there hath beene belonginge to the said mannor of Hilton, tyme whereof the memorie of man is not to the contrarie, an ancient statue, image, instrument or heir loome, of brass, in proportion and lyknoss of a boy, comonly called Jack of Hylton, which comonly evrie yeare in the Christmas tyme was placed in the hall of the mannor house of Hilton, where the tenante that did holde of the said mannor did repaire and doe certain service for better conlineuinge in memorie theire tenure & service belonging to the said mannor of Hilton, this statue & image Mr. Townshend since his intermarriage hath ymbezelled or deforced, to the great hindrance of the services appertaininge to the said mannor in tyme to come, whereby it seemeth the said Walter Heveningham & Henrie Townshend do all that in them is to spoyle, deface, &, prejudice the said mannor of Hilton, &c., and your said orator humbly desireth, that it would please your honor to give order, that the said Henrie Townshend and Walter Heveningham be compelled to bringe and restore to the said mannor house of Hilton, the said statue, or image of brass, to be employed and used as heretofore, accordinge to the tenure of such tenants as hold of the said mannor, &c.'
"It thus appears, that the custody of Margaret Vernon was granted to Sir Henry Townshend, 41 Eliz., 1598-9. Sir Henry Townshend had married the ward's mother, the widow of Henry Vernon, in 1594.
"The next account I find of Jack of Hilton, or rather of the service of the Goose, is from a Record in the Tower of London, headed a 'Bill of Reviver, Vernon & Uxor, versus Dame Eliz. Wakering, Jan. 1616. To the Rᵗ Honᵇˡᵉ Thomas Lord Ellesmere, &c.' From this I will give the following extract:—
"'Sir Gilbert Wakering having purchased divers messuages, lands, and tenements, lying within the aforsaid mannor of Essington, in the said county of Stafford, certain of which said messuages, lands, and tenements, within the said mannor of Essington, were held of your said orator, as of the said manor of Essington, by fealty suit of court, and two shillings and seven pence yearlie rent, and by drivinge a goose, with three heads of garlicke about her neck, in the tyme of Christmas everie year round about the fyer in the hall of the mannor house of Hilton aforesaid, &c., &c.'
"We now come to the only detailed account of Jack of Hilton and the service of the Goose, which is to be found in Plot's History of Staffordshire, published in 1680, page 433. He there says,—
"'There are many old customs in use within memorie, of whose originals I could find no tolerable account, such as the service due from the Lord of Essington to the Lord of Hilton, about a mile distant, viz., that the lord of the mannor of Essington, now one St. John, Esq., late Sir Gilbert Wakering, shall bring a goose every New Year's day, and drive it round the fire in the hall at Hilton, at least 3 times (which he is bound to do as mean lord), whilst Jack of Hilton is blowing the fire. Now Jack of Hilton is a little hollow image of brass, of about 12 inches high,[1] kneeling upon his left knee, and holding his right hand upon his head, and his left upon his pego or his veretrum erected, having a little hole in the place of a mouth about the bigness of a great pin's head, and another in the back about ⅔ of an inch diameter, at which last hole it is filled with water, it holding about 4 pints and a quarter, which when set to a strong fire evaporates after the same manner as an æolipile, and vents itself at the smaller hole
- ↑ The weight of this figure is 8 lb. 14 oz.
