Inquisition Post Mortem Re Robert Somerscales, 1597/8

Inquisition Post Mortem re Robert Somerscales, 1597/8

The National Archives ref C142/255/126

This was delivered into court on the 24th day of May in the within-written year by the hand of Edward Burrow York

Indented Inquisition, taken at York in the County aforesaid, on the thirtieth day of March in the fortieth year of the reign of our Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, Queen, defender of the faith etc, Before William Holmes, esquire, Escheator of our said Lady the Queen in the county aforesaid, by virtue of a writ of "De Diem Clausit Extremum" [literally, "closing the last day"] of our said Lady the Queen directed to the same Escheator and annexed to this inquisition, to inquire upon the death of Robert Somerskales, late of Settle in the county aforesaid, now deceased, By the corporal oath of Thomas Gunbye gentleman, William Foster, Robert Killingebecke, William Parkinge, Avery Shore, Thomas Marshall, Thomas Balie, John Wright, William Forman, William Pickard, John Lindley, John Harison, Francis Thaquere and Hugh Cooke, yeomen,

Who say, on their corporal oath, that the aforesaid Robert Sommerskales, a long time before his death, was seised in his demesne, as in fee, of and in the Manor or Lordship of Little Newton, with the appurtenances, in the County aforesaid,

And of and in twelve messuages, four cottages, fifteen tofts, fifteen gardens, fifteen orchards, three hundred acres of land, one hundred and fifty acres of meadow, two hundred acres of pasture, twenty acres of wood, five hundred acres of heath and furze, fifty acres of moorland and two hundred acres of turbary, with the appurtenances, in Little Newton aforesaid, and of and in five messuages and tenements, with their appurtenances, in West Marton in the county aforesaid, also of and in ten bovates of arable land, meadow, feeding and pasture, with the appurtenances, in West Marton aforesaid, and of and in one capital messuage and tenement, with the appurtenances, and one bovate of arable land, meadow and pasture, with the appurtenances, in Long Preston in the county aforesaid, and of and in two messuages and tenements, with the appurtenances, in Settle, and fourteen acres of arable land, meadow and feeding, with the appurtenances, in Settle in the county aforesaid, and of and in one close of pasture commonly called Fountaynes Fell in Malham Moor in the county aforesaid,

And further the Jurors aforesaid say, upon their corporal oath aforesaid, that the aforesaid Robert Somerskales, being thus seised of the premises, on the twenty sixth day of October in the thirty ninth year of the reign of our said Lady the Queen, by his indenture, bearing date on the same day and year, demised, granted and to farm let, To Henry Somerskales of Stockdale in the county aforesaid, gentleman, and to William Wilson of Kirkby Lonsdale in the county of Westmoreland, gentleman, their executors and assigns, The moiety of all and singular the lands, tenements, profits and commodities, with the appurtenances, in Little Newton in the county aforesaid, lately in the tenure of the said Robert Somerskales or his assigns, And also all and singular his lands, tenements and hereditaments whatsoever in West Marton and Malham Moor, To have and to hold the aforesaid moiety of all and singular the lands, tenements and other the premises, with the appurtenances, in Little Newton, for the term of ten years from the day of the date of the said indenture, And to have and to hold the aforesaid lands, tenements and other the premises, with their appurtenances, in West Marton and Malham Moor, for the term of sixteen years from the day of the date of the said indenture,

Just as by the aforesaid indenture, shown to the jurors aforesaid upon the taking of this inquisition, may fully be allowed and appear,

By virtue of which certain indenture the aforesaid Henry Somerskales and William Wilson were possessed of the aforesaid lands and tenements, with their appurtenances, in Little Newton, for the term of ten years, and of the lands in West Marton and Malham Moor for the term of sixteen years. and that the aforesaid Robert Somerskales, being thus seised, on the aforesaid twenty sixth day of October in the thirty ninth year of the reign of our said Lady the now Queen abovesaid, by another indenture of his, bearing date the same day and year, between the aforenamed Robert Somerskales on the one part, and Henry Somerskales junior, son of the said on the other part, demised, conveyed granted and made over to farm all and singular his lands, tenements and hereditaments, with their appurtenances, in West Marton aforesaid, to the said Henry Somerskales his younger son, his executors and assigns, from the end of the said term of sixteen years until the end and term, and for the term, of one thousand years from then next following and fully to be completed, yielding in respect thereof annually, to the aforenamed Robert, his heirs and assigns, an annual rent of twenty shillings during the term aforesaid, Just as by the aforesaid indenture, shown in evidence to the said jurors upon the taking of this inquisition, may fully be allowed and appear,

By virtue of which certain indenture the aforesaid Henry Somerskales was possessed of an interest of the aforesaid term for the term of one thousand years.And that the aforesaid Robert, being thus seised of such an estate, died seised thereof.

And further the jurors aforesaid say, upon their corporal oath aforesaid, that the aforesaid manor and other the premises, with their appurtenances, in Little Newton, are held, and at the time of the death of the aforesaid Robert were held, of the right honourable George, Earl of Cumberland, as of his castle of Skipton, by military service, that is to say, by the quarter part of a knight's fee, and they are worth, annually, in all issues, over and above reprises, five marks. And that the aforesaid messuage and other the premises, with their appurtenances, in West Marton aforesaid, are held, and at the time of the death of the aforesaid Robert were held, of our Lady the Queen, by military service, in chief, and they are worth, annually, in all issues, over and above reprises, three shillings and four pence. And that the aforesaid capital messuage and other the premises, with their appurtenances, in Long Preston aforesaid, are held, and at the time of the death of the aforesaid Robert were held, of the right honourable George, Earl of Cumberland, as of his castle of Skipton in Craven, by military service, and they are worth, annually, in all issues, over and above reprises, six shillings. and that the aforesaid two messuages and other the premises, with their appurtenances, in Settle aforesaid, are held, and at the time of the death of the aforesaid Robert were held, of the aforesaid Earl, as of his castle of Skipton, by military service, and they are worth, annually, in all issues, over and above reprises, six shillings. And that the aforesaid closes in Malham aforesaid are held, and at the time of the death of the aforesaid Robert were held, of our said Lady the Queen, in chief, by military service, and they are worth, annually, in all issues, over and above reprises, three shillings. And further the jurors aforesaid say, upon their corporal oath aforesaid, that the aforesaid Robert Somerskales, being thus seised of the premises, died thus seised thereof on the twenty fifth day of December last past before the taking of this Inquisition.

And that Robert Somerskales is the son and nearest heir of the aforesaid Robert deceased, and at the time of the death of the aforesaid Robert his father was of the age of ten years and more. (Henry his brother was less than 10 years old in 1598, born 1587 OK birth not registered at Giggleswick, Kildwick or Burnsall, too early for Gargrave records but that would be the right church if he had moved to his father's house in Little Newton )

And that Margaret Sommerskales, the wife of the aforesaid Robert Somerscales, still survives, and is in full life. (She later married Henry Hebber of Gargrave in 1598)

And that the aforesaid Robert Somerskales named in the said writ, had or held no other or further lands or tenements of our said Lady the Queen, nor of any other person or persons, in possession, reversion or use, in the county aforesaid or elsewhere, so far as the jurors aforesaid are able to ascertain at this present time.

In witness whereof to the one part of this inquisition, remaining in the possession of our said Lady the Queen, both the Escheator aforesaid and the Jurors aforesaid have affixed their seals. And indeed to the other part of this inquisition, remaining in the possession of the first of the Jurors, the Escheator aforesaid has affixed his seal on the day and year, and in the place, abovesaid.

W. Holmes, Escheator.

by me, Thomas Gunbye William Fostor Robart Killingbecke

Transcriptions hereof are sent to the Court of Wards and the Court of the Exchequer by William Ravenscrofte.