17. Robert and Mary Herrick's family

   
At this point in our family history, there were many changes to the social structure of England.  Our family have to this point been members of the Royal family, members of the Royal Court, Knights and landowners.

With the Herricks, our lineage becomes removed from the Royal lines, and from this point onwards our great grandfathers were important members of the town community.

They were merchants, adventurers, mayors, aldermen in various towns, including London, Leicester, Newcastle, and in Dublin


When King Henry VIII came to power he set about destruction of the Roman Catholic Church, and he was responsible for the tearing down of many buildings, castles, priories throughout the country.

While he is a cousin of ours, as he was the son of King Henry VII who defeated King Richard at Bosworth, perhaps his most famous claim to fame is his many marriages.

In Leicester he ordered the removal of the building known as the Greyfriets Priory. Later another King granted the lands to the Herrick family.

King Henry VIII  was King during the time that the Herricks lived in Leicester.

Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later assumed the Kingship, of Ireland, and continued the nominal claim by English monarchs to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding his father, Henry VII.

Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the pope and the Roman Catholic Church. His struggles with Rome led to the separation of the Church of England from papal authority, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and his own establishment as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Yet he remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, even after his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.

 Henry oversaw the legal union of England and Wales with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. He is also well known for a long personal rivalry with both Francis I of France and the Habsburg monarch Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (King Charles I of Spain), his contemporaries with whom he frequently warred.

Domestically, he is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings to England. Besides asserting supremacy over the Church of England in its break from Rome in initiating the English Reformation, he also greatly expanded royal power. Charges of treason and heresy were commonly used to quash dissent, those accused were often executed without a formal trial, by means of bills of attainder instead. 

He achieved much of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, many of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. Figures such as Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Richard Rich, and Thomas Cranmer figured prominently in Henry's administration. An extravagant spender, he depended on spoils from the Dissolution of the Monasteries as well as various acts of the Reformation Parliament to divert money formerly bound for Rome to greatly increase the royal income. Despite the massive influx of money from these acts, Henry was always on the verge of financial ruin, due to his personal extravagance, as well as his numerous costly, and ultimately fruitless, continental wars.


His contemporaries considered Henry in his prime to be an attractive, educated and accomplished king, and he has been described as "one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne". Besides ruling with considerable power, he also engaged himself as an author and composer. His desire to provide England with a male heir – which stemmed partly from personal vanity and partly because he believed a daughter would be unable to consolidate the Tudor dynasty and the fragile peace that existed following the Wars of the Roses – led to the two things for which Henry is most remembered: his six marriages and his break with Rome (which would not allow a annulment), leading to the English Reformation. Henry became severely obese and his health suffered, contributing to his death in 1547. He is frequently characterised in his later life as a lustful, egotistical, harsh, and insecure king. He was succeeded by his son Edward VI.


Robert Herrick and Mary Manby were married in 1567 in Leicester.   A new era had commenced.

A New Queen was on the throne.     

Elizabethan Era

Reign	17 November 1558 – 24 March 1603
Coronation	15 January 1559
Predecessors	Mary I and Philip
Successor	James I

The Elizabethan period in England had a daily life based on social order: the monarch as the highest, the nobility as second rank, the gentry as third, merchants as fourth, yeomanry as fifth and laborers as sixth. The queen was believed to be God’s representation here on Earth. It was also believed that God had formed these social ranks and showered blessings on each rank.

The Parliament regulated the clothes that can only be worn by each rank and it was considered a defiance of the order if a laborer wore clothes of the rich. Sumptuary laws were imposed by rulers to curb the expenditure of the people. These laws applied to food, beverages, furniture, jewelry and clothing. They were used to control behavior and ensure that a specific class structure was maintained. Elizabethan Sumptuary Laws dictated what color and type of clothing individuals were allowed to own and wear. This allowed an easy and immediate way to identify rank and privilege.

Western Europe Map Society began to form along new lines during the Tudor years and it was an age of individuality. Nobility and knights were still at the top of the social ladder. These men were rich and powerful, and they have large households. 

The real growth in society was in the merchant class. Within the nobility class there was a distinction between old families and new. Most of the old families were Catholic, and the new families were Protestant. During Shakespeare’s time there were only about 55 noble families in England. 

At the head of each noble family is a duke, a baron or an earl. This class is the lords and ladies of the land. A person becomes a member of nobility by birth, or by a grant from the queen or king. Noble titles were hereditary, passing from father to oldest son. It took a crime such as treason for a nobleman to lose his title. Many nobles died during the War of the Roses, a series of civil wars fought during the 15th century.

 The Tudor monarchy, Elizabeth, her father Henry VIII, and her grandfather Henry VII rarely appointed new nobles to replace those who died. They viewed the nobility class as a threat to their power and preferred to keep the number of them small. Being a member of the nobility class often brought debt rather than profit. The expectations of the class and the non paying honorific offices could bring terrible financial burdens.

 They maintained huge households, and conspicuous consumption and lavish entertainment was expected. Visiting nobles to England were the responsibility of the English nobility to house and entertain at their own expense. Appointment to a post as a foreign ambassador required the ambassador to maintain a household of as many 100 attendants. Most of Queen Elizabeth’s council, chief officers in the counties came from the noble families. They were expected to serve in an office, such as being an ambassador to a foreign country, at their own expense of course.

Gentry

The Gentry class included knights, squires, gentlemen, and gentlewomen who did not work with their hands for a living. Their numbers grew during Queen Elizabeth’s reign and became the most important social class in England. Wealth was the key to becoming a part of the gentry class. This class was made of people not born of noble birth who by acquiring large amounts of property became  wealthy landowners. 

The rise of the gentry was the dominant feature of Elizabethan society. They essentially changed things, which launched out new paths whether at home or overseas, provided leadership and spirit of the age, who gave it character and did its work during this era. The gentry were the solid citizens of Elizabethan England. Francis Drake, the famous explorer and Sir Walter Raleigh, who led the way to the English colonization of America were of the gentry class. 

Two of the  queen’s chief ministers, Burgley and Walsingham were products of the gentry. Francis Bacon, the great essayer and philosopher also came from this class. The gentry were the backbone of Elizabethan England. They went to Parliament and served as justices of the Peace. They combined the wealth of the nobility with the energy of the sturdy peasants from whom they had sprung.

Merchant

The Tudor era saw the rise of modern commerce with cloth and weaving leading the way. The prosperous merchant class emerged from the ashes of the Wars of the Roses. The prosperity of the wool trade led to a surge in building and the importance cannot be overstated. Shipping products from England to various ports in Europe and to the New World also became a profitable business for the merchants. Prices for everyday food and household items that came from other countries increased as the merchants gained a monopoly on the sales of all goods under the pretence it would benefit the country where it really benefited the pocket of the merchants.

Yeomanry

This was the “middling” class who saved enough to live comfortably but who at any moment, through illness or bad luck be plunged into poverty. This class included the farmers, tradesmen and craft workers. They took their religion very seriously and could read and write. This class of people was prosperous and sometimes their wealth could exceed those of the gentry, but the difference was how they spent their wealth. The yeoman’s were content to live more simply, using their wealth to improve their land and expand it.

Laborers

The last class of Elizabethan England was the day laborers, poor husbandmen, and some retailers who did not own their own land. Artisans, shoemakers, carpenters, brick masons and all those who worked with their hands belonged to this class of society. In this class we can also put our great swarms of idle serving-men and beggars. Under Queen Elizabeth I, the government undertook the job of assisting the laborers class and the result was the famous Elizabethan Poor Laws which resulted in one of the world’s first government sponsored welfare programs. This era was generally peaceful as the battles between the Protestants and the Catholics and those between the Parliament and the Monarchy had subsided.

For more information visit http://thelostcolony.org/education/elizabethan-era/ or a wikipedia search!

In 1603 again during the lives of the Herrick family King James I was crowned the King.

During her reign, Queen Elizabeth encouraged trade with overseas countries, and in the Herrick papers are several references to letters received from the Queen in regard to merchants from Leicester, going to Turkey.

Robert's brother William Herrick:

He shortly after that event married Miss Joan May, the 'daughter of Richd. May, Esq., a citizen of London, and sister of Sir Humphrey May, sometime Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Mr. Wm. Heyricke soon became a freeman of Leicester, presenting the Mayor with a 'dozen of silver spoons' as his fee.

 In 1601 he was elected one of the members of Parliament for the Borough: about that time he was • ambassador from Queen Elizabeth to the Porte.'t

 In 1605 he was knighted by James I., and in that year was again returned to Parliament: he held an office In the royal jewel house, being called by the Chamberlains of the Borough 'The King's Master Jeweller' in their accounts for 1603-4, when they presented him with a complimentary present of white and claret wine with sugar and nutmeg: he was a Teller of the Exchequer at about the same period: in fact he had then become a most important personage in London--~me of the: many influential men who met daily in the nave of S. Paul's Cathedral to transact their business one of the great capitalists and the court banker of the day, whose monetary transactions were large, and extended far and near.

Sir William Herrick (1562 – 2 March 1653) was an English jeweller, courtier, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1622.
Herrick was the son of John Heyrick of Leicester and was baptised on 9 December 1562. His father was an ironmonger at Leicester. He was sent to London in about 1574 to be apprenticed to his elder brother Nicholas Herrick, a goldsmith in Cheapside. After six years he set up in business on his own in Wood Street on premises leased from the Goldsmith’s Company. He also became a moneylender and in a few years he had made himself a fortune and was able to purchase Beau Manor Park from the Earl of Essex, and obtained a right to arms. He came to the notice of Queen Elizabeth, who sent him on a mission to the Ottoman Porte and on his return he was rewarded with a lucrative appointment in the Exchequer. He was made a freeman of Leicester in 1601 when he presented the corporation with a dozen silver spoons in lieu of a fee.

In 1601, Herrick was elected Member of Parliament for Leicester. He became principal jeweller to the King, Queen and Prince of Wales in 1603 and held the post until 1625. He became a freeman of the City of London in May 1605 and was knighted in the same year. He served as MP for Leicester for part of the 1604–1611 parliament. He was prime warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company from 1605 to 1606. In 1607 he took as apprentice his nephew Robert the future poet. In 1621 he was elected MP for Leicester again.
Herrick died at the age of about 90 and was buried at St Martin’s Church, Leicester.^[1][3]

Herrick married Joan May, daughter of Richard May of London and of Mayfield Place, Sussex on 6 May 1596, and had at least one son. His brother Robert was also an MP


The Herrick Papers have been digitised from a collection which is held at the Oxford University.
The papers give an insight into the life of the family in those days.  It was rather common to make arranged marriages.  Most of the husbands were from respected merchant families, as were the wives.

.

 The following is condensed from" The letters of Alderman Robert Heyricke

of Leicester, 1590-1617. A Contribution to the Transactions of the Leicestelshire

:Architectural and Archieological Society. (Vol. V,-Part II, 1880). By

Thomas North, F. S. A." It was received after the English Familv, in this

book, was printed, and hence contains some items which were given (though

incorrectly, perhaps), there.

. "During an inspection by a visitor of the numerous memorials of the dead in St. Martin's Church, Leicester, the upright slabs arranged within the north chapel, or Herrick's chancel, will not be overlooked; one at least, by the ancient form of its characters and the quaintness of its diction, will certainly challenge observation.

(See Epitaph of John Heyricke, on page 5.)*

Several were ministers, others were Aldermen, and Mayor of the town.  In this light it seems that our Ruth Herrick must have married a man of standing!

In 1603 a new King was on the throne. King James I.

King James had his favourite citizens and some of our ancestors were among his chosen few!

Reign	24 July 1567 – 27 March 1625
Coronation	29 July 1567
Predecessor	Mary, Queen of Scots
Successor	Charles

James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, with their own parliaments, judiciary, and laws, though both were ruled by James in personal union.
He succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of thirteen months, after his mother Mary, Queen of Scots, was compelled to abdicate in his favour. Four different regents governed during his minority, which ended officially in 1578, though he did not gain full control of his government until 1583.

In 1603, he succeeded the last Tudor monarch of England and Ireland, Elizabeth I, who died without issue. He continued to reign in all three kingdoms for 22 years, a period known as the Jacobean era after him, until his death in 1625 at the age of 58.

 After the Union of the Crowns, he based himself in England (the largest of the three realms) from 1603, only returning to Scotland once in 1617, and styled himself "King of Great Britain and Ireland". He was a major advocate of a single parliament for both England and Scotland. In his reign, the Plantation of Ulster and British colonisation of the Americas began.

At 57 years and 246 days, his reign in Scotland was longer than those of any of his predecessors. He achieved most of his aims in Scotland but faced great difficulties in England, including the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and repeated conflicts with the English Parliament. Under James, the "Golden Age" of Elizabethan literature and drama continued, with writers such as William Shakespeare, John Donne, Ben Jonson, and Sir Francis Bacon contributing to a flourishing literary culture.

 James himself was a talented scholar, the author of works such as Daemonologie (1597), True Law of Free Monarchies (1598), and Basilikon Doron (1599). He sponsored the translation of the Bible that was named after him: the Authorised King James Version. Sir Anthony Weldon claimed that James had been termed "the wisest fool in Christendom", an epithet associated with his character ever since. Since the latter half of the 20th century, historians have tended to revise James's reputation and treat him as a serious and thoughtful monarch.

Despite the smoothness of the succession and the warmth of his welcome, James survived two conspiracies in the first year of his reign, the Bye Plot and Main Plot, which led to the arrest, among others, of Lord Cobham and Sir Walter Raleigh.Those hoping for governmental change from James were at first disappointed when he maintained Elizabeth's Privy Councillors in office, as secretly planned with Cecil, but James shortly added long-time supporter Henry Howard and his nephew Thomas Howard to the Privy Council, as well as five Scottish nobles.

 In the early years of James's reign, the day-to-day running of the government was tightly managed by the shrewd Robert Cecil, later Earl of Salisbury, ably assisted by the experienced Thomas Egerton, whom James made Baron Ellesmere and Lord Chancellor, and by Thomas Sackville, soon Earl of Dorset, who continued as Lord Treasurer.As a consequence, James was free to concentrate on bigger issues, such as a scheme for a closer union between England and Scotland and matters of foreign policy, as well as to enjoy his leisure pursuits, particularly hunting.

James was ambitious to build on the personal union of the Crowns of Scotland and England to establish a single country under one monarch, one parliament and one law, a plan which met opposition in both realms. "Hath He not made us all in one island," James told the English parliament, "compassed with one sea and of itself by nature indivisible?" In April 1604, however, the Commons refused on legal grounds his request to be titled "King of Great Britain".

 In October 1604, he assumed the title "King of Great Britain" by proclamation rather than statute, though Sir Francis Bacon told him he could not use the style in "any legal proceeding, instrument or assurance".

In foreign policy, James achieved more success. Never having been at war with Spain, he devoted his efforts to bringing the long Anglo–Spanish War to an end, and in August 1604, thanks to skilled diplomacy on the part of Robert Cecil and Henry Howard, now Earl of Northampton, a peace treaty was signed between the two countries, which James celebrated by hosting a great banquet.

 Freedom of worship for Catholics in England continued, however, to be a major objective of Spanish policy, causing constant dilemmas for James, distrusted abroad for repression of Catholics while at home being encouraged by the Privy Council to show even less tolerance towards them.

Gunpowder Plot

On the night of 4–5 November 1605, the eve of the state opening of the second session of James's first English Parliament, Catholic Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellars of the parliament buildings. He was guarding a pile of wood not far from 36 barrels of gunpowder with which Fawkes intended to blow up Parliament House the following day and cause the destruction, as James put it, "not only ... of my person, nor of my wife and posterity also, but of the whole body of the State in general". The discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, as it quickly became known, aroused a mood of national relief at the delivery of the king and his sons which Salisbury exploited to extract higher subsidies from the ensuing Parliament than any but one granted to Elizabeth. Fawkes and others implicated in the unsuccessful conspiracy were executed.

Mary Manby was the daughter of Alderman William Manby and his wife Joan Burton.

He married Elizabeth Manby, a neighbour's daughter, and in due time succeeded to his father's business, occupying the. house and shop already referred to as standing in the Market Place at the corner of Cheapside. He had a large family-two sons and nine daughters. He was thrice Mayor of his native town (in 1584. '593. and 1605), and at all times took an active and disinterested part in public matters. Much of this will be gleaned from his letters in the collections which follow these remarks.

 He was during the latter part of his life the constant correspondent and agent of ms brother Sir Wm. Heyricke, for whom he had a strong brotherly affection, and to whom he delighted to communicate the news of passing events in the town of their early home-a habit doubtless thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed by the younger man amidst the din and turmoil of city life. Alderman Robert Heyricke died in 1618. and the following quaint inscription on an upright slab is to be found near to that of his

father's In S. Martin's Church, Leicester:

1556 WILLIAM MANBY,

(171)

(Grocer).

Descended from an ancient family of Manby and Worlabye, Lincs., whose Pedigree was entered at the Visitation of that county in 1562. He was born about 1515, came to Leic. at an early age, admitted a free burgess in 1536-7, elected one of the borough chamberlains 1543-4 and rapidly rose to prominence. He was again mayor in 1568. His wife Joan, by whom he had issue, appears to have been a daughter of Edward Burton of Branston, co. Rutland.

AId. William Manby was buried in St. Martin's church 26 January 1585-6 "on the north side of the clock house." His will, bearing date 20 February 1584, was proved at Leic. by his widow, 7 February 1585-6.

Arms of Manby :-Argent, a lion rampant sable within an orle of eight escallops gules. (The Lincs. Pedigree of the family says "eight martlets azure") Crest :-An arm couped at the elbow and erect, vested per pale crenelltée or and argent, holding in the gauntlet a sword pomelled of the first. Plate 2

.

1568 WILLIAM MANBY.(2)

William Manbie, a grocer, dealt in hats, mercery, haberdashery, grocery, linens, hemp, soap, packthread, honey, and other goods. He had in addition considerable stocks of malt, rye, and barley, and leased a close at Abbey Gate for his dairy and stables, leaving goods and chattels valued at £359. (fn. 71) Thus grocers developed into mercers.

Robert and Mary had a large family:

Elizabeth      b  1565   m.  Robert Orpwood (Goldsmith) of London    

Mary             b  1569   m  Rev Thomas Sacheverill

Nathaniel      b  1570

Tobias           b  1572  m  Elizabeth Yard

Ruth              b  1573  m  George Rogers                              Our lineage

Frances         b  1575  m  Thomas Noble

Sarah            b  1575   m James Andrew

Hester           b  1576  m  William Walker

Martha          b  1585    m  John Wheeler

Susanna        b  1587

Dorcas          b  1590   m  John Collier

1608   JAMES ANDREW, (Mercer).

(207)  

Probably a son of Thomas Andrew of Leic. 1560 ; was

born in 1552, admitted a freeman of the borough 1580~1, and elected a chamberlain in 1593, a coroner in 1605, again mayor in 1621 and signed the memorial, already referred to, for Sunday shop closing in 1606. He died leaving issue in 1627, aged seventy~five, and was buried at St. Martin's 25 July. M.I. was formerly to be

seen on an old blue stone stript of its brasses in the north aisle of the church. Will, dated 8 May 1627. was proved at Leic. 9 November following.

Elizabeth's brother was also an Alderman and Mayor.

1613   THOMAS MANBY, (Gentleman).

(211)  

Third son of AId. William Manby, mayor in 1556; was baptized at St. Martin's 4 June 1560, admitted a freeman 1584,5, a member of the company of the forty, eight 1591, one of the borough chamberlains 1592 and an alderman 1593. Originally a grocer by trade but had retired from business activities by the time of his mayoralty. His daughter Joan, married her kinsman, Robert Manby of W orlabye, co. Lincoln.

AId. Manby was an energetic mayor. He was seriously ill during his term of office, but had sufficiently recovered and was able to welcome, on behalf of the borough, King James I who came to Leic. 18 August 1614. His name disappears from the list of aldermen after 29 September 1618. He left Leic. shortly afterwards and settled at Wragby, co. Lincoln, where he died a few weeks later. The parish register of Wragby thus records his burial "Thomas Manby, gent., was buried at Wragby 2nd February 1618(,9)." By his will, bearing date 14 December 1618 and proved in the P.C.C., London, 24 February 1618,9, he desired to be buried in Wragby church near the grave of his daughter and made bequests to Wigston's hospital and to the poor of Leic.

Sir William Herrick 1562 - 1653

Sir William Herrick 1557 - 1653

In 1591 Robert Herrick, a Leicester glover who had removed to Mountsorrel, requested to be allowed to continue in liberty of the borough. He was not allowed to keep up his shop in Leicester, but was permitted to trade as a stranger. Herrick was not the only one concerned, for in 1594 the glovers of Mountsorrel petitioned their landlord, the Earl of Huntingdon, to help them reverse this decision. The borough remained adamant, for the objection to foreign glovers was not merely that they sold in the town but that they bought woolfells needed by Leicester. Herrick of Mountsorrel led the glovers of his town and of Ashby de la Zouch and Loughborough, with the support of the Earl of Huntingdon, in a struggle against Leicester corporation.

 The borough debarred the glovers of all the country save Loughborough from trading in the Saturday market, for which prohibition the Leicester glovers had placed £5 at the borough's disposal. A compromise was arrived at, by which ten Mountsorrel and six Loughborough glovers were to have a monopoly of the 'outside' trade in return for taking up residence in the town. The Mountsorrel men, however, refused to abide by this and told the corporation their charter was 'only fit to stop mustard-pots'. Then the attorney-general of the duchy entered a bill in Star Chamber and sued a quo warranto against the glovers' market at Mountsorrel. Settlement was eventually reached. The country glovers were to pay 10s. each for a licence to trade, and of this 5s. was to go to the town glovers. In addition the country were to pay to the town glovers 1s. apiece for brotherhood money. At the time of the Civil War the town glovers attempted to reverse the position and the corporation was induced to shut up the shops of the country glovers, who were nevertheless readmitted to the market on payment of appropriate fees. 

The following is a google translated will of Robert Orpwill, the language is very interesting.

Robert Orpwood

Robert Orpwood,· citizen and goldsmith of London. Will dat. 18 Aug. 7 Jac.

I.; proved 7 Sept. 1609 by Elizth Orpwoodt the relict. My father-in-law Mr

Robert Heirick £40. My mother-in-law MrI' Eliz. Heirick £20. My brother

Mr Tho· Orpwood of Abington £50' My brother wm Orpwood '£50. My

brother Richd Orpwood £20. My brother Francis Orpwood £100. My broiherin-

law Mr Tobias Heirick of Houghton, co. Leic., £13 6s. Sd. My brother-inlaw

Thomas Sacheverell of Leicester £40. My sister Ruth Rogers £10. My

sister Frances Noble £5. My sister Wheeler in London £6 13s. 4d. My sister

Susanna, Heirick, who dwelt with me, £13 6s. 8d. My sister Dorcas Heirick

£5. My sister Hester Walker of Stanford.5 marks. My Aunt Houlden in London

£10. My Aunt Cowell of London £6 13s. 4d. Poor of the Hospital in

Abington, Berks, £50' Poor of the old Hospital in the New Worke by Leicester

£7. Poor of Wigston's Hospital in Leicester £3. Residue to my wife

Elizth, sole Ex'trix. My father-in-law Mr Robt Heirick and my brother Sr Wm

Heirick of London, Overseers. Goldsmiths' Company £10 for a dinner. Richd

Hudson of Leicester 40s. Witn. Tho. Sacheverell, Robt Stoke, Wm Harry, Robt

Marsham, John Whatton. (84, Dorsett.)

This is an excerpt from Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society regarding John and Robert Herrick's wills.     

"The two Herrick wills are, of course, the gems. John's the shorter introduces us to the household of a well-to-do tradesman who has worked hard, served twice as the civic head of his community and raised a numerous family - the inscription on his tombstone in the cathedral testifies that he and Mary his wife lived together in the same house for more than 52years "and in all that tyme never buried man, woman nor childe, though they were sometimes 20 in the household" a- a proud boast, surely, and a rare one, in those days of large-scale infant mortality and frequent visitations of the plague.

Incidentally, one wonders how a copy of Calvin's translation of the Bible into French came his way, as he is unlikely to have had much, if any acquaintance with that tongue, though he certainly used the book to good purpose, after his own fashion, by stripping off the covers and utilising them to rebind his New Testament, doubtless by that time somewhat the worse for wear.  His posession of the book De Proprietatibus Rerum seems to indicate some interest in the natural sciences.

More important still is the very detailed will of Robert his son, himself thrice mayor, a clear and admirably drafted document, registering, albeit incidentally, the considerable rise in the family fortune effected in less than 30 years by his skill and exertion.  The items of clothing, plate and furnishings bequeathed afford lively glompses of the good house he kept and the state and dignity in which he must have gone to church and about his civic functions.His lodestone and crystal suggest that he inherited his father's scientific interests.  One would like to have seen his collection of pictures, of which one alone can now be identified, his own splendid three-quarter portrait that hangs in the Guildhall.  It is perhaps to be deplored that he is displayed in the severe black of his churchgoing attire, in which, indeed, he makes a most becoming figure, but one longs for the "grograine gowne with the tuftaffatie cape"

Robert Herrick, like his father, was buried in St. Martin's.  The tombstone now exposed to view on the floor at th West end of St. Catherine's chapel is only a copy of the original slab, which Mr Colin Ellis found recently under the carpet just to the E of it.  This slab, of dark slate (approximate dimensions 80 in by 34 in) is very badly perished, and the inscription in places almost obliterated.

And a copy of Robert Herrick's will

Robert Heyrick [32] of Leicester, Alderman. Will dat. 26 March 1617; pr.

30 July 1618 by Eliz. Heyricke and Eliz. Orpwood, Ex'trices. 

To my WIfe

Elizth my now dwelling house for life, and my da. Orpwood to live with her,

and my Said wife to have the Gray fJ'ryers etc. for life, and my da. Orpwood to

have her key and walks for her recreation for life, remr to my son Tobias. Also

to my Said wife the Tenter close and other lands, and certain plate, etc.

To my son Tobias Heyricke, parson of Houghton, land sometime Mr Dannett's, as appears

by a deed between my brother Yarde* and me.(Son in law Yarde) Also to my said son my

great signet, my seal with my grandfather Bond's arms, my watch, etc. To his

wife a tent in Goswell Gate

To my da. Dorcas my Inn called the White Hart,      

and also her Cithern and a chair which was the Duchess of Suffolk's. 

My brother Sir Wm Heyrick, Knt.; and his son Robert, my godson. My godson

Robt Heyrick, son of my brother Nicholas. My son Hills of London and his

wife. My cousin Mrs Kynnersley, widow, and her son Mr John Kynnersley.

My godson Robert Noble, son of my son Noble. My goddau. Kath. Noble.

My godson John Wheeler. Elizth Walker £10 at marriage. Vincent Norrington

and Symon Norrington. My sister Holden. My brother Tho' Heyrick.

My brother John. My brother Manbye. My son Sachevere and his son

Joseph and dau. Susanna. John Whatton. Robt Billers. John Williams, my

--;s;,t~ Robert Orp.,,,od and Elizabeth hi. widow (she subsequently married John Whatton) were buried ill"

 My son-in-law M' George Rogers, clerk, and

my dau. Ruth his wife. My son-in-law M' John Wheeler and Martha his wife.

My son-in-law M' Tho' Noble and Frances his wife. My wife Elizabeth and

my da. Eliz. Orpwood to be Ex'trices. My son-in-law Mr Tho'Sacheverell,

my son-in-law Mr James Andrewe, and 111y cousin wm Davye, Overseers. My

brother-in-law Geo. Brookes. My son Andrewe and his son James Andrewe.

To the Hospital of the Holy Trinity in Newarke, near Leicester, a yearly rent of

£5 lOS. out of the land called the Grey ffryars. Witn. Tho· Sacheverill, John

Whatton, wm Allatt. (73, Meat/e.)

Mary Eyrick [wid. of 151 of Leycester the Elder Iornemonger. Will dat. 5

Feb. 1611. To be buried in Sent Martin's chirch in Lester in the N. side of the

liberary neare to the grave of my husband. My goods to son Thomas Erick &

my dau. Mary Erick between them. To Sir William my youngist sone aston

pote covered with silver. To his wife my lady Eyrick one pay' of blankites of

linsy wolsy of my one makinge. To my doughter Master Robert Ericke's wyfe

my best gowne. Executor: my son Thomas Eyrick.

 Proved at Leicester 4

August 1612 by the exor. (u;cesler Wills, 16, 2, No. 26.)

Trying to find the family of George Rogers who married Ruth Herrick has been very difficult!

Trinity Hospital, Leicester

The Duchy of Lancaster is responsible for appointing the Chaplain of Trinity Hospital in Leicester, a foundation which provides almshouse-type accommodation for elderly residents.

In 1331 Henry Grosmont, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Leicester, founded an almshouse for fifty poor and infirm persons, in the Newarke, Leicester. His son Henry, also Duke of Lancaster, established a chantry college in 1354-56. The Hospital was linked with the College, and the number of poor people increased to 100. One penny a day was allowed for the maintenance of each poor person. Further benefactions were made later by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.
In 1614, King James I granted a new Charter, and gave the institution the name “Hospital of the Holy Trinity”. The Mayor of Leicester was to be the Master during his term of office, assisted by four senior Aldermen and two Borough Chamberlains, while the Chaplain was to be appointed by the Duchy of Lancaster.
The medieval building remained unaltered until it was rebuilt in 1776, largely at the expense of King George III. The residential portion had to be rebuilt again in 1901-2 when accommodation for thirty-six residents was provided.
In 1994, the old hospital premises were sold as it was no longer feasible to maintain them, and a nearby site on Western Boulevard was purchased. The new building, with self-contained flats for twenty-two elderly residents and a warden, was formally opened in 1995 and the new Chapel consecrated by the Bishop of Leicester.
The Master of Trinity Hospital continues to be the Lord Mayor of Leicester during his or her term of office. The Governors, who meet quarterly, consist of six members nominated by the Council, the Chaplain, the Master and four co-opted members.
An ancient stipend of £246 per annum has been paid by the Duchy of Lancaster to the Hospital since its foundation in 1331. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a Visitor to Trinity Hospital and appoints the Chaplain by Letters Patent on behalf of Her Majesty.
The present Chaplain is The Reverend Canon Barry Naylor who was appointed in October 2009.

The will of Elizabeth (Manbey)

Elizabeth Heyricke of Leicestnr, widow, [J:z.] Will dat. 3 Feb. 1'623; pro 9

Oct. 1626 by Eliz. Orpwood. To be burd in the Library of S' Martin's Church,

near my husband.

 My son Tobias Heyricke, his wife and 5 childD• The pictures of my husband and Sir Wm Heyricke to my da. Orpwood for life, and after to the Town of Leicester. 

My da. Ruth Rogers, her husbd George Rogers, her eld. da. Eliz'h Rogers, and her other children under age.

 Mary and Susanna Wheeler, under age, children of my da. Martha Wheeler. Children of my da.

Wheeler which she had bv her first husband. 

My da. Noble, her husbd Mr Tho' Noble, her son George Noble (my godson) under age, and her da. Eliz.Noble (my godda.), and the rest of my da. Noble's children under age.

 My da.Susanna Hills and her childn • 

My da. Dorcas Collier and her son Rob' Collier, ,under age. The rest of my da. Collier's children (under age) which she had by her first husband. 

Robt Rogers, under age, eld. son of my son Rogers.

 Vincent Norringe ($lt-? Norrington] and Elizth Walker his sister. Symon Norrington.

I) 

My sister Houlden. My cousin Chettle and her da. Susanna Miller. My goddau. the wife of my cousin Tho' Heyrick. My cousin Wm Davey. My cousin Anne Jonson. My godda. Eliz. Manbee. My da. Sacheverell and her son Joseph and her da. Susanna. My cousin James Andrewe. My cousin Tho'

Manbee, my brother Manbee's son. 

Men and women of the Hospitals at Leicester ad. each. Residue to my da. Eliz. Orpwood, Ex'trix. My son-in-law M' Thos Sacheverell, my son-in-law Mr james Andrewe, and my·cousin Mr

Wm Davy,

Oversers. Witn. Rob' Dawkins, Alex' Juge, Richd Shippie, ChristianThomas Sacheverill, Of Leicester, clt:rk. Will dat. 2 Sept. 1626. 

Some Children's wills.

Mary Ericke,· [33] of Lester, the doughter of John Ericke Iornemonger.

Willl no date, probably circa 1612]' All ~ly lands which my father gave between

my brother Thomas Eyricke & me, I give to my said brother Thomas

Eyricke & his heires. Also, all my goods. To be buried in Sent Martine's

church of Lester, so near my mother as may he. Exor: my brother Thomas

Eyrick. Witnesses: Katherne Dod & Thomas Eyrick. Will proved at Leicester

4 August 1612 by Tho. Eyrick.-(utCester Wills, 1612, No. 25.

Dorcas Colliar, [52], of 8t. Martin's Leicester. WiII dat. 29 Uct. 1631. Sons

john C., Robert, & daughter Ann. My sisters Whatton, Gillat, Hall, Heyrick,

SacheveH:ll, & Collier. Ex·or: by brother Mr. John Whatton, esq. Proved 23

~ov. 16.11 at Leicester.-(Reg;stt"l." ROtIk 1628-1631, fo. 256.)

His brother's will

John Ericke of Marchasiowe aI's Markiowe, co. Cornwall, gent. Will dat.

20 Aug. 1621; pro 8 Sep. 1621 by Alexander Oliver, senr. To be burd in the

church of S' Illarye, and to the Sd Church 20". All my lands to my eld. son

John Erick. All my goods and chattels to Thomas Ericke my son and Mary

Erick my da. when of full age. My sister-ill-law Eliz'h Oliver £20 at marrec•

Residue to my father-in-law Alex' Oliver the elder, sole Ex'or, to whome my

ri~ht in the lands and livings which I bought of Tho' Trevnwith, Esq. Witn.

Rlchd Baylye, Alex' Simons, Alexr Olives, jun',