John Perrin, mariner of Bristol

Coat of Arms, Bristol. From Millerd's 1673 Map; © Bristol Museum
This short section records the transition of the Perrins from the bucolic English countryside to the city of Bristol. This move was a mere six miles in space, but to a quite different world. A little orientation will once again be necessary. For those looking for a more general history, I highly recommend the web site brilliantly presented by Jean Manco.
Background
Geography
The geography for Bristol was once straightforward, but is now greatly obscured by modern development. The early town straddled the River Avon five miles inland from the Bristol Channel at the site of a Saxon bridge. It was seperated from the sea by a 300 foot high ridge through which the Avon had cut. The river was only navigable at high tide, so while possessing sea access the town was relatively well protected from the raids common in early medieval times. A castle built by the Normans was situated east of the city on a peninsula between Rivers Avon and Frome; it guarded the only land entrance to the city.
The map below, drawn around 1580, shows the walled town on both sides of the river Avon. The bridge which crossed the river after 1450 was a veritable three-story shopping mall. Also shown are the twelve parishes in the city, as named following the nationalization of the church by King Henry VIII.

Map of Bristol, then known as Brightstowe, around 1580
History
Already a settlement at the time of the Norman invasion, Bristol quickly defined itself as a place of maritime trade, as the city coat of arms (shown above) depicts. The city (population perhaps 4,000 in 1100) was chartered in 1171, and became independent in 1373. Its population probably reached 20,000 before the plague years of 1348-9, and was reaching that size once more in the mid seventeenth century. Despite this modest size, Bristol was the second largest city in Britain at that time.
The merchants of Bristol engaged in whatever trade was profitable, be it Anglo slaves (to Ireland) in the eleventh century, or wine from Portugal and France in the thirteenth century. American trade began early; indeed, Cabot set sail from Bristol in 1497, discovering Labrador. During the mid seventeenth century the American trade became important, and at least one author has pointed out that the export of indentured servants then differed little from the earlier trade in white slaves, or Bristol's later involvement in the African slave trade David Harris Sacks,The Widening Gate: Bristol and the Atlantic Economy, 1450-1700 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991). The entire text of this book can be found at http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft3f59n8d1/. But throughout wool was Bristol's dominant export.
During the time of interest to us the first historical event of importance was the English Civil War. I can refer to another excellent web site for more depth on this subject. The city of Bristol initially pledged its allegiance to Parliament and against Charles I. However, the Royalist forces were successful in taking the city in 1643,with Charles' nephew, Prince Rupert of Bohemia, appointed governor and Sir Ralph, Lord Hopton, appointed lieutenant-governor. The Parliamentarians beseiged the city in September, 1645, forcing a Royalist surrender. Prince Rupert and his troops were disarmed and allowed to leave the city.
Bristol avoided any further military action in the civil war. Charles I was ultimately executed, with Cromwell becoming the military leader of England by 1653. Charles II, son of Charles I, escaped from England through Somerset, staying in cognito for a time at Abbots Leigh, just north of Ashton George Streynsham Master, Collections for a Parochial History of Wraxall (Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, printer, 1900), 25-27. It is said that Cromwell ordered the destruction of Bristol Castle in 1656.
Advocates of the Quaker religion reached Bristol in 1652. During these times any number of religous sects developed outside the state Church, and the Quakers were prone to radicalism (go to these sites for traditional and critical discussions, respectively, of the radical Quaker Nayler). But the Friends successfully established a lassting presence in this city, despite on and off persecution by the government through the 1680s. I personally believe much of their success was due to their being able to form a cohesive business community, as may become clear in the next section.
Early Perrin Records in Bristol
Records that may concern Thomas Perrin, Jr.
I will start with a deposition found in the Bristol city records. It unfortunately was not dated, but filed among other documents from 1646 Helena Elizabeth Nott, ed., The Deposition Books of Bristol (Printed for the Bristol Record Society (Volume 6), 1935), 186-7:
Whereas wee George Barnard Thomas Earle John Barnard George dwelley Henry Gwyn Henry Coulstaffe Thomas Perryn & Thomas Palmer doe understand that one Robert Ashley a journiman shoemaker of the Cittie of Bristoll hath taken a most dangerous and desperate othe before some of the honorable Comittee of Parliament for the said Cittie against Mr Henry Floure of the parish Kenisham in the County of Somerset to this or the like effect following vizt
That he the said Henry Flower about 18 weeks since being in Collonell Piggots seller at Ashton should then and there propose the drinckinge of Prince Ruperts and my Lord Hopton their healths unto the aforenamed Robert Ashley
And that he the said Henry Flower (because the said Ashley refused to drinck or pledge the said health) reviled the said Ashley and threatned to beat him
and that upon the said Ashley his comeing out of Collonell Piggotts house homewards the said Mr Flower came forth with him and went towards the stables there
And that the said Ashley was noe sooner departed from the said Mr Flower but certein persons unknowne to the said Ashley closed with him and beat him so that he hath lost the use of one of his eyes, and beleiveth that the said Mr Flower was the causer and procurer thereof.
Wherefore for the further manifestacion of the wickednes of the said Ashley for taking soe false and dangerous an oath. We the aforenamed George Barnard a Parliament Officer under Collonell Alexander Popham Thomas Earle John Barnard George dwelly & Henry Gwynn doe seurally and respectively take our solemne and Corporall oathes uppon the holy Evangelists of God, that wee were all personally present in Collonell Piggotts seller at the tyme aforesaid when the said Mr Flower brought the said George Barnard Collonell Polhams servant down to drinck, and after wee had drunck a glass of beere or two a peece, the said Robert Ashley came stumbling down the seller well neere drunck, and there stayed a while untill
weethe said Mr Flower and wee theis deponents, had dranck a glasse or two more, and then the said Mr Flower & Colonell Pophams man went out of the celler,and wee theis deponents doe likewise severally depose that the said Mr Flower did not drinck or pledge either Prince Ruperts health or the Lord Hoptons, nor dranck at all to the said Ashley, neither were the said healths or either of them dranck, or any revileing thretning or uncivill words at all used or given in the seller unto the said Robert Ashley or any other for not drincking the said healths or either of them all the tyme Mr Flower was in the said seller or at all in our presence or to our severall knowledges
And wee do alsoe severally depose, that there were then noe souldiers at Collonell Piggotts house, but onely his brother a parliament Captain and his man and the said Henry Coulstaffe
Henry Gwynn & Thomas Perrin doe farther seuerally depose that the said Roberte Ashley went away from Ashton that tyme drunck and quarrelleing with those he mett, and that the said Mr Flower was not in his Company at his going away, nor did he bring the said Robert Ashly out of doors or towards the stables, but the said Henry Gwyn saith that the said Mr Flower was readeing in his chamber neere an houre, before the afore named Robert Ashley went away from Ashton and continued there reading neere two hourse after
And the said Thomas Palmer maketh oath that the said Robert Ashley hath diverse tymes desired him to enquire out who they were that did hurt him promiseing him the said Thomas Palmer a paire of newe shoes if he could disover them or bring their names unto him the said Ashley.
And lastly the said Henry Gwyn doth further and likewise depose that the said Mr Flower is soe farr from pressing men to drinck excessively as that he is a constant reprover of such as are great drinckers and swearers.
The manor of Ashton mentioned in this deposition is directly west of Bristol, on the way towards Backwell. You may recall the town of Long Ashton mentioned in the previous section. Here Ashton probably refers to Ashton Court, which at that time was the hereditary residence of Dame Elizabeth Georges, the fourth wife of Sir Ferdinando Georges. Her will in 1654 noted that Thomas Piggott, the owner of the public house where this incident occurred, was her daughter-in-law's husband http://www.combs-families.org/combs/records/england/som/ citing the New England Historical Genealogical Register (1900). Other discussions of the Georges clearly indicate that the members of this family were adamant royalists George Streynsham Master, Collections for a Parochial History of Wraxall (Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, printer, 1900), 25-27.
So as I read the above document, Robert Ashley was beat up, and he claimed that this occurred because he would not drink to the health of the Royalist occupiers of Bristol. This would certainly make the most sense if it occurred before September, 1645. The people deposed above all provided reasons why Master Ashley could not be telling the truth. On that basis I can say that Thomas Perrin either was 1) an honest man, or 2) in collusion with other Royalist (gentry) lackeys.
I can not say is whether this Thomas is the one whose will I presented in the last section, or else his son; I favor the latter possibility. A Thomas Perrin married Elnor Wickam in Long Ashton August 2, 1641 Somerset Archives DD/S/CX 4. Thomas Perryn was a plaintiff with others against Sybil Holbrook, widow and others in a suit that conerned property in Backwell and Glastonbury in 1646 National Archives (UK) C 6/11/238; this record I have not seen yet. Similarly I have not seen the original record for the death of Thomas Perrin in Abbots Leigh, other than his burial was June 3, 1713 Somerset Archives P/AL/R/1/b. At this time I do not know enough about this person to say anything definitive.
Municipal Records
The first records that may tie our Perrin family to Bristol itself come shortly sfter the deposition. The property records of the Jackson family showed that Edward Perryn, woolen draper, obtained a lease in St. Nicholas Parish on May 13, 1651, surrendering it on January 19, 1652/3 Bristol Records Office reference numbers 09457/3i and 09457/3o. Then in 1654 a petition supporting the election of Miles Jackson & Robert Aldworth Esqrs to sit in the city parliament (House of Burgesses) contained the name Edward Perrin Helena Elizabeth Nott, ed., The Deposition Books of Bristol (volume 2) (Printed for the Bristol Record Society (Volume 13), 1935), 181-2.
Marriages
There are four records from the 1660s of marriages in Bristol involving the Perrins Arthur Sabin, The Registers of St. Augustine the Less Bristol (Bristol: Bristol Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, 1952); Denzil Hollis and Elizabeth Ralph, Marriage Bonds for the Diocese of Bristol (Bristol: Bristol Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, 1954), volume 1. Two of these records probably involve persons from another Perrin family and can be viewed only by clicking the eyeglasses icon. The other two of importance are shown here.
Date | Groom | Bride | Bondsman | Parish |
23 December 1661 | Edward Perrin, St. John, cordwainer | Jane Hort, St. Peter | John Perin, St. Stephen, sailor | St. Mark |
10 August 1664 | Peter Wraxall, Junr., Portbury, Somerset, sailor | Ann Raynsdorpe, Whitchurch, Somerset | John Perrin, St. John, sailor | St. Stephen |

Poyntz Chapel at St. Mark's, Bristol, built ca. 1523
That Edward Perrin and John Perrin, the groom and bondsman in the 1661 wedding, are the sons of Thomas Perrin of Backwell described in the last section will become clear below.
John Perrin, Mariner
John Perrin, mariner left a will filed in Canterbury The National Archives (U.K.), Catalog Number PROB 11/325 (Records of the Perogative Court of Cantebury). While I stated in the last section that only people with property had wills filed with the national church, sailors were an exception to this rule. In fact sailors were highly encouraged to make out a will.
In the name of God Amen This Seventh and Twentieth Day of February in the Eighteenth year of the Raign of our Sovereign Lord Charles the Second by the grace of God of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith {or Anno Dom. 1665}
I John Perrin of the Citty of Bristoll Mariner being at the present in perfect health of Body and of sound mind and memory praised bee God therefore considering with my soule the certainty of Death and the uncertainty of the Time thereof to avoid all Troubles and Contentions that may arise after my Death touching or concerning my Estate which I shall leave at my Death Do make constitute and ordain this in said Will and Testament in manner and forme following that is to say
First and principally I comend my Soule unto God that gave it hoping my Sinnes are pardoned and Done away by the Blood and Death of Jesus Christ my Saviour and Redeemer
My Body I committ to the Earth from whence it was taken. And as for my wordly Estate I Dispose first of as followith (viz.)
I give Devise and bequeath one halfe part or moiety of all that Tenement with the appurtances at Backwell now in the tenier and possession of Stephen Howell Samuell Sunban and Edward Parsons or some or all of them unto my Brother Edward Perrin To hold durant all my Estate
And one fourth or quarter part of the same Tenemant I give and bequeath unto my Brother in Law Thomas Edmond Wynecooper [one engaged in the trade of sampling, bottling, or retailing wine] and Anne his wife To hold durant all my Estate
And I give and bequeath unto Bridgitt Wraxall Spinster Daughter of Peter Wraxall of Hengrove in the County of Somersitt Marnier the summe of Twenty pounds to bee paid within Three months most after my Death
Alsoe I give and bequeath to the Poore of the Parish of Backwell the Summ of Three pounds to be paid within Three months at most after my Death
Also I give unto John Givin Sonne of Gilbert Givin of Hengrove aforesaid Seaman the sum of Twenty shillings to bee paid within Three months most after my Death
Also I will and bequeath fifty shillings to such of my friends and acquaintances as my Executor shall find fitt to buy gloves [!]
Lastly I make Constitute and ordain my Loving Brother in Law aforesaid Thomas Edmond to be Executor of this my Last Will and Testamint To whom I give and bequeath all Goods and Chattells not herein before given and bequeathed
And I Revoke all former Wills by me at any time heretofore made Witnes hereunto my hand and Seal This Day and year above written.
John Perin Signed sealed and Published in the presence of Robert Dennis Edmund Dennis
The original has no punctuation: I have transcribed each "sentence" as a line for easier reading. The oddest entry in this will is the fifty shillings left for the poor to buy gloves; anyone doubting that sentence should review the original document.
The will confirmed that John and Edward were brothers. The will also mentioned John's sister Ann, now married to Thomas Edmond. In Thomas Perrin's 1650 will Ann had received the inn in Farleigh along with John. The will mentions two persons who were renting that house; one of them (Edward Parsons) may have been of the same family who signed the 1614 tithing document quoted in the previous section. As John gave money to the poor of Backwell it is certain that he was from Thomas Perrin's family.
John must have died in 1666, as there is a probate record for him dated March 11, 1666/7 The National Archives (U.K.), Catalog Number PROB 4/18516 (Records of the Perogative Court of Cantebury).
This record has proven to be quite difficult to read, given how light the writing is in the copy I obtained and the number of abbreviations used in it. As a result I shall not try to give you the entire text of the doument. However it has provided information of importance. It states that John "Dyed ... in ye Kings Service", and beyond what might expect in his estate (e.g., the property listed in his will, clothing, some dining ware, "two ... Mapps and other Insturments belonging to a Marriner", "1 small Pistoll, three or foure small bookes", cash) there were two items of potential importance. The first item:
rec'd of Master Wm Willott the Junior of five pounds which he had rec'd before of Thos. Edmond to pay unto your detors when he was a prisoner in Holland and which said five pounds was not paid to the said debts as can be made appeare soe that in case it may be proved hereafter by Master Willott the younger for 5 pounds was paid to the Debt in Holland or to any by his order then the said Thomas Edmond is to repay the same againe unto Mr. Willott

Four Days Battle, painted by Abraham Storck (1644-1708), Minneapolis Institute of Art
I can't say that I understand the syntax very well here, but it appears that John was imprisoned in Holland at the time of his death. It seems likely to me that this would have occurred as a result of the Second Anglo Dutch War, 1664 - 1667, and most specifically, from the Battle of Four Days in the summer of 1666 during which the Dutch captured 2,000 prisoners from ten English ships. (The above painting by Storck entitled "Four Days Battle" shows the Dutch squadron's two principal ships, the Gouda and the Spiegel, toward the center of the composition. While both sides claim to have won the battle, the Dutch art is definitely superior to the English)
A second item, "a bill of 54 hundred pounds weight of Sugar which lyes in ye Barbadhoes", was added on as an afterthought to the inventory. It showed that John had sailed to the New World and probably dabbled in trading, a practice which we will see his older brother take up in the next section.