Life History

Other facts

Notes

• Lease  D-D/6/203  4th February, 1616
  These documents are held at Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies
  Contents:
  (i) Robert, Lord Dormer of Wing.
  (ii) Thomas Rippington of West Wycombe, yeoman.
  House in West Wycombe.
  Term: 30 years. Rent: 12/- p.a.
• Unfortunately the earliest parish register for West Wycombe was lost or destroyed so it is not possible to know whether there had been earlier members of the family living there.
  There are other Rippingtons scattered around Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties, particularly London, but records at this time are very thin and it is not possible at this time to make any further definite progress.
  In the main the family were yeoman farmers i.e. farming their own land usually held on copyhold lease which means land held on title, usually from the Lord of the Manor, and which reverted to the Lord on the death of the tenant.
  It was only in the 19th Century that the family seems to have held land in their own right i.e. freehold.
  In 1616 Thomas took a lease on a house and garden in West Wycombe from Robert Lord Dormer.
  This was for 30 years at 12 shillings per annum.
  By the 1630's he had obviously become of some standing in the parish as he sat as a juror at some of the Manor Courts.
  These were held by the Lord of the Manor to deal with various disputes within the Manor over which the Lord had jurisdiction. In 1630 Thomas is listed as a Gent (the only juror to be so called) and in 1631 a case of dispute over land was referred to Thomas as the Bailiff of the Manor.
  Also in 1631 the Court Roll contains details of a "perambulation" of the Manor which lists the boundaries thereof often by referring to the owners or occupiers of the various pieces of land.
  From this we can see that Thomas tenanted a piece called Deans Field and also had an orchard.
  Thomas died in 1649 and in his will left various legacies to his wife and children.
  Sources:
  Court Rolls West Wycombe. Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies ref 88/1-11.
  Lease dated 4th February 1616 between Thomas Rippington and Robert Lord Dormer. Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies ref D-D/6/203
  Will dated 11th June 1649. The Centre for Buckingham Studies.
• Extracts from Will:
  Thomas Rippington of Westwicombe in the Countie of Bucks yeoman
  Will 11th June 1649
  wife Fortune Rippington
  ffortune my wife
  daughter Frances Hayes
  daughter Anne Franks
  Mary Rippington my daughter
  sonne Edmund Rippington
  sonne William Rippington
  Thomas Rippington my sonne
  my three youngest children Fortune, John and Jerome
  ffortune my wife and Edmund Rippington my sonne whome I make and ordaine my sole executors
  A sheep in it's second year is called a Tegg.
  Ewes normally have their first lamb aged 2, unfortunately ewe lambs can mature just in time to catch the tail end of the tups fertile season, and will give birth during the following summer. This stunts their growth, and the lamb has a reduced growing time before the next winter ... these lambs are called Tegg lambs.
• The link to Thomas in Tring being his Father is pure speculation (based only upon the birth dates of the individuals and the close geographical proximity of the two locations) ... further research needs to be performed to find any direct evidence of this familial link.

Sources

• 1. Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies
  • (primary evidence)