St. Mary Colechurch 105/35

Introduction

This property lay on the S. side of Poultry, between 34 to the W., a property in the parish of St. Mildred Poultry to the E., and 26 to the S. It appears to have originated as 3 stone shops, part of a row of 8 in front of and once part of 26.

The property corresponded approximately to no. 7 Poultry in 1858.

Thirteenth to sixteenth century

35 appears to represent the 3 easternmost shops in the row of 8 stone shops in ferronaria (31-35) which Matthew Blund, who held 26 (q.v.), granted between 1220 and 1222 to Clerkenwell Priory. The dimensions of one of these appear to have been reversed in error in the grant, but when this is corrected it is clear that the 3 shops were closely similar in size, the westernmost measuring 7 ft. 4 1/2 in. (2.25 m.) wide and 17 ft. 7 1/2 in. (5.37 m.) long, the middle one 7 ft. 2 1/2 in. (2.2 m.) wide and 17 ft. 7 1/2 in. (5.37 m.), long and the easternmost 7 ft. (2.13 m.) wide and 17 ft. 4 in. (5.28 m.) long. A ninth stone shop of Matthew Blund, not included in this grant, lay to the E. (in St. Mildred Poultry parish). At different times 35 seems to have been regarded as lying wholly in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, or partly in that parish and partly in St. Mildred Poultry. Until the 17th century it probably corresponded closely to the area of the 3 shops, but by the time of the Great Fire the lease of 35 had been held by the tenants of 26F and G (qq.v.) for many years, and the freehold or inheritance of the land behind 35 was disputed. (fn. 1)

The land of the nuns of Clerkenwell lay to the W. of Matthew Blund's land in the parish of St. Mildred Poultry in 1222-3, when he quitclaimed in the latter to the abbey of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Probably these 3 shops, like 31-34, were granted out by Clerkenwell Priory, reserving a quit-rent of 13s. 4d. from each. The 3 seem always to have been regarded as one unit. They may have been held by John de Evere (d. in or before 1278). In 1306 Alice, daughter of John de Evere, and her second husband Nicholas Pycot held the western part (1 1/2 shops) of the property; the eastern part was held then or soon afterwards by Christina de Eure, possibly another daughter of John de Evere, though this is not certain. In 1306 Nicholas Pycot and Alice complained that John de Cotes, Robert de Farnberwe, Walter de Bardeneye, and Agatha widow of Walter de Reyle, who probably occupied or had interests in 32A to 34, had diverted their gutters, receiving rainwater from their houses and that of Richer de Refham (26), so that the water ran into the gutter of the plaintiffs' house in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, and flooded and damaged it. De Cotes made default, de Bardeneye said he only held by the will of Agatha, and she and de Farneberwe could show no right except length of seisin, so they were ordered to amend the gutters and receive the water from their own houses and from that of Richer de Refham, who provided the stone wall enclosing their land. (fn. 2)

In 1310 a dispute between John Hauteyn, son and heir of Alice, daughter of John de Eure, late the wife of Walter Hauteyn late citizen and mercer, and Nicholas Pikot, citizen and alderman, late husband of Alice, over Pikot's claim to a life interest by the law of England in Alice's lands in London, was settled when Hauteyn granted Pikot an annuity of £10 for life and Pikot quitclaimed to Hauteyn in all the lands. The tenements included a shop and half a shop in the parishes of St. Mildred Poultry and St. Mary Colechurch, of which the shop lay between the shop of Elyas le Poleter (? 34) to the W. and the shop of Christina de Eure to the E., and the half shop lay between the shop late of Alice de Eure to the E. (? recte W.) and that of Christina to the W. (? E.). By her will proved in 1316 Christina de Eure left to her son Walter her shop and half a shop in the parish of St. Mildred entre les ferrons, opposite the chapel of Our Lady (St. Mary Coneyhope), between the shop of John Hauteyn to the W. and the shop formerly of Richard de Caumpes to the E. John Hauteyn put in a claim on some of the other legacies of this will, which he said were invalid according to the will of John de Eure, and Walter son of Christina quitclaimed to him in those. John Hauteyn then quitclaimed to Walter in the other tenements and rents left him by Christina. Later in 1316 Walter de Eure, citizen and ...derus (illegible), son of Christina, granted to John Hauteyn, citizen and mercer, a shop and half a shop in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry. They lay between Hauteyn's shop to the W., the tenement sometime of William de Eure to the E., the shop of Richer de Refham (26) to the S. and the highway to the N. (fn. 3)

In 1346 John Hauteyn, citizen, son of Walter Hauteyn, quitclaimed to William Dykeman, citizen and ironmonger, in the 3 shops with solars over which William held by his grant in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry. The shops lay between the shop sometime of Henry de Farneberg (? 33 or 34) to the W., the shop of John Gubbe to the E. (in St. Mildred Poultry), 26 to the S. and the highway to the N. In 1390 Sir Nicholas Sharnesfeld, kt., and his wife Margaret granted to William Horscroft, citizen and skinner, and John Staverton, remembrancer of the King's exchequer, the tenement they held in Margaret's right, with houses, cellar(s), solar(s), and shops, in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry. The tenement lay between 34 to the W., 26 to the S., the tenement once of John Deynes, now occupied by Peter Pope, to the E., and the highway to the N. William Horscroft owed £1 rent to Clerkenwell Priory from his tenement(s) in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch in 1392; the total for St. Mildred Poultry parish, which should also have been £1, does not seem to be recorded. By 1426 the tenement was held by William Burton and Thomas Grey, grocers, against whom the prioress of Clerkenwell brought a plea of intrusion concerning her free tenement in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry. (fn. 4)

In 1429 William Burton, citizen and grocer, granted his messuages, lands, tenements and rents, with houses, cellar(s), solar(s) and shops in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry and elsewhere to John Carpenter, junior, John Bacon, grocer, and Richard Philip, grocer, citizens, who thereupon granted the same back to Burton and his wife Margery and his heirs and assigns. By his will dated 1438 but not proved until 1466 William Burton, citizen and grocer, left the reversion of the tenement with shop(s), cellar(s), and solar(s) in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry, which he and his wife Margery held jointly, to his son William and his issue after Margery's death, with remainder in default to his son John and his issue, and then for sale. In 1463 William Burton, gentleman, son of William Burton, late citizen and grocer, granted the reversion of the tenement described above on the death of Margery to his brother John and his heirs, as in the father's will. In 1489-90 £2 quit-rent was due to Clerkenwell Priory for the tenement in the parishes of St. Mildred Poultry and St. Mary Colechurch formerly of John Burton of Norwich and formerly (? since) of Edmund Genny, now of John Huie and N. Eyre. Thomas Eyre, citizen and grocer, parishioner of St. Mary Colechurch, died in 1505- 6. The £2 rent to Clerkenwell was due in 1524-5 and 1526- 7 from the tenement now of Elizabeth Eyre, widow, formerly of John Burton of Norwich, before of Edmund Genny, before of William Burton, and before of Thomas Graye. (fn. 5)

John Eyre, son and heir of Thomas Eyre, late citizen and grocer, sold his tenement with shops, cellars and solars in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry to Anthony Lower of Alderwasley, Derbyshire, esquire, who in 1537 sold the same to Thomas Norton, citizen and grocer. Lowe and his wife Bridget quitclaimed in the same in 1538. Thomas Norton owed £2 quit-rent to the Crown (formerly due to Clerkenwell) for a tenement called the Hart in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch in 1539-40. This rent continued to be paid in the 16th and 17th centuries, until it was sold in 1650 by the commissioners for the sale of fee-farm rents to William Doughty, gentleman, when it was said to be due from the tenement called the Hart in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch. The rent was recovered by the Crown after the Reformation and in 1664 was said to be due from one Lorrimer. (fn. 6)

Later sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

In 1545 Thomas Norton, citizen and grocer, and his wife Elizabeth granted and quitclaimed to Sir William Denham, kt., merchant of the Calais Staple, in a messuage with shops, cellar(s), and solar(s), now or late occupied by Roger Nycoll, poulterer, or his assigns, in the Poultry in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch. This may have been a part only of 35, as in 1546 Thomas Norton and Elizabeth quitclaimed to John Lamberd, citizen and draper, in the tenement called the Hart with shops, cellars, and solars, in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry. John Lambard or Lambert, citizen and alderman, died in 1553, leaving his tenement in the Poultry called the White Hart, in the tenure of Robert Hobby, grocer, and tenements elsewhere to be held by his friends John Lee, scrivener, and John Caltropp, draper, for 5 years, and then to go to his (younger) son Giles. Robert Hobby had a tenement in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch valued at £5 p.a. In 1558 William Yonge, grocer, and John Stevenson, girdler, citizens, recovered a messuage in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry against Giles Lambard, citizen and draper, in 1566. Meanwhile the tenement granted by Norton to William Denham had passed to the latter's daughter and heir Margery and her husband William Abbott of Harland, Devon, esquire. In 1557 they granted the tenement, now occupied by Edward Twtt (? Tuitt), draper, to William Hobson, citizen and haberdasher, for £50. Edward Twtt does not appear in the tithe assessment for 1558. By the early 17th century, these 2 parts seem to have been reunited as a single tenement, still with the frontage of just over 21 ft. (6.4 m.) that the 3 shops of Matthew Blund had had c. 1220, but evidently with more land behind. (fn. 7)

In 1571-4 Giles Jacob occupied a house worth £5 p.a., probably identical (from its place in the tithe list) with that held earlier by Robert Hobby. In 1574 his household consisted of himself, his wife, and 5 other communicants. Richard Tailforde, citizen and upholder (d. 1585 x 1589), was probably tenant and occupant. His widow Jeronyma married Henry Lyndley, who occupied a tenement to the N. of 26G (q.v.) belonging to Humphrey Wyndham, esquire, in 1596. Lyndley took a lease of 26G in 1596. In 1623 Katharine Frost, gentlewoman, owned the tenement sometime called the White Hart in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Walbrook, also known as the Blue Bell and the White Griffin, formerly occupied by Sir Henry Lindley, kt., and his wife Jeronimy, and now by Thomas Whitley, citizen and apothecary. Whitely had occupied the house in 1612 and 1619. She leased a number of rooms, probably in fact comprising the whole property, to Whitley, to hold for 7 years at £40 rent. The rooms named (Fig. 16) consisted of one shop formerly 3 shops or rooms, on the ground floor; a cellar; a chamber called the hall, above the said shops or rooms, or part of them, facing the street and with wainscoting to the ceiling; another chamber called the parlour, over or near the shops or rooms or some of them, also wainscoted to the ceiling; a closet or study adjacent to the parlour; a chamber over the hall, in which Sir Henry Lindley used to lie; a kitchen near the parlour (perhaps at the back); a chamber over or near the kitchen, in which Lindley's women servants used to lie; a washing-house under or near the kitchen, and a place leading from the kitchen to it; the garrets over the hall or parlour and other rooms; a cellar near the washhouse, and a yard over the cellar; and all the other rooms etc. of the White Hart or Blue Bell or White Griffin, occupied or used as part of the same either by Giles Jacob, citizen and merchant tailor, or Giles Lambart, citizen and draper, or Richard Taylford, citizen, or Henry Lindley and his wife Jeronimy, widow of Richard Taylford. Whitley was to repair, pave, and cleanse, and to be penalised for late payment of the rent, and covenanted not to let any of the premises to Matthew Locke or his heirs or anyone seised of any estate in the Naked Boy in Bucklersbury (26G, backing on to this property). The lessor covenanted for Whitley's peaceful possession without hindrance from herself or the heirs of Humphrey Windham, esquire. (fn. 8)

This description suggests a house with its principal rooms towards the street, and a yard and outbuilding(s) at the back. Probably part of it was already intermixed with the tenement known as the Naked Boy (26G), and the owner of the freehold was anxious to keep her property distinct. Henry Lyndley or Lindley had held both on lease at the end of the 16th century, and Whitley had held 26G since 1609 or earlier. Whitley died between 1623 and 1624, leaving the lease of his house in London for sale, his servant John Hide to be favoured by £20 in the purchase. Whitley's wife was to leave the house in London and go and live in Tooting. Hide appears to have bought the lease and occupied the house, and by his will dated and proved in 1626 as John Hide, apothecary, left the lease and all his household goods for sale. Mr. Loramor occupied 35 in 1638, when it was valued at £28 p.a.: this valuation probably included part of 26G. In 1641 Sir William Portman, bt., of Orchard, Somerset, and his wife Dame Ann held 35, following a common recovery which reserved to them the power to make leases. They leased all the rooms, as described above, to John Lorymer of London, apothecary, for 31 years from 1640, at £60 rent. Lorymer was also the lessee of 26F-G. He was to repair, pave, and cleanse, and pay damages for late payment of rent, and covenanted not to do anything to impeach the lessors' title or that might lead to a lawsuit. In 1661, Frances, widow of John Lorymer, sublet 35 and 26F-G to Zachary Bertrand and Thomas Child, citizens and apothecaries, describing the rooms in detail (see 26F-G). In 1662-3 Bertrand and Child occupied a property with 12 hearths, probably comprising 35 and 26F-G together; Mr. Child was the occupant in 1666. One Lorimer was responsible for the quit-rent due from 35 to the Crown in 1664. (fn. 9)

After the great fire

In December 1668 Frances Lorymer, widow and executrix of John Lorrymer, assigned to Zachary Bertrand and Thomas Child, citizens and apothecaries, her leases of 26E-F, as granted by Ferdinando Pulford, and of 35, as granted by Sir William Portman and Dame Ann, for the payment of £100. On the same day Sir William Portman, with Sir John Cutler, kt., bt., and Sir Jospeh Sheldon, kt., sold the toft in Poultry, in the parishes of St. Mary Colechurch and St. Mildred Poultry, late occupied by John Larymore and now by Child and Bertrand, on which the Bell and Griffin late stood, to Child and Bertrand, for £470. 10s. The ground measured 22 ft. (6.71 m.) towards Poultry, 35 ft. (10.67 m.) on the W. side, 40 ft. (12.19 m.) along the S. side, and 50 ft. (15.24 m.) on the E., and abutted W. on 33-34, S. on 26E and F, and E. on tenements in the parish of St. Mildred Poultry. This area actually comprised 35 and 26G; there is no evidence that the freehold of the latter had been sold to Portman and it appears that there was genuine confusion over who owned the back land, 26G. The foundation surveyed for Child in February 1669 was of this plot, i.e. 35 and 26G. It was an L-shaped plot; the front part, corresponding to 35, had a frontage of 21 ft. 6 in. (6.55 m.) to Poultry, and extended back 17 ft. 10 in. or 11 in. (c. 5.45 m.); behind that, corresponding to 26G, was a wider area, extending also behind the first small tenement (132/23) in the parish of St. Mildred Poultry. This area measured 36 ft. 7in. (11.15 m.) along the N. side, 16 ft. 6 in. (5.03 m.) along the W., 39 ft. (11.89 m.) along the S., and 29 ft. 7 in. (9.02 m.) along the E. A narrow strip was cut off the Poultry frontage of 35, 2 ft. 1 in. (630 mm.) wide at the E. end and 3 ft. 3 in. (990 mm.) at the W. end, for which Child was paid £16. 10s. compensation in 1670. (fn. 10)

In June 1670 the Fire Court heard a suit between Child and Bertrand, and John Pulford and his wife Ann, freeholders of 26, in which it was said that Bertrand and Child had acquired the leases of the Wild Man, the Three Flower de Luces, and the Phoenix in Bucklersbury (26E-G) and rebuilt the same, and had also rebuilt the tenement in Poultry, of which they had acquired both the lease and the freehold since the Fire. There had been several suits in Chancery and at Common Law over the freehold of the middle plot of ground, whether it was Pulford's or (formerly) Portman's. The houses were so intermixed that Child and Bertrand had had to acquire the lease of the Phoenix (26E) in order to rebuild. The Court said that the question of the freehold should be settled before they could order the terms between Pulford and his lessees. Pulford said he was willing to buy the freehold of 35 as they had acquired it from Portman, for the same price, and thereupon to make them 60-year leases at reduced rents. This was agreed, and in December 1670 Child and Bertrand sold the freehold of the land to John Pulford for £480. Pulford then leased to them the ground, described as above, and the messuage or tenement newly built on the same, measuring 21 ft. E.-W. (6.4 m.) by 40 ft. (12.19 m.) N.-S., with a yard behind (to the E. of) the same, measuring 20 ft. by 15 ft. (6.1 m. by 4.57 m.), to hold for 60 years at £28. 16s. rent, doing repairs and usual covenants. (fn. 11)