In the name of god amen the viiith day of Aprill in the yeare of our lord god 1605 I HENRY SWANE of CHILTINGTON in the County of Sussex husbandman being of good & p[er]fect remembrance Thanks be to Almighty god therefore doe ordayne & make this my last will & Testament in manner & forme following First I bequeath my Soule to Almighty god my Creato[r] & maker And my body to bee buryed in the Churchyard of CHILTINGTON or elswhere soever it shall please god to Call me
Item I give to the high Church of Chichester iid
Item I give to RICHARD SWANE my sonne xiid
Item I give to DOROTHYE SEARLE my daughter xiid
Item I give to GRATIAN SEARLE my daughters daughter a lambe
Item I give to the poore people of the parishe of CHILTINGTON iiis iiiid to be distributed amongst them at my buryall day at the discrec[i]on of my Executor & ov[er]se[er]s
All the residue of my goods & Chattells moveable & unmoveable my debts & legacies & other Charges being paid I give & bequeath unto MARGARET my loving wife whome I make & ordayne my Sole & whole Executor
Item I [sic] my Will is That after my wifes decease my sonne RICHARD shall have the Bed I lye on & all furniture belonging thereto the Cubboard & two of the best Chests & the Table in the Hall the forms benches & all the shelves the furnace two spits A payre of brandirons A payre of tongs & A gridiron & A payre of pott hangers
Item for a quietness I have put downe in my will how the Two Coppyholds doth part to SWANSEYARD the house the garden A field Comonly Called the BROAD FIELD & two Crofts Called the LONG CROFTS where I have made A quick set hedge & A ditch two Acres in the SENOCKE & one other Croft lying on the south side of A land that leadeth uppe to a field Called the SENOCKE the west end of the said Crofte ioynes to A lane that is Comonly Called BROADFEILD LANE two other Crofts that ioynes up to a lane over the East side that leadeth to the Comon at the south end adioyning to A lane Called the LITLE LANE at the north and adioyning to A peece of ground Called SEARLES MARLINGS & xviid A yeare of JOHN BARNARD
Item to BOOKERS YARD one barne two Croftes & A lagge [?] adioyning at the north end to A field Comonly Called the BROADFEILD And one marling Conteyning Three Acres adioyning on th’east side of th’other two Crofts one other Croft lying of the south side of a lane that leadeth Betweene A field Comonly Called the SENOCKE & that Crofteth’east end adioyninge to A lane that leadeth between the said Crofte & a peece of land Comonly Called SOUTH LAND xxd by the yeare out of the Farmings To this my last will & Testament I desire my loving neighbor WILLIAM FITHEAN & my brother in law JOHN BETT to be my Ov[er]se[er]s to see this my will truly p[er]formed and fulfilled And they to have for there paynes iiis iiiid A peece & there Charges borne
In witness whereof I have sett my hand & seale the day & yeare above written HENRY SWANE Witnesses to this Will & Testament ROBERT SEARLE & RICHARD SWANE wrighter
Proved 26 April 1609 by MARGARET SWAN Relict & Executor
West Sussex Record Office – Records of the Chichester Archdeaconry Court Ref: STCI/15 f 309
Unknown.