Thrale/Thrall history

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had since died. In 1710 Smith desired to discharge the bond and asked the younger Ralph Thrale to produce it. The latter said he had mislaid it, but promised to find it and on this promise Smith paid Thrale £10. Two years later Thrale, then of age, suggested to Smith that the latter should pay £27 a year for the premises and tithes, and he himself would do all necessary repairs, give a new 21 year lease, cancelling the old lease, and all differences would be settled. Smith employed a carpenter to do £9 worth of work, but Thrale repudiated the agreement saying that it had not been put into writing, and that he would not accept the £9 being deducted from the £27 rent.¹⁵ The argument went on to one point where Smith was arrested and the case was tried at Hertford Assizes, but was discharged because Thrale could not produce a Promissory Note. How the wrangle settled itself is not known, but Smith was in fact imprisoned for eight months.¹⁶ In the latter stages Ralph Thrale is described as a gentleman, rather than yeoman. Almost immediately after a family squabble broke out. Abigail Prentice reported that her brother William had inherited £500, but had died in 1707 and she complained that his estate was not being shared out in the proper way. Then in 1722 his brother Ralph had died and Abigail Thrale, the elder widow, Mary Thrale the younger widow, and Thomas Thrale were trying to insinuate that Ralph Thrale had not made a will in 1705. Thomas Thrale (executor to Ralph Thrale the senior) made a statement at the Mansion House ('domum mancionalem') of John Thrale at Hammonds, no doubt his son.¹⁷ Whilst the conflict continued, many depositions were taken in 1725: John Andrews of Kings Langley, gentleman, brother to the Andrew sisters, also Askew, Wells, Smith, Epgrave, Sheppard, Pedder, Dollinge, Meadows, Sibley, Cox, George and Richard Crouch (Ralph Thrale had married Mary Crouch in 1709 at St. Benets Paul Wharf, London and Richard Crouch was her father), Sheppard, all these members of local families were described and had their ages given. Other deponents were Thomas Thrale who at that time was at Cell Barnes in St. Peters, a yeoman, and Thomas Thrale at Marshals Wick, a gentleman, both members of the Marshalswick branch. Other details given of Ralph Thrale senior was that he had rented a farm from his brother Thomas, and exchanged land with the Duke of Marlborough. Richard Thrale of Marshalswick, father of the Thomas of Marshalswick, already mentioned, had taken an inventory of Ralph's estate at the time, and which he valued at £1,745.¹⁸ Presumably the squabble was eventually settled but one interesting deposition by Thomas Thrale of Hammonds gives

Footnotes

15. Chancery Proceedings C11/1796/1.↩︎
16. Chancery Proceedings C11/1181/37.↩︎
17. Chancery Proceedings C11/60/3.↩︎
18. Chancery Proceedings C11/895/13.↩︎