Thomas Hill

Contents

Personal and Family Information
Pedigree Chart
Events
Attributes
Multimedia
Notes

Personal and Family Information

Thomas was born about 1440, the son of Henricus [Harris] / [Hull] / Hill and Sionett ap Howell. The place is not known.

He died on 23 SEP 1485 in London, England.

His wife was Elizabeth Tylor. They were married, but the date and place have not been found. Their eight known children were William (<1463->1501), Richard (c1467-1500), Agnes (c1469-?), Alice (c1477-c1494), Robert (c1478-c1535), Elizabeth (c1479-?), Edward (c1480-?) and Joan (c1481-c1498).

Pedigree Chart (3 generations)

Thomas Hill (c1440-1485)	Henricus [Harris] / [Hull] / Hill (c1417-?)	John [Hull] / Hill (c1392-?)	William Hill (c1348-?)	+
		John [Hull] / Hill (c1392-?)	Isabel de Buntingsdale (1352-?)


	Sionett ap Howell (c1417-?)	Meredith ap Howell (c1492-?)
		Meredith ap Howell (c1492-?)
		Morvydd verch Ieuan (c1492-?)	Ieuan ap Dayfydd (c1467-?)
		Morvydd verch Ieuan (c1492-?)

Events

Event

Date

Details

Source

Multimedia

Notes

Birth

ABT 1440

Death

23 SEP 1485

Place:

London, England

Burial

SEP 1485

Place:

Saint Thomas Of Acre, Cheapside, London [Site Of Present Mercer’s Hall]

Attributes

Attribute

Date

Description

Details

Source

Multimedia

Notes

Occupation

Free grocer [after apprenticeship] in 1448, Lord Mayor of London, Knight

Multimedia

AstryFig2Sir...

Notes

Note 1

!Stylename: Hill, Sir, Lord Mayor, Thomas, of London [~1440-23 Sep 1485]

!Note: Sir Thomas Hill is entered under Henricus Hull/Hill/Harris about 1417 because this branch of the Hill family, descending from Griffith Hill of Hodnet and Margaret Warrene, shows the correct age range and civic connections for Thomas’s background. The visitation of Shropshire traces the elder Hill line through Humphrey Hill of Blore, but that branch is already occupied by Thomas of Hodnet, the documented father of Rowland Hill, Lord Mayor 1549–50. If he died as recorded in 1485, Sir Thomas cannot be that same Thomas by date or offspring. Placing him as Henricus’s elder son explains the cousinship with Friar William Hill of Saint Thomas of Acre, a cousin, and the inclusion of Thomas Harris in his will, a likely relative from this same Hill-alias-Harris line. It makes sense that he would be in this part of the family, as the visitation for the Hull/Hill/Harris line was weak the first few generations, listing only the main heir, and skipping the rest of the family, thus leaving room for him here, where the family is less visible. It is also much closer to the southern Bewdley line which may eventually appear as full owners of Neeton. This position preserves chronological balance within the family and maintains consistency with the known descendants of Griffith Hill and Margaret Warrene.

!Note: This is not the official view but it actually fits and the political reality of the time after Bosworth makes it seem likely that Richard iii’s supporters might attempt to escape, with the plague or sweating sickness as a ready cover. The apparent death of Sir Thomas Hill, Lord Mayor of London, on 23 September 1485 coincided precisely with the aftermath of Bosworth Field and the first outbreak of the “sweating sickness.” Contemporary sources record that two Lord Mayors and six aldermen died in the same week — a sudden cluster that may reflect either the epidemic or a convenient pretext for Yorkist officials to disappear during the violent Tudor transition. Henry VII’s army had been heavily staffed by French mercenaries, and many Londoners who had prospered under Yorkist trade privileges had reason to fear reprisals.

Hypothesis: Sir Thomas Hill may have feigned death to a escape potential political purge. His “death” and probate in 1485 may have been legal formalities enabling his family to retain assets while he withdrew to Shropshire under a quieter identity. His possible re-emergence as Thomas Hill of Hodnet would fit chronologically, socially, and financially.

Supporting arguments:

• The will’s publication date falls the same day as the Battle of Bosworth — impossibly precise for a sudden sickness.

• The widow Elizabeth Tylor Hill managed the estate for sixteen years but no burial record has survived.

• The Thomas Hill family wealth reappears abruptly in Shropshire within three years, with identical names and connections .

• Yorkist-aligned London aldermen such as Sir Edmund Shaa and Thomas Hill vanish or “die” within months of Bosworth, suggesting coordinated retirements or flights.

Status: Unproven but historically plausible; entered to explain the reappearance of the Hill fortunes in Shropshire and continuity of the family line despite the supposed 1485 death.

!Source: England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 for Thoma Hille, PROB 11: Will Registers 1384-1566 Piece 07: Logge

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5111/records/877576?tid=&pid=&queryId=406b9e5e-397c-4099-82da-a1d347c0b422&_phsrc=Xle404&_phstart=successSource

[Image Copyright requests no publication of the images, but they can be seen at the ancestry.com address].

Lord Mayor of London 1484/5

Will of Thomas Hille, Grocer

Page 1.

In the name of God so be it Amen the xxij day of August the yere of our lord

mccccxxxv I Thomas Hille knyght maur of the Cite of london beyying of hole mynd

and in good mynd and in good memory knowynct that no thing in this said mortall lyff

at mor certayn than deth and no thing mor uncertayn than the our or tyme of the same

Willing with good grace not to departe frome my fate make ordayn this my said testament

of goodes of fortune such as it hath pleased almighty god to leve me in the man[ner] and

forme folowyng ffirst I bequeath my soul to almighty god my redemer and to the Blessed

virgyn his mother and his colege of saints and my body tobe buried in the church of Saint

Thomas of Acre in London in a place there on the same side of the Acre's ffondment in the

body of the same church called Saint Thomas Acre West Ward yf it may sobe done and

els as myght thoute as it may be don. Item I bequesth to the master of the same place

for my soul sepulture there tobe had XLs. Item I beqeath tobe destributed for my soule the

day of my buryment or on the morow folowyng my amoungs siad people than comyng the

du that is to Wete to any creature is as long and as few as xL shall extend to.

Item I will that my body be brought on earth in honest wise according to my degree [without] any

pompe as blandiful of the world and that the solumpnese of my exeqmet for my soule be don

forth with at my burying and that I have my honest tape[r] and xx hours torches to burn

above my body at tyme of my exegmet to be day for me wante any ghost in my wife

tobe made for me and I will that the same taper and torches by holder by xxiiy priests and

that any such prieste have for his labor vid and after all myn exeqence be doon for me I be-

queath the said,...xxtorches tobe disposed for my soul in the form [en]suyng that is to Wote

to the said Church of Saint Thomas of Acre my torches to my pa[ri]sh church called Colechurch

my torches to the church of Saynt Martyns in Itonmongre Lane n torches to the church of Saint

Mildred in the P[o]ultry n torches to the church of Saint Oluf in the Jewry n torches to the

church of Saint Pancras of London n torches to corpus X[for Christi] chapell n the p[o]ultry 1 torch to the

church of [Chipping] Camden in the comte of oxfo[rd]e n torches and to the p[ari]sh church of Mordon in the

comte of Surrey, 1 torch the same torch to burn in the soul churche to the Lorde and

prausence of almighty god and his saints as long as they may endur, though the churches

whereof well extend by afirmation x£ -- and I utterly forbedde any moneth mynde take

kept solompnoly for me after the guyse of the world in any man[ner] place but in the lord

Pride of my moneth mynde I will have don for me in the said church of the lord Saint

Thomas of Acre at Monethe end placebo and dirige by note and and evyn and masse of req[ui]em,

on the words by note n sobre and manly wise for my soule and for all other soules, and

I will that brede drink and chese of the season fall there to be ordayned for the priests

and clerks, then as other comers thereto, in my honest wise utterly forbeding any solompus

dyner tobe kept or ordayned for my cause, except onely a convenient repast for my wif,

my children, executours, and myn old ffrends such as they will call unto them, and also

my body be buried and my funerealy expence aforsaid be fully doon, then I will that all

the dette the which I ow to any man, p[re]sence of wich as of conscense, be first and payd -

most wole and truly paid, and in after all that sostinant be made first and formost

by myn apointee to them personse of faith, since of money so I have assigned tobe

restored unto them by myn own hande: writing of the moneth, personse, the namys,

and summse of money to them by me assigned, both comprised in a long gueyd

of paper of myn own hand writing, with summse of restitucion amounts to the

Page 2.

to the summe of VIs CLVY£ - and after that don then I will the resdue of

my goods, catals, and dette what so ever they be, by myn executers be divided into my eqall

partes, Whereof I bequeth on eqall parte to Elizabeth, my wiff, for her person belonging

unto her of my good catals and dette after the custome of the Cite of London and bequeath

unto my children being unmarried an other equal parte of my said goods catals and dette

amount them tobe evenly distributed and veted. When and so they shall come into their

panfull age of xx1 years or els when they be married and I will that if any of them

die befor the said age of xxi years or else befor that the be married that their the parte

of that child or the part of the children so dying remayn to myn other children such being

amount them tobe divided and veted closly. When and as they shall come to the said

age of xxi years and the third eqal parte of my said goods, catals, and dettes , I reserve

and comitt unto myn executours they therof to performe my certaties governder known

that is to wete ffirst I bequeath to the church aw[l]ter of Colechurch for myn allarous xxs. Item

I bequeath to the werthy of the body of the same church XXs. Item i bequeath toward the sus-

tentanon of the ffrat[ern]inte of Saint Cathrin founded in the same church Cole. Item I will that

my soule shall be remembered dayly and weekly immediatly after my decease as well by the

chaunsary co-prieste the first mass at Saint Thomas aw[l]ter in the body of the said church

of Saint Thomas called the morow masse in the same masse as by the chaunsary co-prieste,

the church mass in the nav of the same church in the same masse and I will that only ob[it]

donory have wekely for me laber XYd as long as XX£ will extend therto and to the priest

mynst of the same, I bequeath XX£. Item I bequeath toward the repares of the louve and

ro[o]m of preyyng to the house of Saint Thomas of Acre aforsaid beyng in the Cite of

London and suburbes of the same to therent that the sorounds and sense of the same may

the better be paid to the master of the said place for the tyme beyng when church the

summe from then may the better be supported and maynteyned to the land and prysinct

of almighty god and his saints specally defering the maaster of the same place for

the tyme beying to have my soule redemened to the demaned prayers of the people

present in the same church by the prayours seying the words of god then for the tyme

namely in lenton season like as is reside there to be don for the saintse and other souls

seaking of the same XX£. I bequeath tobe as specified among the priests thought holey

in the XXV wards of the Cite of London by the desernment of wise scholars [and] my soule

as yet may goodly be don after my beste xxv£. Item I bequeath tobe disposed a-

mong the pour, ashowe for the tyme being determyd, in the despare of London aforsaid,

holsom bred as shall amount to the value of XLs yearly duryng the period of

v years next [en]suyng after my decese, and such sevrall times of the yer as they

shall have most nede therto, which amont in v years XLs. Item to be disposed

in like wise now the same time of v years amongst the pour esonce of Ludgate m[ore]

holsom brede end[of] yer the value of XLs, which amounts in v years other x£. Item I

bequeath to be disposed in like wise the same time of v years amongst the pour

esense in the Criste Cherch m[ore] holsom bred endy[ng each] year the value of XLs which [in the]

time of v years amongst the pour esouls in the Marchalsye [prison] more holsom brede and

therwith lynon cloth to be bought and shirt and smo[c]ke tobe made therof and dele[vered]

to pour people within half a year next after my decesse. Item I bequeath XX£ for soch

therwith tobe bought and gowns and coats to be made thereof and gave to pour people

worn the same half year next [en]suyng after my decease. Item I bequeath XX£ tobe

bestowed in my year next after my decease in cole to be bought therwith that is to

wete only the value of v£ at such seasone of the yer as after may best he had

at esye prise and tobe kept unto the wynter season next folowyng, and then namely

about Alhalowen tyde to be disposed yerly by the discricons of myn executours a-

mong pour housholders in the Cite of London in diverse Wardes i.e., in the Wards of

Chepe, Cordwainers’ Row, Colmans’ Row, and the wards where as my said execoutours

shall seme most expediont and nedefull. Item I bequeath XI mar[ks] tobe bestowed

in x years next after my decease in white heryng and sade hering to be bought

therwith that is to wete only you the valus of liys iiyd the same heryng to

be delt yerly during the said time agans t[he] entier season amoung the pour

Page 3.

hospitallers and other poor people dwelling in the places of Spittlehouses in the counties of

Huntyngdon under such forme as my seule expense shall p'mydt therefor I bequeth to the

separ[at]ion of the higheway lying betweene Algate and Mylend to be spent within the precinct

next saying after my decease, in case that other stance in the mean time will set their

helping handle thos[e] to xx mark and of non other stanse will sett tho[s] helping handle tho[se] to

with the ford two years then I will that the ford xx mark be bestowed

forms saying that is to note those to their ending of the same highway in place neither

most nede shalle 10 mark and to the amending of the highway leding fro Bysshopsgate

towarde Ware in place when it shall be thought most needfull other x mark ,..., of the

year Aldermen and comone of the order of London with v years next saying after my decease

will do provide the manor and wayes to have the water at Padington to be conveyed by

pipes of leads from Thams unto the greate conduit of the Gate of London and to other

place of the same Gate if it shall seme to them noteworthy so to do then I bequeth toward

the same work landmark and to the intent that or conduit with the space of v years next

August after my decease may be made at Gracechurch with good helping handes of well

waters therto and part of the same water to be brought unto the same conduit from

the leade pipe. I bequeath to the same work 1 mark. Item I bequeath to my Sister

Elizabeth ffynch XX£. Item I bequeath to my sister Johnna Hyppingale XX£. Item I bequeath

to my sister Alice Dawes XX£. Item I p[ar]don to my nebew John Hille grocer that was

my apprentice xvy£ xiijs iiyd of the + mark the which he oweth me of money

borowed so that he pay to my exe[g]ences the xx£ – being residue of the sending

mark. Item I bequeath to my nebew Thomas Hyppingale for hym and his children xx£.

Item I bequeath to his brother John Hyppingale for hym and his children x£ Item I

bequeath to their brother Robt Hyppingale x£ Item I bequeath to my neice the wif

of Willim Tame v mark Item I bequeath to myn other neice her sister v mark Item I

bequeath to my Sonnya, and a daughter of my soul sister Alice the wife of Thomas Dawes

to each of them 20s. Item I bequeath to Willim Fforsome late of C[h]atsworth for hym

self his wife and his children v mark. Item I bequeath to Alice the daughter of my Soul

Sister Elizabeth ffynch v mark. Item I bequeath to Marion late[ly] the wiff of my brother

John Hille Xiiis iiyd. Item I bequeath to Martha her daughter and to her children xx£ Item

I bequeath to Adoleyn her other daughter x£. Item I bequeath to Johna his other daughter to-

ward the sustenance of her self and her children the X£ -- of myn with XX£ in the hands

of her brother John Hills. Item I bequeath to my cosyn Annes Hille app'[urtenant] wife Haygarth

Kingsbury Sol woman of London X marks. Item I bequeath to each of the brothers and sisters

of the same Annes XXs amounting among them by oft[he]ma[p]or[ti]on vi£. Item I bequeath.

to my cosin Friar William Hille sone of the brothers of the House of Saint Thomas of Acre

to pray for my soule X£ . Item I bequeath to the daughter of Elizabeth my wiff

the daughter of a family the which go[d] daughter is befited with [only] the paltry 20s.

I bequeath to my godson William Thorp the son of John Thorp grocer of

London £iij vs iiyd. Item I bequeath to my First Honey Ely which late was myn

app'wife X£ vs. Item I bequeath to Elizabeth now married late my First and

then called Elizabeth Tylor XXs. Item I bequeath to Thomas Haress somwate

toward the sustenance of hym and his children to the entent that he will take upon

hym the oversight and guiding of the distribution to poynt people of the collec[tion] above,

to be solvyd during the iiii [4] years aforesaid — £20. Item I bequeath to Anneys the wiff

of John ✝ Saye [of] Saybridge, toward the sustenance of her and his children v mark. Item I

bequeath to Margarete the wiff of William Triggonell toward sustenance of her and

his children v mark. Item I bequeath to John Parker [of] St Syvour to pray for me x£ and

the residue of the said in eqall p[ar]t of my said goodes chatalle and dette by me to myn

executer above sofered and counted I will it be disposed by myn executors by the difusion

in selebrant of poor espousal and of other poor peoples marriage of pour maidens anouncement

of souls and ansyne birth Weyes and in other jobs of p[ea]ice and charite as they shall hope

Best to please almighty god and most to plese unto my soule and the[n] my pur[e] testament.

I make and ordeyn myid executor Elizabeth my wiff, Rauf Tilmoy, Richard Walker grocer,

William Doughory, gentleman and my cosyn John Hille grocer, and I bequeth to each of the

said Rauf, Richard, William and John for his labor to be had in thir behalf XX mark and ther

outflow of this my said testament I make and ordeyn Sir Edmond Shaa knyght and

Alderman of London and I bequeath to the same Edmond for his labor to be hadd in that

Page 4

behalf L£ [50] tobe paid to hym within v yere after my decease that is to wete end year upon

passion Sunday X£ till he be full paide of the said L£.

Transcription of probate clause in Latin:

Probatum fuit praedictum testamentum apud Grocers Hall coram Cumssarano 28 Octobre Anno dio

1485 ac approbatum est et commissa fuit administracios omnium sunt eius benefactore or debitore

per definitum: Elizabeth viduam, Radulpho Tilney, Richard Walker grocer et Willius Doughory

potestas executoribus mandatis habendis, ac de pleno inventario, et sine iuris iurandibus

et quamplen, ac de pleno compoto, conste.

Translation of probate:

Proved was [the] aforesaid testament at Grocers Hall before [the] comissioner 28 October [In the] year of God

1485 and it was approved and entrusted to the administration of all those who are his benefactors or debtors

as defined: Elizabeth widow, Radulpho Tilney, Richard Walker, grocer, and William Doughory

Authority [to the] executors mandates to have, to render a full inventory, and without legal oaths

and completely, with a full accounting, consented.

People mentioned:

sister Elizabeth ffynch

sister Johnna Ryppingale

sister Alice Dawes

nebew John Hille grocer, his apprentice

nebew Thomas Hyppingdale and his children

nephew [his brother] John Ryppingale and his children

nephew [their brother] Robert Ryppingale

niece, wife of William Tame

niece, her Sister

Sonnya, daughter of Alice and Thomas Dawes

Thomas Dawes, husband of sister Alice

Marion, wife of brother John Hill

brother John Hill

Martha, daughter of Marion and John

Adolyn, daughter of Marion and John

Johna, daughter of Marion and John

Annes, cousin, likely widow with property, Haygarth in Kingsbury, London, with siblings

Friar William Hill, cousin

unnamed goddaughter of wife Elizabeth

wife, Elizabeth Tylor

William Thorp, godson

John Thorp, grocer

Thomas Harris – possibly cousin or even his brother, from Hill→Harris line, worked with him in city projects

Anneys, possibly Agnes Danvers, widow of John Say [1415 – 12 April 1478]. He had 8 children by 1st wife Elizabeth [d, 1473]

Margarete, the wiff of William Triggonell

John Parker, possible priest

executor, Radulpho Tilney

executor, Richard Walker, grocer

executor, William Doughory

Notes:

1. 1 mark = 13s 4d = 0.67 of a pound.

3 marks = £2.

15 marks = £10.

2. Grocers Hall is the most likely rendering of the probate location based on the will image. It was not Lambeth.

3. Note on Burial Site, St Thomas of Acre, London:

The Church of St Thomas of Acre stood on the north side of Cheapside, near Ironmonger Lane. It served as the guild

church of the Mercers and was used by the Grocers’ Company for burials. After the dissolution of the religious houses

in 1538, the Mercers purchased the site from the Crown in 1542 and converted the old church into their company hall.

The structure was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 but rebuilt on the same footprint. The present Mercers’ Hall,

6 Cheapside, London EC2V 6JP, now stands on that ground. The “West Ward” mentioned in this will refers to the western

part of the former church, beneath the modern hall

7. louve = lantern or vent in roof of a building.

8. "the pour esonce of Ludgate" = the poor souls confined in Ludgate Debtor's Prison.

9. Christ Church = a major London friary with charitable mission.

10. Marchalsye Prison = The Marshalsea, on the south bank - Southwark; notorious debtor’s prison.

11. Bread and linen charity = classic “corporal alms” pairing - feed and clothe the poor.

12. Fish allowance - ‘liys iiyd’ = 52 s. 4 d. per year, i.e. £2 12 s 4 d total—paleographic form verified.

!Source: https://coadb.com/surnames/hill-arms.html

[Lord Mayor of London, 1484]. Sa. a chev. erm. betw. three lions pass. guard. ar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSMwPrHS5Jo transcribed from audio.

Hill, Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas 1484/5: Sable[black], a chevron ermine[white] between three lions passant guardant argent[silver].

!Notes: Arms similarities between Hotchkiss and Hill

Hugo de Wlonkeslow Hawheslowe [now Longslow], later known as Hill. Harl. 1241 [Longslow/Bird/Buntingsdale quartering] — and the “Hill of Buntingsdale” bit in Q4: Gules[red], a chevron between three pheons argent[silver].

Hotchkis [main] — Per pale gules[red] and azure[blue], a chevron engrailed or[yellow] between three lions rampant argent[silver]; crest: a cock’s head erased or between two wings displayed pelletée.

Hodgkis of Ampthill — Sable[black], a chevron or [yellow] between three griffins’ heads erased argent[silver]; crest: a cubit arm in mail argent, garnished or, holding a griffin’s head erased or, beaked azure.

Hill, Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas 1484/5: Sable[black], a chevron ermine[white] between three lions passant guardant argent[silver].

Comparison Chart:

Family/Branch Field [Background] Chevron Charges [x3] Crest

Hugo de Wlonkeslow Gules [red] Argent chevron Pheons [silver arrowheads] —

Hotchkis [main] Per pale red/blue Or, engrailed Lions rampant [silver] Cock’s head + wings

Hodgkis [Ampthill] Sable [black] Or Griffins’ heads [silver] Arm holding griffin’s head

Hill [Lord Mayor] Sable [black] Ermine [white] Lions passant guardant [silver] — <<<< Source for this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSMwPrHS5Jo

1. Backgrounds – overlap in red and black fields [Hotchkiss 1 v=black, 1 red/blue, Hill 1 black/ 1 red].

2. Chevron – all have one; Hill branches = silver/white, Hotchkiss = gold/yellow.

3. Charges – always three, usually lions or lion-kin, all in silver/white.

!Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Mayor_of_London

It was once customary for Lord Mayors to be appointed knights upon taking office and baronets upon retirement, unless they already held such a title.

1482 Sir Edmund Shaa Goldsmith

1483 Sir Robert Billesdon Haberdasher[d]

1484 Sir Thomas Hill Grocer Died in office. <<<

1485 Sir William Stoker Draper Died in office.

1485 Sir John Warde Grocer

1485 Sir Hugh Bryce Grocer

1486 Sir Henry Colet Mercer First of two terms.

!Source: Will of Thomas Hill

Source: National Archives of the UK, Prerogative Court of Canterbury .

Reference: PCC 17 Logge.

Details: Thomas Hill, a grocer, wrote his will on August 22, 1485, the same day Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth. The will was proved on October 28, 1485.

!Source: https://richardiii.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/10-126-The-Making-of-a-Minor-London-Chronicle-in-the-Household-of-Sir-Thomas-Frowyk-Died-1485.pdf

The chronicle itself was continued each year by three different persons 1483- 85, joined by two others 1485-97. The first scribe wrote in the name of the next mayor, Edmund Shaa, at some date after 28 October 1482 when he was sworn. A second person decided to amplify this by adding the fact that King Richard was crowned during Shaa’s year and that Robert Billesdon was the next mayor . The first scribe then went one better and contrived to insert that Queen Anne was crowned too — and the page had already begun to look a mess! The first scribe continued by noting that Thomas Hill was the next mayor and gives careful dates for Queen Anne’s death and burial at Westminster, adding a brief prayer for her soul. A third person then made a note of Richard 111’s death and burial with careful details and a prayer for his soul. The first hand then took up his pen again2 and made a series of entries recording when Henry VII entered London and that the sweating sickness included among its victims two mayors, two sheriffs and Sir Thomas Frowyk himself. Thereafter two or three hands continued the chronicle, the scribe who recorded the death of King Richard being the most active.

!Source: Bacon's History of the reign of King Henry VII https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t4kk9sw4j&seq=262&q1=thomas+hill

page 232, #19 sweating sickness. Two lord mayors [Thomas Hill and Sir William Stokker] and six aldermen died of this disease in one week in London [see Hall’s Chronicle], and it is said that those whom it attacked not more than one in a hundred escaped.

!Source: Christian Journal for Global Health, The English sweating sickness of 1485-1551 and the ecclesiastical response, Omololu Ebenezer Fagunwa and Ayokunle Oluwasanmi Fagunwa

https://cjgh.org/articles/10.15566/cjgh.v7i4.449#CIT0009_449

The English sweating sickness was a turning point in English history. Historically linked to the battle between the armies of Henry Tudor and King Richard III , who lost support among the English people due to his harsh rule. This was in the era where the throne of England was controlled by the Wars of the Roses. To battle King Richard, Henry VII employed mercenaries from France. The invasion force crossed the English Channel on 7th August 1485 landing in Milton Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales and marched on to England. At Bosworth Field, Leicestershire, England, Henry’s army defeated Richard III on 22nd August 1485, a victory that allowed Henry to be crowned as king.2 After the Bosworth battle, the new king went to Lincoln, where he caused supplications and thanksgiving to be made for his deliverance and victory, most likely at the Lincoln Cathedral, the world’s tallest building between 1311 and 1548. 9,10 However, it was commonly said among the people that his reign began with a sickness of sweat.9 The disease claimed the lives of many people including two Lord Mayors — Thomas Hills and Sir William Stokker, and six aldermen within one week.9 Henry VII’s royal wedding was partly delayed because of the prevalence of sweating sickness. Before the sweating sickness, he made an oath to marry Elizabeth of York on Christmas day of 1483. However, the wedding took place on the 18th January 1486, two years after the oath, no thanks to the sweating sickness.9 In addition, the king’s coronation was delayed due to the epidemic.4

!Source: Map of Early Modern London Home > Encyclopedia > Personography https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/old/6.3/HILL6.htm

Sir Thomas Hill

Thomas Hill Sheriff Mayor

Sheriff of London from 1474—1475 CE. Mayor from 1484—1485 CE. Member of the Grocers’ Company. Monument at Mercers’ Hall.

MASL

Sir Thomas Hill is mentioned in the following documents:

A Survey of London

Survey of London: Bridge Ward Within

Survey of London: Cheap Ward

Survey of London: Temporal Government of London

The Grocers’ Company

The Worshipful Company of Grocers

The Grocers’ Company was one of the twelve great companies of London. The Grocers were second in the order of precedence established in 1515. The Worshipful Company of Grocers is still active and maintains a website at http://www.grocershall.co.uk/, including a brief history.

The coat of arms of the Grocers’ Company, from Stow . [Full size image]

This organization is mentioned in the following documents:

A Survey of London

Complete Orgography

Complete Personography

Critical Companion to The Triumphs of Truth

Historical Personography

Livery Companies

London Survey’d

Survey of London: Cornhill Ward

The Cockpit

The Triumphs of Honor and Industry

The Triumphs of Honour and Virtue

The Triumphs of Truth

Weigh House

!Source: THE RICARDIAN JOURNAL OF THE RICHARD III SOCIETY, ISSN 0048 8267 VOLUME XXXIII, 2023, YORKIST PEOPLE: Essays in Memory of Anne F. Sutton, Published by the Richard III Society, Edited by Caroline M. Barron and Christian Steer, Index by Heather Falvey, Published by the Richard III Society, © 2023 Richard III Society

https://www.academia.edu/106963908/Wardship_Wealth_and_Widows_in_Late_Fifteenth_Century_London?auto=download

Elizabeth Hille and Agnes Forster: the Long Widowhood

Elizabeth and Agnes chose widowhood over remarriage. Both were married only

once, both reached the heights of lady mayoress and both lived many years after their

husband’s death, but the way in which they chose to manage widowhood and their

children’s inheritance is notably different.

Elizabeth Hille provides a good example of a widow who used legal systems and

civic procedure to protect, and influence the direction of, a substantial patrimony in

the face of changing circumstances over sixteen years of wardship. She was widowed

during the sweating sickness outbreak; her husband, Sir Thomas, was in office as

mayor of London when he died suddenly on 23 September 1485.60 Elizabeth, as the

incumbent mayor’s wife with eight children , a substantial household

, the disruption of an abrupt termination to her

position as lady mayoress and her husband’s business, estates and considerable wealth to

manage, must have had quite a crisis to deal with in the aftermath of his sudden death.

57 Cal. Letter Bk, L, p. 267.

58 Sutton, ‘Agnes Don-Breton’, p. 191.

59 See especially the controlment roll for January to August 1490: TNA, E122/78/8 and The

London Customs Accounts. Part IV: The Tudor Dynasty . Number 1. 3 Henry VII

– 5 Henry VII , ed. S. Jenks, Lübeck 2016, pp. 171–208.

60 PCC Logge, ii, no. 225. Hille died on 23 September 1485. Sir William Stokker took his place as

mayor but he also died of the sweat just two days later: The Great Chronicle of London, pp. 239,

438 ,

THE RICARDIAN VOLUME XXXIII, 2023

136

Elizabeth’s widowhood is more traceable than that of many of her contemporaries.

Thomas Hille gained the freedom of the city as a grocer in 1448. Elizabeth was the

daughter of Thomas Garnon of Gloucestershire but had good mercantile connections <<< Misstated. Thomas Will names her as Elizabeth Tylor.

in the city which would have been useful to Thomas, himself a first-generation

Londoner.61 She was a cousin of the established and wealthy London goldsmith, Sir

Edmund Shaa.62 Her sister, Joan, married Ralph Tilney of Hertfordshire who had

come to London as apprentice to Thomas Hille and who gained the freedom of the

city in 1464.63 Elizabeth’s family certainly seemed to be useful to Thomas Hille. Tilney

and Shaa often appear in property transactions alongside him, and Shaa was entrusted

by Thomas to oversee the execution of his will. Neither Elizabeth nor Thomas

had been married before and the nature of the surviving documentation suggests a

successful marriage, underpinned by a solid working partnership in life and a strong

bond of trust in death. Thomas evidently understood and valued his wife’s capability

and trusted her competence: he made her the principal executrix and administrator

of his substantial moveable estate, and his property.64 But Elizabeth must have had a

good working knowledge of her husband’s affairs during his life. Although his death

was a sudden one, Thomas had organised his financial affairs to the extent that he had

made a record of personal debts owed, listed and prioritised in his own hand. Within

three weeks of his death, Elizabeth is recorded as having acted on this: on 18 October

a William Langford acknowledged receipt of £50 from Elizabeth in final payment

of £266 13s. 4d. for properties Thomas had purchased in St Pancras in 1484.65 The

efficiency of this transaction, despite the upheaval she must have been facing, set the

tone for her widowhood and the wardship of her children’s inheritance.

Thomas’s trust in Elizabeth extended to the fact that he laid no requirement on her

to use the civic fiduciary process for his children’s moveable patrimony, nor made any

caveat around her potential remarriage.66 With a moveable dower and guardianship

of an orphans’ portion worth a combined £3,700, as well as her civic experience as an

61 He was from Kent: Thrupp, Merchant Class, p. 350.

62 Edmund Shaa named Elizabethe Hille as his cousin in his will of 1488: TNA, PROB 11/8/187.

63 Thrupp, Merchant Class, p. 370. In her will of 1501, Elizabeth appointed ‘her brother, Ralph

Tylney’ as her overseer. He was in fact her brother-in-law: TNA, PROB 11/12/397; CCR 1500-09,

p. 25 and CPR 1485-94, p. 221.

64 The document enrolled in the Logge register for Thomas Hille is a testament only, dealing

with the disposal of his moveable goods. His will, devising property and landed estates in

Cambridgeshire and Essex, does not survive, but is referred to in property deeds in London.

Historical Gazetteer of London Before the Great Fire Cheapside; Parishes of All Hallows Honey Lane, St

Martin Pomary, St Mary Le Bow, St Mary Colechurch and St Pancras Soper Lane, eds D. Keene and

V. Harding, London, 1987, pp. 294–8.

65 CCR 1485-1500, p. 13; Keene and Harding, Gazetteer, pp. 782–90.

66 Thomas’s testament is relatively sparse in detail concerning his family. He portions his

moveable estate into thirds but does not mention any of his children by name, nor leave any

material bequests to them. He was seemingly content to leave all such personal division of goods

to Elizabeth: PCC Logge ii, no. 225.

Wardship, Wealth and Widows in Late Fifteenth Century London

137

alderman’s wife and a lady mayoress, Elizabeth Hille would have been a very attractive

prospect on the London marriage market. Rather, she chose to remain in widowhood

for the sixteen years of life remaining to her and she took it upon herself to manage her

family’s affairs. As well as actively taking the lead in the execution of her husband’s civic

legacy , Elizabeth is personally named in

notable transactions involving the moveable wealth and property left to Thomas’s

heirs, suggesting that she was directly involved in the management of the children’s

inheritance until their coming of age.67

Elizabeth and Thomas Hille had eight surviving children. The eldest, William,

was born before 1463 and at least seven others followed: sons Richard, Robert and

Edward, and four daughters; Elizabeth, Alice, Agnes and Joan. At the time of their

father’s death in 1485, all eight were alive with seven of them under-age.68 By the time

Thomas’s estate was settled in 1488, the children’s portion amounted to a combined

£1,885 12s. 4d. Elizabeth chose to pass the capital worth of the estate through the

civic trust process, but have it loaned back out to her. Like Elizabeth Denys before

her, this meant that it was she who was bound under a legal recognisance and financial

bond to return the sum of £1,885 12s. 4d. to her children upon their coming of age/

marriage with appropriately accrued interest. Her guarantors were family: her brother-

in-law, Ralph Tilney, now an alderman, her husband’s nephew and former apprentice,

John Hille, and her two eldest sons, William and Richard Hille, now both grocers.69

There is nothing in the civic records to suggest that Elizabeth defaulted in any way on

the loan. Two daughters, Alice and Joan, had died while still underage and Elizabeth

oversaw the division of their portions amongst their surviving siblings

as well as paying out due money to the husbands of her two surviving daughters:

Agnes married John Croke, a draper, in 1490 and Elizabeth married Ralph Latham, a

goldsmith related to the Shaa family, in 1498.70

This personal approach is further reinforced by Elizabeth’s name appearing

specifically in property and land transactions concerning a feckless eldest son for

over a decade. William Hille was his father’s heir and inherited Thomas’s lands in

67 Cal. Letter Bk, L, p. 280; The Great Chronicle, p. 320. For Elizabeth Hill and the Guildhall

legacy, see C.M. Barron, The Medieval Guildhall of London, London 1974, p. 120.

68 Richard had come of age by 1488 but Robert was only seven when his father died in 1485 and

Edward was younger. Of the girls, Alice and Joan were alive in 1485 but they had died in minority

by 1494 and 1498. Agnes and Elizabeth married, but not until 1490 and 1498 respectively.

Richard died in 1500 and his will refers to deceased brothers as well as his two sisters: Cal. Letter

Bk, L, p. 249; CIPM Henry VII, ii, p. 299; CCR 1500-09, p. 24.

69 Cal. Letter Bk, L, pp. 234, 237, 249.

70 Cal. Letter Bk, L, p. 249. It has been suggested that Agnes Hille was the widow of a William

Chester when she married John Croke. It is probable, however, that John had a first wife, also

named Agnes, who was Chester’s widow. Croke claimed Agnes Hille’s patrimony from Elizabeth

in 1490, upon their marriage. Had she been a widow this would have been claimed by her first

husband. See K. Lacey, ‘Margaret Croke ’ in Medieval London Widows, pp. 143–64.

THE RICARDIAN VOLUME XXXIII, 2023

138

Huntingdon and Essex, as well as numerous London properties.71 William, however,

appears to have been somewhat inept at managing his affairs. In 1487, he gave up the

rights of ownership of six of the properties in St Pancras, left to him in his father’s

will, ‘to Elizabeth’s use, for £300 paid by her’.72 This was probably driven by a need

to find ready cash. Elizabeth seems to have given William the money although he did

not transfer the messuages into her name. Four years later, those same properties had

to be recovered by means of a court transaction by Edward Underwood, a clerk, who

was acting on behalf of Elizabeth Hille. William had got into financial trouble. Earlier

in the same year, in February 1491, a legal memorandum written in the Close Rolls,

recorded that William owed his mother and brother, Richard, £880 for ‘ready money’

delivered to him by them at various times. He entered into a recognisance to pay the

sum back and, in part payment, signed over all the merchandise held in the shops and

cellars his mother was allowing him to occupy and assigned her all debts due to him

in business transactions.73 In 1494, at Elizabeth’s request, he was made to give up the

properties in St Pancras once more, this time under a guarantee that he would do as

he was asked.74

To safeguard the other children’s inheritances, Elizabeth stripped William of any

property-holding and wrote him out of any further inheritance by a series of recorded

deeds. In the same year that she recovered the London properties from William, her

clerk, Edward Underwood, had recovered on her behalf, property in Gloucester and

Oxford that had descended to her upon the deaths of her brothers and brothers’

heirs. The 1494 transaction records that the property was to pass, after her death,

to Elizabeth’s sons, Richard, Robert, Edward and William successively – William

being placed last after his three younger brothers.75 At the same time, probably as part

of the debt owed, the land in Huntingdon and Essex which William had inherited

from his father was transferred out of William’s hands to Richard. When Richard

died in 1500, he devised his father’s lands to his widow for life, with remainder to

his brothers Robert and Edward: William, although still alive, was not mentioned

at all in Richard’s will.76 At Elizabeth’s own death in 1501, her third son, Robert, is

named as heir to the Gloucester property and, in

Elizabeth’s will, she devised all the family’s London properties to her youngest son,

Edward. William is mentioned with a minor bequest but comes at the end of a long

list, behind children, grandchildren, godchildren, friends, priests and even a member

of Elizabeth’s household.77

71 CIPM Henry VII, i, p. 120; Keene and Harding, Gazetteer, pp. 294–8, 782–90.

72 Keene and Harding, Gazetteer, pp. 782–90.

73 CCR 1485-1500, p. 152.

74 Keene and Harding, Gazetteer, pp. 782–90.

75 The inheritance was originally recorded in 1488, but it was not until 1494 that Elizabeth,

acting through Underwood, secured it: CPR 1485-94, p. 221; CCR, 1485-1500, p. 217.

76 CCR 1500-09, p. 45.

77 CIPM Hen VII, ii, p. 487; TNA, PROB 11/12/397; CCR 1500-09, p. 24.

Wardship, Wealth and Widows in Late Fifteenth Century London

139

All the widows examined above are visible by the traces their decisions left behind in

civic and central court records. But for thousands of other London medieval widows,

the decision to carry out the execution of a husband’s wishes without recourse to any

civic support has consigned them to obscurity. While they are greater in numbers

statistically, they are naturally fewer in terms of traceable case studies. Just occasionally

however, one of these widows left evidence of their efforts elsewhere….

!Source: Dame Margery Astry, by CLAIRE A. MARTIN

https://richardiii.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/14-Dame-Margery-Astry.pdf

Image included of Figure 2 The Family of Sir Thomas Hill.

Note that Claire seems to have really looked into Sir Thomas Hills family and has developed many sources and a lot of good information, but she also jumps to conclusions occassionally and also pushes the concept that his family was a long line of London Grocers, which is rather unlikely. This is OCR text and it may sometimes glitche a bit on copying.

Origins and Natal Family: The Hills of Hitchin

Margery's father was a John Hill, grocer, of whom very little is known.z His

home and Margery’s birthplace is likely to have been Hillend, the Hertford-

shirehome of the Hill family.3 Situated near Langley, five miles south of

Hitchin, it overlooked the chapel of Minsden which Margery remembered in

her will. She bequeathed ‘unto out lady chapel of mynneston nygh hichyn in

the countie of hertfordwhere Iwas borne, a chalis wifln a patent of silver all

gilt whiche is occuupied in my chapell'.4 The family included several grocers of

London and was presumably prosperousand comfortable. Certainly, he: fam-

ily were in a position to provide the financial backing for her to marry well.

This was vital in securing a daughter’s future and many of London’s great wid-

ows would have benefited fromsuch financial assistance.s Margery's will also

records the existence of a brother named Stephen, 2. grocer of London, who

had died by 1523leaving a widow and two sons, Robert and Thomas, both still

young enough for Margery to leave money for their schooling. Stephen must

have been either considerably younger than his sister Margery or fathered chil-

dren late in life because by 1523, Margery’s own children were grown and ma:-

ried themselves. This is essentially all that can be ascertained of Margery’s im-

mediate family but other relatives are plentiful and throughout her life Margery

seemsto have mainmined close contactwith her extended family. Of twenty-

two family members remembered in Margery’s will, ten can be identified as the

married siblings of he: ‘cosynRichaxd Hill’, including her ‘cosyn Lane and his

wife’, ‘Nicolas Cosyn and his wife’ and Agnes Gascoyne.‘ This sugests strong

links with this side of the family although the precise relationship remains un-

certam.

Richard Hill left his markon history by the survival of his commonplace

book, now in the library of Balliol College, Oxford.7 It contains a varied collec-

1 TI): Vidtation of the Cauny of Huntingdambin,ed. by Sir H. Ellis, Camden Society

1849, pp. 98-99. H.C. Andrews, ‘The Hill and Astry families of Langley and Hitchin',

Emt Hem Arr/Jaealog'mlSat-icy Tramam'am',vol. 12 , pp. 32-39. R.E. Chester

Waters, Gmmlog'mlMemoir: q“ the Famifi'e: of Clutter and of Any, London 1881. W.P.

Hills, 'Richard Hill of Hillend and Balliol MS. 354’, Note: andQum'eI, vol. 177 ,

pp. 452-56.

3Andrews, p. 38. The site is now occupied by Langley End, dating from c.1900.

4'The National Archive , Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB

11/21, ff. 198-99v.

5 Despite the legend of her rise from poverty, Thomasine Percyvale’s family was well

connected and her brother becamemayor of Launcestonin 1512, Davies, p. 187.

° John Lane, the husbandof Margery’s cousinElizabeth, is also a witness to her will.

7 Songs, Comb and other Mimi/anew: Pam: fmm the Bafial MS. 354 Rirhzmd Hill's

CommonplawBook, ed. by R. Dyboski, Early English Text Society, ES vol. 101, 1908;

repr. 1937.

tion of poems, songs and ballads as well useful information such as advice on

the breaking of horses, medicinal recipes and commercial rules and references.

The manuscript also summarises some of the main events in the life of the

owner and details the godparents of his children. Richard statesthat he was

'bome on hillend / in langley in the parishe of huchy[n] in the shire of

hartfford’ and it was here that his first child John was bornin 1518. By 1520he

had moved to London and his secondchild Thomas was bornat Freshe Wharf

in the parish of St Botolph. By 1522he had settled in the London parish of St

Andrew Undershaft, where his last fourchildren were born. Among the god-

parents of his offspring occur some familiar names. John Lane and Nicholas

Cosyn his bromets-in-law appear as godfathers and his sisters Margaret Pre-

ston, Elizabeth Lane and Eme Cosyn as godmothers. Elze Astry, the wife of

Margery’s son Henry Astry, whom Richard refers to as cousin, also becomesa

godmother as does her sister Mary.

Richard had been apprenticed to John Wyngax, grocer, alderman and

mayor, and must have completed this by at least 1508 because in that year he

was made free among the merchant adventurers of England, although it was

not until 1511that he was swornat Grocets’ Hall.8 This means Richardmust

have been bornaround1482 and if Margery lived to be around sixty she would

have been bornaround 1463, making a difference of at least nineteen years in

their ages.9 The existence of a significant variation in ages is supported by the

fact that Margery had her children in the 1480s and early 14905 while Richard

Hill had his children, mostly in the 15205.10

' Songs Cami: etc,pp. xii-xv.

9 If Richard completed a ten year apprenticeship by 1508at the latest, he would have

started in 1498. An average of age of sixteen for commencementof the indenture

producesa birth date of c.1482.The average life expectancy of a sample of 47 London

merchantswas 58 and there were contemporary complaints that old age began around

fifty. Caxton was just pastfifty when he wrote ‘age crepeth on me dayly’, S.L. Thrupp,

The Meir/Jam Class of Medieval London, Michigan 1948; repr. 1996, p. 195. Rosenthal’s

analysis of peers born in the 14th and 15th centuries show that most lived into their

fifties but living to sixty or more was not uncommon, ].T. Rosenthal, Old Age in Late

MedievalEngland, Philadelphia 1996, pp. 123-24.

'° Margery's first son Thomas Edward was still underage when her secondhusband

made his will in 1490 and he must havebeen born between approximately 1480 and the

death of William Edward in 1487.Margery would have been about 18 in 1481and he is

unlikely to have been born before that. Fleming estimatesthe average age at marriage to

be between seventeen and twenty-four, P. Fleming, Family Md Housebokl in Medieval

England Basingstoke 2001, p. 22. Thrupp highlights forty-one caseswhere the wife’s age

at marriage is known, producing a median age of seventeen,Thrupp, p. 196. Margery's

last son Henry Astry has to have been born between 1492 and 1494. The will of Robert

Revell was proved in March 1491 and Ralph Astry died on the 18 November 1494.This

makes it highly unlikely that Andrews is correct in his suggestion that John Hill,

The other Hill family with possible connections to Margery is the family of

Sir Thomas Hill, grocer, alderman and mayor, but the relationship does not

appear to have been close. In her will Margery mentions a William ‘Hilles’,

priest, and although she does not specify a relationship, this was probably the

William ‘Hille’ termed cousin in the will of Sir Thomas Hill and one of the

brethren of the house of St Thomas of Acre. By 1500, when Sir Thomas’s

widow Dame Elizabeth made her will, he had become the master of St Tho- <<<<

mas of Acre.u There is also a Robert Hill named in the will of Ralph Astry in

1494 as his apprentice who could possibly be the son of Sir Thomas.12 When

Elizabeth Hill died in 1501there was an inquisition in which Robert Hill aged <<<<

twenty-three and more was named as her heir.13 This would make him fifteen

in 1494, the age when he is most likely to be apprenticed. Dame Margery Astry

and Dame Elizabeth Hill also appeax together in the Great Chronicle of London <<<<

as donors of £10 each to the building of the kitchens at Guildhall." The likely

author of the chronicle, Fabian, was a drape: who became a sheriff for London

in 1493 and an alderman for Farringdon Without in 1494. This ward had pre-

viously been held by Margery’s secondhusband Robert Revel] and between

1493 and 1494 her third husband Ralph Astry was mayor. Fabian certainly

knew Ralph and Margery and probably knew Dame Elizabeth Hill. The fact <<<<

that only these two are named, among the ‘sundtywidows’ who donated to the

kitchen project, sugests that they were linked in Fabian’s mind. When we

Margery's father, may have been a brother to Richard Hill, Andrews, p. 33. It is far

more likely that Richard Hill’s father Thomas was of the samegeneration as Margery's

father John, maybe a brother, and Richard and his siblings would literally have been

Margery’s first cousins.This seemsrealistic as Richard was similar in age to Margery's

younger brother Stephen and they had their children aroundthe sametime.

" Sir Thomas Hill, TNA, Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB 11/7, ff. 13lV-33.

Dame Elizabeth Hill, TNA, Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB 11/12, f. 186. <<<<

'2 The Robert Hill, son of Stephen Hill and the Robert HilL son of Richard Hill are

both far too young. Three of Sir Thomas’sfour sonscan be identified as grocers. In

1488, Dame Elizabeth Hill appears before the mayor's court and enters into a bond of <<<<

£1,885 12: 4d for payment of patrimony to the younger children of Sir Thomas.Among

her supportersare William, Richard and John Hill, grocers. John Hill was the son of Sir

Thomas’sbrother John, and an ext-apprenticeof the mayor. William and Richard were

Sir Thomas'seldest two sons.Calendarqetter Book: of the Ciy of London:Letter Book L,

ed. by R.R. Sharpe,London 1912, p. 249. Edward Hill appears in the records of the

court of Chanceryfor refusing to repay money lent to him and is identified as a grocer,

TNA, C1/ 186/98. Robert, however, remains uncertain and could have become a

fishmonger.

" Cabndar of Int'n'am PoItMmtem Hang VII, 3 vols, London 1898, vol. 1, p. 299.

" The Grant Clmmirk of Inndon, ed. by AH. Thomas and ID. Thornley; repr.

Gloucester1983, p. 320.