wills Archives - Cumbrian Characters

Tracing your family history: Wills

Posted on October 3, 2021October 3, 2021 by Harriet

Among William Shakespeare’s almost countless famous lines is one from his will: ‘Item, I give unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture.” If you’re tracing your family history or... Read More

Beds through the ages, comfort and joy

Posted on January 5, 2020January 22, 2021 by Harriet

Beds through the ages: most important piece of furniture? Spoiled for choice when considering a new mattress? Puzzled by the claims for memory foam, pocket springs, toppers, zoning, cores… When you ... Read More

Georgian living: John Fawell’s worldly goods

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Harriet

Georgian living: 1791 In 1791, George III was on the throne. His son Frederick, Duke of York, married Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. Composer Joseph Haydn arrived in England. And the Ordna... Read More

Robert Sewell – a curious will

Posted on August 11, 2019January 22, 2021 by Harriet

Robert Sewell was the man who told world-renowned astronomer William Herschel that he was wrong. Robert Sewell was right, but while history records that Herschel got it wrong when it came to lunar vol... Read More

James Irving of Blackwell House – an unusual will

Posted on August 9, 2018January 22, 2021 by Harriet

The will of James Irving (baptised 1835 Bowness-on-Solway, died 1877 Switzerland) suggests he was worthy of the description Cumbrian Character… Elsewhere on this site, you can find a general inf... Read More

Cumbrian Characters

Family history is so much more than names and dates

Category: wills

Georgian living: John Fawell’s worldly goods

Robert Sewell – a curious will

James Irving of Blackwell House – an unusual will