I am hoping someone can visit the churchyard of St Mary's in Woodford and see if the vault of William HUNT still exists.
In his will dated 5 March 1750, William Hunt merchant of London requests that he be buried in the family vault he built in the churchyard of Woodford, Essex on the North side of the church and the South side of his garden wall. Although the churchyard has clearly been encroached upon by more modern buildings, Google maps does seem to show at least one large vault to the north of the church.
William Hunt died in 1767 and the parish register shows a burial for a William Hunt aged 82 on 5 May 1767. William's nephew William Hunt later known as William Hunt Micklefield (Micklefield was his mother's name) requested he also be buried in his uncle's vault in Woodford churchyard, as did his wife Catherine Hunt Micklefield. The parish register shows burials for William Hunt Micklefield on 17 Apr 1828 and Catherine Hunt Micklefield on 26 Nov 1842, presumably in the vault.
I am actually looking to see if the vault (if it has survived) shows any evidence of the elder William Hunt's two wives or any children (no children are mentioned in his will). His first wife was Mary Cutts (b. 1687), who he married in 1720. Five of her nieces receive legacies in the will. The niece's parents are James Cutts and Honor Barrett. I don't know when Mary died or what William's second wife's name was. He does mention a brother and sister in law Matthew and Frances Nash. If Frances is not William's sister, then Matthew may be his second wife's brother, or Frances is the wife's sister.
The register shows four Hunt burials before 1750 that could conceivably belong to the family:
Mary Hunt from London, buried 4 Feb 1733/34;
Mr Henry Hunt, buried 5 Mar 1738/39;
Mrs Wm Hunt, buried 25 Feb 1746/47;
Mrs Mary Hunt, buried 29 Aug 1749.
Mary from London is an obvious candidate to be Mary Cutts, and Mrs Wm could be the 2nd wife.
I suspect Mrs Mary is Henry's widow, but have no idea if they are related to William.
