17. Richard14 Flegg (15. John13, James12, William11, John10, John9, William8, Philip7, Philip6, Philip5, Sir John4, Sir John3, Henry2, Algar1), born about 1500, doubtless in Shipdham, was left some goods by the will in 1536 of his father, and also received by enfeoffment from the latter certain lands in Shipdham. He evidently lived on the homestead with his father until the latter's death in 1536. The church wardens' accounts of Shipdham furnish the following mentions of Richard14 Flegg: 1536; received of Richard Fleg for the plough lot of Thorpe Row 12d. 1543-1546; Richard Fleg a church warden. [Records missing 1547-1554.]
Richard14 Flegg does not appear on the subsidy of 15 Henry VIII (1523), as at that time he was living with his father on the latter's homestead. In the subsidy of 37 Henry VIII (1545), among fifty taxpayers in Shipdham, Richard14 Flegge paid 4s. on goods, one third of the amount paid by his elder and wealthier brother, William14 Flegg. (Lay Subsidy, Norfolk, 151-346.) The subsidy of 3 Edward VI (1548) has only eighteen names in Shipdham, among them Richard14 Flegg assessed 4s. on goods. (Lay Subsidy, Norfolk, 151-376.) At the next subsidy, dated 20 Mar. 6 Edward VI [1551/2], Richard14 Flegg had disappeared from the roll. (Lay Subsidy, Norfolk, 152-383.)
Richard14 Flegg doubtless died in the Roman Catholic faith of his ancestors, as the permanent establishment of the Church of England was not effected until 1558, to which his children conformed.
Richard14 Flegg must have died about 1550, aged about fifty years, as Mr. Rye's copies of the court rolls of the Manor of Shipdham cover the reign of Mary (1553-1558) in which a Richard15 Elegg (evidently the son of Richard14) constantly occurs without any designation of " senior " or " junior " as would have appeared if two persons of the name were then living. Furthermore, the widow of Richard14 Flegg was buried at Shipdham in 1558, and if her husband had died between 1553 and 1558 the surrender of his lands and their seisin to his heir would have been recorded. The presence of Richard14 Flegg on the subsidy of 1548 and his absence from that of 1552 are further indications that he died in the interval. Unfortunately neither a will nor an administration of his estate can be found.
The parish of Shipdham was the home of four generations of the ancestors of Thomas Flegg, founder of the family in America. It is a rural parish about twenty miles west of Norwich and five miles south of East Dereham, and in ancient times was called Shippedham. It covers over four thousand five hundred acres and has now a population of about twelve hundred. The village extends for over half a mile along the main highway from East Dereham to Thetford. In 1245 the bishop of Ely obtained a charter for a stock-fair to be held annually in Shipdham on 29 June, a custom continued over six centuries.
The church is a large, plain edifice of flint and stone, built mostly in the fifteenth century, and extensively repaired in 1845 and 1883. It consists of chancel, nave, north aisle, south porch, and square embattled western tower containing a clock and six bells and surmounted by a cupola. Over the porch is a small parvis (priest's cell) eached by a very narrow and steep staircase, in which is kept a rectorial library containing some very old and rare works, including some fifteenth century illuminated manuscripts and some black-letter volumes printed by Wynken de Worde, the successor in 1491 to the press in Westminster, London, of the famous William Caxton, the first English printer. The church also has the finest wooden lectern in East Anglia, a very beautifully carved specimen of Gothic furniture. The parish registers begin in 1558 and the church-wardens' accounts in 1511.
In ancient times there was in Shipdham a tiny hermitage with chapel, dedicated to St. Thomas a' Becket; in 1487 the Bishop of Ely granted forty days' indulgence to contributors to its reparation.
Richard14 Flegg married about 1524, Margaret who survived him; Margaret Flegg, widow of Richard, was buried in Shipdham 10 Oct. 1558. Although the children of Richard14 Flegg were born too early to have their baptisms appear on the registers of Shipdham (which begin in 1558), and although their parents left no wills to give a list of them, nevertheless a combination of various evidences makes it certain that Richard14 Flegg was father of at least the following six
Children:
19. i. RICHARD15, b. about 1525.
ii. ALICE, b. about 1528; bur. in Shipdham 11 Jan. 1571/2.
iii. ELIZABETH, b. about 1531; bur. in Shipdham 10 Oct. 1580.
20. iv. JOHN15, b. about 1534. (Ancestor of the Flaggs of America.)
v. ALLAN, b. about 1537; at one time held a tenement in Shipdham called " Waltersons " which he conveyed to his nephew Michael18 Flegg, as is mentioned in the latter's will dated in June 1627. "Allan Flegg, bachelor", was bur. in Shipdham, 12 Oct. 1594.
21. vi. RALPH, b. about 1540.
