The Norton Conyers estate vouchers give a wonderful overview into the goods and services purchased to ensure the smooth running of an estate such as this. The general upkeep of such a property, and the cost of maintenance, is one of the main areas represented, and is responsible for considerable outlay each year.

One document, eight pages in length and dated c.1640, provides a detailed appraisal of repairs to be made to Nunnington Hall and its associated buildings. One page, shown below, lists areas of concern for the mill. The use of the opening phrase ‘The decay of…’ features prominently throughout the whole document, and one can imagine the then owner, Humphrey Thayer’s heart sinking on reading the long list of dilapidations needing attention.

Appraisal of repairs to be made to Nunnington Hall and its associated buildings, c.1640 [ZKZ]

The most expensive item on this list is the work to be done to the mill stones themselves at a cost of £16.0s.0d, which equates to approximately £2,548 in today’s money, although it is not clear if labour costs were included, or to be added.

It is documents such as these which give a real insight into the daily problems encountered by seventeenth-century folk. We can sympathise, as the same type of issues are an ongoing occurrence for us too, although not everyone will have a mill in their back yard!