October 2011
Inventory of the estate of Thomas Clay of Sutton in Ashfield, 1644
Reference: PR/MW/3/5a
Thomas Clay of Sutton in Ashfield died in the spring of 1644. Four men called Anthony Wilson, Reginald Vickers, Christopher Brandreth and William Grace were appointed by the Mansfield Peculiar Court to make an inventory of all his possessions - his 'goods, cattle and chattels' - to determine its value and what his estate was worth. Probate inventories like this one provide a fascinating glimpse into the social history of our ancestors, seeing what furniture, tools, machinery and animals they owned and how wealthy (or not) they were. For specialist trades they provide an invaluable record of the 'tools of the trade' at the time.
Thomas Clay owned a house with a parlour, two chambers, a kitchen and a dairy. Among the furniture he owned was:
- A large number of tables, chairs and stools
- A number of implements around the fire, mainly for the roasting spit. These included a landiron, a gallowtree, a fire shovel, hooks and tongues
- A featherbed in the best chamber with blankets and curtains
- A small bed with a trundlebed, which could be stored underneath it, and a cradle; all in the little chamber
- In the dairy a mixture of earthenware pots, bottles and panshions; flagons and a colander
- In the kitchen, a number of pewter pots and pans; skillets, porringers, a pestle and mortar and candlesticks.
He also owned a lot of grain, corn and seeds, and a number of animals, including:
- Four cows
- Two calves
- Two geese
- Two hens and
- Three little pigs.
The catalogue of the Mansfield peculiar court, listing its wills, inventories and other records, is now available on our online catalogue. Other probate courts including Southwell, Dale Abbey, Ossington, Gringley on the Hill and the manorial court of St John of Jerusalem are also available.
See the inventory in more detail [PDF 2851KB] 
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