William Brewster (from now on known as Will) was born around 1566 in the little village of Scrooby in England. His parents were William Brewster and Mary Smythe. William the elder was the son of William Brewster (1510-1558) and Maud Mann (1513-1558). Will's father was appointed as Receiver and Bailiff of the Archbishop of York's estates in Scrooby in 1575 for the duration of his lifetime. The terms of the appointment suggest that the Brewster family was allowed to occupy all or part of the manor house, which was quite extensive. Will's father was granted the additional post of Master of the Queen's Postes in 1588. He was then responsible for the safe accommodation of Crown messengers journeying from London to Scotland. With such positions of prestige, Will's father was considered a gentleman and Will grew up with wealth and privilege. Will studied at Peterhouse the oldest college of Cambridge University, founded in 1284. In 1584, he entered the service of Sir William Davison. Davison was the secretary to Queen Elizabeth I. He signed the execution order of Mary, Queen of Scots. As a result he was made a scapegoat and imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth. When he went to prison, Will lost his post and returned to Scrooby. In 1590, Will's father died and Will took up the positions of his father, continuing to reside in Scrooby Manor. He married Mary Wentworth and had five children: Love, Wrestling, Jonathan, Patience and Fear (my 10th great grandmother). Fear was born in the Scrooby Manor house around 1605. In 1606, Will started to hold Separatist meetings in his house. The area was full of Puritans unhappy with the church, including wealthy people like the Hickman's of Gainsborough Hall, which I will talk about in a minute. Will stopped attending the church in Scrooby, was thus fined and of course suspected of religious dissension. So, knowing this, off to Scrooby we went! The Scrooby church, St. Wilfrid's, is still there just as it was in Will's time. The manor house no longer stands. Most of it was demolished around 1636 on the orders of Charles I. Around 1750, part of the remaining wing of the manor house was renovated into a farmhouse for the Archbishop's tenant. That building still stands, although it is now a private residence.
Gainsborough Hall (or Gainsborough Old Hall), is in Gainsborough, just 12 miles from Scrooby. It was built between 1469 and 1480 by Thomas Burgh and has a magnificent history that includes some notable guests. It is one of England's best preserved manor houses and, even better, it provides an excellent real life picture of what Scrooby Manor house would have looked like both in size and style. So, off to Gainsborough we went! The hall is magnificent and has been beautifully preserved. Richard III visited in the 1400s and Henry VIII in 1541 with his 5th wife Catherine Howard. Shortly after Henry's visit, Catherine's indiscretions came out and she lost her head, literally. There is a copy of the dress she wore in one of the bedrooms (shown below). John Wesley also made an appearance, speaking several times in the great hall.
As in any manor house (Scrooby included), the great hall is where the feasting took place. The lord and lady of the manor would sit on the dais unless there was a royal visit, then the King (or queen) would have the place of honor. The floor was added in Victorian times. Before that it was dirt with probably straw and rushes on top. The buttery, pantry and hall to the kitchen is at the other end of the hall for easy access.
The kitchen had two fireplaces, one for roasting meat on a spit and the other for veggies etc. There was a "pastry" room on one side where pastries would be rolled out as well as the clerk's room where the spices and herbs were kept under lock and key. Veggies did not make up a large part of the diet. Instead there was lots of meat like swan, chicken, pork and even peacock. The cooks would cook the meat then put the animal back together to make a fancy presentation...feathers and all! Puddings and pottages were also very popular.
The solar was a bit like the parlor. It as a place where the lord and lady could chill out and recharge. It was on top of the great hall. If there was a royal visit, they would have to sleep in here while the King got their private apartment. Also, fun fact, you know how gardrobe got its name? Back in the day, the disgusting, decaying fumes of waste at the bottom of the toilet actually helped to get rid of lice and other such creepy crawlies so people would hang their clothes in the gardrobe and let the fumes fumigate their clothes! "Gard" as in guard from pests and "robe" as in clothes!
The private apartment for the lord and lady of the manor included the tower bedroom, the inner chamber and the upper chamber. Off of the tower bedroom (pictured above) there is a staircase that leads to the roof.
The upper chamber (pictured above) was used much as it is set up now, as a sitting area. The furniture is from Victorian times. During the Victorian era the ceiling was raised and the inner and upper chambers, which connect, were transformed into a ballroom.
When the Hickmans bought the manor in 1596, William Hickman added a bedroom to accommodate his expanding family (shown above). The Hickmans were secret Puritans and allowed separatist meetings to be held in the manor. Will Brewster came here probably more than once to discuss plans for departure.
Now, back to Will's story. The Puritans wanted to head to the Netherlands where their beliefs would be tolerated. In 1607, Will, William Bradford and others were double crossed by the ship's master , whom they had paid to take them to he Netherlands. Instead, they were arrested and taken to Boston (England). Their crime was seeking to leave the country without the king's permission. The Puritans were taken to the Guildhall where they were all imprisoned. The women and children were soon released but Will and the six other leaders were kept and tried. There was some sympathy towards them so they were not treated harshly. They were imprisoned for a month and told to make their own war to the assizes. Naturally that didn't happen, they went to the Netherlands instead. This is a statement issued for the arrest of Will in December of 1607:
Office of the Lord against William Bruster of Scrowbie, gent.
Information is given that he is a Brownist or disobedient in matters of religion etc. Process was served upon him by the said Robert Blanchard and he gave him his word to appear this day. On which day the Lords were waiting for him but he did not appear. Then the Lords Commissoners aforesaid, on account of his manifest contumacy or contempt imposed a fine on him of 20 pounds payable to his majesty's use and further decreed an attachment or summons should be issued for the apprehension of the said William Bruester.
The Guildhall (Guild of St. Mary) in Boston is interesting because it is a testimony to 600 years of history. It was built in 1390 by merchants, who wanted to protect their wealth, as a social club and religious sanctuary. The medieval church stressed purgatory and going to hell so these merchants paid men called beadsmen who wore monks habits to pray for their souls to ensure that they would be saved. These beadsmen prayed using rosaries, hence their name. The Guildhall had a kitchen, cells, courtroom, and banquet room. During the world wars it served as a restaurant, soup kitchen and hospital.
The courtroom
The Puritans spent the next twelve years in Netherlands and Will smuggled out pamphlets, sending them to England at the bottom of barrels. Eventually they decided their children were becoming too Dutch and set off again, back to England and then boarded the Mayflower the colonies. You know the rest of that story!
Cheers!
Elizabeth
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