The Paston Letters
Chapter 247 : Also here was here with me yesterday a man fro the Priour of Bromholme to lete me have

Also here was here with me yesterday a man fro the Priour of Bromholme to lete me have knowlage of the ille speche whyche is in the contre now of new, that the tombe is not mad; and also he seythe that the clothe that lythe over the grave is all toryn and rotyn, and is not worth ij_d._, and he seythe he hathe pachyd it onys or twyis. Wherfor the Pryour hathe sent to yow at the leest to send thedyr a newe clothe a yenst Estern.

Also Mastyr Sloley prayith yow, for G.o.des sake, and ye wyll do non almess of tylle [_tile_] that he myght borow some of yow tyll he may bye some, and pay yow ayen; for on [_one_] the fayrist chambyrs of the Fryers, standyth half oncoverd for defaulte of tylle, for her is yett non to get for no money. And the Holy Trynyte have yow in kepyng.

At Norwyche, thys Twysday.

Your sone and humbyll servaunt,

J. PASTON.

[Footnote 241-1: [From Paston MSS., B.M.] This letter seems to have been written shortly before the confinement of the d.u.c.h.ess of Norfolk in December 1475.]

[Footnote 241-2: The d.u.c.h.ess of Norfolk.]

879

SIR JOHN PASTON TO EDWARD IV.[242-1]

_[To the King] our souverain Lord._

[Sidenote: 1475]

[SHEWETH] unto your highnesse your feythful liegeman and servaunt, John Paston, Knight, that wher Sir William Yelverton, William Jenney, and Thomas Howes were infeffed in certain ... . . [to the] use of your said suppliaunt, they of grat malice confetered with oon or ij. of the counsell of my lord the Duc of Norffolk, caused the same Duc to clayme tytle unto [the mano]ir of Caster and other lands of your said suppliant, wherinne the said Yelverton and his coofeffees wer infeffed, contrary to th'entent and wille that thei wer enfeffed for; upon whiche t.i.tle the said Duc with great force a.s.seyed and entred the said manoir of Castre and other lands of your said suppliant, putting hym from the lawful possession and estate that he had in the same, and also take from him vj^c. shepe and x.x.x. nete, and the same, with other stuf and ordinaunces longing to the same manoir, of the value of C_li._ toke and caryed awey, and the said manoir diffaced, hurt, and appeired, so that it coude not be repaired with CC. marc. Also the revenues of the said lands by the s.p.a.ce of iij. yeres, to the value of vij^xx._li._, the same my lord the Duke receyved, and the owtrents of the same never payed, whiche great trouble was like to be the undoing of your said suppliant; wherfor he was fayn to sue to the said Duc and lord by the meanes of his G.o.dsip the Bisshop of Wynchestre, whiche was in his special favour; at whos contemplacion, and for v^c. [500] marc whiche the same your suppliant payed unto the same Duc, he graunted him to have agen his said manoir and lands, and to restor him to the possession of the same, whiche was so doen. And your said suppliant being in peasible possession, my said lord the Duc and his cofeffees, Sir William Brandon, Thomas Hoo, Rauf Ashton, and other, at the desir of my said lord, relessed their estate and interesse, as wel under my said lordes sele as under their own sele. Wherupon your said besecher continued in possession but half a yer; at whiche time he was chargid in reparacions to the somme of C. marc, and payed the owt rents dewe by the s.p.a.ce of the said iij. yer to the some of xl_li._ That doon, my said lord, by sinistre motive and advice, with force agen entred the said manoir and other lands aforsaid with alle stuf of howshold being in the same manoir to the value of C. marc, and so long time hath kept and rejoysed the revenues of the said lands, and in chief the said manoir, to the value of vj^xx._li._ by the s.p.a.ce of iiij. yer and mor; for redresse wherof yor said suppliant hath this said s.p.a.ce of iiij. yer sued to my said lord and his counsell, and of alle that time the same my lord wold never suffre him to come in his presence, ne here him, ne noon other for him to declair or shewe his grief. And furthermor whanne your said besecher hath sued to the counsel of my said lord, and desired them to move his lords.h.i.+p therinne, and to answer him resonably and according to right, they answered that thei have shewed my said lord his request, and that he was, and is alwey, so moved and displesed with them, that thei dar nomor move him therinne. And thus yor said suppliant hath loste alle his coste and labour, to his charge by his feyth this iiij. yer in his sute, the somme of v^c. marc, and now is owt of remedye, without your habundant grace be shewed in that behalve, in somoche as he is not of power t'attempt your lawes ayenst so mighty and n.o.ble estate, nor t'abide the disples of him. Wherfor please it your moost n.o.ble grace, at the reverence of G.o.d, to move my said lord to withdrawe the affeccion whiche he so hath to the said manoir and lands, and to suffre your said besecher to have and enjoye the possession of the same according to right; and he at your commandment shal relesse unto my said lord alle the damages above wretyn, whiche amount to the somme of m^{l.}ccc.liij_li._ vj_s._ viij_d._, and in time to come, with G.o.ddes grace, be the mor hable to do you service, and also specially preye to G.o.d for the conservacion of your moost n.o.ble persone and estate royall.

_Endorsed in a later hand_-- ... . Paston mil. Regi pro ... .

... . . Norff. in ... . . de Caister.

[Footnote 242-1: [From a MS. in the Bodleian Library.] The Castle of Caister was surrendered to the Duke of Norfolk in September 1469, but he must have been taking the rents of the manor for a year or two before. From what is stated in this pet.i.tion, the Duke must have given it up again in the end of the year 1470, _i.e._ during the restoration of Henry VI.; but he entered again after half a year, and the date of this second entry is given by William Worcester as the 23rd June 1471. After this, the pet.i.tion says, he kept possession for four years and more, so that the date of the doc.u.ment must be towards the close of the year 1475. The Duke died on the 17th January 1476.]

880

ABSTRACT[244-1]

ROBERT WHYNBERGH TO SIR JOHN PASTON

Has ridden 100 miles to get out the obligation of Craksheld and Salter.

Has been opposed by Mr. Lovell, as they are his tenants. Understands it is in my lord's closet, and the tenants are warned to pay no money without it. They keep from him the farm of the Priors Maner as well as Strehalle.[244-2] Desires him to write to Mr. William Paston to inform my lord of a wrongful distress taken by John Markham at Strehall in Cressingham, which is held of the King's manor of Necton. They took cattle in lambing time in March, in the 14th year of this King, 'and put Craksheld and Salter in such fear of losing of their cattle that they were bound to my lord by obligation, and Craksheld is dead for thought.'

Will take the letter to Mr. William though it cost him fourteen days'

labor. Was five weeks riding 'to Canterbury, and again I will no longer drive, for in winter I may not ride,' etc.

[From the reference to 'the 14th year of this King,' it is evident that this letter was written after 1474, the 14th year of Edward IV.

It may, perhaps, be of the reign of Henry VII.; in which case it was addressed to the younger John Paston, who was then a knight, his brother being dead, about the year 1500.]

[Footnote 244-1: [From Paston MSS., B.M.]]

[Footnote 244-2: Street-Hall or Straw Hall, in Great Cressingham, was one of the manors which belonged to Judge Paston. In 1451, Blomefield tells us that Walter Paston, clerk, gave it to his brother John. In the reign of Henry VIII. Sir William Paston sold it to Dame Elizabeth Fitzwilliams.--Blomefield, vi. 99.]

881

SIR JOHN PASTON TO JOHN PASTON[245-1]

[Sidenote: 1476 / JAN. 17]

Lyke it yow to weete, that not in the most happy season ffor me, it is so ffortunyd, that wher as my Lorde off Norffolke, yisterdaye beying in goode heele, thys nyght dyed abowte mydnyght, wherffor it is ffor alle that lovyd hym to doo and helpe nowe that, that maye be to hys honoure, and weell to hys sowele. And it is soo, that thys contre is nott weell purveyd off clothe off golde ffor the coveryng ffor hys bodye and herse; wherffor every man helpyng to hys power, I putte the cowncell off my lorde in cowmffort, that I hoped to gete one ffor that daye, if it weer so that it be nott broken, or putt to other use.

Wherffor please it yow to sende me worde iff it be so, that ye have, or kan kom by the clothe off tyssywe that I bowte ffor our ffaders tombe, and I undretake it shall be saffyd ageyn ffor yowe on hurt at my perell; I deeme herby to gete greet thanke, and greet a.s.systence in tyme to come; and that owther Syme or Mother Brown maye deliver it me to morow by vij. off the clokke.

Item, as ffor other means, I have sente my servaunt Richard Toring to London, whyche I hope shall brynge me goode tydyngs ageyn, and with in iiij. dayes I hope to see yowe.

Wretyn on Wednysdaye, xvij. daye off Janyver, anno E. iiij^ti xv^{o}.

JOHN PASTON, K.

[Footnote 245-1: [From Fenn, ii. 186.] This letter is not addressed, but must have been intended for the writer's brother John, or else, as Fenn suggests, for his mother, Margaret. Sir John, however, ends by saying, 'Within four days I hope to see you'; and it appears by next letter that he was actually with his brother at Norwich within _three_ days, whereas he paid no visit to his mother, who seems to have been living, as she had done for some time, at Mautby. This letter must have been written from Framlingham, whither Sir John had doubtless gone to pet.i.tion the Duke of Norfolk about Caister.]

882

JOHN PASTON TO MARGARET PASTON[246-1]

_To my ryght worchepful modyr, Margaret Paston._

[Sidenote: 1476 / JAN. 21]

Aftyr all dewtes of recomendacyon, pleasyt yow to weet that as yesterday att noon my brodyr Sir John departyd fro Norwyche towardes London; for as now all the sped is with the Kyng for the swerte of the maner of Caster, consyderyng the dyeing seasyd of my Lord of Norffolk. He trustyth to be in thys contre ayen with in x. or xij. dayes. And at hys departyng he seyd to me that ye sent hym woord to selle the clothe of gold, if he myght selle it well, whyche clothe I thynke may be sold, iff ye wyll agre; not withstandyng I wylle make no bargayn for it, tyll ye send me woord of the serteyn some what ye wyll have for it, or ellys ye to have it ayen. Sir Robard Wyngfeld offyrd me yesterday xx. mark for it, but I wot well ye shall have more for it, if ye wyll sell it; wher for, as ye wyll deele in this mater, I prey yow send me woord to morew be tymys, for if thys bargayn be forsakyn, I trow it wyll be longe er ye kan get an other bargayn to selle it eny thyng aftyr that is woorthe.

Modyr, in as humbyll wyse as I can, I beseche yow of your blyssyng.

I trust fro hense foorthe that we shall have our chyldyr in rest with ought rebwkyng for ther pleying wanton; for it is told me your osta.s.s at Freton hathe gotyn hyr syche a thyng to pley with, that our other chyldyr shall have leve to sporte theym. G.o.d send hyr joye of it.

Wretyn at Norwyche, thys Sonday.

Your sone and humbyll servaunt,

JOHN PASTON.

[Footnote 246-1: [From Paston MSS., B.M.] This letter is shown by internal evidence to have been written shortly after the Duke of Norfolk's death, which, as we have seen, took place on the 17th January 1476. It was written on a Sunday, and states that Sir John Paston had left Norwich the day before. The letter following, which is of the 23rd January, is dated by John Paston, 'Tuesday next after your (Sir John's) departing,' so that the Sunday on which this was written must certainly have been the 21st.]

883

JOHN PASTON TO SIR JOHN PASTON[247-1]

_To Sir John Paston, Knyght, at the George, at Powlys Wharffe._

[Sidenote: 1476 / JAN. 23]