Richard Ginn of Bishops Stortford d. 1670

The son of Aquila Ginn the elder, by 1663 Richard had moved to Bishop's Stortford.  From 1663 until his death he held, presumably owned, the "Half Moon" Alehouse in North Street, Bishop's Stortford.

The "Half Moon" Alehouse/Tavern is very old; it claims the date 1638, but the book "Hertfordshire Inns" says that it is older. The pub started life as "The Half Moon", was briefly "The sign of the White Swan" and then "The Green Man".  Between 1746 and 1767 it changed back to the "Half Moon", for some years being known (in the deeds) as "The Half Moon lately [i.e. previously] the Green Man, formerly the White Swan". It sits just as the deeds describe it “on the north west corner of North Street”.

Why Richard took up this trade is a complete mystery, though I have wondered if his father Aquila wanted a retail outlet for some of the barley (for brewing) from his lands and Richard's uncle, John Poulter, was a brewer and alehousekeeper in the Hormeads which may have influenced the matter.

Richard was not yet twenty when he acquired the pub.  He got to work quickly, because in 1666 (the year of the Great Plague in Stortford) he issued a traders token for one farthing, to be used as small change in the pub.  Some few of these tokens survive (one is in the British Museum), and are described at length in the book "Trade Tokens issued in the 17th century” Wilkinson (reprinted 1967) where they are illustrated.  On one side the token had the sign of the half moon, the year and Richard's name; on the other his initials, six stars and "at Bishop's Starford".  In 2010 I was lucky enough to get a photograph of one which is reproduced below and in 2012 one came on the market (the first for 12 years) and I was extremely fortunate in being able to buy it.

                              Richard Ginn’s token of 1666

Richard had found his feet by 1667, because in that year he married; his bride was an Elizabeth Jones.  In 1668 they had a daughter, Mary.

As we shall see, 17th century Stortford was a very unhealthy place.  Chat to some of the older residents today, and they will regale you with passed down stories of some of the ancient history of the place, the epidemics, the places visited by Pepys or King Charles 1st.  Stortford positively oozes history.

One such epidemic claimed Richard Ginn.  He died in 1670; he was a mere 25.  The pub was clearly disposed of, Richard's widow remarrying a Robert Lee (of Hatfield Broad Oak in Essex) in 1672.  The Vicar of Hatfield Broad Oak has never released his registers, so I do not know if Mary married.