Corn and hay from a barn and field, kitchen utensils and four horses – including an ‘olde mare’ – were just some of the items left to family and friends in a will belonging to a man from Woodborough who lived in the village back in the sixteenth century.
The will belonged to William Alvye – a stalwart of the village – and is one of the exciting items that’s been unearthed by the Woodborough History Group and is now available to see on their website.
The will dates back to August 10, 1567 and was appraised by four men who also resided in the village.
Other items listed include four pans, four pots, an axe, four mattresses, pillows and bedsheets.
One lucky benefactor would have got his hands on William’s deluxe kitchen set which included ‘4 pannes, 3 pottes, 3 chafynge dysshes, one brasen morter and one pestell’.
John Hoyland is one of the volunteers at the Woodborough History Group
He told Gedling Eye: “This inventory was carried out for Probate and shows what a person might have as possessions and what values might be placed on them.
“The name Alvye (Alvey) has been in Woodborough for quite a few centuries eventually dying out in 1986 when cobbler Bill Alvey, whose home and workshop were near the Nags Head, died.”
The group’s Woodborough’s Heritage’ site was overhauled back in December and now includes many new sections which contain extensive photos, maps and village plans which date back hundreds of years.
Mr Hoyland added: “The site really does give the reader an insight in to what life was like in Woodborough over the last 600 years or so.
“The implementation of the Enclosure of Woodborough was a major Act and document which can be found on the site and shaped the fields, the roads that included bridleways and footpaths that we see and use today 220 years later.
“There are currently over 5,500 local photographs that always needs fresh information for our captions, they can be reached through the link on our main site.”
You can discover the rich history and heritage of Woodborough by visiting the Woodborough History Group’s website: http://www.woodborough-heritage.org.uk/
