In the reign of Elizabeth I, a Chrishall woman set up charities for the benefit of the poor of a number of villages. Who was this Chrishall lady? How was she so wealthy and why did she give so generously? Her name was Lettice Martin and in 1568, when she made her...
Lettice’s father, Thomas Crawley was a wealthy speculator in chantry lands in Essex and in 1553 he had been the escheator (which meant he dealt with property returning to the Crown on the death of someone ) for Essex and Hertfordshire. It is not clear whether this was...
Thomas Crawley was, as far as we know, Lettice Martin's father. He lived in Elmdon and has a wonderful memorial in Elmdon Church. There are several memorial plates in the floor to the right of the altar. These are sometimes covered with a mat to protect them. They...
The Meade family have links with Elmdon in terms of property but were close relatives of Lettice Martin in Chrishall. Thomas Meade’s mother was Lettice’s sister, Johan the elder and Thomas was therefore Lettice’s nephew. His mother seems to have died quite young and...
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