THE MUDDLE FAMILIES

 

THE KENT MUDDLE FAMILIES THE HARRIETSHAM MUDDLES

 

Chart of Richard & Elizabeth Muddle's Family

 

Richard and Elizabeth’s eldest child was Henry Muddle who was born at Thurnham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Thurnham on 11 June 1564. Henry’s father died in 1600 and in his will he left Henry his house and land of 10 acres at Stockbury in Kent, conditional on Henry paying his mother 40 shillings half-yearly for the rest of her life. Henry’s mother died in 1608 and in her will she left Henry only four pence, presumably because Henry had been a major beneficiary of his father’s will.

Two and a half years after his mother’s death Henry, at the age of 46, married Dorothy Mersam at the Church of St Thomas in Winchelsea, Sussex on 23 July 1610. It seems likely that there were no children from this marriage. Just under four years after his marriage Henry died at Winchelsea, at the age of 49, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Thomas at Winchelsea on 28 April 1614.

Henry’s will, which described him as a yeoman of Winchelsea, dated 26 January 1613 and proved by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on 5 May 1614 made the following bequests: To the poor of Winchelsea two shillings. To William Packnam the son of his sister Ann £4 to be paid when he is 21 years old. To Richard Muddle the son of his brother William £4 to be paid when he is 21 years old. To his brother John twelve pence. To the children of his brother Arthur ten shillings to be equally divided between them after the death of his wife Dorothy. To the children of his brother William ten shillings to be equally divided between them after the death of his wife Dorothy. To his wife Dorothy, who he made his executrix, the residue of his personal estate. He also gave his wife Dorothy his house and lands in Winchelsea provided that she didn’t let William Boorner of Ewhurst nor Benjamin Swayne of Winchelsea board in or have anything to do with the house or lands, if she did then the house and lands were to go to his brother William who then had to pay Dorothy twenty-six shilling and eight pence a year during the rest of her life.[5]

 

Richard and Elizabeth’s second child was Susan Muddle who was probably born at Thurnham in Kent in about 1566. When she was about 23 years old Susan married Richard Johnson at the Church of St Mary in Rye, Sussex on 11 November 1589. They had at least one child, a daughter named Susan. Susan’s father died in 1600 and in his will he left Susan, who was described as the wife of Richard Johnson of Winchelsea, £3 6s 8d. Susan died before Richard sometime between 1600 and about 1606. Then Richard died intestate in about 1606 and administration of his estate was granted by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on 3 June 1606 to his mother-in-law, Elizabeth Muddle, during the minority of his daughter Susan, who was presumably his only surviving child and his next-of-kin. The inventory exhibited as a result of this administration valued Richard’s effects at 55s 10d.[6]

 

Richard and Susan’s only known child was Susan Johnson. Both of Susan’s parents had died by 1606 when administration of her father’s estate was granted to her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Muddle, by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on 3 June 1606 during Susan’s minority. It was probably on her father’s death that Susan became the owner of the property that she was recorded as owning in Winchelsea, in the Court of Record of 1612 and again in 1616. In 1616 a mortgage described Susan Johnson as the owner of land on the eastern boarder of the mortgaged land that was otherwise boardered on the north and west by streets and was in Quarter 7 of Winchelsea.[7]

 

Richard and Elizabeth’s third child was William Muddle who was probably born at Thurnham in Kent in about 1568. When he was about 23 years old William married Joan Alchin at the Church of St Mary in Sutton Valence, Kent on 12 April 1591. They had at least four children; the last three were born at Harrietsham in 1604, 1606 and 1611.

William’s father died in 1600 and in his will he left William his house, building and all his land in the Parish of Harrietsham, Kent, conditional on Henry paying his mother 40 shillings half-yearly for the rest of her life. William was described as being a husbandman of Harrietsham at West Kent Quarter Sessions on 8 June 1606 when he stood as one of the sureties for Richard Taylor being bound to keep the peace.[8] William’s mother died in 1608 and in her will she left William ten shillings and another ten shillings that he was to give to his eldest daughter when she was 18 years old. William’s brother Henry died in 1614 and in his will he left his house and land in Winchelsea to his wife Dorothy subject to conditions, and if those conditions were not met the property was to go to William with him paying Dorothy twenty-six shillings and eight pence per year during the rest of her life; it’s not known if this property ever came to William as there is nothing to indicate that it might have done. Henry also bequeathed ten shillings that, after the death of his wife Dorothy, was to be equally divided between William’s children. William was one of the overseers and a witness to the will of his brother-in-law Clement Browne who died in 1616.

William must have died by 1629 and Joan sometime after because when their daughter Jane married at the start of that year she did so with the consent of Widow Muddle of Hollingbourne, Kent.

 

William and Joan’s eldest known child was Jane Muddle who was probably born about 1598. When she was about 30 years old Jane married Thomas Straine at the Church of St John the Baptist in Bredgar, Kent on 13 January 1629 by license. The license issued by the Archdeaconry of Canterbury on 7 January 1629 described Thomas as a 23-year-old tailor of Bredgar and Jane as a 28-year-old virgin of Leeds, Kent who marries with the consent of Widow Muddle of Hollingbourne. Jane’s brother Richard Muddle died in 1652 and in his will he made Thomas one of the overseers of his will and one of the guardians of his two young daughters.

 

 

William and Joan’s second known child was Mary Muddle who was born at Harrietsham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St John the Baptist in Harrietsham on 12 February 1604. When she was 32 years old Mary married John Hunt at Bearsted Church in Kent on 18 October 1636. John was then living in Maidstone and Mary in Bearsted. They had at least one child, a son known only from the 1652 will of Mary’s brother Richard.

 

John and Mary’s only known child was Richard Hunt who is only known from the will of his mother’s brother Richard Muddle who died in 1652 and bequeathed Richard £5, describing him as his nephew and godson.

 

William and Joan’s third known child was Richard Muddle who was born at Harrietsham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St John the Baptist in Harrietsham on 28 December 1606. Richard’s uncle Henry Muddle died in 1614 and in his will he left Richard £4 that was to be paid to him when he was 21 years old, that is in late 1627. In 1637 Richard was a witness of the will of his father’s brother John. In 1643 Richard was described as a yeoman of Hollingbourne when he stood as one of the bondsmen when his sister Sarah Picknell was granted administration of her late husbands estate.

When he was about 42 years old Richard married Anne Figge in about 1649. They lived at Hollingbourne where they had two children born in 1650 and 1652. Shortly after the birth of his second child Richard died at Hollingbourne in September or October 1652, at the age of 45, though there is no record of his burial.

Richard’s will, which described him as a yeoman of Hollingbourne, dated 16 September 1652 was proved in London by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 28 October 1652, made the following bequests: To his wife a dowry of £10 a year to be paid quarterly out of his house and lands at Hollingbourne for the rest of her life. To his elder daughter Dorothy his house and lands at Hollingbourne and also £50. To his younger daughter Ann his house and lands near the waterside in Maidstone and also £40. To his nephew and godson Richard Hunt, the son of his sister Mary, £5. To James Picknall, the son of his sister Sarah, twenty shillings. He made his wife Anne the executrix of his will and left her the residue of his personal estate. He also made his brothers-in-law Thomas Strine, who was the husband of his sister Jane, and John Betts, who may have been the husband of another sister of Richard or possibly the husband of a sister of his wife, overseers of his will specifically to be guardians and look after the interests of his two young daughters, especially if his wife remarried or tried to interfere with her daughters’ inheritances. One of the witnesses to Richard’s will was his cousin Samuel Muddle the son of his father’s brother Arthur Muddle.[9]

Only about three months after Richard’s death Anne married Robert Quested at the Church of St Peter & St Paul in East Sutton, Kent on 6 January 1653.

 

Richard and Anne’s eldest child was Dorothy Muddle who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 14 May 1650. Dorothy’s father died in 1652, when she was only 2 years old, and in his will he bequeathed Dorothy his house and lands at Hollingbourne and also £50.

When she was 18 years old Dorothy married Nicholas Knight at the Church of All Saints in Ulcombe, Kent on 22 September 1668 by licence. The licence issued by the Archdeaconry of Canterbury on 8 September 1668 described Nicholas as a 30-year-old bachelor and yeoman of Marden, Kent and Dorothy as a 20-year-old maiden of Ulcombe, and further stated that the parents of both were dead.

 

 

Richard and Anne’s second child was Ann Muddle who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 27 August 1652. Ann’s father died in 1652, soon after she was born, and in his will he bequeathed Ann his house and lands near the waterside in Maidstone and also £40.

 

William and Joan’s fourth known child was Sarah Muddle who was probably born about 1601. When she was about 35 years old Sarah married Richard Picknall at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne, Kent on 31 January 1637. They lived at Hollingbourne where they had three children born between 1638 and 1642. Richard was described as being a householder when he died at Hollingbourne a few months after the birth of his third child and was buried in the Churchyard of All Saints at Hollingbourne on 10 January 1643.

Richard died intestate and administration of his estate was granted to his wife Sarah by the Consistory Court of Canterbury on 27 March 1643; one of the bondsmen was her brother Richard Muddle. As part of the administration Sarah had an inventory of her late husband’s personal estate drawn up, which came to a total of £52 5s 10d, and also recorded that Richard had been a husbandman, that is a farmer who probably didn’t own his land and worked it himself, possibly with the help of servants. This inventory is quoted in full as an illustration of what they possessed and how they lived:[10]

Inventory:

An Inventory of the goods and chattels of Richard Picknall late of the p'ish of Hollingbourne in the County of Kent and Diocese of Canterbury, husbandman, taken and apprized by Will Combe, Richard Ashby and Robert Stiles yeomen the 17th day of March 1642.

In Manner and forme following.

Inprimis in his purse and girdle                                    10 - 00 – 0

In his wearing apparell                                                 02 - 00 – 0

In linen                                                                          04 - 00 – 0

In 30 lb of pewter                                                         01 - 10 – 0

In brasse                                                                       01 - 10 – 0

                                                                                      ---------------

                                                                                      19 - 00 – 0

In the Lodging Chamber

Three flockebeds, three coverlids, three bedstedles,

foure chests, two small boxes, a paire of blankets       05 - 00 – 0

In the Corne loft

Five seames of wheat                                                   08 - 00 – 0

In the Kitchen

One cupboard, one table and forme                             01 - 10 – 0

One brewing tub, other tubs and firkins                      01 - 10 – 0

One iron pott, one spitt, two cobirons,

one paire of pot hooks and other lumber                     01 - 00 – 0

Two flitches of bacon                                                   00 - 13 – 4

In the Barne

The barly of foure acres of land unthrest                     08 - 00 – 0

Without doors

One cow, one horse, foure sheepe                                07 - 10 – 0

All other things unseene and forgott                            00 - 02 – 6

                                                                           Sum £Lij - vs - xd

By us Willyam Coombe, Richard R Ashby, Robt Stile – Aprisers

 

Richard and Sarah’s eldest child was James Picknall who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 20 May 1638. When his mother’s brother, Richard Muddle, died in 1652 he bequeathed James twenty shillings.

 

Richard and Sarah’s second child was Susan Picknall who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 17 May 1640.

 

Richard and Sarah’s third child was Ann Picknall who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 9 October 1642.

 

Richard and Elizabeth’s fourth child was John Muddle who was probably born at Thurnham in Kent in about 1570. John’s father died in 1600 and in his will he left John, after his mother’s death, the house and land his father was dwelling in. John’s mother died in early 1608 and in her will she left John only four pence and a table and bench then in his house, presumably because John had been a major beneficiary of his father’s will. It seems that John had been renting property from his mother, possibly the property that was to come to him on her death, because in her will his mother instructed that £5 he owed her in rent was to be paid to his brother Arthur, and also a number of household goods that John had in his house, which presumably belonged to his mother, were to go to Arthur.

When he was about 38 years old John married Rebecca Lille at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 15 August 1608. See the section headed ‘John & Rebecca Muddle’s Family’ for the rest of their lives and details of their family.

 

Richard and Elizabeth’s fifth child was Ann Muddle who was born at Thurnham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Thurnham on 19 April 1573. When she was 24 years old Ann married Gilbert Packnam at the Church of St Mary Bredman in Canterbury on 12 September 1597. (The marriage register gives Ann’s surname as Buddle, a name in the area, but it is thought to be an error for Muddle as the will of Ann’s father gives her husband as Gilbert Packnam.) Ann’s father died in 1600 and in his will he left Ann £3 6s 8d. Gilbert and Ann had at least one child known only from the wills of Ann’s mother and brother Henry, who must have been born before 1607.

 

Gilbert and Ann’s only known child was William Packnam who was born sometime between 1597 and 1607. When his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Muddle, died in 1608 she bequeathed William three shillings and four pence. Then when his uncle Henry Muddle died in 1614 he bequeathed William £4 that he was to receive when he was 21 years old.

 

Richard and Elizabeth’s sixth child was Richard Muddle who was born at Thurnham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Thurnham on 25 May 1575. Richard died at Thurnham when he was 7 years old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary the Virgin at Thurnham on 31 October 1582.

 

Richard and Elizabeth’s seventh child was Charity Muddle who was born at Thurnham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Thurnham on 24 November 1577. When she was 21 years old Charity married Clement Browne at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne, Kent on 16 July 1599. Charity’s father died in 1600 and in his will he left Charity £3 6s 8d. Clement and Charity lived at Hollingbourne where they had one child born in 1601. The following year Charity died at Hollingbourne, at the age of 24, and was buried in the Churchyard of All Saints at Hollingbourne on 9 March 1602.

Two months after Charity’s death Clement married Jane Packe at the Church of St Mary Bredman in Canterbury on 3 May 1602. They lived at Hollingbourne where they had six children born between 1603 and 1613, one of whom died in infancy. Two and a half years after the birth of their last child Clement died at Hollingbourne and was buried in the Churchyard of All Saints at Hollingbourne on 20 April 1616. Clement’s will dated 6 April 1616, which described him as a yeoman of Hollingbourne, was proved by the Consistory Court of Canterbury on 28 May 1616. This will stated that his wife Jane, so long as she remained unmarried, was to have the profit from his houses and lands to bring up his children until the youngest was 22 years old, and during this time she was to keep the houses and lands well repaired and secured. After this the properties were to be equally divided between his children. One of the overseers of this will, who was also a witness to the will, was William Muddle of Hollingbourne, the brother of Clement’s first wife.

 

Clement and Charity’s only child was George Browne who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 19 July 1601. When George’s maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Muddle, died in 1608 she bequeathed George twelve pence. George died at Hollingbourne, at the age of 14, and he was buried in the Churchyard of All Saints at Hollingbourne on 4 April 1616.

 

Clement and Jane’s eldest child (Clement’s second) was Richard Browne who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 23 February 1603.

 

Clement and Jane’s second child (Clement’s third) was Robert Browne who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 27 November 1603. When John Muddle, the brother of Robert’s father’s first wife, died in 1637 he left Robert twelve pence and described him as his godson.

 

Clement and Jane’s third child (Clement’s fourth) was Ottowoas/Attowes Browne who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 21 April 1605. As far as it is possible to read them his name was given as Ottowoas at his baptism and as Attowes in his father’s will.

 

Clement and Jane’s fourth child (Clement’s fifth) was William Browne who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent in about 1609. William died at Hollingbourne in infancy, probably soon after birth as no baptism has been found, and was buried in the Churchyard of All Saints at Hollingbourne on 9 June 1609.

 

Clement and Jane’s fifth child (Clement’s sixth) was Nicholas Browne who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne during December 1610.

 

Clement and Jane’s sixth child (Clement’s seventh) was Thomas Browne who was born at Hollingbourne in Kent and baptised at the Church of All Saints in Hollingbourne on 8 November 1613.

 

Richard and Elizabeth’s eighth child was Arthur Muddle who was born at Thurnham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Thurnham on 10 April 1580. Arthur’s father died in 1600 and in his will he left Arthur, after his mother’s death, which happened in 1608, the barn and two pieces of land called Highfield. When he was 25 years old Arthur married Bridget Southerden at the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene in Stockbury, Kent on 30 July 1605. See the section headed ‘Arthur & Bridget Muddle’s Family’ for the rest of their lives and details of their family.

 

Richard and Elizabeth’s ninth child was Elizabeth Muddle who was born at Thurnham in Kent and baptised at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Thurnham on 1 April 1583. Elizabeth’s father died in 1600 and in his will he left Elizabeth, who was then unmarried, £13 6s 4d, and instructed her mother to supply her keep for two years. Elizabeth married John Hobjohn in about 1606. John was described as a maltman of Winchelsea when he stood as a bondsman when Elizabeth’s mother was granted administration of the estate of her son-in-law Richard Johnson by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on 3 June 1606. When Elizabeth’s mother made her will in early 1607 she described Elizabeth as the wife of John Hobjohn, and bequeathed Elizabeth two gowns and two petticoats that Elizabeth inherited when her mother died the following year. John was the executor of this will and was left any residue of his mother-in-law’s personal estate. John and Elizabeth lived at Winchelsea in Sussex where they had three children born between 1608 and 1613, the first two of whom died in infancy during 1612.

Malcolm Pratt in his book Winchelsea: The Tale of a Medieval Town states that brewing and malting was re-established in Winchelsea when brewer John Hobjohn started operating his business there in 1606.[11] This was not a success and by 1612 John was in considerable difficulty. When serving as town chamberlain with responsibility for collecting corporation rents, he failed to pay his own for the tenancy of the brewhouse. This caused a loss to the corporation of £6 13s 4d. John had also tried to pay the brewhouse’s king’s dues out of the town’s assets. His punishment was to be removed from the list of freemen and thus forfeit the franchise. Things must have grown even worse for him for in 1613 he and his wife Elizabeth mortgaged their house, barn, orchard and land in the Strand (the traditional area for brewing in the town) to Richard Mills of Rye, a shoemaker.[12]

It’s possible that John’s business difficulties were the result of poor health that was connected with the early death of his two sons. What happened to John and Elizabeth after 1613 is not known but it’s thought that the Elizabeth Hobjohn who married Robert Ware at the Church of St Thomas in Winchelsea on 25 February 1617 was probably John’s widow as Hobjohn is a very rare name in that area. There is no record of John dying and being buried at Winchelsea so possibly they moved away from Winchelsea after mortgaging their house in 1613 and John died elsewhere, with Elizabeth returning to Winchelsea to marry after John’s death.

 

John and Elizabeth’s eldest child was John Hobjohn who was born at Winchelsea in Sussex and baptised at the Church of St Thomas in Winchelsea on 14 February 1608. John died at Winchelsea when only 4 years old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Thomas at Winchelsea on 5 June 1612.

 

John and Elizabeth’s second child was Henry Hobjohn who was born at Winchelsea in Sussex and baptised at the Church of St Thomas in Winchelsea on 9 December 1610. Henry died at Winchelsea when only a year old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Thomas at Winchelsea on 21 April 1612.

 

John and Elizabeth’s third child was Elizabeth Hobjohn who was born at Winchelsea in Sussex and baptised at the Church of St Thomas in Winchelsea on 1 September 1613.

Copyright © Derek Miller 2009-2012

Last updated 29 May 2012