James Leveson's Will: Philanthropy

Description:James Leveson’s will is remarkable as the principal bequests in the will concern charitable donations to various local parishes. His first request in the will is ‘that there shalbe sent and delte in every parrishe and towne hereafter’ a sum of money to be shared amongst ‘the most poore and impotent people inhabited within the same parish’. In addition to leaving forty shillings to the Parish of Wolverhampton, he also leaves money to the Parishes of Walsall, Audley, Wombourne, 'Tetnall', 'Stocton', 'Donnyngton', Cannock and Brewood amongst others. In addition, he bequeathes forty pounds ‘to the making of highwaus in Shropshire or Staffordshire’. These bequests indicate James Leveson’s association with Wolverhampton and surrounding parishes in Staffordshire and Shropshire.

James Leveson’s will suggests that he was generous with his money. In addition to the bequests above, he also left money to function as dowries for ‘the marriage of fiftie poor maydes within Staffordshire or Shropshire’. He also gave money ‘to fiftie poore wydowes in Staffordshire and Shropshire’.

James Leveson’s legacies to Staffordshire and Shropshire indicate that he was interested in philanthropy and invested money benevolently to help poorer people in the places where he owned land. However, it is significant to note that his bequests would function as more than generous donations, ensuring that he would be remembered as a charitable man by the future generations who would benefit from his financial support.

James Leveson’s will, and similar documents for his contemporaries, are extremely rich in detail, providing us with a wealth of information about a person’s social status, their family relationships and also their wealth and values. From just a brief overview of the bequests in James Leveson’s will we can learn a great deal about the history of places and the lives of people living during the sixteenth century.

Attachments

Transcription of James Leveson's Will, 1547 (44 KB)