RYMOUR, Thomas (d.1408), of Bath, Som.

On 25 Feb. 1408 he and his sister-in-law, Alice, who apparently lived with him, drew up their wills. He asked to be buried in the churchyard of St. Mary Stalls, and gave 40s. to the fabric fund. Other sums of money, totalling over £30, were bequeathed to his servants, to the vicar of Stalls and to two chaplains to pray for his soul. The largest single bequest, of £20, was to one Alice Billing. Tenements situated in West Street and South Street, Bath, were to be placed in the keeping of the vicar of Stalls, Richard Widcombe and Thomas Smyth, and the residue to go to his executors, who included the last two named.Som. Med. Wills (Som. Rec. Soc. xvi), 30-31, where the wills are erroneously dated 1407. On the night after, Rymour committed suicide by setting fire to his chamber, and Alice seems to have perished at the same time. More than a year passed before an inquest was held. By then the terms of Rymour’s will had been executed, and the goods he had had in his possession, including 150 marks in cash, and cloth, wool, household utensils, sheep, cattle, horses and pigs valued at another 150 marks, had already been dispersed. Moreover, he was found to have died seised of two burgages in Bath (perhaps those tenements mentioned in his will), both of them held in socage of the bishop of Bath and Wells. The jury declared that his properties should not escheat to the Crown. There were no heirs.E143/19/3 nos. 17, 18; CPR, 1408-13, p. 319.