Hi
Claire, thanks for the link.
Yes, we knew about a Reverend William Hood and he died before his Wife.
His Widow's Will lacks any name/s detail, but certainly includes wording that the solicitor shall claim his fees, expenses and costs, but there could be no reading of her Will at death as nobody (except the solicitor and an accountant as executors) seem to be named, when her solicitor made her Will.
Her Will is poorly worded and I can see now, it went to a Public Notice for persons to make their claims and if no claim was received by x date, her solicitor would choose who was to benefit.
The whole idea of making a Will, is to specify what you want to happen after your death and who is to benefit from your estate, etc.
Lambeth Palace apparently don't keep any records of their Parish Clergy, but sent me a paragraph from Crockford's Clerical Directory of his Parishes and suggested County Records or the Diocesan Record Office might have something, that is assuming he left something among his Parish records and that it was kept, then later deposited.
But I suspect the Vicarage was cleared long before it went to the Public Notice. So family records, pictures, photos, can easily get sold off, given to locals or simply binned if it didn't sell.
Regards Mark