It is well known that Lord Dunbar and Sir Thomas Metham were Roman Catholics. Had Sir William Alford not been of the same religious persuasion, he would scarcely have acted as their colleague on these occasions.
The estrangement of which Lancelot Turner complained, when he revoked his gift of the clock to his “good and worthy friend,” may possibly have been occasioned by Sir William’s dislike of that outward conformity to Protestantism, which Lancelot had found it convenient to assume in his latter days.
Like other country gentlemen, Lancelot Turner had a town-house for his occasional residence, as well as his manor-house of Towthorpe. You show us that in December, 1619, when he executed his last will he is described of Towthorpe; but you think that the codicil, which is dated a few days before his death, was probably made at York.[36] There is no doubt that in his last illness he was residing in Goodramgate, in the house which his nephew afterwards occupied. Part of the street called Goodramgate is in the parish of Saint John del Pike, which was then, as it is now, united to the parish of the Holy Trinity Goodramgate; and I find in the register-book of the united parishes, an entry of the burial of “Mr. Lancelot Turner” on Jan. 16, 1620.
Upon the death of his uncle, William Turner made Towthorpe[37] his principal perhaps his only place of abode, and exactly two years after that event, viz., on Jan. 14, 1621-2, his marriage to Thomasine Newton was solemnized at the little church of the parish of Huntington, in which the township of Towthorpe is situate. The extreme youth of the lady was most probably the cause of the postponement of the marriage (which, as you observe, had evidently been contemplated by the uncle) until the expiration of two years after his death. At that time she could not have been more than fifteen years old. Her father, Christopher Newton, was not of age in 1604, when his father, Miles Newton, died;[38] and it is pretty certain that he was not then married.
In what creed either of the parents of Edith Pope was educated, we have no means of ascertaining, but we may reasonably suppose that their religious faith would take its colour from that which was professed by him of whom they were the adopted children. If the Roman Catholic tendency were less manifest in them, we see it abundantly developed in their numerous offspring, of whom a considerable proportion, we are told, were avowedly members of the ancient church.
The origin of that particular regard which Lancelot Turner had for Thomasine Newton remains inexplicable. His having “household stuff at Kilburn,” which he bequeathed to her by his will, would indicate that he had occasionally resided at the house of her parents at that place. The will of either of them might have thrown some light upon these points; but such documents, if they exist, have hitherto eluded our researches.
About thirteen months after the marriage of William Turner and Thomasine Newton, their first child was born. “Christian Turner,[39] daughter of William Turner of Towthorpe gentleman,” was baptized at Huntington on Feb. 19, 1622-23. The second child was a son. On March 30, 1624, “George Turner, son of William Turner of Towthorpe gentleman,” was baptized at Huntington. This was doubtless one of the youths whose “gentle blood was shed in honour’s cause.” About two years afterwards, the second daughter was born—Alice, of whom you speak as the wife of Richard Mawhood,[40] was baptized at Huntington on the 23rd of March, 1625-6. After this time the parochial register of Huntington ceases to yield any information relating to William Turner or his family.
In the same year in which he was married, William Turner made a purchase, with what specific object it is now in vain to inquire, of a house in Stonegate, York. In the deed (dated Nov. 5, 1622) by which the property was conveyed to him he is described “William Turner of Towthropp in the county of York gentleman.” Whatever may have been his motive for purchasing a house in York, he did not long retain the ownership of it. By a deed dated June 5, 1626, “William Turner of Towthropp gentleman, and Thomasine his wife,” transferred all their interest in the property to William Scott of York merchant, and John Lasinbye of Huntington yeoman. It maybe surmised that Scott and Lasinbye were not purchasers, but merely trustees for effecting some charitable or other purpose not strictly legal, which had soon afterwards been brought into litigation or dispute. On June 3, 1630, William Turner, who was then at York, joined with William Scott and John Lasinbye in an absolute conveyance of the property to Robert Hemsworth and Thomas Hoyle, aldermen, and several other persons, also members of the corporation of York. This conveyance is stated to have been made in performance of a decree of the Court of Chancery, dated Feb. 20 preceding, in accordance with an act of Parliament passed in the 43rd year of Queen Elizabeth, intituled “An Act to redress the Misemployment of Lands and Tenements theretofore given to Charitable Uses.” Of this transaction I will not venture to offer any further explanation.
A chasm of ten years now occurs in my chronology. I do not again meet with the name of William Turner until the year 1640, when he was once more a resident in York, most probably occupying the same house in Goodramgate in which his uncle Lancelot lived and died. The register of the united parishes of Saint John del Pike and Holy Trinity Goodramgate, contains entries of the baptism of “Judith, the daughter of Mr. William Turner,” on July 16, 1640, and of the burial of the same child on Aug. 3 in the same year. The removal of the family from York must have taken place soon afterwards. For an account of the circumstances attending their residence in the West Riding, I need only refer to your valuable tract.[41]
I am unable to give any assistance towards dispelling the obscurity in which that period of the history of William Turner is involved, that extends from the month of June, 1626, when he is described “of Towthrope,” until the birth of his daughter Judith at York in the summer of 1640. It is clear that he was at York in June, 1630; but I have met with nothing to show where he passed the preceding four years or the following ten years. During these fourteen years his wife presented him with two sons and seven daughters; but I have failed to discover the entry of the baptism of any of these children, either at York or at Huntington.