Assorted rogues - Person Sheet
Assorted rogues - Person Sheet
Notes for Goddard Hepden
of Burwash. Get this. Their childen were called Herbert, John, Retourne, Elizabeth, Goodgift, Hopestill, Fearnot, Constance, Thanckfull, and Goddard. Bloody hell, hippies ain’t got nothing on the Hepdens.
The Hepdens are one well-known family to have used Weido Puritan Nomenclature; in fact they used regular names in conjunction with WPN, which was not at all unusual. Goddard Hepden, who later called himself Godward Hepden, appears in the book by Tyacke as an example of an upwardly mobile Puritan. His father, John Hepden, made his will in 1586, at which time he called himself a yeoman, although one of his executors called himself a gentleman. His sons, Goddard and Thomas, were also called yeoman at that time. In 1591, Goddard was reported by the vicar of Burwash for failing to receive communion there for over a year, but, despite these differences in doctrine, both Thomas and Goddard were calling themselves gentlemen by 1610, when Goddard was a member of a grand jury.
Goddard built himself a house at Burwash, Homshurst, which is still standing today. It is made of brick, with stone dressings, and has the initials G.H. and the date 1610 carved on the lintel. By this time he had reverted to Goddard, as opposed to Godward, although it's not clear whether he was a good boy and received the communion. In the preamble to his will he admits that ``the days of my pilgrimage to be both few and evil" and speaks of ``the small estate and substance which God hath lent me". This was clearly pretty much nothing but self-righteous pious hypocrisy; he goes on to mention his freehold lands in Heathfield and Mayfield, copyhold land in Brightling, and property in Burwash, which sounds like his small estate wasn't too small at all. In his well he also left money bequests amounting to $\pounds$183 5s, and a further $\pounds$23 in annuities, as well as $\pounds$2 10s for the poor. Since, in the 1590s, when he was called a yeoman, he had been assessed to be worth $\pounds$4, it's clear that he had done rather well for himself thank you very much.
The Hepdens are one well-known family to have used Weido Puritan Nomenclature; in fact they used regular names in conjunction with WPN, which was not at all unusual. Goddard Hepden, who later called himself Godward Hepden, appears in the book by Tyacke as an example of an upwardly mobile Puritan. His father, John Hepden, made his will in 1586, at which time he called himself a yeoman, although one of his executors called himself a gentleman. His sons, Goddard and Thomas, were also called yeoman at that time. In 1591, Goddard was reported by the vicar of Burwash for failing to receive communion there for over a year, but, despite these differences in doctrine, both Thomas and Goddard were calling themselves gentlemen by 1610, when Goddard was a member of a grand jury.
Goddard built himself a house at Burwash, Homshurst, which is still standing today. It is made of brick, with stone dressings, and has the initials G.H. and the date 1610 carved on the lintel. By this time he had reverted to Goddard, as opposed to Godward, although it's not clear whether he was a good boy and received the communion. In the preamble to his will he admits that ``the days of my pilgrimage to be both few and evil" and speaks of ``the small estate and substance which God hath lent me". This was clearly pretty much nothing but self-righteous pious hypocrisy; he goes on to mention his freehold lands in Heathfield and Mayfield, copyhold land in Brightling, and property in Burwash, which sounds like his small estate wasn't too small at all. In his well he also left money bequests amounting to $\pounds$183 5s, and a further $\pounds$23 in annuities, as well as $\pounds$2 10s for the poor. Since, in the 1590s, when he was called a yeoman, he had been assessed to be worth $\pounds$4, it's clear that he had done rather well for himself thank you very much.