'Besseslegh' / Besselsleigh
A village in Oxfordshire,
formerly in Berkshire (before 1974). Besselsleigh
Manor was bought by William Lenthall, father
of the John Lenthall who appears in this document,
from the Fettiplace family in the early 17th
century.
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Charles II
King Charles II was born at St James' Palace in London on 29 May 1630. He was the son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. After his father's execution on 30 January 1649, Charles II was proclaimed king in Scotland. Having fled to France, Charles returned to Scotland in June 1650 and was crowned there in January 1651. However, after his defeat at Cromwell's hands at the Battle of Worcester in September 1651, Charles was once against forced into exile, living mainly in the Netherlands. He was invited to return to England in 1660, arriving in London on 29 May 1660. He was finally crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661, but it was publicly proclaimed that he had been king since 30 January 1649, and his regnal years are counted starting on 30 January 1649. The years of the reign of Charles II included the Great Plague of 1665 and the Fire of London in 1666.
Churchwarden
A lay-person who assists
the vicar with parochial administrative duties.
Exchequer
Administrative body responsible for the collection and administration
of royal revenues.
Hearth tax
Annual tax of 2 shillings
per hearth introduced in 1662 and abolished
in 1689. It was paid in two instalments per
year, at Lady Day and Michaelmas, and was initially
collected by local tithing men or petty constables.
Lady Day
Also known as the Feast of
the Annunciation (the announcement by the archangel
Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she was to
bear Jesus), Lady Day falls on 25 March. In
England, Wales and Ireland it was one of the
quarter days – one of four specified days of
the year when certain payments were due. Until
1752 it was also the first official day of
the year in England and Wales.
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Lenthall, John (Sir)
1625-1681. John Lenthall
was the only son of William Lenthall, Speaker
of the House of Commons. He attended Corpus
Christi College, Oxford. In 1640 he entered
Lincoln's Inn and four years later was elected
Member of Parliament for Gloucester. He was
knighted by Oliver Cromwell in March 1658 and
again by Charles II in March 1677. In January
1660 Lenthall was made governor of Windsor
Castle. In the same year he was briefly MP
for Abingdon but was expelled from the Commons
in May 1660. By 1672 he was high sheriff of
Oxfordshire. He died at Besselsleigh on 9 November
1681 and was buried in Besselsleigh church.
Michaelmas
The feast of St Michael and
all the Angels, 29 September. One of the quarter
days (four specified days of the year when
certain payments were due) in England, Wales
and Ireland.
Quarter Sessions
Court sessions held four
times a year in each county of England and
Wales, where justices of the peace dealt with
petty offences and routine county administration.
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Tithing man
Tithing men and petty or
parish constables were local men appointed
to help keep the peace and undertake a number
of administrative duties in the parish, such
as collecting national taxes.
William and Mary
William III King of England,
Scotland and Ireland 1689-1702; Mary II Queen
of England, Scotland and Ireland 1689-1694.
Mary was born at St James' Palace on 30 April
1662. She was the daughter of James II and
Anne Hyde. In 1677 she married her cousin William,
son of William II, Stadtholder of the Netherlands,
and Mary Henrietta, the daughter of Charles
I of England. After the Catholic James II was
deposed, the Protestant Mary and William jointly
ascended the throne of England on 13 February
1689. Mary was the actual heir but William
insisted on being king rather than consort.
Mary died of smallpox at Kensington Palace
on 28 December 1694 and was buried in Westminster
Abbey. William reigned alone after Mary's death
until he died in at Kensington Palace on 8
March 1702. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Since William and Mary had no children, they
were succeeded by Mary's sister, Anne.
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