Document of the Month – July 2007 Ref No. 63-B/8 Date: 1657
Mary Foster’s Pension Plan
Rotherham Archives and Local Studies Service
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Transcript of Document
Artickles of Covenant made Betweene Mary Foster of Ranfeild in the p[ar]ish of Conisbrough & Countie of Yorke widdow on thone p[ar]tie And Thomas Foster her sonn in the same towne & Countie Husbandm[an]: as Followeth: That is to say First it is Covenanted & agreed upon Betweene the s[ai]d p[ar]ties & the s[ai]d Mary Foster hath & in Considerac[i]on of the sume of fifteene poundes of good & Lawfull mony of England to her paid by the s[ai]d Tho.Foster att the Seallings hereof: And alsoe for & in consid[e]rac[i]on that shee the s[ai]d Mary Foster is to haue her table & dyate with him the s[ai]d Tho. Foster dureinge her naturall Life hath bargined & Sould & hath by these p[re]sents bargined sould & Confirmed unto him the s[ai]d Thomas Foster her s[ai]d sonn The halfe partie of all the goodes & Chatilles which they stand as Joynt Executors in & by the Last will & Teastam[en]t of John Foster Late of Ranfeild in the Countie of Yorke yeom[an] decesed: Except within the house hould good within the dwellinge house: And that to be Equally devided betwext them. Alsoe it is Covenanted & agreed upon Betweene the s[ai]d p[ar]ties & the s[ai]d Mary Foster hath for diverse good causes & Consid[e]rac[i]ons her thereunto moueinge & especially for the yearly rent at seaven poundes ayeare of good & Lawfull mony of England to her paid by the s[ai]d Tho. Foster or his assignes by Euen & Equall payments att the accostomed times & Rent dayes Comonly Called Penticost and St.Martin the Bishopp in wenter [11th November] : And the first halfe yeares Rent to begin & to be paid att St Martin the Bishopp in wenter next Followinge the date at these p[re]sents: And under the Covenant at her table & dyate with him the s[ai]d Tho. Foster her s[ai]d sonn And under the Covenants & Artickles herein Expressed moueinge Hath demissed granted & to farme Letten: and by these p[re]sents doth demise grant Lett & to farme Lett unto the s[ai]d Tho. Foster her said sonn: All that her messuage [&] farme with the app[ur]tenances there unto belonginge or in any wise app[er]teininge unto the same: lyinge & beinge in Ranfeild in the Countie of Yorke affores[ai]d & in the feildes and Terytores of the same. Except the Kichinge & Kichinge Chamber adioyneinge unto the s[ai]d house: And the halfe p[ar]tie of all the frute & hops in the orchardes & gardens & those shee reserueth for her owne benefitt: To haue & to hould all the s[ai]d Messuage farme with the app[ur]tenances there unto belongeinge or in any wise app[er]teininge Unto the s[ai]d Tho. Foster her sonn for & dureing the naturall Life at her the s[ai]d Mary Foster: And under the paym[en]t of the yearly Rent affores[ai]d To haue hould occupy and Rotherham Archives and Local Studies Service Page 3
peaceably Enioyall the affores[ai]d demissed p[re]misses for & from her the s[ai]d Mary Foster as affores[ai]d: And if it shall happen that the s[ai]d yearly rent of seven poundes affores[ai]d or any part or p[ar]cell thereof shall be behind & unpaid by the Space of tenn dayes next affter any of the Feasts or dayes of paym[en]t as affores[ai]d beinge Lawfully demanded by her the s[ai]d Mary Foster or her assignes : That then it shall & may be Lawfull to & for her the s[ai]d Mary Foster or her assignes into the affores[ai]d demissed p[re]misses to enter & destreeine & the destress or destresses there on found to take Lead drive Chase & Carry// 2nd page away & the same to deteeine & keepe untill shee of the s[ai]d Rents with the Arr[ ]ages therof if any such be then behind & unpaidas affores[ai]d be fully satisfied Contented & paid as affores[ai]d: Alsoe it is Covenanted & agreed upon betweene the s[ai]d p[ar]ties that she the s[ai]d Mary Foster shall Continually doe & be about her owne bissines except it be her owne mind to doe anythinge for the s[ai]d Tho. Foster her s[ai]d sonn. Alsoe it is Covenanted & agreed upon Betwene the s[ai]d p[ar]ties that hee the s[ai]d Tho. Foster shall not Lett sett Change or assigneany of the affore demissed p[re]misses or any p[ar]tie or p[ar]cell thereof to any p[er]son or p[er]sons whatsoever without the speciall Leave Lycence & Consent of her the s[ai]d Mary Foster first grantted. Alsoe it is Covenanted & agreed upon Betweene the s[ai]d p[ar]ties that he the said Tho. Foster shall well & sifficiently repaire the Kichinge& Kichinge Chamber for her the s[ai]d Mary to Live in: And mainetaine uphould and keepe the Kichinge & Kichinge Chamber & dwellinge house and all the other houseinge belonginge untothe affore demissed p[re]miss[es] with sufficient neddfull & nessessary repaires dureinge the whole time & naturall Life of her the said Mary as afforesaid. Alsoe it is Covenanted & agreed upon betweene the s[ai]d p[ar]ties that he the s[ai]d Tho. Foster shall keepe att his table & Dyate John Foster sonn of Richard Foster with sufficient meate drinke washinge Lodginge & app[ar]ill & Keepe the s[ai]d John Foster att Skoole untill he cann reade the Byble in the English tongue & pay for his Learninge: And the s[ai]d Mary Foster doth Covenant grant & allow unto him the s[ai]d Tho. Foster for the keepeinge of John Foster affores[ai]d the sume of three poundes a yeare forth of the said Rents affores[ai]d att the accostomed times & rent dayes aboue mensoned for Longe as he the s[ai]d Tho. Foster doth keepe the s[ai]d John Foster as affores[ai]d . 16th June 1657 Rotherham Archives and Local Studies Service Page 4
This agreement was drawn up in June 1657 between Mary Foster a farmer’s widow of Ravenfield and her son Thomas. In return for £15 and ‘her table and dyate [board] with ...Tho. Foster dureinge her naturell Life’ she made over to him her half share in her late husband’s goods. In addition, she agreed to lease him the farm left her by her husband John for £7 a year. She was to keep the ‘Kichinge & Kichinge Chamber adioyneinge unto the ...house’ and half the produce of the orchards & gardens. Thomas was to repair her part of the house. Mary insisted that she might ‘Continually doe & be about her owne bissines’ unless she chose to do anything for her son. Lastly she was concerned for her grandson John, whose father had died in 1651. Thomas was to keep the boy with ‘sufficient meate drinke washinge Lodginge & apparill’ and keep him ‘att Skoole untill he cann reade the Byble in the English tongue and pay for his Learninge’, Mary allowing £3 a year towards this. Why did they make this agreement? Mary was probably very elderly and may have wanted to hand over the running of the farm to her son, while carefully reserving suitable board and lodging for herself and her grandson and ensuring that she was not treated as a servant. On the other hand Thomas, who was probably the youngest son and had received very little under his father’s will, may have been pressing his mother to give him more authority over the farm on which he would have been working full-time already.
The Fosters of Ravenfield
The family connection with Ravenfield seems to have begun in 1601 when John Foster a yeoman of Darnall exchanged a property in Hooton Roberts which he had inherited for a house and land in Ravenfield owned by the Reresbys of Thrybergh. Because John’s heirs sold their interest in the property to the Westbys of Ravenfield Hall, a copy of the deed and other papers including the document displayed have survived in the Ravenfield Hall estate papers deposited with Parker Rhodes solicitors and now held at Rotherham Archives & Local Studies Service (ref 63-B). John Foster (probably the man involved in the 1601 transaction, but perhaps his son) died in late 1648 (his will was dated 21st August that year and probate was granted 16th February following). He left a wife Mary ‘with whome I have Coopled my selfe in ye feare of God & soe haue liued a great tyme louingly togeather’ and 4 children. Mary was left a life interest in half his Ravenfield property, paying £3 a year to Richard their eldest son. Richard, his eventual heir, and Robert were adults already settled in life and were left only token Rotherham Archives and Local Studies Service Page 5
bequests. Isabel his daughter, who was probably still unmarried, received the substantial sum of £40, while Thomas was awarded £4 a year after his mother’s death from the property left to her. Richard, who was working as a glazier in Doncaster, sold his share to the Westbys for £110 in July 1649. He died in December 1651 and his son John seems to have remained in the care of his grandmother, whom the agreement shows was concerned for his education and welfare. The £3 a year she allocated for John’s board and education probably represents the rent she had previously paid his father. In 1663 Thomas sold the £4 rent due to him on his mother’s death to George Westby. Finally young John sold his share of the property to George Westby in 1666, which was probably around the time he came of age. Like his father he was a glazier. His education probably never progressed beyond an ability to read the Bible, as he could only sign a rather crude version of his initials.
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