Sheepy Magna, along with the neighbouring hamlet of Sheepy Parva, lies some 60 miles southwest of Meering, and it’s possible to see the settlement of Myrings there as a stage in the gradual westward migration of the family which would eventually land them in Birmingham.
Sheepy Magna is mentioned in the Domesday Book as a small settlement with a population of about 70 people [1]. Some have suggested that it predated the Norman Conquest, or indeed could be much older; it lies on the Atherstone-Burton turnpike which is said to be old Celtic track predating the Roman occupation.
While we have no records of the Myrings in Sheepy during the two centuries between Francis and John, it is interesting to note that the Battle of Bosworth occurred on 22 August 1485 in fields less than six miles away, and the night before the battle Henry Tudor’s army encamped at Whitemoors little more than an hour’s walk from Sheepy. It’s tempting to wonder whether any Myrings bore witness to the battle or its aftermath.
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This alleged hunchbacked child-murderer had an unfortunate time near Sheepy Magna |
My oldest confirmed ancestor in the Myring line is not actually John, but his mother Margaret. We are fortunate that Sheepy’s parish records from the 17th century still survive, and they note the burial of one Margaret, recorded as the mother of John Myring, on 17 January 1628. We can assume that this burial was in the graveyard of the original All Saint’s Church, believed to have been built sometime before the year 1150. Sadly this is all we know of Margaret.
We know rather more about her son John. We know that he married one Hester Freeman in Sheepy Magna on 30 July 1609, and that they then proceeded to produce no fewer than ten children over the following 21 years: Ellyna (1610), Jane (1612), Hester (1614), Edward (1617), John (1619), Francis (1621), Briget (1623), Arthur (1625), Dorothy (1628), and finally my ancestor Joseph (1630).
Hester died in 1649, with John following in 1655.
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The oldest known Myring generations that can be linked to the present day
Click for larger image. (Ancestry.com)
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While in Sheepy the family lived through a period of tumultuous change, not least the English Civil War; we know that the North Warwickshire garrison was quarted at Sheepy at one point, leading to a dispute over a stolen horse [2].
In 1659 the open fields were enclosed (though that process may have begun considerably earlier), with the cottagers receiving four acres each [3]. It’s notable that Edward is recorded in 1662 as paying a hearth tax under legislation introduced that year by the restored Stuart dynasty; each household had to pay one shilling per hearth in their home. Only eleven people in Sheepy Magna were eligible for the tax, of whom six, like Edward, had a single hearth. Sheepy Magna probably had a population of around 190 at this time [4].
Several of the children had a good innings. Edward lived until 1681 (aged 64). John lived until 1682 (aged 63), and is recorded in the Sheepy Magna register as being a ‘wanderer’. His burial is the last recorded link between the Myrings and Sheepy Magna. Joseph, the youngest son, made it to 1710 (aged around 80), but by the time of his death he had long since moved west to Kingsbury, Warwickshire.
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All Saints Church, Sheepy Magna – picture credit: Steve Stain |
I look forward to visiting Sheepy Magna one day; it will be interesting to see whether there are any Myrings left among the headstones. The Church itself is not the building that they Myrings would have known, having been almost totally rebuilt in 1788; only the original tower remains. During the reconstruction the armorial glass and monuments to local families were destroyed, not that it’s likely that a lowly family like the Myrings would have left any permanent trace inside the church – indeed Burton’s 1630 description of the building doesn’t mention them at all [5].
My next article will follow Joseph Myring to Kingsbury, where the family remained for five generations. Joseph was a fornicating blacksmith, so do tune in.
Roll Call
Margaret buried 17 Jan 1628, Sheepy Magna, Leics.
Had issue:
1) John MYRING(E), son of Margaret (?-1628), died 1655, Sheepy Magna, Leics.
John MYRING(E), son of Margaret (?-1628), died 1655, Sheepy Magna, Leics.
Married Hester FREEMAN died in May 1649 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. She was buried on 28 May 1649 in Sheepy Magna, Leics.
Had issue:
1) Ellyna MYRING(E) was born in 1610 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. She was christened on 29 Jul 1610 in Sheepy Magna, Leics.
2) Jane MYRING(E) was christened on 25 Apr 1612 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. She was born in 1612 in Sheepy Magna, Leics.
3) Hester MYRING(E) was christened on 28 Jun 1614 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. She was born in 1614 in Sheepy Magna, Leics.
4) Edward MYRING(E) was born in 1617 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. He was christened on 14 Dec 1617 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. He died in 1681 at the age of 64 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. Edward was buried on 20 Sep 1681 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. Sheepy Parva Leics Edward Myringe has 1 hearth in 1662. Eleven people in village paying tax one with 7, one 6, 3 with 2 and 6 with 1.
5) John MYRING(E) was born in 1619 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. He was christened on 5 Dec 1619 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. He was buried on 14 Apr 1682 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. John died in 1682 at the age of 63 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. Possibly his death in the parish register, described as wanderer
6) Francis MYRING(E) was born in 1621 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. He was christened on 5 Nov 1621 in Sheepy Magna, Leics.
7) Briget MYRING(E) was christened on 3 Mar 1623 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. She was born in 1623 in Sheepy Magna, Leics.
8) Arthur MYRING(E) was christened on 4 Feb 1625 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. He was born in 1625 in Sheepy Magna.Leics. He was buried on 7 May 1635 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. Arthur died in May 1635 at the age of 10 in Sheepy Magna, Leics.
9) Dorothy MYRING(E) was born in 1628 in Sheepy Magna, Leics. She was christened on 26 Dec 1628 in Sheepy Magna, Leics.
10) Joseph MYRING (MIERING), born 1630, Sheepy Magna, Leics; died 1710, Kingsbury, Warks.
Endnotes
[1] http://www.mdlp.co.uk/resources/Sheepy/history.htm
[5] http://www.mdlp.co.uk/resources/Sheepy/history.htm