Transcriber Jools Hoyle 6 March 2021
There is a translation to Modern English further down the page

1. I John Kidby [Note 3]
2. Lord of the Manor of West Mersey in the County of Essex make this
3. my last Will and Testament the said Manor Rectory and Rectorial
4. Tithes [Note 4] Hall Farm and other Farms and Lands in the said West Mersey
5. all Rights of Lordship [Note 5] in or about the same and my whole Estate there
6. I give and devise [Note 6] to the Right Honourable Lady Mary Douglas [Note 7]
7. First daughter of the Earl of Morton and to the Issue of her Body
8. lawfully to be begotten and in case of Failure of such Issue to return
9. to my Right Heirs chargeable as it now is with the fee farm Rent [Note 8]
10. all other my Lands Tenements and Hereditaments all my Estate
11. Real [Note 9] and Personal [Note 10] Freehold11 Copyhold [Note 12] and Leasehold Moneys and
12. Effects of whatsoever nature and wheresoever lying I give to the
13. said Lady Mary Douglas to her and her Heirs for ever with power
14. to sell alienate [Note 13] or convert into Money whatever she shall think
15. fit except as hereafter excepted To Peter Sainthill Surgeon [Note 14] I give
16. my Farm at Eaton Bridge [Note 15] near Westerham in Kent and to his
            heirs
17. Heirs or assigns [Note 16] To my Cousin Eliz[abeth] Wright of Shenfield one
18. hundred pounds To Mrs Sainthill Wife of the abovement[ione]d Peter
19. Sainthill Esquire one hundred pounds To Mrs Mary Bale now at
20. Mr Sainthills one hundred pounds To Mrs Metyard [Note 17] of Bruton
21. Street thirty pounds and her [Note??] up for 25 To my two Executors
22. hereafter named one hundred pounds each To my servant living
23. with me at the time of my death twenty pounds all these
24. Legacies to be paid within one year after my decease To each of
25. Mr Sainthills Sons one hundred pounds I make the said Lady
26. Mary Douglas and Mr Sainthill Executrix and Executor of this
27. my Will and make her Residuary Legatee [Note 18]. John Kidby [Ld?]
28. Signed Sealed and delivered published and declared to be his last
29. Will in the presence of us who at his Request and in his presence
30. and in the presence of one another Witness the same -
        2 [n]d Aug[us]t 1762
31. On which day Appeared personally William Atkinson
32. of the parish of Saint Dunstan in the West [Note 19] London Gentleman and
33. John Sall of the parish of St James Garlick Hithe [Note 20] London
34. Servant and by virtue of their Corporal oaths [Note 21] deposed that they
35. knew and were well acquainted with John Kidby late of the parish of
36. Saint James Garlick Hithe London Esquire deceased for several
37. years before and to the time of his death and have often seen him
38. write and subscribe his Name whereby they and each of them became
39. well acquainted with his manner and Character of Handwriting
40. and Subscription and they having carefully viewed and perused the
41. paper Writing now remaining in the Registry of the Prerogative
42. Court of Canterbury [Note 22] purporting to be the last Will and Testament of
43. the said deceased beginning thus "12th Jan[uary]: 1759 I John Kidby Lord of
44. the Manor of West Mersey in the County of Essex" ending thus "I
45. make the said Lady Mary Douglas and Mr Sainthill Executrix and
46. Executor of this my Will and make her Residuary Legatee" and thus
47. subscribed - John Kidby - and also the several Words following wrote
48. underneath the said Will to wit "Sign[e]d Seal[e]d and deliver[e]d published
49. and declared to be his last Will in the presence of us who at his
50. Request and in his presence and in the presence of one another
51. Witness the same" do say that they verily and in their Consciences
52. believe the said paper Writing beginning and ending as aforesaid
53. and the Names John Kidby thereto subscribed and also the said
54. Words wrote underneath \the same/ to be totally wrote and subscribed by and
55. with the proper Hand of him the said deceased W[illia]m Atkinson
56. John Sall - Same day the said William Atkinson and John Sall
57. were duly sworn to the truth of this affidavit before me - And[rew] Coltee
58. Ducarel [Note 23] Surrogate [Note 24] - [??st] J Lloyd - N:J:

59. This Will was proved at London on the thirteenth day
60. of August in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and
61. sixty two before the Worshipfull Andrew Coltee Ducarel Doctor of Laws
62. and Surrogate of the Right Worshipfull Sir Edward Simpson Knight [Note 25]
            also
63. also Doctor of Laws Master Keeper [Note 26] or Commissary [Note 27] of the Prerogative Court
64. of Canterbury lawfully constituted by the oath of Peter Sainthill Esquire
65. one of the Executors named in the said Will to whom Administration of
66. all and singular the Goods Chattels and Credits [Note 28] of the said deceased
67. was granted he having been first sworn duly to administer power
68. reserved of making the like Grant to the Right Honorable Lady Mary
69. Douglas Spinster the other Executor named in the said Will when She shall
70. apply for the same

71. This Will was proved at London on the second day of
72. March in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty
73. three before the Worshipfull Andrew Coltee Ducarel Doctor of Laws and
74. Surrogate of the Right Worshipfull Sir Edward Simpson Knight also
75. Doctor of Laws Master Keeper or Commissary of the Prerogative
76. Court of Canterbury lawfully constituted by the oath of the Right
77. Honourable Lady Mary Douglas Spinster the other Executor named
78. in the said Will to whom administration of all and singular the
79. Goods Chattels and Credits of the said deceased was granted she
80. having been first sworn duly to administer

Note 1 Elizabeth, Countess Rivers and Viscountess Savage, was the daughter of Thomas Darcy, 1st Earl Rivers (a former Lord of the Manor of West Mersea) and the widow of Thomas Savage Baronet. She sold the Manor of West Mersea to John Kidby, Rector of Shenfield, in 1649. Countess Rivers was a Catholic Royalist Courtier and was the owner of two other substantial properties at St Osyth and Long Melford, the former of which was destroyed as a result of the upheaval arising from the civil war. She died penniless in 1650.
Note 2  A written statement, formally confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use as evidence in court, or in support of certain applications
Note 3 This John Kidby is the grandson of John Kidby, Rector of Shenfield. The Rector left the Manor of West Mersea to his son Edmund in his will, Edmund in turn left it in his will to the care of trustees until his own son John came of age.
Note 4 Rectorial tithes are predial tithes (a historical term meaning arising or derived from the produce of the soil) paid on agricultural products produced in large quantities, such as grain, hay, and wood, due to the rector of the parish
Note 5 These would include the rights to hold manorial courts periodically, and to receive rents and other payments, as well as goods and services from tenants.
Note 6 A gift by will of freehold land, or of such rights arising out of or connected with land as are by English law classed with it as real property, is called a devise. A gift by will of personal property is called a bequest
Note 7 Lady Mary Douglas (1736-1816) was the oldest daughter of James Douglas, 14th Earl Morton and his first wife Agatha Halyburton. Lady Mary became the second wife of Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne in 1774, becoming Countess Aboyne. They had one child, Lord Douglas Halyburton.
Note 8 a perpetual, fixed rent
Note 9 land and buildings
Note 10 other personal belongings
Note 11 permanent and absolute landholding
Note 12 a form of land tenure at the will of the lord according to the custom of the manor
Note 13 to transfer or surrender ownership (of property rights)
Note 14 Peter Sainthill (1698-1775), a Fellow of the Royal Society and Master of the College of Surgeons.
Note 15 modern-day Edenbridge
Note 16 one to whom a property or right is legally transferred
Note 17 Bruton Street is in Mayfair, London, it's actually where our current queen was born. At the time John Kidby made his will, there was a Mrs Sarah Metyard trading in Bruton Street as a haberdasher/milliner, assisted by her daughter, also Sarah Metyard. These two women gained notoriety in 1762 when they were found guilty of murdering one of their apprentices in about 1758, dismembering the body for disposal and concealing the crime. They were both hanged at Tyburn in 1762. (source: Old Bailey online). It is unlikely that there was another Mrs Metyard at Bruton Street but we do not know what Mr Kidby's involvement with them was.
Note 18 beneficiary of any residue of the estate
Note 19 this church is in Fleet Street. It has mediaeval origins but was largely rebuilt in 1831. Architect - John Shaw
Note 20 It is thought that here has been a church at Garlickhythe since Anglo-Saxon times. The modern church was built by Wren between 1676-1682 after the earlier one was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, and because of the large number of windows, it is sometimes known as Wren's Lantern. It was an important church, underlined by the fact that no less than 6 Lord Mayors of London were buried there. Its register of births marriages and deaths is the oldest surviving in England.
Note 21 an oath ratified by corporally touching a sacred object, esp. the gospels
Note 22 prior to January 1858, jurisdiction for wills and probate lay with ecclesiastical courts. Archdeaconries were grouped into dioceses, which were overseen by bishops. Property falling in more than one archdeaconry, but within one diocese, would likely be probated in a bishop's court. These dioceses fell in one of two provinces - York or Canterbury, the latter being the senior court. Property that fell in multiple dioceses in the more southern sections of England and Wales - or if the testator owned property in both provinces - would have been probated at Canterbury.
Note 23 Andrew Coltée Ducarel (1713-1785), was the child of a French Huguenot refugee. Eton and Oxford educated, he became an antiquary, librarian, and archivist. He was also a lawyer practising civil law (a "civilian"), a member of the College of Civilians and a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Note 24 deputy
Note 25 Sir Edward Simpson (1699-1764) was an English politician, lawyer and academic. He was also Master of Trinity Hall Cambridge.
Note 26 Judge in a senior position
Note 27 representative acting for a superior (in this case the superior would be the bishop or a senior judge)
Note 28 probably where he is owed money by someone else, or has extended credit to them.

Translation to Modern English by Jools Hoyle
8 March 2021 by Jools Hoyle

1. I John Kidby
2. Lord of the Manor of West Mersea in the county of Essex, make this,
3. my last will and testament. The said manor, rectory, rectorial
4. tithes, Hall Farm and other farms and lands in the said West Mersea,
5. all rights of Lordship relating to the manor, and my whole estate there
6. I give and devise to the Right Honourable Lady Mary Douglas,
7. eldest daughter of the Earl of Morton, and to her children
8. born legitimately. In the event of her being childless, the inheritance is to revert
9. to my own heirs, together with the fixed rent from it.
10. All my other land and property, all of my estate
11. land and buildings, personal belongings, freeholds, copyholds, leaseholds and money and
12. all other effects of whatever nature, and wherever they are, I give to the
13. said Lady Mary Douglas, to her and her heirs for ever, with the power
14. to sell, transfer ownership, or convert into money whatever she thinks
15. fit, with the following exceptions: To Peter Sainthill, Surgeon, I give
16. my farm at Edenbridge, near Westerham in Kent, and to his
17. heirs and assigns. To my cousin, Elizabeth Wright of Shenfield, one
18. hundred pounds. To Mrs Sainthill, wife of the abovementioned Peter
19. Sainthill Esquire, one hundred pounds. To Mrs Mary Bale, now at
20. Mr Sainthills, one hundred pounds. To Mrs Metyard, of Bruton
21. Street, thirty pounds and her Note[??] up for 25[?]. To my two Executors
22. named below, one hundred pounds each. To my servant living
23. with me at the time of my death, twenty pounds. All these
24. legacies are to be paid within one year of my death. To each of
25. Mr Sainthill's sons, one hundred pounds. I make the said Lady
26. Mary Douglas and Mr Sainthill Executrix and Executor of
27. my will and make her the residuary legatee. John Kidby. Ld[?]
28. Signed, sealed and delivered, published and declared to be his last
29. will in the presence of us, who at his request and in his presence
30. and in the presence of one another, witness the same.
          2nd August 1762
31. On this day personal appearances were made by William Atkinson
32. of the parish of St Dunstan in the West, London, a Gentleman and
33. John Sall of the parish of St James Garlickhythe, London,
34. a servant. They swore an oath on the Gospel that they
35. knew and were well acquainted with the late John Kidby Esquire, of the parish of
36. St James Garlickhythe, London, a Gentleman, now deceased, for several
37. years before and up to the time of his death and that they had often seen him
38. write and sign his name, and as a result each of them became
39. very familiar with his manner and style of handwriting
40. and signature and that, having carefully viewed and read the
41. written document now held in the Registry of the Prerogative
42. Court of Canterbury purporting to be the last will and testament of
43. the said deceased, beginning: "12th January 1759. I John Kidby, Lord of
44. the Manor of West Mersea in the county of Essex" and ending: "I
45. make the said Lady Mary Douglas and Mr Sainthill Executrix and
46. Executor of my will and make her the residuary legatee" and
47. signed: Kohn Kidby. Also the following words written
48. beneath the will: "Signed, sealed and delivered, published
49. and declared to be his last will in the presence of us, who at his
50. request and in his presence and in the presence of one another
51. witness the same" they both truly and honestly
52. believe the said written document beginning and ending as described
53. and the signature of John Kidby as well as the
54. words written underneath, to be the handwriting and signature
55. of the deceased himself. William Atkinson
56. John Sall - on the same day both
57. swore an oath attesting to the truth of this affidavit before me, Andrew Coltee
58. Ducarel, deputy Judge. [??st J Lloyd - N:J:?]

59. This will was proved at London on the thirteenth day
60. of August in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and
61. sixty two, before the Worshipful Andrew Coltee Ducarel, Doctor of law
62. and Deputy of the Right Worshipful Sir Edward Simpson
63. also Doctor of Law, Master Keeper or Commissary of the Prerogative Court
64. of Canterbury, upon the oath of Peter Sainthill Esquire
65. one of the Executors named in the will to whom administration of
66. the estate of the deceased
67. was granted, he having first sworn to administer the estate faithfully. The power
68. is reserved to make a similar grant to the Right Honourable Lady Mary
69. Douglas, spinster, the other Executor named in the will, when she
70. applies for the same.

71. This will was proved at London on the second day of
72. March in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty
73. three before the Worshipful Andrew Coltee Ducarel, Doctor of Law and
74. deputy of the Right Worshipful Sir Edward Simpson also
75. Doctor of law, Master Keeper or Commissary of the Prerogative
76. Court of Canterbury, upon the oath of the Right
77. Honourable Lady Mary Douglas, spinster, the other Executor named
78. in the will, to whom administration of the
79. estate of the deceased was granted, she
80. first having sworn to administer the estate faithfully.

MARG - Mersea Archive Research Group
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