A LUCKY cow, a chamber pot, and a secret cache of cash are among the bequests left by people around York hundreds of years ago.

A fascinating store of centuries old wills is now available for researchers and family history buffs in York.

More than 700 wills from 1576 – 1650 have now been digitised, indexed and made freely available by the University of York.

They include examples of a man leaving a chamber pot to his friend’s son; a son written out of his father’s will for stealing a horse, silver and money from him; a “hoard” of £100 left under the floorboards of a vicarage in 1623; a will made by a bishop who was worried he may be “wounded to death or slain by a gun”; and one brown cow called “Lucky” left by clothier Richard Ellis.

Gary Brannan, Access Archivist at the Borthwick Institute, said: “It is a fascinating glimpse into the past and gives us a real insight into life in northern England post Reformation.

“There is a tremendous amount of colour and humour in the wills, which will be of interest from the academic to the genealogist trying to find out more about their family history.”

Indexing the registers mean they are now easily searchable online by name, place and subject. Part of the York’s Archbishops’ Registers Revealed project, it had funding from the Marc Fitch Fund.