Billingsly the elder, and Hannah his wife, of the one part, and certain trustees of the other part; the said John Billingsly, in consideration of £4000 which he had received with his said wife, did grant and convey to the said trustees and their heirs,
the messuage called The Bell Tavern, with the appurtenances, and all the toft or piece of ground, lying behind the said tavern, and then lately built upon by the said John Billingsly, and the building thereon erected, and then laid to, and used with the said tavern, and all the estate and interest of him the said John Billingsly, in [8] and to the same.
To hold to the said trustees and their heirs to the uses following:
to the use of the said John Billingsly, for the term of his life; and then to the use of the said Hannah his wife, for the term of her life; and then to the use of John Billingsly, their son, in tail; and then to the use of every other son of that marriage successively, in tail; and for want of such issue, to the use of all the daughters of that marriage, in tail; and for default of such issue, to the use of the right heirs of "the said Hannah Billingsly for ever.
That John Billingsly the father died, leaving his wife Hannah, and the said John, their son and only child, surviving; whereupon Hannah became seised of the freehold part of the said tavern for life, with remainder to the said John the son, in tail; and the reversion in fee was in the said Hannah.
That Hannah, by her last will in writing, dated the 4th of April 1692, devised, inter alia, as follows: viz.
I give, ratify, and confirm, unto my son John Billingsly, all my right, title, and interest, which now have; and all such term and terms of years, as now is, or at any time after, may happen to be, in my power to dispose of, after my own decease; in whatsoever I hold by lease, either from Mr. John Greenwade, or from the parishioners of Saint Miles, Crooked-lane, London; or from the Master, Wardens, and Commonalty of Ironmongers; and also the house, called The Bell Tavern, in Nicholas-lane; together with a piece of ground near thereunto, and the stables thereon built, adjoining to the said Bell Tavern, and therewith used. And I give unto my said son John, the house, called or known by the name or sign of the Three Crowns, situate next to the said Bell Tavern, together with the lease thereof; and all my right, interest, and term of years, of, in, and to the same, in case he shall attain his age of one-and-twenty years, and not otherwise; he, the said John Billingsly, paying the ground-rent of the said several messuages and premises, and saving harmless my executors therefrom. And, if he shall happen to die, or depart this life, before he shall attain his said age; I give and bequeath the said message or tenement, with the appurtenances, to my son Christopher Dix, his executors and administrators, and, in the mean time, the profits thereof shall go to such person or persons to whom the same house, with the appurtenances, shall come by virtue of this my will.
And afterwards in the same will, the said testatrix bequeathed as follows: viz. "And all other my real and personal estate not hereby by me before disposed of, I give and devise the same unto my said sons, Robert Dix, Thomas Dix, and Christopher Dix, their executors and administrators."
That Hannah some time after died, and John Billingsly, the son, survived her, who entered, and was seised in tail as aforesaid, and lived to attain his age of 21, but afterwards died a bachelor, without having destroyed his estate tail, or made any disposition of the said house.
[9] That Robert Dix was the son and heir of Hannah, by her first husband, and Thomas and Christopher were two other of her sons, by that husband; and that Elizabeth, the wife of Daniel Rawlinson, was the cousin and heir at law of the said John Billingsly the son.
The question upon this verdict was, Whether, upon the words of Hannah's will, the devise of the house called the Bell Tavern, were sufficient, in law, to convey to John the inheritance of that part of the tavern, whereof she had the reversion in fee-simple, expectant upon John's estate tail? if not, then that part would either go to the sons of Hannah, by her first husband, under the devise of all other her real and personal estate; or else it would descend to Robert Dix, as her eldest son, and heir at law in either of which cases, the right was with the plaintiff; and judgment ought to be given for him accordingly. But if the devise of the house called the Bell Tavern, to John Billingsly the son, was sufficient to carry him the inheritance, and fee-simple of the reversion, expectant on bis estate tail, then the same would descend to the defendant Rawlinson's wife, as his heir at law.
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