Talk - William Honnywill of Ashton 1563-1614: A Devonshire Yeoman?

Dr Lynda Pidgeon talks about William Honnywill's book of accounts, which records daily life, moneylending and trade in rural Devon in the late sixteenth century.

Dr Lynda Pidgeon discusses William Honnywill of Ashton, whose book of 'accompts and remembrances' records shopping trips to London, games of bowls with friends, and details of his income and expenses, from moneylending to the prices of livestock and crops. These accounts offer a picture of life in a quiet rural part of Devon, some six miles from Exeter. The talk also covers the fact that the accounts survive only through newspaper articles published between late 1832 and early 1833, and the search for the missing transcript of the original book.