[ Seventeenth-Century Noblewoman's Accounts ] The Accounts of the Executors of Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, dau. of the Earl of Essex, etc etc.

Four pages, sm. folio, 104 entries, staining, tearing on folds, and chipping but text clear and complete.These are accounts of the executors of Frances Seymour (1599-1674), Duchess of Somerset, dated 28 May 1678. The first half page is a list of the charges, or amounts received by her executors. This totals £30,444 2d 6p and includes inventoried goods, rents, fines, and sales of property. Probably most interesting is the sale for £13000.0.0, of Essex House, the great house on the Strand which was originally built as a London residence for Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, but which passed to Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Frances' father, sometime favourite of Elizabeth I. "Her numerous descendants include Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (and therefore The Queen and all of her blood descendants), Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah, Duchess of York." (Wikipedia - further connections noted there).The rest of the document is a list of the discharges, or amounts paid by the executors from the proceeds of the estate. These include funeral costs, legacies, payments of debts owed by the late duchess, expenses of the executors, legal and notarial fees, medical expenses arising from her final illness (visits from the doctor and blood letting), taxes and various household bills. The latter includes interesting items like a pound to Mr. Child for appraising jewels and £418 14d for the redemption of jewellery bequeathed by the duchess, and nine pence paid 'for the carryinge of Lord Beauchamp's picture'. The discharges come to £30,104 5d ½p, leaving the executors responsible for the remaining £339 17d 5½p. One of the named executors is Sir Thomas Thynne, baronet.