The only issue of this marriage, the only issue (that at least survived) of both his marriages—for the Maria in the table of “The Memorials” was the daughter of his second wife by her first husband—was Elizabeth, afterwards married to Sackville Turnor; and the only issue of that marriage, prior at least to Reynold’s death in 1599, was Cicely. Elizabeth’s birth must have been in or before 1574, for in the Inquis. post mortem of Reg. Scot generosus in 1602, she is said to be “28 et amplius”. The Holy Maid of Kent (mentioned by Scot, p. 26) was servant to one of her maternal progenitors, probably to her grandfather.
[*] To this upper portion of the “M” is added a character which may make it “Mr.” or “Married”; but I have not myself yet seen the entry.
In this year, 1574, was also published the first issue of his brain, his tractate on The Hoppe-Garden, the first work, I believe, in which not only was the culture of the hop in England advocated, both as having been successfully tried by him, and as against its importation from Poppering, in Flanders, where its mode of culture, etc., was endeavoured to be kept secret; but the whole subject of its growth, culture, drying, and preservation was gone into in a practical manner, and further explained by woodcuts. And here it may be worth noting that in this year Reynold was necessarily absent so far from London that the publisher inserted this apologetic note: “Forasmuch as M. Scot could not be present at the printing of this his Booke, whereby I might have used his advise in the correction of the same, and especiallie of the Figures and Portratures conteyned therein, whereof he delivered unto me such notes as I being unskilfull in the matter, could not so thoroughly conceyve, nor so perfectly expresse as ... the Author, or you ... the Reader might in all poyntes be satisfied [etc., etc.].” In the second edition, however, in 1576, it was: “Now newly corrected and augmented,” the augmentations increasing the book from fifty-three pages, exclusive of the epilogue, to sixty, and the corrections including one added and one emended engraving. As a matter of curiosity, and as showing that neither the publisher nor the author expected a second edition, it may be added that though only two years had elapsed, some at least of the wood engravings required to be re-cut in almost exact facsimile. A third edition was issued in 1578, and from these we can date the commencement of the hop harvests in Kent.
In 1575 he succeeded to one moiety of such part of Lady Winifred Rainsford’s estate as was held in gavelkind. Possibly, indeed, we may place his enjoyment of it earlier, for Lady Rainsford was declared insane; and to this, by the way, I am not disinclined to attribute Reynold’s prolonged absence from London in 1572, the attendance of some one of the family being required, and he, being older than the sons of Sir Thomas, and of a junior branch, and a man of business, having been chosen or requested to go. And I think we may place his loss of that estate between this date and that of 1584, the date of the publication of the Witchcraft. At least, in this Discoverie occur two passages which, taken together, seem to point to this. In his dedication to Sir Th. Scot he says: [A vi], “My foot being [not, having been] under your table, my hand in your dish, or rather in your pursse”—and, [A viii]: “If they will allow men knowledge and give them no leave to use it, men were much better be without it than have it; ... it is, as ... to put a candle under a bushell: or as to have a ship, and to let hir lie alwaies in the docke: which thing how profitable it is, I can saie somewhat by experience.” Though it may be said that Reynold was a man of business, and, as appears from his writings, a man of decision and of unusual intelligence, still circumstances may combine to bring disaster as a shipowner on such a one, and more especially if he be new to the business. That he did in some way lose his “moiety” is shown by the words of his will, for, speaking of his second wife, he says, “whome yf I had not matched wth all I had not dyed worth one groate.” Not, improbably, I think, it was to the time of his first marriage, or to his widowership, or to both, that Wood more especially refers when he speaks of his giving himself up to solid reading, etc.
When his first wife died and when he re-married is as yet unknown to us. But this latter could hardly have taken place until the latter end, at earliest, of 1584, since in that year he, as already quoted, describes himself as, “having his foot under your [Sir Th. Scot’s] table”, etc., or in other words, as being a dependant not worth one groat. Nor do we know more of this second wife beyond these slight particulars that we gather from Reynold’s will: that her Christian name was Alice—given in “The Memorials” instead of Jane, to Cobbe, the first wife—that she was a widow with a daughter by her former husband; and that she had some land, either in her own right or derived from her former husband. That she was a widow at the time of her remarriage is shown by Reynold’s bequest of “six poundes thirteene shillings foure pence to my daughter in Lawe Marie Collyar for apparell [? mourning] desiring that her mother’s hand be not anie thinge the shorter towards her in that respect.” Whether Collyar were this daughter’s maiden name, and therefore the name of her mother’s first husband, or whether it were the name of her own husband, is doubtful, though from the words just quoted I rather incline to this second supposition, and that the husband was not a man of much means. With regard to what I have said as to the mother’s possession of property, it has been suggested to me by one of good judgment, and a solicitor, that Reynold’s expression as to not dying worth a groat was merely an excuse for leaving the bulk of his property to his wife; as also that these concluding words of the will, and the resistance of probate to it made by Elizabeth, his daughter by his first wife, indicate the existence of family differences, probably attributable to this second marriage having been entered into with one of a social rank inferior to his own. I cannot, however, deduce this latter supposition from anything we know, neither can I thus interpret the last words of his will, nor believe him guilty of such a perversion of the truth. Reading his will attentively, I think we find that Scot, with his usual fine sense of justice, gives all the lands in “Aldington, Ruckinge, and Sellinge”, which had become his by his marriage with Alice, “to her and to her [not to his] heires”, while he only gives his lands in Romney Marsh and his lease of Brabourne Rectory to her for her life, and then the lease at least, which had come to him “from his Cozen Charles”, to his daughter Elizabeth. Reading the last words of his will verbatim, I think it consistent with justice to hold, that though he may have obtained these lands in Romney Marsh through the use of what had been his wife’s former property, but was during his marriage his own, he was entitled to leave them to his wife only for her life, they then proceeding not, as did the others, to her heirs, but to his. I strongly suspect, also, that his casual omission of any directions as to whom these Romney Marsh lands were to go after her death was the real cause of the probate of the will being resisted by his daughter Elizabeth, so as to definitely raise this point.
Reserving all notice of his Witchcraft till I speak of it under its bibliography, I would say that we know little more of his life. The Rev. Jos. Hunter, in his Chorus Vatum, states that he was “a Collector of subsidies to Q. Elizabeth in 15..., for the county of Kent.” Urged to inquiry by this, my friend, Jas. Gairdner, Esq., kindly examined for me the Exchequer documents in the Public Record Offices, and it appears from them that he was collector of subsidies for the lathe of Shepway in the years 28 and 29 of Elizabeth (1586–87). It may be added that, as appears from a previous document, 125/299, in the same class of papers, that Sir Reynold Scot and other Commissioners for the collection in the lathe of Shepway, of the first payment of the subsidy granted by the Parliament, 37 Henry VIII, had appointed a high Collector. Thus we learn the mode of his appointment; and on looking through the lists we find that many such were “generosi”, though the payment was but small. For Scot, forty shillings was deducted from the incomings; and this not as a percentage, but as salary.
From the same documents we find that he is twice designated “armiger”, a word agreeing with his 1584 title-page, “by Reginald Scot, Esquire”, though in the editions of his Hoppe Garden his name alone is given. This was for myself an important find; but it will suffice here to say that it confirms Hunter’s supposition that this esquireship was due to his having been made a justice of the peace, though as to the date it can only as yet be said that this dignity was probably granted between 1578 and 1584.
In an Accompt of Sir Th. Heanage, knight, Treasurer at Warr, in the Public Record Offices, and printed by J. Renat Scott in the Arch. Canti., vol. xi, p. 388, we find the following entries: