William Petyt and his brother Sylvester were born in Bolton Abbey, but moved to Skipton after the end of the Civil Wars in 1649. Although the Petyts supported parliament, their Catterson cousins were royalists, and during the seige of Skipton castle 1643-5, they may even have fought each other.
After the Civil Wars William and Sylvester Petyt moved from Skipton to the Inns of Court in London, where they trained as lawyers, and made their fortunes in the 1660s. As well as practising law they also loaned monies at exorbitant interest and invested in the new joint stock banks.
William Petyt was Keeper of the Records in the Tower of London and his catalogues of original documents were used by many historians until the end of the 19th century. It was this access to original records that led William to create a spurious pedigree for his yeoman farmer Yorkshire line of Petyts. He linked his family to the gentry family of the Petyts of Cornwall by fictitious means and through them to the medieval Carminow family of Cornwall, who claimed descent from King Arthur!
To enquire about booking a talk and current fees use the Contact Form