166 



VII. — The Will of William Treffry, of Fowey, 1504. Communicated 

 ly Sir John Macleajst, F.S.A., Son. Member of the Royal 

 Institution of Cormvall. 



"ILLS more truly and raore clearly illustrate the maimers, 

 customs, feelings, and practices of the age to which they 

 belong, than any other contemporary documents ; correspondence, 

 legal proceedings, or even deeds, may, to some extent, be coloured, 

 and thus have a tendency to deceive, but if a man is ever 

 sincere and honest it is in the solemn act of making his last 

 testament. Hence, irrespective of the value of WiUs for genealo- 

 gical purposes, as exemplifying faith and religious feelings, and 

 as shewing the usages, dress, and the various details making up 

 the spirit and life of the age, these documents are of inestimable 

 value to the philosopher and historian. We, therefore, feel that 

 no apology is necessary for submitting to the members of the 

 Eoyal Institution of Cornwall the last will and testament of a 

 Cornish worthy, who flourished some four centuries ago. 



This is the Will of William Treifry, of Fowey, who died in 

 1504. He was the brother of Sir John Treffry, of the same 

 place, who was sheriff of Cornwall in 1482 and 1499, and died in 

 the following year. His name appears in the Bede Eoll of the 

 Priory of Tywardreath,*iinder the 7th September, to which house 

 he bequeathed a legacy of_ 20 marks, that his name might be 

 placed in the Morteledge with their founders so that he might 

 be prayed for in the same manner as they. 



William Treffry was the son of Thomas Treffry, of Fowey, 

 son and heir of Thomas Treffry, of the same 23laee, by Elizabeth 

 daughter of John Colyn, of Helland, and Elizabeth his wife, 

 the daughter, and probably heir of John Nicol, of Bodmin, which 

 John Colyn was son and heir of Thomas Colyn, by Ingreta, 

 daughter and coheir of John Giffard, of Helland. Thomas 

 Treffry, the father of William, was the same who was spoken of 

 by Leland, as having built Place House, at Fowey, in the time 

 of King Henry YI, and this is further witnessed to by the 



* Mon. Exon. page 37. The origin.il MS. is now the property, by purchase, 

 of Jonathan Rashleigh, of Menabilly, Esq. 



