1680s Belton Accounts
Layd out when my Master came into the Cuntrey
A sample of the household accounts from April to August 1683. The Belton House of today was not yet built. The Brownlows must have lived in the old manor house, believed to be on the site of the Orangery. The Stables' accounts sampled are from 1687 and provides the measures of horse fodder bought and not their costs. The buttons link to a data table for ease of searching. The spreadsheet data is reached through links in the preambles.
Banner image north front of the old Harlaxton Hall (Buckler 1817). Based on a similar number of hearths, the old Belton manor house would be of similar appearance. Deason's 1831 drawings for Salvin confirm this as the north front, his south front has a sundial mounted on the ediface. Buckler describes his as a north east view. He seems to have transposed the building to get it into sunlight, or mixed up his notes! The old manor was an early C17 Jacobean structure incorporating a C14 building, abandonned in the C18.
Use Show Entry to adjust the number of rows shown, Search to search. The original spelling is used. Money paid out is adjusted to 2021 with the Bank of England Inflation calculator.
The building accounts for the current Belton House begin February 19th, 1683 (Julian, 1684 Gregorian calendar) with deliveries of gorse to fire the brick kilns. First firing was the 13th of May 1684. The following day Jo Barnes received 6s for 12 days work taking down the old house. Hence, these accounts cover the previous year with the Brownlows living in the old manor house.
The only child around at that time would have been the 2-year-old Elizabeth Brownlow. She was christened in St Giles in the Fields. The previous year the Brownlow's son, Richard, had been born in June 1682 in Holborn but buried in September that year.
Mention is made to brushes and lanterns for the Stables. Where were these stables? Could the current stables already have been in existence and merely reused? Selected extracts are discussed below.
Extracts from the Horse Fodder account which is at the back of BNLW 2/6/1/4 the Household Account Book for Belton 1683-1701. The Horse Fodder account is a weekly account for oats, beans, wheat, rye and barley and it runs from October 1687 to June 1688 but is rather repetitive, hence this extract.
There are three columns but these are not for money, rather they are in weight/volume - worked out to be quarters, bushels and pecks. Quantities of oats and beans were delivered each week to Charles Snart, the coachman for the 6 coach horses, and to William North for 5-8 horses; presumably he was the head groom. Strangers' horses were regularly catered for, presumably from guests staying or visiting the house. There was also mention of horses out at grass, of asses, and of horses being used for ploughing (plowing) and harrowing. Goody Riley (Goodwife Riley), received oats or barley for the poultry (pullin), and some went to the pigs. She also received wheat for the 'Knotts' - these were biscuits made from a stiff dough flavoured with caraway that was worked into rings, knots or plaits.
Wheat, barley and small quantities of rye were supplied for the house, but they must have gone via the Miller for grinding before being delivered to the house. As the old manor house had been demolished, the house wheat orders imply that the kitchen of the new mansion was functional by October 1687. The first firm evidence that the Brownlows were living there is the November 1688 inventory.
George Hare was possibly the miller, and there was a considerable quantity of barley malt, and also some oat malt for brewing.
1683 House Accounts
Names
2021 equivalent value last column £ s d
bringing Miss Goodhand & the Page 0 19 0 £151.39
6lb of Sugar for Mistress Goodhands use 0 3 0 £23.90
20 Chickings to Goodman Haire 0 5 0 £39.84
20lb of Butter to Goody Fullalove 0 5 10 £46.48
8 Chickings to Goody Fullalove 0 2 4 £18.59
5 Weekes to Goody Barnes for helping to wash & scowring 0 10 0 £79.68
The entomology of Goody dates from the 1550s, a shortened form of goodwife, a term of civility applied to a married woman in humble life. Above Goodwife came Madam then Dame and Lady.
Booze
Prodigious amounts of alcohol were bought in during this 4 month period.
Sack refers to white fortified wine imported from mainland Spain or the Canary Islands. Samuel Pepys frequently refers to sack. He seems partial to sack posset. This requires cream, sugar and eggs, all appear with abundance in these accounts.
whitwine for Stilling hints at the old manor house having a Still Room. White wine was used to produce vermouth.
Lead acetate, known as sugar of lead was used to sweeten wines. Lead can also precipitate gout and likely contributed to 'Young' Sir John Brownlow's suffering.
a Quart of sack one of Clarrett & one of whitwine 0 4 4 £34.53
6 Quarts & a pointe of sack 0 15 2 £120.85
4 quarts & halfe a point of whitwine 0 4 3 £33.86
a pinte of whitwine 0 0 6 £3.98
6 Quarts & halfe a pinte of whitwine for Stilling 0 6 3 £49.80
14 quarts of whitwine 0 14 0 £111.55
for wine to Mr Ireland as apears by his Bill 15 0 0 £2,390.40
a Quart of sack one of Clarrett & one of whitwine 0 4 4 £34.53
7 quarts of sack 0 16 4 £130.14
3 Quarts and a pointe of sack 0 8 2 £65.07
3 Bottles of sack 0 8 6 £67.73
The Page
All the availble entries between 1683 to 1685 referring to a Page is extracted here. Pages were boys of humble background, effectively apprentice footmen. Unlike the hall boys, who did heavy work, these pages performed light odd-jobs and stood in attendance wearing livery when guests were being received. The presence of black pages in two Belton paintings raises the possibility that this could have been one such. Both Hogarth and Cruikshank recorded the Brownlow's London parish of St Giles in the Fields as a diverse population with black citizens.
The purchase of a primer indicates he was to be taught to read and write.
bringing Miss Goodhand & the Page 0 19 0 £151.39
the Pages haire Cutting 0 0 2 £1.33
a Primer for the Page 0 0 3 £1.99
2 paire of Shooes for the Page & John Weeden 0 4 4 £34.53
a Paire of Buckles for the page 0 0 6 £3.98
a paire of stockings for the Page 0 1 9 £13.94
Carriage
The Carrier of Lincolne doth lodge at the white Horse without Cripplegate, he commeth every second Friday.
(Taylor 1637, The Carriers Cosmographie)
Grantham in Lincolnshire, Newark, and all places thereabouts. Henry Wayring's Coach-Wagon comes to the Cross-Keys in Whitecross-street on Saturday, goes out on Monday.
(De Laune 1685, The present state of London)
It is estimated the 322 carriers operated from London Inns by 1680, linking the capital to many parts of England, including Belton (Chatres 1977). The first turnpike act was passed in 1663. By 1750, all 13 major trunk roads out of London had been turnpiked. Waggons or packhorses would provide transport between London and Belton. Lincolnshire carrier termini were, Lincoln, Louth, Boston and Gainsborough. It was not without risk, Notice to make a hue and cry following an attack on John Palmer, carrier, at Market Deeping by 3 footpads (Crowland Parish records 31 Jan 1813).
for the Carriage of 3 Boxes from London 0 10 9 £85.66
for Carriage of 11 hundred 26lb weight from London 4 10 0 £717.12
for Carriage of a 11 hundred & 6 Ston from London 4 14 0 £748.99
the Carriage of 9 Ston Weight 0 9 0 £71.71
the Carriage of 5 Boxes 1 hamper & 1 bundle 1 7 0 £215.14
the carriage of a Box & Gun 0 7 4 £58.43
the Carriage of the Gunn up to London 0 1 2 £9.30
the carriage of 8 Boxes & a Press bringing downe 1 0 0 £159.36
Carriage of 2 Boxes & a Baskitt from London 0 3 4 £26.56
Cariage of 2 hampers & a Box & Sword fragment of page missing.
Sugar
Sugar first came to England in the C11, brought back by soldiers returning from the Crusades. In the mid-17th century, British colonists used enslavement to plant cash crops in Barbados, Jamaica and other smaller islands - the Sugar Revolution. On Barbados slaves and servants were paid for in pounds of sugar. Sugar was used to keep goods fresh for longer, turning low-calorie perishable fruit into high-calorie preserves and jams. Refineries or sugar bakers were one of the first industrial activities to appear in England. It was comparable to the factories of the industrial revolution, because it consumed vast amounts of coal to heat the copper pans which boiled the sugar. Several bakers were active in C17. London's centre was Aldgate where German emigrants conducted the refining.
Sugar loafs is how sugar was produced and sold until C19. The loafs were cut up with a sugar cutter. Belton's is far right in image (NT 435869), and then pounded. Belton possesses a huge mortice and pestle for the purpose. Double-refined sugar was one down from the best, triple-refined.
Samuel Pepys reports the drinking of wine and beer with added sugar.
2lb of sugar 10oz peper 2oz Cloves mace & Nuttmegs 10oz 0 1 10 £14.61
2lb of sugar 0 0 10 £6.64
4lb of sugar 0 1 8 £13.28
4lb of sugar 0 1 8 £13.28
2lb of sugar 0 0 10 £6.64
a lb of sugar 0 0 6 £3.98
3lb of sugar 0 1 0 £7.97
3lb of sugar 0 1 6 £11.95
3lb of sugar 0 1 6 £11.95
2lb of sugar 0 1 0 £7.97
6lb of Sugar for Mistress Goodhands use 0 3 0 £23.90
4lb & 7 Ounces more of Dubble refin'd sugar 0 4 10 £38.51
4lb of Sugar to Gaten 0 1 8 £13.28
2 Sugar Loafes to her 0 9 10 £78.35
a lb of white sugar Candy 0 2 8 £21.25
£273.56
