FIRE at FORDINGTON

Extract from Quarter Sessions of the Peace
Held at Sherborne in Dorset - 17th September 1666

QUARTER SESSIONS Held at Sherborne 17th Apr 1666 [Image 97] At Image 100 -- [FIRE AT] FORDINGTON:

For as much as Michaias [Mackeas] RASKER, James COLLYNS, William COLLINS Sen, William STICKLAND, Robert WYDSOR & George MANVILL - Inhabitants within the parish of Fordington in this County have by their petition unto this Court set forth their present sad & deplorable condition & the great distress they & their families are in by reason of a sad & lamentable fire which happened in the said parish on the first day of March last past within ye space of two hours by means of the extraordinary drought of the water & violence of ye wind burnt down & consumed to the ground four dwellings houses besides barns stables & other out houses with all their corn hay & household goods in & about the same which losses as the same hath been estimated by diverse skillful & industrious persons as well workmen as others & who were also eye witnesses to ye sad accident & have attached & presented the same unto this Court under their hands amounts to the sum of Nine Hundred Ninety & three pounds fourteen shillings & eight pence whereby ye said presents [i.e. those presenting this case to the Court] are ruined in their estates, reduced to great poverty & no way able to subsist in with their selves & families unless relieved by ye Charity of pious & well disposed Christians

And therefore they pray this Court would accordingly recommend this their sad condition unto them for their benevolence to be extended for & towards the reparations of their said losses & for the present succor & relief of themselves & families

All which this Court having taken into consideration & having been fully informed by diverse persons of good credit & quality of the truth of which is alleged in the said petition, cannot but out of // a due and deep sense of the presents distressed and calamitous condition recommend the same unto the Constable benevolence of well dispossessed Christians inhabiting within the several parishes of the Divisions of Dorchester, Bridport & Sherborne within this County desiring them seriously considering the present plight poverty & disability of helping themselves, that they would open their bowels of compassion in extending liberality & charity for their relief & support of the presents in their low sad condition And which all this Court doth desire the Ministers of the said churches & Chapelrys within the said Divisions of this County to stir up their respective congregations freely to contribute to so charitable a work as is the relief of distressed persons

And which soever sum or sums of money shall be by the Churchwardens & Overseers of the Poor of the said respective parishes collected by virtue of this recommendation it is desired may be by you endorsed thereon in words at length & to deliver & pay over the sum to ye bearer or bearers hereof who are hereby likewise required to pay over such monies collected to ye treasurer hereafter named so then a just distribution may be made of such monies so collected proportionate to ye loss by each person sustained & the necessity of the persons call for

And this Court doth appoint Mr John THORNBURGH Minister of the said parish of Fordington & Mr Richard WYNE [WINE] Minister of the parish of All Saints Dorchester to be Treasurers for ye said money who are likewise desired to see & take care ye said same be distributed accordingly

Genealogical Background of those affected by the Fire is given below - Many records concerning the early lives of these individuals were lost during the Civil War and Restoration including Parish Registers for St Georges Church in Fordington during the period 1640 to 1663 inclusive. The above account of the Fire suggests working farms and lists 6 people and their families as living in 4 dwellings to which there was attached (or in very close proximity) stables, barns full of corn and hay, and other outhouses.

This must have been a substantial smallholding to amount to £993 which was a huge amount at a time when for example Overseers of the Poor would give only one or two shillings a week for whole families to live on. I mention below John RASKER's Will with access to a transcription of his Will and more importantly an Inventory of his goods. This is the largest Inventory of Goods I have come across for a Yeoman of Fordington and highly relevent as one of the 4 people carrying out the assessment is William STICKLAND who is one of our six families listed above and we know John RASKER was also a close relative of Micheas RASKER and also living in Fordington. This inventory amounts to just over £400, but over £180 of this relates to 4 Horses, 8 cows, 3 heifer beasts, 2 calves, 6 hogs, 26 acres of wheat in the field, 216 sheep and a bond for £46 none of which would have been destroyed by fire. I think therefore that John RASKER's inventory gives a very good idea of the sort of household possessions which would have been lost by these families in the fire.

(1) Micheas ⁽¹⁾ RASKER (d.1680) a Yeoman of Fordington. Little is known about his early life except that he was a fairly close relative of John RASKER (d.1661) (another Yeoman living nearby in Fordington) as he leaves him his black cloak in his Will dated 9th Dec 1661 and he is asked to be one of his pall-bearers to carry his coffin to the grave. From the Inventory of goods attached to John RASKER's Will (which was taken after his death on 26th Dec 1661) he was clearly a fairly wealthy man and before the fire Micheas seems to have been of a similar status. I have located Micheas in the following documents:-

14 Dec 1661 - When Ambrose HUNT Senior of Fordington died Micheas was one of those asked on the 14th Dec 1661 to appraise all his goods.

17 Apr 1666 (as above) : Quarter Sessions held at Sherborne when Michaias RASKER is the first of the 6 families to loose everything

20 Apr 1669 - Quarter Sessions held at Sherborne when John WINSOR, another yeoman of Fordington, is before the Court charged with being the reputed father of a bastard child on the body of a singelwoman named as Juyan BUGG, also of Fordington. He denies being the father and produces some witnesses to support his contention and accuses Micheas RASKER of being the real father of the child. The Court dismisses the charge against John WINSOR and charges Micheas but as John WINSOR did not give Micheas RASKER 14 days notice of his intention and he was not therefore present in Court and able to defend himself, gave Micheas leave to appeal against the order at the next General Session.

13 July 1669 - Quarter Sessions held at Shaston when Micheas RASKER is acquitted and John WINSOR re-charged as the father of the child

End of 1669 - Churchwarden of St Georges Church Fordington - signs Bishops Transcripts listing all births marriages and deaths in St Georges Church during 1669

End of 1679 - Churchwarden of St Georges Church Fordington - signs Bishops Transcripts as churchwarden listing all births marriages and deaths in St Georges Church during 1679

Micheas RASKER died intestate at Fordington and was buried at St Georges Churchyard on 29th October 1680. We know Micheas was married to a Margaret as she renounced her right as his relict to Administration of his estate in favour of his principle creditor Andrew PURCHASE a Malster of Dorchester. The Inventory of his goods chattels and debts has survived and is transcribed below. It shows that despite the disasterous fire in 1666 the appeal for charity worked as he recovered and was able to continue working as a yeoman in Fordington:-

An Inventory of the goods & Chattels of Micheas RASKER late of Fordington deceased prised [appraised] by us whose names are hereunto subscribed the 29th day of November 1680

Impremis: 2 Hoggs in the Stable ---- 12 shillings

2 Hoggs in the Barton? ----£1.4s. 0d

IN THE CHAMBER

His wearing apparel ----£1. 9s. 6d

Bed, Bedstead & one Blanket ---- £1

One truckle bedstead ---- £2s. 6d

More: one truckle bedstead & bed with a pillow ---- 9shillings

6 pair of sheets at 6^s per pair ---- £1. 16s. 0d

1 dozen napkins ---- 5shillings

5 board cloths ---- 5s. 6d

4 pillowtyes ---- 2 shillings

one bolster cloth & 12 napkins 2 shillings

Bedstead, Rugg, bolster & curtains ---- £2. 8s. 0d

One Gun ---- 12 shillings

A desk 1^s 6^d , a sign & post 4^s ---- 5^s 6^d

2 coasters & one chest ---- 8 shillings

7 Sheep & tack ---- 14 shillings

table board, frame & forms ----10 shillings

HALL & KITCHEN

One Brass Pot & 2 belmettle skilletts g^ts 22^li att 6^d per^li (i.e. £22 at 6d per £) ---- 11 shillings

2 kittles [kettles] g^tt 28 att 6^d p (per) ^li (i.e. £28 at 6d per £) ---- 14 shillings

7 Flagons at 18^d p (per) peece (each) ---- 10s. 6d

5 Candlesticks ---- 8 shillings

5 pewter dishes, 3 broth dishes & ¼ pint measure g^tt 17½ att 7^d ---- 10s. 2½ d

3 chamber pots g^tt 6 at 6^d ----3 shillings

a pcell [parcel] of earthern ware ---- 1s. 6d

a chaffin dish 2^s, billowes [bellows], 1^s, lantern 1^s ----4 shillings

one skimmer & 2two ladles ----1 shilling

dripping pan 4^d a hanger ^s ----4s. 4d

tableboard, frame & round table ----7 shillings

a pair of doggs & firepan ---- 1 shilling

2 dozen & 9 trenchers




Total £16: 02: 10½




MORE PRISED [APPRAISED]

6 bushels of wheat ----£1. 04s. 0d

one Bible ----5 shillings

2 haires [hares] ---- 1s. 6d

one brewing fate [vat] ----£1

3 long trendells ----- 16 shillings

3 tubbs ----5 shillings

a little table, frame, & furm [form] & settle ---- 9 shillings

The remainder of a feather bed ---- 10 shillings

The King paid his rent. ----

one hogshead & half of beer ----£1. 14s. 0d

4 empty hogsheads ----£1

3 half hogsheads & 2 barrels ---- 10s. 6d

a salt tubb 1^s, a tuninger? 18^d ---- 2s 6d

A Mare, saddle, Hay & poles about the Hay ----£4. 10s. 0d

20 bushels of Coles [Coals] at 19^d p (per) Bush (bushel) ---- £1. 11s 8d

2 hammers, flesh pike, salt box ----10d

A Tubb & 4 fate horses ---- 5 shillings

3 peck of wheat ---- 3 shillings

Good & Bad Debts as appeareth on two notes ----£10. 19s. 8d

Two Turkies [Turkeys] ---2 shillings

On the Other side [See sub total above C/F] --- £16: 02: 10½

Sub TOTAL £41: 10s: 6½d

Debts good or bad as appeareth by a note ----£1: 3s: 2^d

Sum TOTAL £42: 13: 8½

John CAMRAN? }

Thomas BRICE } Prisers [Appraisers]

Edward ROY }

Exhibited at Fordington 6th June 1681 before Mr John THORNBURGH Cleric Surrogate of Venerable Thomas WYATT Vicar Prebendary of the Prebend of Fordington when administration was granted to Andrew PURCHASE the principle creditor of the deceased Signed George FROME Junior Registrar. On the back Forthington In:bo: Machia ROSKER / jurat Andreas Purchas creditor principalis - Ref P15/34/ii -- 459/16 (i.e. at Wiltshire archives) Inventory of the goods of Machias RASKER

(3.1) Jonathan Collins (d.1684) His father left him a half bedstead, a feather bed with its blankets and coverled, a tableboard with 3 joint stools and a platter. The great stone trough at his parents house was to be left between him and his brother Onesimus after his wife's death. He also had a quarter share in the remaining estate with his brothers Wm and Onesimus and sister Anna after the death of their mother. Jonathan was buried at FStG on 15th Oct 1684.

(3.2) William Collins Junior (d.1690) In 1670 his father left him a trundel bedstead with a flock mattress, bolster and coverled together with turned timber chairs and a brass pot. After his mother's death he was to receive the cupboard in the hall, her great salt and a quarter share in the remaining estate with his brothers Jonathan, Onesimus and sister Ann. The following year on 4th July 1671 he married Jane BUNN at St Marys Church in the parish of Almer situated 16 miles north east on the road to Sturminster Marshall. The marriage registration records both as coming from the parish of Fordington. I know from Jane's will that they had a son William as shown below. In Sep 1683 William COLLINS Junior (d.1690) was granted joint administration of his brother Onesimus effects with his married sister Anna HACKHAM. William died intestate early in 1690 (parish register has not survived) and Jane COLLINS nee BUNN his widow and relict was granted administration of her husband's estate on 25th June 1690. Jane lived for another 26 years and was buried at FStG on 23 May 1716 and left a Will dated 8 Feb 1711/12 . A Letter of Administration was granted to her brother-in-law James HACKHAM who was bound with her brother Robert BUNN to perform the will on 28 Oct 1717

(3.2.1) William Collins the Younger (c1672-1709) was born circa 1672⁽²⁾ His will confirms that he married twice. I have not located his first marriage and only known of her name from her burial. Cicily ye wife of William COLLENS was buried at Holy Trinity church in Dorchester on 15th May 1704. They appear to have married circa 1698 as they had their first child a daughter they named Jane Collins and had her baptised at Holy Trinity on 19th Sep 1699. A second daughter Ann Collins was born the following year being baptised at Holy Trinity on 17th Dec 1700. She unfortunately died and was buried at Holy Trinity on 21st March 1703/4. This may have been an infection as her mother Cicily, as mentioned above died 2 months later and was also buried there on the 15th May 1704.

With a young daughter to look after William soon remarried to Marie SHORTOE at Bradford Peverell on Boxing day 1706. William COLLINS the Younger was buried at St Georges Church in Fordington on 2nd Nov 1709.

(3.3) Benjamin Collins ( d.1673) he was left £10 in his fathers Will dated 30th March 1667 when it was proved on 2nd May 1671. He died intestate on the Island of Barbados in the West Indies and Administration of his estate was granted on 5th July 1673 to Ann COLLINS Widow, his mother.

(3.4) Onesimus Collins (d.1683) Onesimus is a biblical name more often recorded as Onesiphous meaning 'one who brings profit' . In his fathers will in 1667 he left him his great bedstead, a featherbed, a green rug, bolster, blankets & my great chest after my wife's decease; Also to  Onesimus £35 & my great bible & desk & two great wacks? in hall & the great new barrel & the table board in chamber. The great stone trough at his parents house in Fordington was to be left between him and his brother Jonathan after his wife's death. He was buried at St Georges church in Fordington on 1st August 1683 as Onesiphorus Collins. He remained a bachelor and died intestate with a Letter of Administration for his estate being granted on 5th Sep 1683 to his brother William and sister Anna the wife of James HACKHAM.

(3.5) Anna Collins ( d.1709 ) she married James HACKHAM (d.1720) about 1680 but I have not managed to locate their marriage. They had 2 children. (5.1) a daughter Anne Hackham who may have been stillborn as there is no baptism. She was buried at St Georges Church in Fordington as 'Anne ye daughter of James Hackham and Anne his wife' on 2nd July 1681 (5.2) a son James baptised there 23rd September 1684. He is the main beneficiary under his fathers will in 1720 the other beneficiaries being his children William, Arthur and James. Anna Hackham nee Collins (d.1709) was granted joint administration of her brother Onesimus effects together with her brother William on 5th Sep 1683. She died at Fordington being buried at St Georges Church on 21st April 1709. Her husband James Hackham was buried with her on 1st April 1720 leaving a Will dated 2nd March 1719/20

(3.6) Collins / Locke ( - aft 1671) she was left £1 in her fathers will and her daughter Deborah a littel chest and to the rest of her children 5 shillings each. Presumably married well before 1670 nothing else is known.