ALVATIA: Ingsby - Wright
Contents
The Wright's Cottage[edit]
Just north of the pond is the cottage and workshop of the village woodwright. His croft is somewhat soggy, and stays a bit muddy most of the year. A few fruit trees cluster at the east end of the croft, away from the cottage. A few trestles and planks support timber being stored or dried under thatch covers; more bits of thatch and lumber litter the croft. A miniature cottage houses three large, unfriendly dogs of the -TO BE NAMED LATER- breed; they will not leave the croft unless provoked or led by the wright or his family.
The four bay cottage itself smells of wood. The hall is crowded with lumber, from small pieces for stool legs to framing timbers; they lie in piles or stand leaning against the walls. In fact, from time to time the wattle-and-daub walls have collapsed outwards from the pressure, and the wright has now placed planks across the interior walls to better spread the load. Stools, doors, tables, windows, and other furnishings in every stage of construction add to the clutter here. The axes, saws, planes, files, augers and other tools are kept in a 4 foot high chest, and on a shelf above it, in the hall. A sturdy stair leads up to the solar loft over the pantry.
Residents[edit]
Bertram Wright[edit]
Bertram (age 28), the wright, is a perpetually distracted man. He has wildly curly brown hair and an unlined face -- although his perpetual squint [his vision is poor] will give him crow's feet in time. Keeping his attention is difficult, as he concentrates on his wood-working projects with fierce intensity. Only he and family can find objects reliably in their cottage amid the chaos of lumber and unfinished furniture. His older sisters, Ethel and Gertrude, are the innkeeper's wife and brewer respectively.
Margaret Wright[edit]
His wife, Margaret (age 24), has long blonde hair going prematurely grey. Fortunately for Bertram, she is a practical, intelligent and observant woman, and handles all the family's money. She is very articulate, but scornful of the gossipy habits of her neighbors. She is still nursing Hugh, her most recent child (there was one more, who died only six months old two years ago). She is the younger sister of Arthur the baker; another sister, Daisy, is married to Roderick the carter.
Alice Wright[edit]
Alice (age 6), is a focused and watchful girl, taking after her mother.
Hugh Wright[edit]
Hugh is the 11 month old son of Bertram and Margaret.
Dogs[edit]
Three large dogs, Laurance, Moe, and Curly live in their own pen/house in the croft. They are playful and loyal towards the family; watchful towards other villagers; and aggressive towards strangers.
Transients[edit]
(none)
Economics[edit]
Bertram sells:
- three-legged stools, 10 d
- simple bench, 10 d
- trestle tables, 15 d
- bench chests including hardware, 20 d
- rope handled buckets, 10 d
- spoon, 2 d
- cup, 4 d
His services for building houses and other carpentry tasks go for 3 or 4 pennies a day.
Annual Income
- payment for goods and work 720 d
- value of food, dairy, etc. produced on croft 30 d
- total income 750 d
Annual Expenses
- replacements and sharpening for tools 12 d
- feeding 4 persons on "stew" diet 365 d
- taxes, rent, etc. 96 d
- tithes on cash income 24 d
- total expenses 497 d
Thus household discretionary income is 253 d per annum. Margaret has saved 24 d. Bertram owns a sword, helmet and shield, as required by the king's law; the other goods and furnishings of the household have a total value of 90 d. The house itself is worth 400 d.
