The Book of Husbandry

by Anthony Fitzherbert

And I bequethe XLs to amende the high wayes[11] bitwixt Abbottes Bromley [and] Vttaxather. And to sir Thomas ffitzwilliam Lord Admyrall fyve markes and the best horsse or gelding that I haue. And to Humfrey Cotton V markes to ffraunces Cotton fyve markes and a gelding or a horsse of XLs price. And to euery of my housholde seruentes a quarter wagis besides their wagis due. And to euery of my seruentes that be used to Ryde with me[12] oon heyffer of two yere olde and vpward or ellse oon felde Colt of that age.

And to sir Henry Sacheuerell and to sir William Basset to euery of them oon horsse Colt of twoo yeres olde and aboue....

And tenne kyne and a bull and VIII oxen and a wayn and the ploez and other thinges longing to a wayne, to remayn at Rydwar for heire Lomes. And XII mares, and a stallande, and VI. fetherbeddes and VI mattresses and Couerynges blankettes shetes and Counterpoyntes thereunto to logge honest gentilmen, and to remain at Rydwar for heire lomes to the heires males of ffitzherbert....

And I will that Kateryn my doughter haue foure bullockes and four heiffers and twoo ffetherbeddes and twoo bolsters and twoo mattresse and bolsters for them and shetes blankettes and other stuffe to make hir twoo good beddis yf I geve hir non by my life....

And where I caused Thomas ffitzherbert to surrendre the Indenture of the fferme of the parsonage of Castelton in the Peeke to the Abbot of Vayll Royal to the intent, to thentent (sic) that I and he shulde haue fourty yeres terme therin more then was in the olde Indenture, And to take a newe leesse for terme of threscore and tenne yeres which olde leesse the same Thomas had by the mariage of the doughter and heire of sir Arthur Eyre whiche sir Arthur Eyre willed that his bastard sonne shulde haue fyve markes yerely of the profites of the same fferme as apperith by his wille wherfor I will that the same bastard sonne haue the same fyve markes according to the same will And the Residue of the profites of the same fferme I will and require the same Thomas my sonne that John ffitzherbert his brother may haue the profites therof during his lyfe And after his decesse Richard ffitzherbert his brother And I will that my fferme at Caldon And the fferme that I haue of the King And the howe Grange Remain to my heires males of Norbury And I will that the lande that I purchased at Whittington besides Lichefelde goo foreuer to kepe the obite at North wynfelde for my brother doctour soule according to his will and to be made sure—therfor as moche as may reasonably be devised therfor to stande with the lawe yf I do not assigne other landes therfor hereafter....

And I will that my Cosyn Richard Coton haue one good amblyng Colt or oon good horsse of myn to Ryde on by the discrecion of my wife and my son Thomas to be deliuered And to my Cosyn Alice his wyfe oon of my best habites with the Cloke and Hood and the Lynyng and the furr of the same. Written the day and yere abouesaid.”

The will was proved at Lichfield, August 26, 1538.

I may add that the will mentions his wife dame Maude, his son Thomas, his three younger sons John, Richard, and William, and his daughter Kateryn; also his cousin Richard Coton and his wife Alice. Thomas Fitzherbert married the daughter of Sir Arthur Eyre.

It hence appears that Sir Anthony had no less than three farms, one at Castleton in the Peak, one at Caldon in Staffordshire, near Dove Dale, and a farm which he held of the King; besides the How Grange and some land at Whittington near Lichfield, as also some purchased lands and tenements in the counties of Stafford, Northampton, and Warwick, mentioned in a part of the will which I have not quoted. There was also the estate of Hampstall Ridware in Staffordshire, to which he attached considerable importance, directing his heir-looms to be kept there. He also makes mention, in all, of six horses (including a stallion and two geldings), twelve mares, three colts, one bull, four bullocks, five heifers, eight oxen, and ten cows, though it is obvious that these by no means include all his stock, but merely a selection from it. All this precisely agrees with the statements in the Book of Husbandry.

I do not think it necessary to pursue the subject further, but a word must be added as to the chronology. Not having seen the first edition of the Book of Husbandry printed by Pynson in 1523, I cannot certainly say whether the statement that the author had “been a householder for 40 years” occurs there. It occurs, however, in an undated edition by Peter Treuerys,[13] which is certainly the second edition, and printed between 1521 and 1531, as Treuerys is only known to have printed books during that period. Now this edition professes to have corrections and additions, the title being—“Here bygynneth a newe tracte or treatis moost profytable for all husbande men / and very [frutefu]ll for all other persones to rede / newly cor[rected] & amended by the auctour with to dyuerse other thynges added thervnto;” and it agrees very closely with the copy here printed. The date assigned for Sir Anthony Fitzherbert’s birth is 1470. If we suppose him to have begun housekeeping at 21, a period of 40 years will bring us to 1531, which is not inconsistent with his statement, if such be the date of the copy above mentioned. If, however, it should appear that the statement exists even in the first edition printed in 1523, then the “forty years” would lead us to suppose that, if the assigned date of his birth be correct, Sir Anthony began to be a householder, in his own estimation, at the early age of twelve or thirteen. This is of course a difficulty, but not an insuperable one, for the phrase “have been a householder” is somewhat vague, and the phrase “forty years or more” has rather the air of a rhetorical flourish.