Author: HENRY TRIGG OF STEVENAGE
Title: The Eccentric Will of the Late Henry Trigg, of Stevenage. To be had at the Old Castle, Stevenage, where the Remains of Henry Trigg are still on the Rafters of the West End of the Hotel> and may be viewed by any Traveller who may think it worthy of Notice.
Description: [Stevenage], c. 1820? Single sheet, 310 x 200 mm. repairs to verso and a little trimmed with no loss. This item may have at some time been mounted and will bear traces on the reverse of adhesive or removal of mounts. The British Library has the only copy located dated to c. 1860, but this version is probably earlier. The will of 1724 instructs "...as to my body, I commit it to the West End of my Hovel, to be decently laid there upon a floor erected by my executor, upon the purloin..." The hovel, or barn became The Old Castle Inn in 1774 and the coffin became a tourist attraction where copies of the will were sold. It is reported that the bones were stolen by soldiers in World War 1 who could be persuaded to sell them, supplementing the stock with the help of a local butcher. An examination of the contents of the coffin in 1917 is said to have found horse bones, but it was not widely reported as the sales of the will would fall if known. The coffin was temporarily removed in 1999 when the barn was refurbished and the owners, National Westminster Bank, demanded that any bones were removed. Some reports say that the coffin was found to be empty, though others state that the Letchworth undertakers who restored the coffin buried any remains.

Keywords: Ephemera


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