THE MUDDLE FAMILIES

John’s eldest child was John Muddle who was probably born somewhere in Sussex in about 1546. When his father died in 1562 John, described as the eldest son, was executor of his will and inherited his father’s properties in Mayfield and Herstmonceux together with any residue of his father’s personal estate. John married Alice in about 1567. See the section headed ‘John & Alice Muddle’s Family’ for the rest of their lives and details of their family.

John’s second child was Hugh Muddle who was probably born somewhere in Sussex in about 1549. When his father died in 1562 Hugh inherited his father’s properties in Battle and £20 that he was to receive when he was 21. Hugh’s first marriage was probably in about 1570 and he had two sons from this marriage that are only known from being named in his will, and this wife died in about 1574.

Hugh’s second marriage was to Mary Thunder at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield, Sussex on 28 November 1575. They lived at Mayfield where they had six children born between 1576 and 1591, two of whom, the second and last, died in infancy. Mary died at the same time as her last child and they were buried together in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 10 October 1591.

A certificate of residence produced by Robert Sackville and Thomas Culpeper, two of the commissioners of Sussex, for the first payment of a third subsidy granted to Elizabeth I in the 35th year of her reign (17 November 1592 – 16 November 1593), states that Hugh Muddle with his wife and family were resident in Mayfield for the greater part of the year before the year of taxation, and Hugh was assessed there on land with a yearly income of £3 on which he paid 8s tax. He had previously been liable for taxation in Kent, so it seems that he must have previously been living in Kent, possibly before his marriage to Mary.[3]

Also during the reign of Elizabeth I (17 November 1558 - 24 March 1603) there was a case in Chancery where the plaintiff, John Locke claimed an assignment of a lease from the defendant, widow Alice Aynscombe, on land at Heathfield demised by Hugh Modle, owner of the fee, to Richard Aynscombe deceased, who sold his term to the plaintiff.[4]

Hugh was presumably still living at Mayfield when he was one of the sixteen jurors at the inquest into the death of Joan Mepham held at Mayfield on 8 October 1594 by Magnus Fowle the county coroner. The inquest found that on 1 October Ralph Mepham, a husbandman of Mayfield, murdered his wife Joan at Mayfield with a knife worth 2d, which he held in his right hand, giving her a wound in the throat of which she died at Mayfield within an hour. Ralph Mepham pleaded not guilty when he was tried at East Grinstead Assizes on 24 February 1595, but he was found guilty and hanged.[5]

After Mary’s death Hugh married Elizabeth and by 1598 the family had moved to Cranbrook in Kent because on the 8 December 1598 Richard Lyne and his son Benjamin, both yeomen of Cranbrook, entered into a recognizance before Justice of the Peace Thomas Baker that they would appear in person at the next General Sessions of the Peace at Maidstone and in the meantime they would keep the peace, especially towards Hugh Muddle and his son Edward, both yeomen of Cranbrook.[6] So it seems that there was trouble between the Muddle and Lyne families and something had happened that had resulted in Edward and Hugh Muddle bringing a prosecution against Richard and Benjamin Lyne.

At the Court of the Manor of Rotherfield held on 8 March 1599 it was reported that out of court since the last court William Burgess had sold to Hugh Muddle a twelfth part of Dodd furlong and also one acre called Le Eye that was a parcel of Dodd furlong in Rotherfield. No Heriot was due as William Burgess remains a tenant of the manor, and the first proclamation was made for Hugh Muddle to come to court and be admitted as tenant of this property.[7] Then at the Court of the Manor of Rotherfield held on 24 July 1599 Hugh Muddle came to court and was admitted as tenant of this property.[8]

Two conveyances, dated 6 September 1599 and 2 February 1602, of land called Parkcroft in Waldron refer to the southern boundary being on the lane that ran from the messuage of Hugh Muddle to Possingworth.[9] This messuage of Hugh’s is probably the property detailed in a title deed dated 20 March 1601 when Hugh, described as Hugo Modell yeoman of Etchingham, assigned this property to William Moone of Mayfield. The property was described in three sections: (1) as a messuage of four acres called Washers in Waldron then occupied by John Watson, lying on the east side of the Queen’s highway leading from Waldron Down to Cateham Cross, and abutting lands belonging to Waldron Rectory called The Cateham on the east; (2) a croft of one acre in Waldron abutting lands of Thomas Gerrat on the north, to the Queen’s highway leading from Waldron Down to Cateham Cross on the west, and on a certain lane leading from Waldron Down to Washers on the east; (3) barns, tenements, lands and hereditaments of 40 acres in Waldron on the west side of the Queen’s highway of which one portion is called Catescronch and another is called Washers then occupied by John Watson, abutting to land of Martin Christian on the west and north and to the Queen’s highway leading from Waldron Church to Possingworth on the south. Title to this property was finally transferred to William Moone by Hugo Modell and his wife Elizabeth in a Final Concord dated Easter Term 1603.[10] So by this time Hugh and his family had moved from Cranbrook and were living at Etchingham in Sussex.

By 1608 Hugh and his family were possibly living at Frant in Sussex because on 30 March 1608 Hugh was one of the witness to the document recording the sale of land at Frant called Freebench by William Ellis of Frant and his son John Ellis of Cranbrook to Robert Allen of Frant.[11] But the 1608 rental for Frant and Sunninglye Manors that was a list of tenants, both freeholders and copyholders, doesn’t include Hugh or any other Muddle.[12] Then two years later Hugh was definitely living at Frant when a bond dated 22 June 1610 records his purchase of one acre of land in Frant called Syninglies for £8 from brothers Walter and Thomas Woodgate.13] This purchase was recorded at the Sunninglye Manor Court held on 22 March 1612 when the land was called Kentes Croft that paid a yearly rent of 2d to the Lord of the Manor, and that in addition Hugh was to pay 2d relief to be admitted to the land. At this court Hugh was one of the Homage attending the court to see that manorial business was conducted according to the rules of the manor.[14]

On 24 January 1612, 1½ years after purchasing Syninglies alias Kentes Croft, Hugh purchased for £35 the iron mill or forge called Breecher’s Forge with the Forge House, barn and garden, together with five pieces of land called Marriotts Croft and Plotts Pound, of 6 acres, in Frant and Pembury, with all implements and things thereto belonging, including ponds, springs, sluices and dams, from Richard Bartholmewe and his son Richard, who were yeomen of Eastbourne.[15] Breecher’s Forge was a water driven iron forge on the River Teise in the Parish of Frant at 51° 7’ 20” N, 0° 19’ 30” E, on the boundary with the Parish of Pembury that also formed the boundary between Sussex and Kent. It was used to convert cast iron from the local iron furnaces into wrought iron bars by hammering it with a large water driven trip-hammer.[16] Hugh was described as an Iron Master in a document dated 9 May 1614 that mortgaged a property in Pembury called Leopards, the southern boundary of which was the water course adjoining the lands of Hugh Muddle and Edward Wybourne.[17]

The Sunninglye Manor Rental of 20 June 1614 recorded that Hugh Muddle then held a tenement, forge and two crofts of land called Marriotts Croft containing 4 acres on which the yearly rent was 7d, and also a croft of land called Kentes Croft of 1 acre on which the yearly rent was 2d. In the same rental Edward Wybourne was recorded as holding a toft (house and buildings) and a parcel of land containing 3 acres with a garden called Cloutes Garden in Frant, but it must have been soon after this that Hugh purchased this property from Edward Wybourne for £25 (purchase price from a 1619 document) as the Sunninglye Manor Court held on 24 September 1618 recorded that Hugh held this property when he died.[18]

Hugh died at Frant in Sussex when he was about 67 years old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Alban in Frant on 15 November 1616. Hugh had made his will on 24 October 1616, shortly before his death, and it was proved in London by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 14 December 1616. In this will Hugh left twenty shillings for the poor of the Parish of Frant; £5 to be divided between his grandchildren that were alive at the time of his death; to his wife Elizabeth all the household goods that had been hers before they married and also twenty shillings in money; and to his sister Margaret widow of Thomas Groome twenty shillings in money. To his daughter Anne the wife of John Hubberd, Hugh left his two small houses with their adjoining land in the village of Mayfield for her life, after which they were to pass to her daughter. All the rest of his land in Mayfield Hugh left to his eldest son Edward. Hugh made his youngest son John his executor and left to him all his lands and tenements in the parishes of Frant and Pembury together with the residue of his personal estate.[19]

A Sunninglye Manor Court held on 24 September 1618 recorded that on his death Hugh held a forge and two crofts of land called Marriotts Croft of 4 acres in Frant paying yearly rent of 7d; a toft with garden called Cloutes Garden and one parcel of land of 3 acres in Frant paying yearly rent of 6d; and a croft of land called Kentes Croft of 1 acre in Frant paying yearly rent of 2d; and that the Heriot (manorial death duty) due on Hugh’s death was a cow that had been delivered to the Lady of the Manor.[20]

Twelve years after Hugh’s death Elizabeth married Edward Coolmbes at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield, Sussex on 13 November 1628.

Their children were:

Edward 1571-1631  Harbert 1573-1634  Anne 1576-?  Mary 1579-1579

Richard 1583-?  Thomas 1585-1670  John 1588-1629/30  Mary 1591-1591

Hugh’s eldest child was Edward Muddle who was probably born somewhere in Sussex or Kent in about 1571. In 1598 Edward was living with his father at Cranbrook in Kent and they were both described as yeomen when they were in dispute with Richard and Benjamin Lyne, for full details see the above section on Edward’s parents. When his father died in 1616 Edward inherited all his father’s lands and tenements in Mayfield except the two small houses left to his sister Anne.

It’s not known when Edward married widow Anne Peltocke, who had two children from her first marriage, nor when he moved to Sydenham in the Parish of Lewisham, Kent, which is now in the London Borough of Lewisham, but his younger brother John was living four miles away at Bromley, Kent in 1619. Edward died during November 1631 when he was about 60 years old. In his will, which he made orally on 5 November 1631, probably on his death bed, he described himself as a husbandman of Sydenham. This will was proved by the Consistory Court of Rochester later in November 1631. In this will Edward gave twenty shillings to the poor of the parish of Lewisham. To his step-granddaughter Margery Lashenden he gave a black steer bullock and a black, white faced, cow bullock. To his kinsman Stephen Homad he gave a grey mare and the colt suckling her. To his wife Anne he gave all the rest of his goods and chattels, and made her his executrix.[21]

Anne was still living at Lewisham when she made her will on 23 May 1632 but by the time she died seven years later she was living at Rye in Sussex where the family of her daughter Mary Lashenden were living. Ann was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary in Rye on 1 January 1649. Her will was proved by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on 29 January 1640 after Anne’s daughter Mary, the sole executrix of the will, had sworn an oath at Rye before clerics John Harrison and Robert Wale to faithfully administer the will as a result of a commission to administer the oath having being issued on 15 January 1640. In this will Anne left £5 to her son Thomas Peltocke and all the rest of her estate was to be equally divided between her daughter Mary Lashenden and granddaughter Margery Lashenden.[22]

Anne Peltocke’s son was Thomas Peltocke who is only known from his mother’s will. Thomas inherited £5 when his mother died in 1640.

Anne Peltocke’s daughter was Mary Peltocke who was probably born in about 1595. Mary married Robert Lashenden at the Parish Church of St Mary in Rye, Sussex on 27 May 1618. They had one child born at Rye in 1620. When her mother died in 1640 Anne was executrix of her will and inherited half of the residue of her estate.

Robert and Mary’s only child was Margery Lashenden who was born at Rye in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Mary in Rye on 4 April 1620. When her grandmother, Anne Muddle, died in 1640 Margery inherited half of the residue of her estate. Later that year when she was 20 years old Margery married Henry Whitehood at the Parish Church of St Thomas in Winchelsea, Sussex on 16 July 1640.

Hugh’s second child was Harbert Muddle who was probably born somewhere in Sussex or Kent in about 1573. Harbert married Dorothy in about 1609 and they lived at Mayfield where they had four children, all daughters, born between 1610 and 1623.

Harbert’s half-brother John died in early 1630 and Harbert was one of the four overseers of his will, for which he received 3s 4d. Then in 1632 Harbert was described as a yeoman when he was a surety for the marriage licence of his daughter Elizabeth.

Harbert died at Mayfield when he was about 61 years old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan at Mayfield on 2 December 1634. Harbert had made his will on 27 November 1634, just before his death, and it was proved by the Deanery of South Malling on 17 December 1634 when an inventory valued Harbert’s personal estate at £116. In his will Harbert left twenty shillings for the poor of the Parish of Mayfield. To his two eldest daughters, Dorothy and Elizabeth, who had married, he left forty shillings each, and to his two youngest daughters, Agnes and Mary, who were 14 and 11 years old, he left £20 each, which they were to receive when they attained the age of 21 or married. Harbert made his wife Dorothy sole executrix and left her the residue of his personal estate and also the use of his lands and tenements in Mayfield for the rest of her life so long as she didn’t remarry. He also gave Dorothy authority to fell all the wood standing on the manorial land at Hadlow Down in Mayfield Parish that he had purchased from the Lord of the Manor, except the oaks which were to be only topped, and the wood was to be used towards paying his legacies and the bringing up of his two youngest daughters. Harbert made his two sons-in-law, Thomas Burnell and John Wickersham, overseers of his will and gave them 6s 8d each.[23]

Three years after Harbert’s death Dorothy died at Mayfield and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan at Mayfield on 24 February 1638. Dorothy had made her will on 12 December 1635, a year after her husband’s death, and it was proved by the Deanery of South Malling on 14 March 1638 when an inventory valued her personal estate at £109 16s 10d. In this will Dorothy gave twenty shillings to the poor people of Mayfield. To her daughter Dorothy Burnell she gave one boarded bedstead, one truckle bedstead with its bedclothes that is in the hall chamber, six pewter platters, one iron pot and spit, and a cheese press. To her daughter Elizabeth Wickersham she gave her best cloth gown, two pairs of sheets, one musket and one wooden chest. All the rest of her household goods were to be equally divided between her daughters Agnes and Mary, who were also to receive £20 each in addition to the same sums left to them by their father, this to be paid to them on attaining the age of 21 years or when they married, and the interest on these £20 until then was to be used for their maintenance. Dorothy made her son-in-law John Wickersham executor of her will.[24]

Harbert and Dorothy’s eldest child was Dorothy Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 22 July 1610. When she was 23 years old Dorothy married Thomas Burnell at the Parish Church of St Thomas à Becket in Framfield, Sussex on 26 November 1633 by licence. The licence was issued by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on the same day and described Thomas as a yeoman of Mayfield and Dorothy as a maiden of Mayfield. When her father died in 1634 Dorothy received forty shilling bequeathed in his will, and Thomas was made one of the overseers of the will for which he received 6s 8d. Then when her mother died in 1638 Dorothy was left one boarded bedstead, one truckle bedstead with its bedclothes that was in the hall chamber, six pewter platters, one iron pot and spit, and a cheese press.

Harbert and Dorothy’s second child was Elizabeth Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 1 May 1614. When she was 18 years old Elizabeth married John Wickersham by a licence issued by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on 28 November 1632. The licence states that the marriage was to take place a Mayfield but no marriage was recorded in the Mayfield register. The licence described John as a yeoman of Mayfield and Elizabeth as a maiden of Mayfield. John was again described as a yeoman of Mayfield when he was a surety for the marriage licence of Elizabeth’s sister Dorothy in 1633. The marriage of John and Elizabeth must have taken place as Elizabeth’s father names John as a son-in-law in his will of 1634 and makes him one of the overseers of the will for which John received 6s 8d. Elizabeth also received forty shillings from her father’s will when he died in 1634. Then when her mother died in 1638 Elizabeth was left her mother’s best cloth gown, two pairs of sheets, one musket and one wooden chest, and John was made executor of the will.

Harbert and Dorothy’s third child was Agnes Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 19 November 1620. Agnes was the name recorded at her baptism but in the will of her father it was Anis and in the will of her mother it was Anne; these variations of this name seem very common during this time period. When her father died in 1634 his will bequeathed Agnes £20 that she was to receive when she attained the age of 21 years or when she married if this was earlier. Then when her mother died in 1638 she left Agnes half the residue of her household goods together with another £20 that Agnes was to receive when she attained the age of 21 years or when she married if this was earlier, and until then the interest on this £20 was to be used for her maintenance.

Harbert and Dorothy’s fourth child was Mary Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 19 January 1623. When her father died in 1634 his will bequeathed Mary £20 that she was to receive when she attained the age of 21 years or when she married if this was earlier. Then when her mother died in 1638 she left Mary half the residue of her household goods together with another £20 that Mary was to receive when she attained the age of 21 years or when she married if this was earlier, and until then the interest on this £20 was to be used for her maintenance.

Hugh and Mary’s eldest child (Hugh’s third) was Anne Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 22 December 1576. When she was 28 years old Anne married John Hubberd at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst, Sussex on 23 September 1605. Then when her father died in 1616 he left Anne his two small houses with their adjoining land in the village of Mayfield for her life, after which they were to pass to Anne’s daughter; this daughter was also mentioned in the 1630 will of Anne’s brother John and they are the only known reference to any children of John and Anne.

John and Anne’s only known child was Sarah Hubberd who was born in Sussex in about 1610 and is only known from being mentioned in the wills of her mother’s father Hugh and brother John.

Hugh and Mary’s second child (Hugh’s fourth) was Mary Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 28 March 1579. Mary died when only a few days old and was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 9 April 1579.

Hugh and Mary’s third child (Hugh’s fifth) was Richard Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 3 January 1583. Neither Richard nor any children of his were mentioned in his father’s will of 1616 so it seems likely that he never married and was by then dead.

Hugh and Mary’s fourth child (Hugh’s sixth) was Thomas Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 24 June 1585. When he was 26 years old Thomas married Elizabeth Harmon at the Parish Church of St Mary in Goudhurst, Kent on 17 June 1611. They had at least one child, a daughter, who is only known from the will of Thomas’ brother John.

Just before his father's death Thomas took on the lease of the property in Rotherfield that his father had been leasing from Richard Fogge, which was detailed at the Court of the Manor of Rotherfield held on 15 September 1617 when it was recorded that out of court on 2 June 1617 Richard Fogge had surrendered all his copyhold properties of the Manor of Rotherfield that had been in the tenancy or occupation of Hugh Muddle to Thomas Muddle for a term of 12 years beginning at Michaelmas 1616, on condition that Thomas Muddle observes and performs all the conditions set out in an indenture made between Richard Fogge and Thomas Muddle dated 13 May 1617. And the first proclamation was made for Thomas Muddle to come to court to be admitted.[25] Then at the Court of the Manor of Rotherfield held on 13 December 1617 on the third proclamation Thomas Muddle came to court and was admitted to the property surrendered by Richard Fogge.[26]

It seems likely that the properties at Battle that Thomas’ father Hugh had inherited from his father John had been passed on to Thomas before Hugh’s death in 1616 as there was no mention of them in Hugh’s will, which also made no bequests to Thomas, and Thomas is known to have lived at Battle for many years.

Thomas Mudle was recorded as being the steward of Sir Ralph Bosville, who lived at Sevenoaks in Kent and was Lord of the Manor of Bodiam in Sussex, in a document of 1626 which records tenders that have been submitted to Thomas by prospective farmers of Northlands, Grovelands and Park Farm that are demesne lands of Bodiam Manor.[27] This was the manor later acquired by Nathaniel Powell, who married Thomas’ great niece, Sarah Muddle.

Thomas’ brother John died in early 1630 and Thomas was one of the four overseers of his will, for which he received 3s 4d.

Thomas was living at Battle in Sussex when he acted as one of the executors of the will of Thomas Parker, saddler of Battle, which was proved in London by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 9 February 1639, and for being an executor Thomas received a bequest of forty shillings.[28] Much later documents show that Thomas owned a house in the town of Battle.[29]

A certificate dated 27 April 1646 from the Committee for Sussex that was appointed by the ordinance of 15 February 1645 for levying money to be raised for the army under Sir Thomas Fairfax stated that Thomas Muddell, High Collector for the ten months’ assessments for Sir Thomas Fairfax’s army in Hastings rape, hath disbursed by our order £188 5s 8d for impressing and conducting soldiers to their rendezvous at Reading for that army in accordance with the Ordinance of 14 March 1645. Acceptance of this by the Treasurers-at-War was desired and acquittance given accordingly; this acquittance was given on 1 May 1646.[30]

Then on 12 January 1648 the Committee for Compounding (court for settling debt) issued a warrant for Mr Heath to summon Thomas Muddle, treasurer of assessments for the rape of Hastings, county of Sussex, for sums received for the Scottish loan by Parliament order of the 16 & 27 October 1643, and still retained by him.[31] Then on 17 February 1648 the Committee of Both Houses for Irish Affairs recorded that Austin and Muddle, high collectors in Sussex, who have long kept money in their hands, are to bring it in by 10 March or appear before the Committee.[32] This seems to indicate that Thomas was possibly not a too honest tax collector but he seems to have retained this appointment as an entry in the Salehurst Parish Register testifies. This records that Edward Allen of Salehurst, butcher and Head Constable of the Hundred of Henhurst, received on 30 October 1653 from the vicar, John Lord, and churchwardens, William Hawes and Thomas Peckham, the sum of £3 9s that had been collected in the Parish Church of Salehurst on 2 October for the inhabitants of the town of Marlborough in Wiltshire, which had suffered a fire, that he was to deliver to Thomas Muddle of Battle, High Collector of the Parliament taxes for the Rape of Hastings. According to and order made by the Council of State on 18 May 1653.[33]

Thomas owned land in Mayfield as a deed of 30 May 1662 for the sale of land called Buttons, a lane called Hogates, and land called Pight, in Mayfield stated that this land was bounded on the north-east by the land of Thomas Muddle.[34] Thomas died when he was about 84 years old, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Mary at Battle on 4 January 1670.

Thomas and Elizabeth’s only known child was Sarah Muddle who was born in either Kent or Sussex in about 1615 and is only known from being mentioned in the will of her father’s brother John.

Hugh and Mary’s fifth child (Hugh’s seventh) was John Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 12 May 1588. When his father died in November 1616 John was the executor of his will and inherited his father’s lands in the parishes of Frant and Pembury and also the residue of his father’s personal estate. These properties in Frant and Pembury that were copyhold of the Manor of Sunninglye were detailed at the Manorial Court held on 24 September 1618 as: a forge and two crofts of land called Marriotts Croft of 4 acres in Frant paying yearly rent of 7d; a toft with garden called Cloutes Garden and one parcel of land of 3 acres in Frant paying yearly rent of 6d; and a croft of land called Kentes Croft of 1 acre in Frant paying yearly rent of 2d; and it was recorded that John paid the relief of 15d due for him be admitted to these properties.[35]

John was recorded as being the owner of land bordering a property called Orgars in Frant when it was sold on 25 December 1616; it’s not known if this is one of the above copyhold properties or another property that is otherwise unknown.[36]

John was described as of Bromley in Kent in a document dated 18 February 1619 that transferred possession of 2 acres of land called Clouts Garden and Marriotts Crofts in Frant, then occupied by Walter Copping, from Edward Wybourne to John and records that John’s father had earlier paid Edward Wybourne £25 for this property.[37] This was one of the copyhold properties that John had inherited from his father with the difference in acreage typical of the inconsistencies between manorial records and other documents.

Then six years after being recorded as living in Bromley John was described as a yeoman of Buxted in Sussex when he sold the one acre of meadow land in Frant called Syninglies (Kentes Croft in manorial records), which he had inherited from his father, to John May of Frant on 27 May 1626 for £14. When he was required to sign his name on the sales document for this land John could only make his mark, so he had presumably not had any education, something that he was later to ensure his son had.[38] This sale was not recoded at a Sunninglye Court until the one held on 13 October 1634, five years after John’s death. It was also at this court that it was recorded that it was during John’s ownership that Breecher’s Forge stopped operating and was dismantled as it stated that at his death John held land on which an iron mill called a forge lately stood’.[39]

When he was 40 years old John married 25-year-old Anne Westgate at the Church of St Thomas à Becket at Cliffe near Lewes on 3 June 1628 by licence. The licence issued by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on 24 May 1628 described John as being from Mayfield and Anne to be the daughter of widow Dorothy Westgate of Mayfield. Anne was the daughter of Thomas and Dorothy Westgate and she had been baptised at the Parish Church of St Margaret the Queen in Buxted on 20 March 1603. John and Anne had one child, a son, who was probably born soon after their marriage.

It was only about 18 months after his marriage that John died at the age of 41. He had made his will on 22 November 1629 and it was proved at London by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 22 April 1630. In this will John left his son all his real estate with his wife to have the rents and income thereof to raise and educate their son until he attained the age of 15 years. John also left his son the sum of £60 in money and a number of household items such as a table, bench, cupboard, beds and four silver spoons, these all to remain in the custody of his wife until their son attained the age of 21 years. John made his wife executrix of his will and left her all the residue of his personal estate. As the four overseers of his will John appointed his brothers Thomas and Harbert Muddle, his brother-in-law Thomas Westgate and his neighbour James Gasson.[40]

The Sunninglye Manor Court held on 13 October 1634 recorded that John had died and that at death he held a messuage and two parcels of land called Marriotts Croft of 4 acres in Frant on which an iron mill called a forge had lately stood paying a yearly rent of 7d; and a toft and garden called Cloutes Garden and a parcel of land of 3 acres in Frant paying a yearly rent of 6d; and that for a Heriot (manorial death duty) a bullock valued at 13s 4d had been delivered to the Lord of the Manor.[41]

John and Anne’s only child was Thomas Muddle who was probably born at Mayfield in Sussex in late 1628. When he was only just on a year old Thomas’ father died and bequeathed Thomas all his real estate together with £60 of money and a number of household items, which Thomas was to inherit when he was 21 years old, and in the meantime his mother was to use the income from the real estate to raise and educate Thomas.

It was at the Sunninglye Manor Court held on 13 October 1634 that the death of Thomas’ father was recorded and that Thomas, at the age of 6, had inherited the manorial properties of: a messuage and two parcels of land called Marriotts Croft of 4 acres in Frant on which an iron mill called a forge had lately stood paying a yearly rent of 7d; and a toft and garden called Cloutes Garden and a parcel of land of 3 acres in Frant paying a yearly rent of 6d. Thomas was amerced (fined) 2d for not attending the court to give an oath of fealty (allegiance) to the Lord of the Manor and to pay the relief of 13d due for him to be admitted to these properties, so the beadle was instructed to distrain (seize) these properties for the relief and fealty.[42]

When he was 26 years old Thomas married Mary Shoesmith at the Parish Church in Chiddingly, Sussex on 10 April 1655. Both Thomas and Mary were then living at Mayfield, and for some reason this marriage was recorded again three months later in the register of the Parish Church of St Mary in Westham, Sussex with a date of 9 July 1655. The Sunninglye Manor Rental of 19 June 1656 recorded that Thomas Muddle held a tenement called Marriotts paying yearly 7d and Cloutes Garden paying yearly 6d.[43] Thomas and Mary lived at Mayfield where they had three children born between 1657 and 1666, and where Thomas worked as a wheelwright.

In an indenture of 11 May 1668 Thomas, described as a wheelwright of Mayfield, son of John Muddle deceased, grandson of Hugh Muddle deceased, and husband of Mary, sold four pieces of land called Marriotts Crofts and Clouts Garden of 7 acres in Frant, occupied by Widow Turner, to William Dyke for £90. This was property that Thomas had inherited from his father and had originally been purchased by his grandfather. Thomas signed the indenture so unlike his father he must have had some education; this would have been a result of his father leaving instruction in his will that some of the income from his properties was to be used by his wife to educate their son, and was also presumably used to purchase a wheelwright’s apprenticeship for Thomas. In the Covenant to Levy a Fine of 18 April 1670 to finalise the transfer of ownership of Marriotts Crofts and Clouts Garden both Thomas and his wife Mary are named.[44]

Thomas died at Mayfield at the age of 57 and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 8 January 1686. Thomas had made his will on 3 January 1686, just before his death, in which he described himself as a wheeler of Mayfield, and it was proved by the Deanery of South Malling on 9 April 1686 when the value of his personal estate was given as £94 12s 6d. In this will Thomas left his wife Mary a selection of his household goods to the value of £10, which were to go to his son John on her death or if she remarried. To his daughter Mary, the wife of William Care he left £20. He made his son John the sole executor and left him all his real estate and the residue of his personal estate.[45]

Thomas and Mary’s eldest child was John Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 4 June 1657. When his father died at the beginning of 1686 John was executor of his will and inherited all his father’s real estate and the residue of his personal estate.

When he was 31 years old John married 19-year-old Anne Jeffery at the Church of St Thomas à Becket at Cliffe near Lewes on 8 November 1688 by licence. The licence issued by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on the same day stated that John was from Mayfield and Anne was a spinster from Framfield. Anne was the daughter of Thomas and Anne Jeffery; she had been born at Framfield in Sussex and baptised at St Thomas à Becket Church in Framfield on 18 July 1669. John and Anne lived at Mayfield where they had six children born between 1689 and 1703.e of his personal estate.

At the Court of the Manor of Framfield held on 25 October 1725 John Muddle and Ann his wife, the eldest daughter of Thomas Jeffery deceased of Framfield, sold to William Cornwell, an architect of Framfield, one tenement and one acre of new assert land in the ward of Langhurst near Blackboys in Framfield, lately Jeffery's, before Hyder's and formerly Deane's. There was no Heriot due and William Cornwell was admitted as tenant on payment of a relief and fine of 2s to the Lord of the Manor.[46]

John and Anne’s eldest child was John Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 11 August 1689. When he was 29 years old John married Mary Hollis at the Parish Church of St Giles in Horsted Keynes, Sussex on 7 October 1718. John was then living in the Parish of All Saints in Lewes and Mary was from Horsted Keynes. They lived at Wadhurst where they had five children born between 1719 and 1732, and where John worked as a farrier.

It seems that when he was 53 years old John fathered an illegitimate son, Richard Sellen, born at Wadhurst on 15 June 1739 to spinster Elizabeth Sellen. This resulted in John Sands, an Overseer of the Poor of Wadhurst Parish, applying to Humphrey Fowle, a Justice of the Peace, for the arrest of John Muddle, farrier of Wadhurst, as the supposed father, to pay maintenance for this child that was a charge on Wadhurst Parish. Elizabeth Sellen was examined by Humphrey Fowle and named John Muddle as the father resulting in Humphrey Fowle issuing a warrant on 10 January 1743 for John to be arrested and brought before a Justice of the Peace when John was to bring sufficient sureties for his appearance at the next Session of the Sussex Assizes to answer the charge that he should pay maintenance for this child.[47] This child was probably the Richard Sellen who went on to marry Sarah Groves at Ticehurst on 30 May 1768.

In the Window and House Tax assessment for 1747 John Muddle of the Town Quarter of Wadhurst was assessed as having 14 lights and had to pay a tax of 9s, of which 2s was the house tax, so he had to pay 6d per window.[48]

John was the only John Muddle alive at this time who could be described as a gentleman as he was living in a substantial house with 14 windows, so it must have been him who was referred to in a Court Baron of Framfield Manor held on 2 November 1757 at the special instance and request of Frances Stone, the widow of William Stone of Framfield, who had died earlier in 1757. At this court Frances Stone surrendered several parcels of land called Loxfield, Eckbards, Long Peck, etc. at Blackboys in Framfield Parish to the Lord of the Manor. Thomas Stone, the son of William and Frances born in 1731, then begged to be admitted to this land and immediately surrendered it to John Filders. Then John Muddle, gentleman, complained and desired to be admitted to the land himself. It seems that Thomas Stone, John Filders and John Muddle were to be trustees of the land during the lifetime of Frances Stone as they then surrendered and released the land to the Lord of the Manor for the use and behoof of Frances Stone.[49]

John died at Wadhurst at the age of 80 and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 21 June 1770. When her son John died in February 1772 Mary should have received £5 one month after his death and then another £5 within twelve months, but as John’s will was not proved until eighteen months after Mary’s death it seems unlikely she received these payments. Four years after her husband’s death Mary died at Wadhurst when she was about 90, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 26 February 1774.

John and Mary’s eldest child was Mary Muddle who was born at Wadhurst in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 15 November 1719. When she was 31 years old Mary married John Peckham, who was from Barcombe, at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 10 April 1751 by licence.

John and Mary’s second child was Elizabeth Muddle who was born at Wadhurst in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 23 March 1722. When she was 39 years old Elizabeth married Robert Walter at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 19 May 1761 by licence. Robert and Elizabeth had two children born at Wadhurst in 1762 and 1763. Then eleven years later Elizabeth died at Wadhurst at the age of 52 and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 4 March 1774, just six days after her mother was buried there.

Robert and Elizabeth’s eldest child was Walter Walter who was born at Wadhurst in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 16 February 1762.

Robert and Elizabeth’s second child was Elizabeth Walter who was born at Wadhurst in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 20 February 1763.

John and Mary’s third child was Anne Muddle who was born at Wadhurst in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 18 October 1724. Anne died at Wadhurst at the age of 14 and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 20 January 1739.

John and Mary’s fourth child was Sarah Muddle who was born at Wadhurst in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 25 May 1727. When she was 36 years old Sarah married William Hoadley at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 14 December 1763. They were both then living in Mayfield.

John and Mary’s fifth child was John Muddle who was born at Wadhurst in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 25 June 1732. When he was 29 years old John married Elizabeth Elliott at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 23 April 1762. They are not thought to have had any children and they lived at Bodiam in Sussex where John was a farrier.

When they had been married for just on ten years John died at the age of 39, and he was buried in the Churchyard of St James the Great at Ewhurst on 10 February 1772. John had made his will on 1 February 1772, in which he described himself as a farrier of Bodiam. He made his wife Elizabeth his sole executrix and left her all his real and personal estate with the provision that his elderly widowed mother was to be paid £5 within one month of his death and another £5 within twelve months of his death if she was still alive. It seems his mother may not have received these payments even though she died in February 1774, two years after her son, because the will was only proved 18 months after her death by the Archdeaconry of Lewes on 27 July 1775.[50]

John Muddle and Elizabeth Sellen’s illegitimate child was Richard Sellen who was born at Wadhurst in Sussex on the Friday after Whitsun, 15 June 1739, and baptised at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst on 22 June 1740. When he was 28 years old Richard married Sarah Groves at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Ticehurst on 30 May 1768.

John and Anne’s second child was James Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 31 January 1692.

John and Anne’s third child was Hugh Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 31 March 1696. Hugh died when he was 17 years old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 16 May 1713.

John and Anne’s fourth child was William Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 25 January 1700. William died when he was only 5 years old and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 9 March 1705.

John and Anne’s fifth child was Phillip Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 22 June 1701. When he was 30 years old Phillip married 16-year-old Anne Duplock at the Parish Church of St Michael & All Angels in Withyham, Sussex on 18 June 1731 by certificate. They were both then living at Mayfield. Anne was the daughter of Robert and Mary Duplock (Diplock on baptism); she had been born at Waldron in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of All Saints in Waldron on 11 March 1715. Phillip and Anne lived at Mayfield where they had three children born between 1732 and 1740. Then nine months after the birth of their last child Anne died at the age of 26 and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 13 May 1741.

Then twenty years after the death of his first wife Phillip, at the age of 61, married spinster Alice Pullin at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 16 August 1762. They were both then living at Mayfield and Phillip was a labourer. But Alice was only to live for eight months after their marriage, and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 17 April 1763. Her burial record states that she was the wife of William Muddle but this must be wrong as there was no William Muddle living in Mayfield or the adjacent parishes, let alone one with Alice as a wife. Then seven years later Phillip died at the age of 68 and he was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 22 May 1770.

Phillip and Anne’s eldest child was Anne Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 7 May 1732.

Phillip and Anne’s second child was James Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 1 December 1734. James moved 18 miles east to Biddenden in Kent, and when he was 25 years old he married 26-year-old Ann Hatcher at the Parish Church of All Saints in Biddenden on 19 October 1760. See the section headed ‘James & Ann Muddle’s Family’ for the rest of their lives and details of their family.

Phillip and Anne’s third child was Susanna Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 17 August 1740.

John and Anne’s sixth child was Mary Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 11 February 1703. Mary never married. She died at Mayfield at the age of 71 and she was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 13 June 1774.

Thomas and Mary’s second child was Mary Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex in about 1660 and is only known from being named in her father’s will. Mary married William Care at the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene in Whatlington near Battle, Sussex on 1 September 1685. Then a few months later when her father died at the beginning of 1686 Mary inherited £20.

Thomas and Mary’s third child was Ann Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 8 July 1666.

Hugh and Mary’s sixth child (Hugh’s eighth) was Mary Muddle who was born at Mayfield in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 2 May 1591. Mary died when only five months old and was buried in the Churchyard of St Dunstan in Mayfield on 10 October 1591, at the same time as her mother.

John’s third child was Anne Muddle who was probably born somewhere in Sussex in about 1553. When her father died in 1562 Anne inherited £20 that she was to receive when she was 21 or when she married, if this was earlier.

John’s fourth child was Margaret Muddle who was born at Frant in Sussex and baptised at the Parish Church of St Alban in Frant on 8 March 1556. When her father died in 1562 Margaret inherited £20 that she was to receive when she was 21 or when she married, if this was earlier. When her brother Hugh died in 1616 he left Margaret twenty shillings in money and described her as the widow of Thomas Groome.

John and Elizabeth’s only child (John’s fifth) was Anne Muddle who was probably born at Balcombe in Sussex in about 1560. When her father died in 1562 Anne inherited £20 that she was to receive when she was 21 or when she married, if this was earlier. Then when her half-sister Joan/Jane Comber died in 1567 Anne inherited her best linen and her silver hooks and pins, together with a chest to keep them in until she came of age, when the chest was to go to Roger Comber.[51]