Thrale history

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messuage called the Boar's Head Tavern, which his father had held on a 5000 year lease. Possession had been withheld by Mary Thrale his mother, who was his father's administratrix, and who also prevented deponent from receiving the rents and profits of the property, whereupon he asked defendant Edmond Dixon to help in suing for recovery of the houses. Edmond Dixon agreed to help, and lent deponent some small sums of money. Shortly afterwards Edmond Dixon had deponent arrested and imprisoned. Later Edmond Dixon prevailed upon deponent, by threats, persuasions and fair speeches, to agree to sell the houses to Edmond Dixon for about £500. Edmond Dixon also prevailed upon the plaintiff Richard Read 'to manage and prosecute' this deponent's title to the premises, for which plaintiff was to get £150 when deponent was settled in possession of the premises, to which end plaintiff was to institute law-suits. Deponent was told that a trial had resulted in a verdict in his favour, and he took possession of the houses. He then, in 1664, transferred the lease to defendant for £500 as agreed. The houses were burnt down in the Great Fire. Defendant was still owing £50 of the £150 he had agreed to pay plaintiff, and also half of the purchase price owing to the deponent.

Even three hundred years ago, fraudulent behaviour was most complex and cunning!

Almost certainly a member of the family was Richard Thrale, a stationery and bookseller, who lived at St. Michael le Querne, just northeast of St. Paul's Cathedral, for many years with his wife Dorothy, and was still there in 1663 when about 60 years old.³³ He had married Dorothy Fuller in 1634 at St. Michael Bread Street. There is in the Fire Service College Library at Dorking a pamphlet entitled

It seems that Richard and James Thrale were in partnership from 1661 - 1667 at these two addresses.³⁴

Throughout this time the family back in rural Thrales End was still flourishing. John Thrale of Luton, yeoman aged about 60, had sworn

Footnotes

33. Cha. Deps. 26 C 24/881.↩︎
34. Plomer's Dictionary of Book sellers & Printers 1641 - 1667.↩︎