Booth Family

THE BOOTHS OR BOTHES, ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS, AND THE DERBYSHIRE FAMILY TO WHICH THEY BELONGED.
BY LLEWELLYNN JEWITT, F.S.A.
WILLIAM BOTHE, or BOOTH, who was Vicar of Prescot, in Lancashire, and Canon—and afterwards Chancellor—of St. Paul’s in London, was consecrated Bishop of Lichfield with Coventry and Chester (“Plurimi in populo surrexerunt, et persecuti episcopum Cestriæ Buthe nomine, et episcopum Norvicensem” in 1447, in succession to John Catterick, who was translated to the See of Exeter. He is said to have endowed the vicarage of Prescot by charter, dated 1st September, 26th Henry VI., and to have done many liberal acts; probably he was succeeded in the vicarage by Dr Duckworth. In 1452, Bishop William Booth was translated from the See of Lichfield to the Archbishopric of York. He is stated to have been originally brought up to the law, and to have belonged to Gray’s Inn, until, obtaining the Chancellorship of St. Paul’s, he took orders. At York he succeeded John Kemp, who had been archbishop from 1426, and was translated to Canterbury in 1452. Archbishop William Booth died in 1464, and was succeeded in the See by George Neville, brother of the Earl of Warwick. Archbishop William Booth resided, for the most part, in the archiepiscopal palace at Southwell, which he is stated to have much improved, at very considerable expense. He also added a chapel—the chapel of St. John—to Southwell Minster, and he and Lawrence Booth (at that time Bishop of Durham, and afterwards Archbishop of York) founded therein a chantry, which they liberally endowed. In the windows of Booth’s chapel at Southwell were several armorial bearings, among which were those of Booth, Archbishop of York; Booth impaling Leigh of Baguley; Booth impaling Trafford; Booth impaling Brereton, etc. There were also a full length kneeling figure of Archbishop William Booth, in full ecclesiastical dress, wearing a mitre, and holding in his right hand the prelatical cross, kneeling in front of an altar, above which were the arms of the See impaled with those of Boothe within a bordure (on a drawing of this figure, which has been engraved by Dickenson, the arms given are those of the See of Canterbury, not York, thus impaled); and a full length kneeling figure of Bishop Lawrence Booth (afterwards Archbishop) in full ecclesiastical dress, wearing a mitre, and holding a crozier in his right hand, kneeling before an altar on which is an open book, and over it the arms of the See of Chester (gules, three mitres with labels, or,) impaling those of Booth, (argent three boars’ heads couped, erect, two and one, sable). There were also full length kneeling figures of Sir John Byron, knight, and Margery Booth, his wife. He is represented bare headed, in armour, with tabard of the arms of Byron; she with mantle bearing the impaled arms of Booth and Byron; between the figures a shield, bearing the arms of Byron argent, three bendlets, gules, impaling those of Booth, argent, three boars’ heads, couped, erect, sable. There were also figures of other connections of the family. Archbishop William Booth, (who, in 1452, “by a compact made in 1353, gave an image of himself to Canterbury, having carried his cross within the province,”) was buried in the chapel of St. John, which he had erected at Southwell, but which was pulled down some years ago. The stone which covered his remains was removed to the floor of the south aisle. “It is a plain blue stone with a short inscription round the edge of it; the only part of it that is legible contains his name and the date of his death, viz., ‘Wilhelmus Bothe, ob. 1464.’ ”

In nomine Summæ et Individuæ Trinitatis, Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, precelsæque Dei genetricis Mariæ, ac omnium celestium civium. Ego Willelmus Both* permissione divina Archiepiscopus Eboracensis, Angliæ Primas, et Apostolicæ sedis Legatus indignus; in mentis acie considerans quam fragilis et infirma est humana natura, quam breves dies hominis, tamen . . . . niis et miseriis pleni; quam certa mortis preoccupacio, quam incerta hora ejus; quæ omnes disc . . . . . . rapit divitem sicuti et pauperem, juvenem ac senem, nec etati sexui parcit aut honori, et volens propterea, Ego Willelmus Archiepiscopus, predicens secundum doctri . . . . . . operari dum lucem habuero, ne superveniente nocte ulterius non possit operari’. In . . . . cia et misericordia, atque intercessione Beatissimæ Virginis Mariæ matris suæ ac Beatissimi Petri Apostoli patroni mei, insimulque Omnium Sanctorum meritis et precibus, ac tocius universæque ecclesiæ suffragiis confisus, solique Deo laudes reddens, sanus memoria, condo testamentum meum in hunc modum. Inprimis lego animam meam Deo Omnipotenti, et corpus meum, si moriar infra Comitatum Notingham, ad sepeliendum in ecclesia Collegiata Beatæ Mariæ Suthwell,* in cancella Sancti Johannis Baptistæ, in parte australi dictæ ecclesiæ. Et si moriar infra Comitatum Eboracensem, ad sepeliendum corpus meum in ecclesia Cathedrali Eboracensi. Et in exequiis meis die sepulturæ meæ cuilibet canonico presenti in exequiis die sepulturæ meæ vj s. viij d. Et cuilibet vicario et capellano dictæ ecclesiæ presentibus in dictis exequiis [die] in quo corpus meum sepelietur iij s. iiij d. Et cuilibet clerico et ministro ecclesiæ circa corpus meum supradictum xx d. Item do et lego quatuor filiabus Nicholai Byron militis defuncti maritandis, videlicet cuilibet earundem ccl. marcas. Summa M marcas, quæ quidem mille marcæ volo ut custodiantur in aliquo loco certo et securo per avisamentum executorum meorum ad custodiendum pro maritagiis dictarum filiarum et non ad aliquem alium usum. Et si aliqua vel aliquæ dictarum quatuor filiarum moriatur vel moriantur antequam maritetur vel maritentur, tunc volo quod dictæ ccl. marcæ pro maritagio illius sic mortuæ legatæ dividantur equaliter ad maritagia illarum non ad tunc maritatarum. Item do et lego Seth de Worseley quingentas marcas argenti. Item do et lego Radulpho Radclyf centum marcas argenti. Item do et lego Roberto Clyfton militi, uni executorum meorum, pro execucione facienda testamenti mei xl. libras argenti, ulterius expensas suas circa dictum testamentum. Item do et lego Ricardo Bothe armigero, uni executorum meorum, xl li. argenti ultra expensas circa dictum testamentum. Item volo quod executores mei faciant mansionem pro capellanis per me ordinatis in ecclesia parochiali de Eccles cum ornamentis pro capellanis predictis ad celebrandum divina in dicta ecclesia parochiali de Eccles. Item do et lego capellanis cantariæ Sanctæ Katerinæ in dicta ecclesia parochiali de Eccles xl li. Item do et lego capellanis cantariæ de Jhesu in dicta ecclesia parochiali de Eccles xl li. Item do et lego vicariis choralibus ecclesiae Collegiatæ Beatæ Mariæ Suthwell xi li. Item do et lego Johanni Byron CCC. marcas ad maritagium suum. Item do et lego Willelmo Both militi pro maritagio filiarum xl li. Item ordino, facio et constituo executores meos Robertum Clyfton militem, Ricardum Bothe et Seth de Worseley ad perimplendum et exequendum dictum testamentum et ultimam voluntatem meam. Item do et lego ecclesiæ parochiali de Leght unum Manuale et unum Missale. Item ecclesiæ parochiali de Prestcote unum Manuale et unum Missale. Item do et lego ecclesiae Cathedrali Eboracensi, sponsæ meæ, unam mitram cum baculo meo pastorali. Residuum vero omnium bonorum meorum non legatorum do et lego executoribus meis supradictis, ut illi disponant omnia predicta bona in operibus pietatis, prout eis pro salute animæ meæ melius videbitur expedire. Hiis testibus, magistro Willelmo Worsley, magistro Willelmo Brande, domino Thoma Byrom, Radulpho Radclyff armigero, Gervasio Clyfton armigero et domino Johanne Avereli capellano. In cujus rei testimonium presentibus sigillum meum apposui. Datum apud Suthwell xxvj^to die Augusti Anno Domini Millesimo CCCC^mo sexagesimo quarto. [Pr. 24 Nov. 1464.]
* William Boothe, fifty-first archbishop of York, was the third son of John Boothe, Esq. of Barton, in Lancashire. In his earlier years he began to study the common law at Gray’s Inn, but having the chancellorship of St Paul’s offered to him he accepted it and took orders. In 1447 he was elevated to the see of Lichfield and Coventry, and in 1452, upon the translation of Cardinal Kempe to the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury, Boothe was removed from Lichfield to York. The papal bull authorising his translation was dated at Rome, 12th August, 1452, and the primate elect received the pall at Fulham on the 24th of September in the same year. Boothe was Archbishop of York for twelve years, but his career was not distinguished by any very remarkable acts. He appears to have been of a quiet and peaceful disposition. In the wars of the Roses, which occurred during his primacy, he adopted the cause of the house of Lancaster, and although he took no active part in the politics of the time he still felt severely the reverses of the party to which he had attached himself. It must have been a mournful sight to the peaceful prelate to see his diocese rent by the civil convulsions of the time and deluged with the best and noblest blood of which England could boast. Yet even in the midst of war and commotion he did not neglect the arts of peace. His liberality was profuse, and he spent large sums of money upon his palaces at York and Southwell. At Southwell he had his favourite residence. It was at Southwell that the present will was made, and there he died on the 12th of September, 1464. His remains were interred in the chapel of St. John Baptist in Southwell Minster, where a plain and unpretending monument was placed to commemorate him.
* The palace at Southwell was a favourite residence of the archbishops of York, and several of them rest in the adjacent minster. Laurence Boothe, Archbishop of York, was also interred at Southwell. It is a very remarkable circumstance that two brothers of this distinguished family rose to the Primacy, whilst several other members of the family were promoted to high offices in the church.

The Booth Family

Alice (Booth) Clifton

John Booth

William Booth