of her or them so dying without issue, In trust for the survivors or survivor and others or other of them to be equally divided between or among them, if more than one, share and share alike, to take as tenant in common and not as joint tenant, and the several and respective heirs of the body of such survivors and survivor and others or other of them, and if all such daughters but one should happen to dye without issue of their bodys, or if there shall be but one such daughter in trust for such surviving or only daughter and the heirs of her body lawfully issuing and for want or in default of such issue to the use and behoof of my own right heirs forever. Provided, nevertheless, and it is my express wish and desire that it shall and may be lawful to and for them my said Trustees and the survivor of them and the heirs and assigns of such survivor in my wife’s lifetime to make sale or mortgage of all and every my freehold manors, messuages, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, except my Manor and Estate at Bathampton, and my estate and Interest in the lands purchased of the Duke of Kingston as aforesaid for the purposes of paying my debts and legacies, and I do hereby empower them to make such sale or mortgage as aforesaid, in case the party or parties for the time being who shall become intitled thereto by the limitations and bequests aforesaid shall request the same, and in case also that the same is not to be in prejudice to my wife’s estate for her life or the annuity I have hereby given her. Item, All my leasehold messuages, lands, and tenements whatsoever, subject to my wife’s Interest therein for her life, I give, devise, and bequeath to them my said trustees upon the following trusts, that is to say, in trust that they my said trustees and the survivor of them, and the Executors and Administrators of such survivors do and shall pay and apply the neat rents and profits thereof to my said niece, Gertrude, and her assigns for and during her natural life, separate and apart from her present or any other husband, and her receipt alone to be sufficient discharge, and after her decease I give the same leasehold estates to her son Ralph Warburton and executors and assigns for all the residue and remainder of the several terms that shall be thereon to come at his mother’s death, But in case the said Ralph Warburton shall die before he arrives to the age of 21 years, then I give the same leasehold estates to my nephew, Captain William Tucker, and his executors and assigns, for all the residue of the several terms that shall be thereon to come in case my said nephew be living at the death of the said Ralph Warburton, but if he be then dead, I give the same leasehold estates and premises to my niece, Mary Allen, and her executors and assigns for all the Estate and Interest that shall be thereon respectively to come. Item, I give and bequeath unto my loving wife the sum of £500 to be paid within one week after my death. Item, I give to the said Lord Bishop of Gloucester my whole library of books, and whereas upon the marriage of the said Lord Bishop with my niece Gertrude his wife, I did by certain Articles of Agreement, dated on or about 25 Mar. 1745, and made between me the said Ralph Allen on the one part, and the said Lord Bishop on the other part, covenant and agree to pay unto one or more trustee or trustees to be named and approved by the said Lord Bishop and Gertrude his wife or the Survivor of them, or the executors or admors. of such survivor, within the space of one yr. after the death of my now wife the sum of £5,000 in part of a fortune with my said niece. Now, in case I should happen to die in the lifetime of my said wife, I do hereby order and direct to such trustee or trustees to be nominated and approved of as aforesaid the sum £5,000 instead of the said sum of £5,000 so by me covenanted to be paid after my said wife’s death as aforesaid, and to be upon the same trusts as are mentioned and declared in and by the said marriage articles and to be paid in 6 months after my death. Item, I give and bequeath to my wife the sum of £1,000 to be by her paid and applied to and for such charities as she shall see proper. Item, I give my brother, Phillip Allen, the sum of £2,000 to be paid him in 6 months aft. my death. Item, I give and bequeath to my said niece, Gertrude, the sum of £5.000 to be paid her within 6 months aft. my death, and to be separate and apart from her present husband and not subject to his debts, control, or management, but to do therewith as she shall think proper. I give my nephew, Phillip Allen, the sum of £1,000. I give my nephew, Ralph Allen, the sum of £5,000, to be paid them respectively within 12 months next aft. my death. I give my niece, Mary Allen, the sum of £10,000 to be paid her in 12 months next after my death. Item, I give to my nephew, Captain Wm. Tucker, the sum of £10,000 to be paid him in 12 months next after my death. I give to my sister, Gertrude Elliott, the sum of £3,000 to be paid in six months after my death. Item, I give to my nephew, Phillip Elliott, the sum of £1,000, to be paid him in 6 months after the death of my wife if he my said nephew be then living. And I give to my grand nephew, Ralph Elliott, the sum of £1,000, to be paid 6 months after my said wife’s decease if he my said grand nephew be then living. Item, I give to my nephew, Captain William Tucker, the additional legacy of £5,000, to be paid him in 6 months after my said wife’s decease, and to my niece, Mary Allen, I give the additional sum of £5,000, to be paid her in 6 months after my wife’s death. Item, I give and bequeath unto the Reverend James Sparrow the sum of £5,000, and to his son, James Sparrow, I give the sum of £100, and to Mrs. Ann Bennett the sum of £100, which said 3 last mentioned legacies I will be paid within twelve months aft. my decease. Item, I give to my grt. nephew, Ralph Warburton, the annuity of £40 a yr. I purchased for his life in the Government security for his own use and benefit. Item, I give to Doer. Wm. Oliver Jerry Peirce, Mr. Jno. Knipe, Clerk, the Reverend Mr. Hurd, of Shurkaston, and Aldn. Chapman, Wm. Hoare, Lewis Clutterbuck, Gent., Jos. Lobb and Ralph Mould £100 each, which said last mentioned legacies I will be paid in twelve months after my death. Item, I give to the 3 children of Henry Fielding, Esqre., deceased, the sum of £100 each, and to their Aunt, Sarah Fielding, I give the sum of £100, which said 4 last named legacies I will be paid in 12 months after my decease. Item, I give to my servants William Ward and Isaac Doddesly the sum of £100 each, And I give to my servant Saml. Mellard the sum of £50. I give to Richd. Jones, 2 each of my menial servants, except Wm. Ward, Lamb Prym, Is. Doddesley and Saml. Mellard, 1 yr.’s wages over and above what shall be due to them at my decease. I give my clerk, Saml. Prynn, the sum of £400, and to his wife £100 for her extordiny. care of my wife in her great illness, to be paid in 12 months after my death, and it is my express will and meaning that if by any unforeseen accidents and misfortunes my real and personal estates shall prove insufficient to pay the whole of my wife’s annuity, debts and money legacies, Then and in such case I do hereby direct that all and every the Legatee and Legatees herein named whose respective legacy and legacys shall amount to the sum of one thousand pounds and upwards, shall abate in proportion to their legacies, and such legatee and legatees to have and receive Interest for such abated sums at the rate of £4 per cent, per annum, to be computed from the day of my death to the day of my said wife’s decease, and then such legatee and legatees to be entitled to have and receive their respective abated sums if my Estate will admit thereof. Item, all the residue of my goods, chattels and personal estate, whatsoever and wheresoever not hereinbefore disposed of, I give unto the said John Chapman and James Sparrow, my said Trustees, in trust to pay all my debts, funeral expences, legacies, and charges of proving this my will. Then my will is, And I do hereby give and bequeath such neat estate as shall be so remaining after the above ends and purposes are fully satisfied to my said Trustees to place the same out at Interest, and to pay such Interest to my niece, Gertrude Warburton, for and during her natural life, separate and apart from her present or any after-taken husband, and her receipt to be a sufficient discharge for the same, first allowing thereout to my Great Nephew, Ralph Warburton, the sum of 200 yearly towards his education until he arrives at the age of 21 yrs., and after allowing him, the said Ralph Warburton, £400 per annum instead of the said £200 per annum during the joint lives of his mother and my said wife, and after the death of my wife his mother surviving allowing him £600 per annum for his life instead of the said £400 per annum, And I give the said Ralph Warburton the said annuities accordingly, and to be clear of all deductions and over and above the £40 per annum I have hereinbefore given him, and the said annuities to be paid by two half yearly payments, (to wit) the nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ and St. John the Baptist, by even and equal portions. And I will the said allowances or annuities shall be deducted by my said trustees out of what real and personal Estates and Incomes I have hereinbefore given to his said Mother, if the yearly produce of the neat produce of my residuary Estate shall not be sufficient for that purpose. And from and after the decease of my said niece, Gertrude Warburton, I give the said neat principal of my residuary Estate so as aforesaid directed, to be placed out at Interest, unto the said Ralph Warburton, his executors and administrators, for his and their own use and benefit, if he shall happen to survive his said mother, but if he dies in his mother’s lifetime, then I give and bequeath the same to my Nephew, Capt. Wm. Tucker, and my niece, Mary Allen, and their respective executors and administrators, not as joint Tenants, but as Tenants in Common, but if only one of them shall be living at the death of my said Niece, Gertrude Warburton, her said son being then dead, I give the same principal Estate to such One so surviving, and his or her executors or administrators, but if it shall so happen that neither of them, my said nephew and niece, Capt. Wrn. Tucker and Mary Allen, shall live to be entitled to the said principal Estate, I then give the same to such person and persons, and in such parts and proportions, as my niece, Gertrude Warburton, shall, by any deed or deeds, writing or writings, to be by her executed in the presence of and attested by two or more credible witnesses, or by her last Will and Testament so executed and attested as aforesaid limit, direct, or appoint, give or bequeath, and in default of such limitation or appointment, gift, or bequest, then in trust to pay the same principal Estate to the Executors, Administrators, or assigns of my said Niece, Gertrude Warburton, and I give the same accordingly, and I will that my said trustees shall deduct and detain out of the trust moneys and Estates, all cost, damages, and expences they shall sustain or be put unto in the execution of the trusts hereby in them reposed, and that they shall not be chargeable with or accountable for any more moneys than he or they shall actually receive, and shall not be accountable one for the other of them, or for the acts, receipts, or defaults of the other of them, but each for his own act, receipt, and default only, and I do hereby make, constitute, and appoint them, my said Trustees, the said John Chapman and James Sparrow, joint Executors In trust of this my last will and Testament, and do hereby revoke all former wills and Testaments by me made. In witness whereof I have to this, my Last Will and Testament, contained in 3 skins of parchment, to the 2 first skins thereof set my hand, and to this third and last skin set both my hand and seal, this 28th day of June, one thousand seven hundred and sixty three.

RALPH ALLEN.

Signed, sealed, published, and declared, by the said Ralph Allen, the Testator, as and for his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us who have subscribed our names as witnesses thereto at his request, in his presence and in the presence of each other

Richard Rogers James Mullins Robt. Foreman.

1

I, Ralph Allen of Prior Park, in the Parish of Lyncomb and Widcomb, in the County of Somerset, Esquire, do declare the following bequests to be a codicil, and as part of my last will and testament of this day’s date, that is to say, I give my servant, Francis Breed, for his great care of me in my severe illness, the sum of £300. I give to Mrs. Moore, late Nurse to my Grt. Nephew, Ralph Warburton, for her great care of him in his infancy, the sum of £200. I give to Mrs. Mary Poyntz the sum of £100. I give to Alderman John Chapman the additional sum of £100 in case he takes upon him the execution of the trust of this my will. And I give to the Lord Bishop of Gloucester the sum of £500, all said legacies to be paid in 12 months aft. my death. Witness my hand and seal this twenty-eighth day of June, one thousand seven hundred and sixty three.

RALPH ALLEN.

Signed and Sealed by the said Ralph Allen as a Codicil to his last will in the presence of us Richard Rogers James Mullins Robt. Foreman.

2.

I do hereby confirm the legacy of £1,000 given to Mr. Pitt on the other side of this paper, by deeming that gift to be the second Codicil to my last will, dated yesterday at Prior Park, June 29th 1763 – RALPH ALLEN.

The former Codicil was in the following terms:

” For the last instance of my friendship and grateful regard for the best of friends, as well as the most upright and ablest of Ministers that has adorned our Country, I give to the Right Honble. William Pitt the sum of £1,000, to be disposed of by him to any one of his children that he may be pleased to appoint for it. And I hereby declare this to be a Codicil to my last Will and Testament, dated the first day of last August, Prior Park, November 10th, 1760.

R. ALLEN.”

3

Prior Park, June 29, 1763.

I do hereby declare that it is my will and intention that if Capt. Tucker should, upon the death of his sister Warburton and her child Ralph, or other children that she may hereafter have, come into the possession of my Estates of inheritance, and my niece, Mary Allen, should then be living, In such case do give at that time to Molly the additional fortune of £15,000 over and above her other legacies, and I do deem this to be a 3rd Codicil to my last will dated yesterday.

RALPH ALLEN.

4

I, Ralph Allen of Prior Park, in the County of Somerset, do give to Retkiren Allen, of St. Columbe, in Cornwall, the annual annuity of £20 during his natural life, to be quarterly paid to him by my Executors without any deduction and out of the £1,000 which, in my will dated the 28th day of last month, I have given to my wife for she to dispose of at her discretion to charitable uses ; it is my desire that she will £200 of that money to James Donnell, who was my servant in the Stables and is now blind, and that in the disposal of the remainder of the £1,000 above mentioned, it is my desire that Richard Gibbs and other old labourers now employed by me, or old servants passed their labour and not particularly taken notice of by me in my last will, may be considered and taken care of out of that money by my wife, And I declare this paper to be a 4th Codicil to my will, July 6th, 1763.

RALPH ALLEN.

5

Wednesday, June 27th, 1764.

40 minutes after 7 a.m.

Mr. Allen desires to be buried as privately and decently as possible, without pomp, in the Churchyard at Claverton, in a Vault made to hold eight. The inscription for, and draught of the Tomb, which is to be of stone, are both made, and are in one of the Drawers in the room in which he now lies. His will is in the second drawer of the Chest nearest his bed. He dies in perfect good will towards Mr. Pitt concerning whom there is a codicil added to his will; he wishes happiness to all, desires that a part of a Will not yet signed relative to his nephew Mr. Phillip Allen’s marriage may stand good in the manner intended by that writing, of which Mr. Clutterbuck (and, I think he said) Mr. Phillip Allen, Senr., were acquainted; he also desires that all those who have attended him in his illness may be rewarded, and that I may be taken care of; is very thankful to God for his present ease, and chearfully submitts to his decrees. He enquired tenderly for Mrs. Allen, desires that Mr. Mears may be paid a full year’s allowance as if he had lived, without any deduction for what has already been paid of the year. 20 minutes aft. 8 o’clock

Tho. West Thomas Hyett Hugh Frazer Francis Breedon.

Proved at London with five codicils, 11 August 1764, before the Judge, by the Oaths of John Chapman, Esqre., and Rev. James Sparrow, Clerk, the Executors to whom Admon. was granted, having been first sworn by Comon. duly to administer.

CHAS. DINELY. JOHN IGGULDEN. W. F. GOSTL1NG.

Deputy Registers


References

[1] A term now synonymous with “dwelling-house” but had once a more extended signification. It is frequently used in deeds, in describing the premises. Although the word “messuage” may, there is no necessity that it must, import more than the word “dwelling-house,” with which word it is frequently put in apposition and used synonymously. See: Law Dictionary: http://thelawdictionary.org/

[2] According to http://www.collettfamilyhistory.net, Thomas Collett is known to have married Mary Skrine at Bathford in 1608. It is also believed that he was the Thomas Collett who was the churchwarden at Bathford in 1676. Mary Skrine’s family lived in Warleigh Mansion, a manor house in Bathford. They were the local non-conformist gentry, and remained living in that area until the last of the male line was killed in France during the Great War of 1914-1918. Simon Collett, his grandson was born in 1680 and he was known to be a Quaker. It was in 1704 that he married Sarah with whom he had four known children. It is believed that it was Simon Collett who established the Southgate Wine Vaults in Bath around 1717, which was eventually managed by his son Thomas, and which became Collett & Falkner under Simon’s grandson Thomas Collett around 1783, and then his great grandson Thomas Collett in 1832. The names of Simon’s and Sarah’s two sons Thomas (1705-1763) and Simon (1713-1789) appear on the Shire Voting Rolls for Bristol in 1729, where they were described as apprentice brewers and bakers. Their names also appeared in the attendance list of the Society of Friends, and again as witnesses at Quaker marriages conducted during that time. In addition, the details of their son’s marriages and their deaths were recorded in Quaker records along with the names of their immediate relatives. Most of the Collett family, including Thomas and Simons were buried by the Society of Friends in the Quaker graveyard at Somerset. Simon Collett, the elder, died at Box on 10.06.1745 and was buried at St Michael’s in Bath. His wife Sarah Collett died on 08.05.1742 in the parish of Lyncombe-with-Widcombe in Bath

[3] Appurtenance: That which belongs to something else; an adjunct; an appendage; something annexed to another thing more worthy as principal, and which passes as incident to it, as a right of way or other easement to land; an out-house, barn, garden, or orchard, to a house or messuage. See: Law Dictionary: http://thelawdictionary.org/

[4] Traditional quarter days: Lady Day (25 March), Midsummer Day (24 June), Michaelmas and also St. Michael the Archangel (29 September), Christmas (25 December)

[5] John Chapman. 6 October 1706 – 1801. Elected councillor 25 October 1731, elected Alderman 1742, Mayor of Bath in 1744, 1754, 1761, 1770, 1777 and 1779

[6] Joint tenancy: the property belongs to you and the other owner or owners jointly. You must all act together as a single owner. Tenancy in common: the property belongs to you jointly but you also own a specific share of its value. You can give away, sell or mortgage your share. If you die, your share of the property passes to the beneficiary in your will.