Rev John Phillipps Maureen Anderson January 2024
Victorian notice board about the foundation of Box Charity School (courtesy Carol Payne)
I lived in a wool merchant's house in Brimscombe, Minchinhampton, near Stroud, Gloucestershire until 2001. A motif was etched over the door of the house which appeared to say “I P. 1652”. I soon discovered that the “I” was the old version of “J” and the motif stood for John Phillipps. I found his will which mentioned a son called John and a grant of £300 provided that his wife Martha has no child. One of the overseers of his will was John Phillipps, rector of Bagpath, near Bath in Somerset. On checking out the Reverend Phillipps, I discovered he was vicar of Box between 1694 and 1707.
Later, a friend directed me to a document called "Book of Executorship accounts of the estates of Thomas Davis of the Bourne, Stroud, 1669-1717, John Phillipps of Box & members of the Willett family".[1] In the front were some wool trading accounts which included trade with John Phillipps of Brimscombe, and at the back Ralph Willett’s accounts as executor of the will of Rev John Phillipps.
To cut a long story short, it turned out that Rev John Phillipps was the son of John Phillipps of Brimsombe, so I set about finding out as much as I could about the son, including his will, also in the Public Record Office. John Phillipps was appointed by George Speke Petty who had inherited the Speke estate as lord of the manor of Box. But there is nothing known of John Phillipps predecessor, James Ffilkes.[2]
Estate of Rev John Phillipps
Rev John Phillipps of Box (1651–1707) was a wealthy man, although he lived on credit (as did most gentlemen of that time).
On his death in 1707, Phillipps’ relative Ralph Willett was his sole executor charged with sorting out the estate, collection of money, and payment of expenses and bequests. John Phillipps’ debts amounted to £482.13s.1½d and he was himself owed £256.18s in bonds, mostly held by his own family. His funeral expenses amounted to £28.13s.5d, he left bequests of £328.4s, and the executor’s expenses amounted to £12.10s.5d. He also held considerable property. Because the period of administration of the estate lasted five years after his death, the executor received £175 from rent due. This appears to relate to a note by the executor dated 1715: agreed with Mr John Gunning of Langridge for the sale of my brother Philipp's estate at Talwick, both freehold and leasehold, and cottages; the purchase money to be in total £780.
John Phillipps’ bequests were typical of a man leaving no widow and no immediate heir. The vicar divided everything carefully between his family, including nieces, nephews, aunts, his friends. He also left bequests to the churches with which he was connected, including the poor of Boxe and clerk £6.
He was buried on 14 July 1707 but, unfortunately, I have not found his tomb, although the records show one was bought. It is possible that he was buried in Box Churchyard because John Powell, Box carpenter, was paid £1.1s.6d for the coffin and £3.5s.4d paid for digging the grave, grave stone, marble inscriptions, taking down the seal etc to several places. The funeral appears to be a grand affair with horses hired for the guests, messengers sent out, and costs of scarves, gloves and mourning rings, as well as wine and food (rabbits).
George Millard Takes Over
The executor’s accounts give new insights into Box’s history. There are several references to George Millard clerk, who was Phillipps’ curate in Box whilst John lived at Bagpath. The two were close as Phillipps lent Millard £25 for cash received in his lifetime, now due to be refunded to the estate. Without children of his own, Phillipps appears to be Millard’s patron and
he left him a bequest of £5 7s.6d.
George Millard succeeded John Phillipps as vicar in Box in 1707 and bought a considerable number of domestic items from the estate:
The listing of miscellaneous assets in this way appears to indicate that George Millard bought up contents room by room. It is probable that Millard occupied John Phillipps’ house in his absence. The property on the site of the modern Box House was previously called the Old Parsonage. It was a grand property described in 1672 as: three bays of buildings, with a dove house adjoining to the south side of it, with outlets to gardens and orchards belonging to the said house. Also, a stable containing one bay of buildings.[3] It was built on Glebe land (areas allocated to the vicar) and had appropriate stain glass windows stating: Remember the four last things - Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell.[4] The house continued long after Phillipps and Millard and was burnt down in October 1805, recorded at the time as: an ancient and respectable property.[5]
The blank licence needs some explanation. It refers to a tax licence introduced in 1695 to help fund the Nine Years’ War in Europe (1688-1697). The tax covered marriages without calling of the banns, births, burials, and bachelors aged over 25 years. It particularly affected Nonconformists and Roman Catholic marriages because the participants were unwilling to attend the parish church for the reading of the banns and obliged to seek licences.
Re-Writing Box History
Buried deep in the executor’s accounts are some startling new revelations about the Box Charity School. Payments made by the executor included wages to Dame Nicholas for schooling children and to H Arlett for teaching scholars. Little else is known of Dame Nicholas except that she lived in Box but it is possible that she ran a dame school taking children of both sexes until the boys were taught separately. The Arlett family were well-known in the village. Thomas Arlett was baptised at Box Church on
25 February 1695 and later acquired substantial property in Box. Henry Arlett, clerk, was buried on 8 March 1718.
These details suggest that the foundations of the Charity School existed in John Phillipps’ time and were later developed by Millard (rather than founded by him). This interpretation is enhanced by another discovery in the estate records of a bond owed to John Phillipps by Pancefoot Millard (sic) dated May 10th 1700 for £100. This appears to be the sum paid by Pauncefoot Millard to help fund the Box Charity School. If so, George Millard cannot be given all the credit for founding the school as teachers are referred to in the time of his predecessor, together with the existence of a loan being made in 1700 for funding a school.
The plaque in the headline photograph seems at first to contradict the estate details of John Phillipps. Did Pauncefoot Millard gift £100 for Box Charity School in 1700 per the estate accounts or later as indicated by the plaque. In 1716 Millard reported that, since the first erecting of this school AD 1708, there have been educated in all and dismissed, 34 children.[6] We know that the school started in a room above the vestry with 15 girls and 15 boys. The number of children involved seems to imply that George Millard was differentiating between the school held above the vestry and that started by him in 1708. It may be that there was a slight hiatus after Pauncefoot Millard returned Phillipps’ loan to the estate sometime after 1707. According to the 1834 Report on Box Charity, Dame Rachel Speke’s gift of £100 in her will of 1710 (probate granted 1711) for the use and better advancement of such Charity Schools as then were and thereafter should be in the parish of Box.[7] The gifts listed in the plaque make it clear that these funds were for the purchase of land to support the school which then existed.
Describing anything as “the first” is fraught with disaster. Most novel developments come from earlier concepts, many new buildings have footings of earlier structures, and our use of reference material is limited. We can always extend our knowledge with new research and chance discoveries, such as Maureen’s find of "Book of Executorship accounts of the estates of Thomas Davis of the Bourne, Stroud, 1669-1717, John Phillipps of Box & members of the Willett family".
Later, a friend directed me to a document called "Book of Executorship accounts of the estates of Thomas Davis of the Bourne, Stroud, 1669-1717, John Phillipps of Box & members of the Willett family".[1] In the front were some wool trading accounts which included trade with John Phillipps of Brimscombe, and at the back Ralph Willett’s accounts as executor of the will of Rev John Phillipps.
To cut a long story short, it turned out that Rev John Phillipps was the son of John Phillipps of Brimsombe, so I set about finding out as much as I could about the son, including his will, also in the Public Record Office. John Phillipps was appointed by George Speke Petty who had inherited the Speke estate as lord of the manor of Box. But there is nothing known of John Phillipps predecessor, James Ffilkes.[2]
Estate of Rev John Phillipps
Rev John Phillipps of Box (1651–1707) was a wealthy man, although he lived on credit (as did most gentlemen of that time).
On his death in 1707, Phillipps’ relative Ralph Willett was his sole executor charged with sorting out the estate, collection of money, and payment of expenses and bequests. John Phillipps’ debts amounted to £482.13s.1½d and he was himself owed £256.18s in bonds, mostly held by his own family. His funeral expenses amounted to £28.13s.5d, he left bequests of £328.4s, and the executor’s expenses amounted to £12.10s.5d. He also held considerable property. Because the period of administration of the estate lasted five years after his death, the executor received £175 from rent due. This appears to relate to a note by the executor dated 1715: agreed with Mr John Gunning of Langridge for the sale of my brother Philipp's estate at Talwick, both freehold and leasehold, and cottages; the purchase money to be in total £780.
John Phillipps’ bequests were typical of a man leaving no widow and no immediate heir. The vicar divided everything carefully between his family, including nieces, nephews, aunts, his friends. He also left bequests to the churches with which he was connected, including the poor of Boxe and clerk £6.
He was buried on 14 July 1707 but, unfortunately, I have not found his tomb, although the records show one was bought. It is possible that he was buried in Box Churchyard because John Powell, Box carpenter, was paid £1.1s.6d for the coffin and £3.5s.4d paid for digging the grave, grave stone, marble inscriptions, taking down the seal etc to several places. The funeral appears to be a grand affair with horses hired for the guests, messengers sent out, and costs of scarves, gloves and mourning rings, as well as wine and food (rabbits).
George Millard Takes Over
The executor’s accounts give new insights into Box’s history. There are several references to George Millard clerk, who was Phillipps’ curate in Box whilst John lived at Bagpath. The two were close as Phillipps lent Millard £25 for cash received in his lifetime, now due to be refunded to the estate. Without children of his own, Phillipps appears to be Millard’s patron and
he left him a bequest of £5 7s.6d.
George Millard succeeded John Phillipps as vicar in Box in 1707 and bought a considerable number of domestic items from the estate:
- A (looking) glass, table, deal tables, hangings, fire shovel and tongs, poker and six cushions in the parlour for £2.6 shillings.
- A napkin press, dog wheel and chain, pewter colander, old table board, spit, skimmer, tin dish, and a frying pan, bellows, garden shears, 2 furnaces and irons, a grate, iron links and bar, fender, fire shovel and poker and dresser for £5.7s.6d.
- A table and glass cage, book press, bin and flask and a bushel and a half of beans for £1.7s.6d.
- A chest of drawers, bed and bolster, bedstead and hangings, a table and 2 chairs in the chamber for £1.15.6d.
- A bedstead, rug and 2 blankets, 2 brushes, 2 earth tubs and 10 garden glasses in the garret for 14 shillings and 6 pence.
- Two little tubs and stands, lock and key in closet, 9 leather chairs and straw chairs in Hall for £2.
- Six barrels, four half barrels full of drink, bacon rack for hops 20 lb, and 34 dozen bottles for £2.14s.
- Silver snuff box at 7 shillings.
- A bedstead, curtains and valances, hangings, an iron bath, rug, blanket, coverlid, bed and bolster, 4 pillows, chair and brass lock to chamber over the Parlour for £3.19s.2d.
- A tub, screen and curtain, two brass sconces, a spit, shovel, iron rake and fork and a log box for 17 shillings.
- Wood and coal, and two racks of hay for £17.
- An old Wiltshire blank licence for 15 shillings.
The listing of miscellaneous assets in this way appears to indicate that George Millard bought up contents room by room. It is probable that Millard occupied John Phillipps’ house in his absence. The property on the site of the modern Box House was previously called the Old Parsonage. It was a grand property described in 1672 as: three bays of buildings, with a dove house adjoining to the south side of it, with outlets to gardens and orchards belonging to the said house. Also, a stable containing one bay of buildings.[3] It was built on Glebe land (areas allocated to the vicar) and had appropriate stain glass windows stating: Remember the four last things - Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell.[4] The house continued long after Phillipps and Millard and was burnt down in October 1805, recorded at the time as: an ancient and respectable property.[5]
The blank licence needs some explanation. It refers to a tax licence introduced in 1695 to help fund the Nine Years’ War in Europe (1688-1697). The tax covered marriages without calling of the banns, births, burials, and bachelors aged over 25 years. It particularly affected Nonconformists and Roman Catholic marriages because the participants were unwilling to attend the parish church for the reading of the banns and obliged to seek licences.
Re-Writing Box History
Buried deep in the executor’s accounts are some startling new revelations about the Box Charity School. Payments made by the executor included wages to Dame Nicholas for schooling children and to H Arlett for teaching scholars. Little else is known of Dame Nicholas except that she lived in Box but it is possible that she ran a dame school taking children of both sexes until the boys were taught separately. The Arlett family were well-known in the village. Thomas Arlett was baptised at Box Church on
25 February 1695 and later acquired substantial property in Box. Henry Arlett, clerk, was buried on 8 March 1718.
These details suggest that the foundations of the Charity School existed in John Phillipps’ time and were later developed by Millard (rather than founded by him). This interpretation is enhanced by another discovery in the estate records of a bond owed to John Phillipps by Pancefoot Millard (sic) dated May 10th 1700 for £100. This appears to be the sum paid by Pauncefoot Millard to help fund the Box Charity School. If so, George Millard cannot be given all the credit for founding the school as teachers are referred to in the time of his predecessor, together with the existence of a loan being made in 1700 for funding a school.
The plaque in the headline photograph seems at first to contradict the estate details of John Phillipps. Did Pauncefoot Millard gift £100 for Box Charity School in 1700 per the estate accounts or later as indicated by the plaque. In 1716 Millard reported that, since the first erecting of this school AD 1708, there have been educated in all and dismissed, 34 children.[6] We know that the school started in a room above the vestry with 15 girls and 15 boys. The number of children involved seems to imply that George Millard was differentiating between the school held above the vestry and that started by him in 1708. It may be that there was a slight hiatus after Pauncefoot Millard returned Phillipps’ loan to the estate sometime after 1707. According to the 1834 Report on Box Charity, Dame Rachel Speke’s gift of £100 in her will of 1710 (probate granted 1711) for the use and better advancement of such Charity Schools as then were and thereafter should be in the parish of Box.[7] The gifts listed in the plaque make it clear that these funds were for the purchase of land to support the school which then existed.
Describing anything as “the first” is fraught with disaster. Most novel developments come from earlier concepts, many new buildings have footings of earlier structures, and our use of reference material is limited. We can always extend our knowledge with new research and chance discoveries, such as Maureen’s find of "Book of Executorship accounts of the estates of Thomas Davis of the Bourne, Stroud, 1669-1717, John Phillipps of Box & members of the Willett family".
References
[1] The document is catalogued in the Gloucester Record Office as D225 F26
[2] David Ibberson, The Vicars of St Thomas a Becket, Box, 1987, Appendix I
[3] David Ibberson, The Vicars of St Thomas a Becket, Box, 1987, p.28
[4] John Aubrey, Topographical, Canon Jackson, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1862, p.58
[5] The Globe, newspaper 24 October 1805
[6] Box Charity School - Box People and Places
[7] the_will_of_george_miller.pdf (boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk)
[1] The document is catalogued in the Gloucester Record Office as D225 F26
[2] David Ibberson, The Vicars of St Thomas a Becket, Box, 1987, Appendix I
[3] David Ibberson, The Vicars of St Thomas a Becket, Box, 1987, p.28
[4] John Aubrey, Topographical, Canon Jackson, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1862, p.58
[5] The Globe, newspaper 24 October 1805
[6] Box Charity School - Box People and Places
[7] the_will_of_george_miller.pdf (boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk)