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From:
Subject: Knaresborough Wills - HARDISTY
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 09:18:23 EDT


Ann Walker writes:

<< Thank you for this, Tony. I have seen a lot of references to John HARDISTY
as an inventory taker - it doesn't look as if he was well paid for his
efforts though as his effects were under 100 pounds! >>

........steady on....don't get confused....!!

..."effects" are his wearing apparel, contents of purse, bedding, furniture,
plate, maybe a cow or two....&c. In other words : Cash, clothing, and house
contents. In this case £100 in 1858 is roughly equivalent to £5,516 in 1998.
John HARDISTY would have been a well-respected, quite well-off and definitely
middle to upper-class.

.....If you take a modern three-bedroomed house and strip ALL the trappings
of modern living out of it, ie. electrical goods, carpets, curtains, easy
chirs and sofas, beds, most of your clothing, all your sports and leisure
items, &c, and then cost out what you have got left, you will see that £5,516
would go a long way.

.......looking again at his Will........

<< All my real and personal estate to my brother-in-law Thomas Holdsworth and
William Darnbrook, Upon Trust to convert same to money and to pay the
interest to my wife Mary Ann Hardisty until my youngest child is 21.
On this event the residue of my estate to be divided into four. One share
to my wife, and the remaining three shares equally amongst my three children
Ellen Hardisty, Martha Hardisty and Mary Hardisty. >>

......There is no clue here as to what his real estate (which is not part of
"effects") comprised of, but it would be reasonable to expect at least one
house and a couple of closes/garths (to park the cow on...!!). Anyway it
obviously was well sufficient to provide an income, sufficient to live on
(from interest), for his wife and three children. One can only speculate on
the financial value of his real estate..........but I'm not going
to......it's for you to build a picture in your mind as to what the real
value of John HARDISTY's estate was when he died.

.......If I remember, I'll post a typical inventory in order that you can get
an idea of what a house consisted of and its value.

Tony Cheal
Harrogate Historical Society and re-Population Study Group






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