Robert Gooch and Agnes

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Husband Robert Gooch

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           Born: Abt 1496 - Fressingfield, Suffolk, England
     Christened: 
           Died: 1554 - Fressingfield, Suffolk, England
         Buried: 

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         Father: Nicholas Gowche (Abt 1466-After 1530)
         Mother: Margaret (      -      )

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       Marriage: 1530 - Fressingfield, Suffolk, England

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Wife Agnes

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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Children

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1 M Robert Gooch

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           Born: Abt 1522 - Fressingfield, Suffolk, England
     Christened: 
           Died: 1 Apr 1589 - Fressingfield, Suffolk, England
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Eme (      -      )

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2 M William Gooch

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           Born: 1524 - Fressingfield, Suffolk, England
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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3 F Elizabeth Gooch

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           Born: 1526 - Fressingfield, Suffolk, England
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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General Notes (Husband)

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Robert Gooch inherited from his father lands and tenements in Wittingham, a hamlet in the parish of Fressingfield. The will stipulated that at Robert's death, the Wittingham property should go to his son Robert, but if the son die befoer the father, the premises remain with Robert and wife Agnes.

Robert and Agnes retained the Wittingham property, and when Robert of Fressnigfield prepared his will, 2 Apr 1554, he gave it "all my tenements and lands in Wyttyngham" to his son Robert. For this privilege son Robert should pay his brother and sister each 5 pounds. William was given a phyghtell or close called Fales close in Mettfelde, where Robert's father lived.

The contents of Robert's will paint a scene inicating the kind of life his family lived.

In his fenced field in Metfield he raised "cornes" - wheat, which he gave to son William and daughter Elizabeth; son robert should have teh corn straw. In his Wittingham Fields grazed the twenty ewes and fifteen lambs Robert wished to be divided between sons Robert and William; his "horse called Byrde" that he bequeathed to son Robert, adn his "blacke colte" that he gave to Robert and John Gooche his "bel children" (probably sons of William), also his cattle: nine "mylche keyne" and a bull that should be William's as well as a cow for granddaughter Margaret when she reached 14 years of age.

Outbuildigns near the Gooch dwelling included a shed, a high cheese house, a henhouse, and a backhowse (probably a storage structure). There was also a "newe house" Several of the buildings had attics, called sollers (solars) and to reach them tehre were specific ladders leaning against the openings of each: teh high cheesehouse, teh henhouse, and the new house. Robert apparently had a fondness for ladders, as three more are named: his longest ladder, a ladder of fifteen staves (rungs), and a "kylle" (perhaps painted a bright color) ladder. Also, Robert had on hand a fair amount of lumber, including all the elme borde that lyeth stored over the hall of his home, a bordstocke lyenge in the alders by teh common, a bordstocke lyenge in the lane att the grysse yards end, and additional "unsolde" boards.

Robert named a few farming implements: the little cart, a "shedde carte", a plow and attachments, and a pair of harrows. For his horse to pull the implements, he owned "horse collers wyth plowgh trayse and cartetrayse." For riding horses he had his "beste sadle wyth the stiroppes" Beste pannel (saddle pad), "beste bridle", halter, beste sadle save one, and olde brydle.

From his well equipped cheesehouse he bequeathed to son Robert, a stepynge fatte (steeping vat), his best chespresse, a chesepress plancke standynge agaynste teh shedde, my greate charne, the greate swyll (rinsing ) trowghe, a great saltinge keler (shallow tub for salting), and his "greate mylke tubbe" Additional dairy items he gave hs son Wiliam: a cheseprese plancke, my greatest chesfatte and the prynte and brdth, also my greateste saltinge trowghe. To daughter Elizabeth he gave "my lyttle chesepresse, my lyttle charne, a chesefatte for a chess of syse to teh quarter and brdth therto, and "my greateste scu'mer (probably skimmer). Granddaughter Agnes was to have a chesefatte for a chese of seven to the quarter yt wyth a breadth therto.

Other otuside items weree a hayer (perhaps an implement for harvesting hay), quernes (small grain mill with two circular stones, the upper one being turned by hand, a grindstone, the hale (perhaps a piece of rope for lifting) that hangs in the backhouse, my lyttle hale, and my greateaste hale.

Furniture in the Gooch home consisted of a copborde, the coffer that was Nycholass's, a backchayer (chair with a back), a table stondynge on the soller, one bedde which son Robert lyethin Also another bedde standynge on the chamber whythall things to tehm belonynge, my bedde that I lyein wythall ther to belongynge, the bedstedde in the newe howse wyth a fetherbede and a matres wythall things to them belonynge and two pyllowes, the bed that standeth in the parlor by my bedde wyth all things therto belonynge, a lytle chiste (chest), and a trundlebedde. Additonal bedding was a fetherbedde tyke wyth lambes woll, thre shets, a payer of blanketts and a lyttle coverlyghte, two pyllowes, and a chsshen of lyces (laces).

Other hosuehold ite3ms mentioned were öne carpett cuishin", my longe laten (brass alloy) candlesticke, my beste candlestecke, another carpett chsyn, a bell candlestycke, a chussyne of blewe lysted (blue strps) and a lyttle candlesticke. Just for fun, apparently, was ä timbrell (small hand drum).

Robert named various utensils, and dishes. Used in the preparation or cooking of food could have been, a morter wyth the pestell, a worte pan, used to infuse malt with a dilute solution of sugars to ferment into beer, brass pots greate and lyttle, and a pewter potte, a great cawdron, seven kettles, six of them defined as greate, lyttle, brynynge (brining), little bownde, fowre gallon, and lyttle copper, a greatest and a little skellett pan, a fryenge pane, two posnestts (iron pots or saucepans with handle and three feet), and "my greateste payer of tongs. Items used in the serving of meals probably were: three trivets, one of them the greateste, seven pewter platters, four pewter dysshes, two pewter porrygers, one of them wyth eares, three sawcers, three salt sellers, a chesborde of ashe (cheese cutting board), and a lattyn chafyndyshe. Miscellaneous equipment some of it perhaps used outdoors or in the cheesehouse, were two latten basons, somone of them lyttle, one little adn one best, a fyer pane (pan for carrying hot coals), a lyttle latten laver (basin for waswhing), my leaste keler (shallow tub), and my gyildynge fatt (gilding vat).

For workign with flax and wool, Robert bequeathed a heckle (hacke, a comb or board wth long metal teeth for dressing flax) and a payer of tawcombes (for cleaning and organizing wool fibers). On hand he had eleven pownds of woole, and two elles (a cloth measurement of forty-five inches) of worsted.

Having given his lands to his sons, Robert provided short-term accomodations for daughter Elizabeth. She shall have my perlor wyth the soller over yt wyth ingate and outgate into thesayde perlor untyill the feate of Saycte Mcihaell twelve monithes nexte after my decease and all the fyrewoode that is myne at the daye of my decease.

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General Notes (Wife)

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She may have been his second wife.

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