| Description | Research by Mrs Miriam Scott (MA, Oxon.) into Sir William Meredith (died 1605) and his family. The Merediths were a prominent early modern Kentish family who owned Leeds Abbey in Leeds, Kent, from the late 16th to mid-18th century. The research includes information regarding the history of Leeds Abbey, the families of Sir William Meredith's children (including the Cottington and Wyche families), as well as his connection to family in Denbighshire, North Wales. The collection is comprised of handwritten and digital research notes, a card index of people who lived at, or were associated with, Leeds Abbey, copies of portraits, images and photographs, and photocopies from published works.
The research was inspired by the Meredith Memorial in St Nicholas Church in Leeds, Kent. Documents and books from a number of libraries and records offices were used in compiling the research, a list of which can be found in the collection. The research led to an article being published in the Friends of the National Archives magazine by Miriam Scott, titled 'Sir William Meredith, knight. A gruff Welsh voice in London'. These research papers were deposited with support from Professor Catherine Richardson in the Department of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) at the Univeristy of Kent.
Digital files can be found in series MER/1, MER/2, MER/3 and MER/9.
References throughout the collection to documents labelelled PROB/... relate to Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury held at The National Archives.
Leeds Abbey is not to be confused with Leeds Castle, although Leeds Castle did own the estate of Leeds Abbey for a time from c.1790. The Leeds Abbey site is currently owned by the Rochester Bridge Trust and is on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register. |
| Admin history | Miriam Scott is a retired teacher, MA (Oxon.), with an interest in family history. After her retirement Miriam organised the indexing of PCC Wills 1701-1749 for the Friends of the Public Records Office (PRO, now The National Archives) and wrote the PRO Readers' Guide No 15 Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills and Other Probate Records published 1997. This research was inspired by the Meredith memeorial that can be found in Leeds church, and resulted in Miriam writing an article about Sir William Meredith that was published in the Friends of the National Archives magazine (a copy of which can be found in the collection).
Sir William Meredith ([1560?]-1605) was a knight and Treasurer at War during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James. His family lived at what was Leeds Abbey in Kent, from about 1610-1758. The Abbey was built on the site of the former Leeds Priory, which was left in ruin after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in the ealry 1500s, but sadly nothing remains of the property.
The Meredith's were a well-established family of Denbighshire, Wales, with a branch of the family remaining there until at least 1901. |