Talk:William Jennens

Duration of Legal Wrangling

Twice in the article it is claimed that legal proceedings regarding William Jennens's estate lasted for 117 years. What evidence do we have for this figure? The alternative figure of approx. 130 years is also mentioned (in the Death and beyond section), and this agrees with source 2. Apart from Polden, none of the other sources currently listed provides a figure. I don't have access to the Polden book, so I don't know what figure or date it gives, if any. I may have missed the QI edition that mentioned the case, and it isn't available in 'Series Catch-up', so I don't know what they said. We'll have to wait for the DVD release to have this as a source that can be consulted.
In conclusion, there does not seem to be any consensus in the current sources about when legal claims on the estate ended. Can we clarify this? Alfrew (talk) 20:20, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

130 years according to Polden (2003) p. 247 ...

... Down to his death in 1913 Joseph was a minor local celebrity in his capacity as the wouldbe Jennens heir, ... [s]o far as is known, however, the 1900 action was the last brought by an Englishman. But it was not the last action of all. Thirty years on, more than 130 years after William the Rich died, an American, Mrs Elizabeth Barnett, began proceedings in the Chancery Division against Earl Beauchamp. ...

— Polden, Patrick (2003a). "Stranger than Fiction? The Jennens Inheritance in Fact and Fiction Part One: The Jennens Fortune in the Courts". Common Law World Review. 32 (3). Vathek Publishing: 247. Retrieved 26 December 2012. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

... though I accept that 117 years was stated on 'quite interesting' by presenter Stephen Fry on series J (for Justice) episode 12 first broadcast by BBC One on 7 December 2012. I do not have a recording of the episode but I did watch it.

--Senra (talk) 21:35, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

I just watched a recording of the QI episode. Stephen Fry said (transcribed from the recording):

And it [the case] started in 1798 when he died and it ended in 1915.

This correlates with 117 years, depending on what dates in each year the case began or ended (i.e., it could be closer to 116 or 118 years).

So which source is to be trusted? Until (and unless) this conflict is resolved, I suggest the references to time in the article either be kept vague (e.g., "over a century") or refer to the conflicting data, rather than specifying conflicting information in different places. —sroc (talk) 12:53, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

The above quote from Polden does not support the claim that the legal wrangle went for 130 years, but rather, more than 130 years. In fact, the claim is that a new action started "more than 130 years after William the Rich died" and does not say when it ended. I do not have access to Polden, but can anyone verify:

• were these "proceedings in the Chancery Division against Earl Beauchamp" directly related to Jennens' estate?
• did those proceedings actually draw funds from the estate, or was it a private action between warring beneficiaries paid by the parties?

Is it perhaps the case that the legal actions involving the executor of the Jennens estate ended 117±1 years after his death but a further private action continued for another 13+ years? Maybe this is what the line "it was not the last action of all" alludes to? This could explain the conflicting periods — they refer to different things. —sroc (talk) 13:18, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

Questionable sources?

Rather than plastering {{Better source}} all over the article I will raise my concerns here.

• The Guidott / Guidotti family, Acton Place, Summary of William Jennens—User submitted family history
• Jennings Family History—User submitted family history
• Geni - Profile of William "The Miser" Jennings (Jennens)—User submitted family history

We need to find reliable sources for these as user-submitted genealogy sites may not be considered reliable. Alternatively, test the reliability of each source at WP:RSN --Senra (talk) 18:44, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Sources generally

I don't have time, but those who do might consult this source:

http://books.google.com/books?id=wkJAAAAAYAAJ

Poihths (talk) 17:18, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

Available online at https://archive.org/details/greatjennenscase00harruoft Thincat (talk) 17:22, 13 June 2017 (UTC)