... The earliest Waymouth Will is proved in 1540 and in it John, if my reading of Elizabethan script is right, leaves his ship, the PETER, to his widow Alison and sons William, Richard and Robert. William is assessed in 1569 as the wealthiest man in Cockington after the Manor. When he died in 1578 most of his not inconsiderable wealth (we are talking here of a yeoman rather than a gentleman) is left to his son William and the first item is 'a moitie of ye shippe ye LYON' valued at £50. This may not seem much for half a ship but it is in fact 12 years wages for a farm labourer and in any case probably only notional as it was not passing out of the family - one assumes that son William already owned the other half. ...
