Wills and Inventories
Introduction
The following have been transcribed or notes taken from Wills and Inventories found in the boxes or on reels at the History Department of the Hive Library in Worcester, or from Ancestry.co.uk.
Spelling and words used were those that were written in the document but obviously there are a few mistakes as sometimes the words are difficult to decipher. Occasionally it was impossible to read a word and a question mark has been inserted instead in the text. If you say what is written down it can help to understand the strange spelling e.g. ‘payer’ for a pair of sheets.
The Inventories give a complete list of everything that was in the house. They had very few possessions compared to today and each one was valued. You will see in the wills that even small items such as clothing or saucepans will be left to a named individual.
The main body of the work of transcribing these documents was carried out by Chris Dring, Valerie Powick and Rod Sproat.
