Chapter XI: Part 11

JAVELIN MEN.--These, no doubt, were the vassals and retainers of the High Sheriff, who attended to protect and guard the Judges, the weapon they carried being the _partizan_, which is still carried by the yeomen of the guard, which was introduced in the reign of Henry VIII. Mr. Aubrey, the Wiltshire antiquary of Charles II's reign, in a letter published by him in a work called "Miscellanies on several Curious Subjects," says, from information obtained from his grandfather (_temp._ Henry VIII)--"Lords had their armouries to furnish some hundreds of men. The halls of Justices of the Peace were dreadful to behold: the screens were garnished with corslets and helmets, gaping with open mouths with coats of mail, lances, pikes, halberts, brown-bills, batterdashers, bucklers, and the modern calivers and petronels (in King Charles I's time turned to muskets and pistols). Then an esquire, when he rode to town, was attended by eight or ten men in blue coats with badges;" and it would seem that from the reign of King Charles II the javelin men have continued to be much the same as at present, as in the printed articles of agreement entered into in that reign by sixty-four Wiltshire gentlemen, who were liable to serve the office of High Sheriff, it is stipulated (_inter alia_) "That no one of the said persons, when he is made sheriff of the said county, have above thirty livery-men, nor under twenty, for his attendance at the assize. * * * And that when any of the said subscribers shall be made sheriffs of the said county, the livery shall be a plain cloth coat or cloke, edged and lined through with sarge, a black hat, and suitable javelin." This curious document, which was signed by one of his ancestors, still remains in possession of Major Goddard.

THE TRUMPETERS.--These were part of the state of every Nobleman, Bishop, and High Sheriff. Mr. Aubrey, in his letter before cited, says--"The Lords kept trumpeters, even to King James;" and as late as the reign of George II there were trumpeters in the establishment of the Archbishop of Canterbury. At ancient banquets, trumpeters were always in attendance. At the Peacock Feast given by Robert Braunche, Mayor of Lynn, to King Edward III, and represented on the tomb of that magistrate, in Lynn Church, the sonorous blast of the trumpets accompanies the introduction of the viands; and at the Lord Mayor's Dinner at Guildhall, on the 9th of November, every toast is announced with a flourish of trumpets, at the top of the hall, which is answered by another flourish from the bottom.

JOHN TALBOT, ESQ., OF SALWARPE.

John Aubrey, Esq., F.R.S., in his Natural History, written between the years 1656 and 1691, says (p. 70)--"Dame Olave, a daughter and co-heire of Sir Henry Sharington, of Lacock, being in love with John Talbot, a younger brother of the Earle of Shrewsbury, and her father not consenting that she should marry him, discoursing with him one night from the battlements of the Abbey church, said shee, 'I will leap downe to you.' Her sweetheart replied he would catch her then, but he did not believe she would have done it. She leapt down, and the wind, which was then high, came under her coates, and did something breake the fall. Mr. Talbot caught her in his armes, but she struck him dead. She cried out for help, and he was with great difficulty brought to life again. Her father told her that since she had made such a leap she should e'en marrie him. She was my honoured friend, Colonel Sharington Talbot's grandmother, and died at her house at Lacock, about 1651, being about a hundred yeares old." To this passage the veteran antiquary, John Britton, Esq., F.A.S., has added this note: "Olave, or Olivia Sherington married John Talbot, Esq., of Salwarpe, in the county of Worcester, fourth in descent from John, second Earl of Shrewsbury; she inherited the Lacock estate from her father, and it has ever since remained the property of that branch of the Talbot family, now represented by the scientific Henry Fox Talbot, Esq." Sir Henry Sherington was the son of Sir William Sherington, one of the ecclesiastical commissioners for Wiltshire on the dissolution of the Chantries; and to him Henry VIII granted the possessions of Lacock Abbey, and a good deal of other monastic property in Wiltshire. Mr. Aubrey was one of the original members of the Royal Society. He attended Charles II and his brother, afterwards James II, on their visit to the Druidical Temple, at Avebury, in 1663; and dined with Oliver Cromwell, the Protector, at Hampton Court, in 1657 or 8, as is stated in his work before cited, pp. 97 and 103.

KING'S NORTON LIBRARY.

An interesting relic of the seventeenth century exists in the old Theological Library in the School in King's Norton churchyard, founded by Thomas Hall, the ejected Puritan of 1662. Hall is well known to literary men as the author of "Funebriæ Floræ, or Downfal of May-day Games," the "Treatise against Long Hair," and other works. An interesting sketch is given of him by Calamy, in his account of the ejected ministers, affixed to his life of Baxter; and also by Wood, in his "Athenæ Oxonienses." The library consists of from six to eight hundred volumes, of all sizes, ranging from about 1580 to 1645 or 1650, and the books contain the name of the donor on the title-page. All the works are devotional, and many of them controversial. There are discoveries of and safeguards against the subtleties of Jesuitism, and against the then recently propounded notions of the Quakers, as well as treatises on doctrinal points, commentaries on the Scriptures, translations from Ovid, and sermons preached before Parliament. The entire collection shows strikingly how, even in the stirring times of civil war, a minister could devote himself to the duties of his sacred calling; and, judging from the evidence presented by his choice, how completely he could isolate himself from the seductions even of theological polemics, for the grand old truth held by all orthodox Christians. It is to be regretted that the library is so little known. It is said that a similar library was established at the little village of Sheldon, near Yardley.

OLD ENGLISH RATS.

The old English black rat (_Mus rattus_), which has been nearly superseded in this country by the brown Norway rat, still lingers at retired farmhouses in this county, as, for instance, at Grimsend, Alfrick, Clay Green, and Wick, near Worcester. The brown rat was unknown in England till 1730. It is said that the great numbers of these intruders in the Isle of France drove the Dutch from that settlement.

PAPER.

The earliest mention of the purchase of paper in England is believed to be in an original computus roll of the 43rd year of Edward III (nearly five centuries ago) relative to the receipts and disbursements of Halesowen Abbey; it is as follows: "Et in paper empt. pro literis et aliis necessariis domus, 12_d._"

ANCIENT SEAL OF WORCESTER.

After being lost for half a century, the seal of the Corporation of Worcester has been found at Rouen, in Normandy. The antiquity of this seal is not so curious, perhaps, as the locality where it has been found. The device is a church, surrounded by a wall, having battlements on it, and round the device is the inscription--"SIGILLUM COMMUNE CIUIVM WIGORNIE," with something like the date "952." The figures, however, are very indistinct, though it is supposed by a writer in the "Worcester Herald" that they may refer to the date of King Edgar's reign, who was a great friend to the city of Worcester, and might have fortified it about that era; but then the use of figures was not adopted in England, or in Europe generally, till some centuries after the date assigned.

DESTROYING AN IMAGE AT WORCESTER.

In Macaulay's "History of England," vol. iv, p. 461, it is stated, that when the Dutch army was marching from Torbay towards London, in 1688, Sir Edward Harley, of Brampton Brian, and his son Robert (afterwards, as Earl of Oxford, Queen Anne's minister, and a high churchman) declared for the Prince of Orange and a free parliament, raised a large body of horse, took possession of Worcester, and evinced their zeal against Popery by publicly breaking to pieces, in the High Street, a piece of sculpture which, to rigid precisians, seemed idolatrous.

EAST WINDOW OF ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.

"A Stranger," writing to one of the local newspapers a few months ago, drew the attention of antiquaries to some painted glass in the great east window of the above church which is not noticed by Dr. Nash or Mr. Green, the Worcester historians. There is (he says) a head with long flowing hair and a forked beard, and another head with the face close shaven and a coronet. The first of these, I should suggest, was painted in the reign of Richard II; on his tomb in Westminster Abbey there is his effigy with a forked beard; and on the tomb of Edward III, in the same place, his effigy has the long flowing hair. The head with the coronet is exactly like one in the great church in Cirencester, of which there is a coloured engraving in Mr. Lyson's Gloucestershire Antiquities: that is supposed to be the head of Edward IV's father, whose "feodary" (an official something between an English steward and an Irish middleman), built this part of the church. Dr. Nash mentions two circumstances connected with St. John's which coincide with these dates. He says that in 1371, only six years before the reign of Richard II, William de Lynne, Bishop of Worcester, suppressed the Chapel of Wyke and constituted St. John's a vicarage; and that in the first year of the reign of Edward IV, the Prior of Worcester granted to the Corporation the privilege of attending Divine service at the Cathedral with their officers, but if any officer should arrest, or do any act in the monastery sanctuary, _or St. John's_, he should "forfeit his mace and office without any hopes of restitution." This grant is witnessed by John Carpenter, then Bishop of Worcester; Sir Thomas Littleton, Serjeant-at-Law (the very celebrated Judge who was buried, in the Cathedral); and others. There is also a figure kneeling. This is a Saint, as he has the nimbus round his head, and from his young and beardless face it is probably St. John. There is also between this figure and the coroneted head a grotesque head with the mouth open and the tongue protruded. This I never before saw in a window, or inside a church, though it is very common in carving on the outside of churches. These grotesques are by some supposed to represent the deadly sins--the evil passions and the like. May not this device be founded on _Isaiah_ ch. lvii, v. 4?

BISHOP THORNBOROUGH'S MONUMENT.

The Rev. O. Fox, incumbent of Knightwick-cum-Dodenham, late head master of the Worcester College School, has advanced the following ingenious theory to account for the remarkable epitaph on the above monument in the Lady Chapel of Worcester Cathedral, which has long puzzled our local and other antiquaries. The epitaph (he says) was prepared by the Bishop himself fourteen years before his decease in 1641, at the age of 94. He was addicted to alchemy, and published a book in 1621, entitled #Dithotheôrikos#, _sive, Nihil aliquid, omnia, &c._ In the course of some recent studies in the Pythagorean philosophy, my attention was accidently engaged by this inscription; and it at once struck me that it was thence that the explanation was to be derived. The epitaph is as follows: on one side,

"Denarius Philosophorum, Dum Spiro Spero."

on the other

"In Uno, 2o 3o 4or 10. non Spirans Sperabo."

The two latter letters are now effaced.

It is well known that the Pythagoreans found all the modes of space in the relations of numbers.

The monad, or unit, was not only the _point_ whence all extension proceeds, but it further symbolised the First Principle, the origin of all. The decad represented the line, as being bounded by two points or monads. The triad stood for surface, as length and width. The tetrad for the perfect figure--the cube, length, depth, and width. The decad, or denarius, indicated comprehensively all being, material and immaterial, in the utmost perfection: hence the term _decas_, or _denarius_, was used summarily for the whole science of numbers, and in the title of Meursius's tract, "De Denario Pythagorico," which was published four years after the date of the inscription, and when the philosophy was attracting much attention among European scholars. To be as concise as possible, then, I presume that the old bishop intended that the tomb on which his effigy lies was his access to that perfection of existence which philosophers had designated by the _decas_, or _denarius_. During the present life he was hoping for it. "_Dum Spiro Spero_."--On the other side: "In Him, who is the source, the beginning, the middle, and the end of all existence and perfection (in _Uno_, 2o. 3o. 4or 10. _non Spirans Sperabo_), though I breathe no more, yet shall I hope."

Such is probably the meaning of his pious conceit, and I offer it as a solution of what has long served for a riddle to the visitors of our Cathedral. Beyond this, your readers and myself may be equally indifferent to such cabalistical quaintness. But let us treat it with charity, as the devout consummation of an aged alchymist.

VINEYARDS.

Traces of ancient vineyards are abundant in this county. At Great Hampton is a place called "Vineyard Hill," where a vinery was established in the Conqueror's time. ("_Et vinea novella ibi_," Domesday.) In South Littleton is "Vineyard Orchard," "Vine Street" in Evesham, and "Vineyard Hill" near that town. At Pensax is a field called "The Vineyard," and there is a tradition that a Mr. King, about a century ago, endeavoured to establish there a vineyard of considerable extent, and created an artificial atmosphere by means of flues spread over the piece of land. The appearance of the field justifies the tradition. Is there any allusion to this wild scheme in the archives of the Dean and Chapter, to whom the land belonged? In the rector's garden at Fladbury is the supposed site of the "Vineyards," which in the time of Henry III were cultivated there--(_Item percepit duas paries decimarum terrarum quondam ubi vineæ fuerunt apud Fladbury_: Priory Ledger.) Vines still flourish and ripen well in that garden. To the south of Astley church, across the road, lies the "Church-bank," whereon, tradition says, the monks of Astley Priory were wont to cultivate the vine; and traces are still visible of terraces whereon probably the vines were planted. Documents exist relative to vineyards at Ripple, Leigh, Sedgberrow, and Elmley Castle; and at Droitwich is a place called "The Vines;" "Vine Hill" and the "Vineyards," at Doddenham; "The Vinne," "Vinne Orchard," "Big Vinne," "Little Vinne," and "Great Viney," at Abberley; "Vineyard," in Stoke Bliss; "The Vineyard," Powick (belonging to St. Martin's parish, and appropriated to the repairs of the church); "The Vineyard," Lower Mitton, &c. Some writers have supposed that the Romans planted vines in Britain. Tacitus intimates that the olive and the vine were deficient here; but it is clear from Bede and others that they were cultivated at a subsequent period, and perhaps were neglected only when the inhabitants found they could purchase better wines at a low price from France, or employ their lands to greater advantage by growing corn. (See also the chapter on Bishop Swinfield's Roll, p. 146.)

ECHOES.

Mr. Allies, in his "Antiquities and Folk-lore," mentions a remarkable echo at the Upper House, Alfrick, which is so distinct that it will allow about ten syllables to be uttered before it begins to repeat them. A pointer-dog in the neighbourhood used to resort to the spot, and bark till he was tired at his supposed antagonist. Nash records that in the parish of Bromsgrove were several echoes--one at the white gate, between Dyer's bridge and the turnpike; another in the Crown Close behind High Street; a third at the east and west corners of the church; a fourth at Woodcot; and a fifth on the east side of High Street, near the Presbyterian meeting-house, opposite New Barn. Whether any of these mocking nymphs have left their cells since the days of Nash, the writer is unable to say. There is a good echo in the Bath Road, about two miles from Worcester Cross, and another on Lansdowne Terrace. In the garden of Chaddesley Corbett vicarage an echo is produced by the tolling of the great bell of the church, which, after an interval of two or three seconds, returns distinctly upon the ear, as though it were the tolling of the bell of Stone church, which is two miles distant.

THE LAST FOOL.

The last country gentleman who kept a fool--that is, a professional jester--in his house, was said to have been Mr. Bartlett, of Castlemorton. Jack Havod, or Hafod, was the name of "the squire's fool," and his tricks and drolleries were remembered by the inhabitants of Castlemorton long after his death, and are related even in the present day. It is still a common saying there--"As big a fool as Jack Havod;" and it is also told of him that on one occasion he was assisting in storing peas in a barn, and there being insufficient room for the crop, Jack very coolly shovelled them out of a window into a pool of water underneath, saying, "We've got a vent for them now;" and to this day it is a proverb in the neighbourhood--"We've got a vent for them, as Jack Havod said."

NOTES ON ELMLEY LOVETT.

The only doctor of medicine known to have resided in this parish for the last 200 years was John Aaron, Esq., of the Moat House, Cutnal Green, who died in 1767, aged 83. He was descended from an ancient family of Little Drayton, near Shiffnal, Salop.--Dr. Wanley, of Elmley Lodge, who died in 1776, aged 69, was the only "D.D." that has held that rectory for the last two centuries.--Between the river Salwarpe and Bury-hill Estate, near Droitwich, is some meadow land belonging to the parish of Elmley Lovett. This land is more than two miles distant from the nearest boundary of the parish, and there runs some part of three other parishes between it, viz., Elmbridge, Hampton, and Salwarpe. The area of this land is about five acres, and is the property of Mr. Roberts, and rented by a gentleman at Droitwich, who pays the rates to Elmley Lovett.

COUNTY MAGISTRATES' WAGES.

By a statute as old as the time of Richard II, County Magistrates were allowed to make a charge of 4s. per day, and the Clerk of the Peace 2s., as wages for attending Quarter Sessions. That charge has been regularly made and allowed by the Sheriff up to the close of last year (1855), when the ancient statute was repealed by the passing of the Criminal Justice Act, 18th and 19th Victoria, chap. 126. In this county these wages were clubbed together as a dinner and wine fund for the magistrates, but the old practice is now discontinued, and the magistrates will henceforth be thrown upon their own resources. In the year 1810 a long and bitter controversy, at one time wearing a serious aspect, arose among the magistracy of this county, in consequence of Mr. Welch, the chairman, having been charged by Mr. Johnson, a fellow magistrate, with misappropriating a part of these "justice wages" that had been intrusted to him. The Bench acquitted Mr. Welch.

ROYAL VISIT TO KING'S NORTON.

There is a common tradition at King's Norton that Queen Elizabeth came thither, and was entertained at an ancient house adjoining the churchyard, probably the residence of the Manorial Bailiff; but the name of the Queen has perhaps been mistaken for that of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, she, according to Dugdale's Diary (p. 52), having come to King's Norton from Walsall on July 10, 1643. The manor was part of the Queen's dower.

CROMWELL'S PARLIAMENT.

Names of the members for Worcestershire returned for Cromwell's second Parliament, July, 1654: Sir Robert Rouse, Knt. and Bart., Edward Pitt, Esq., Nicholas Lechmere, Esq., John Bridges, Esq., Talbot Badger, Esq., (Worcester City), William Collins, Esq. (ditto), Edward Elvines, Alderman (ditto). The names of the gentlemen returned to Parliament on September 17, 1656, are--Major-General James Berry, Colonel of Horse, and Major-General of the counties of Worcester, Hereford, and Salop, and also North Wales; Sir Thomas Rouse, Bart., Edward Pitt, of Kiere Park, Esq., Nicholas Lechmere, Esq. (Attorney of the Duchy of Lancaster), John Nanfan, Esq., Worcester City.--Edmund Giles, Esq., one of the Masters in Chancery, who married a relation of the Lord Protector; William Collins, Esq.

WORCESTERSHIRE ROYALISTS COMPOUNDING.

By an ordinance of the Parliament[10] made on the 31st of March, 1643, it was ordained that the estates of the two Archbishops and twelve of the Bishops, including the Bishops of Worcester, Hereford, Gloucester, and Coventry and Lichfield, and of all persons ecclesiastical and temporal as had raised arms or been in active war against the Parliament, or had voluntarily contributed any money, horse, plate, arms, munition, or other aid or assistance, towards the maintenance of any forces against the Parliament, should be sequestered.

[10] This ordinance will be found in extenso in Scobell's Collection of Acts and Ordinances of Parliament (a work in the Worcester Law Library) p. 37.

The owners of these estates were allowed to pay a composition for the restoration of their property. A list of the compounders and the sum paid by each was printed in 1655 by Richard Dring. The following is a copy of the title page of this work:

"A Catalogue of the Lords, Knights, and Gentlemen, that have
compounded for their estates. London: Printed for Thomas
Dring, at the signe of the George in Fleet-street, neare
Clifford's Inn. 1655."

[Extract so far as relates to Worcestershire.]

£. s. d.
Acton, George, Stilden, Worcest., Esq. 0120 00 00
Ablely, John, of Worcester, Yeoman 0010 16 00
Berkley, Sir Rowland, of Cotheridg, Com. Worcester 2030 00 00
Bromley, Henry, Holt Castle, Worc., Esq. 4000 00 00
Bushell, Anthony, Cleeve Prior, Worc. 0005 00 00
Barkley, Thomas, of Worc., Gent. 0423 13 04
Broad, Edm., of Stone, Worc., Gent. 0115 00 00
Bache, Tho., of Worc. Citty, Gent. 0002 10 00
Bayly, Thomas, of Evesham, Worc. 0003 06 08
Clare, Sir Ralph, Cawdwell, Worc. 0298 00 00
Churge, Burbage, of Worc., Gent. 0008 06 08
Child, Will., of Shrawley, Worc., Esq. 1844 18 08
Cupper, Henry, Woodcock, Worc., Gent. 0101 15 00
Davis, Edward, Droitwich, Worc., Gent. 0190 00 00
Day, Philip, of Witchfield, Worc., Gent. 0015 00 00
Defell, Thos., Senior, Sturbridg, Worc. 0060 00 00
Evet, John, of Woodhall, Worc., Gent. 0225 00 00
Evans, William, of Worcester, Gent. 0359 00 00
Freeman, John, of Buckley, Worc., Gent. 0380 00 00
Fortescue, John, Cookhill, Esq. 0234 15 5
Hacket, Henry, Grymley, Worc., Gent. 0300 00 00
Herbert, Sir Hen., of Ribsford, Worc., Knt. 1330 00 00
Ingram, Henry, of St. Jones, Worc. 0021 00 00
Lawrance, Giles, Bengworth, Worc. 0016 13 04
Littleton, Sir Edward, _p._ Fisher Littleton,
and Francis Nevell, Esq. 1347 06 08
Midlemore, Robert, Mosley, Worcester, Gent. 0400 00 00
Mucklow, Thomas, Arley, Worcester, Gent. 0045 00 00
Midlemore, George, of King's Norton, Com.
Worcester, Esq. 0167 14 08
Mucklow, William, of Arley, Worcester, Gent. 0360 00 00
Moore, Francis, Seavern Stock, Worcester, Gent. 0121 00 00
Not, Sir Thomas, of Obden, Com. Worcester, Knight 0354 07 00
Norwood, Henry, Bishampton, Worcester 0015 00 00
Nanfan, Bridges, of Worcester, Gent. 0080 00 00
Packington, Sir John, of Alisbury, Buckingham,
Baronet, with £190 per annum, as settled 5000 00 00
Pennel, Edward, Lineridge, Worcester, Gent. 0060 00 00
Pitts, Scudamore, St. John's, Worcester 0018 00 00
Russel, Sir William, of Strentham, Worcester,
Baronet, with £50 per annum setled for £10 1800 00 00
Shelden, William, of Bromsgrave, Worcester 0096 00 00
Shrimpton, Iohn, Norton, Worcester 0000 12 00
Sandis, Martin, Ombersly, Worcester, Gent. 0041 03 04
Stratford, Anthony, Bushly, Worcester, Gent. 0040 00 00
Shrimpton, Thomas, of Kingsham, Worc. 0000 16 00
Sands, Sir Martin, of St. Michael in Bedwardine,
Worcester, with £50 per annum setled 0210 00 00
Seabright, Sir Edward, Besford, Worcester 1809 00 00
Talbot, Sherrington, Salwarp, Worcester 2011 00 00
Tyat, Daniel, of Worcester, Apothecary 0270 00 00
Tomkins, Nathaniel, Elmridge, Worcester 0208 16 08
Twitty, Thomas, of Claines, Worcester, Gent. 0002 10 00
Tyrer, John, of Ludley, Worcester, Gent. 0650 00 00
Twynning, John, of Fladbury, Worcester, Yeoman 0019 10 08
Vernon, Edward, of Hanbury, Worcester, Gent. 0400 00 00
Wilde, Robert, of Worc., Gent. 0576 00 00
Washburn, John, Wickenford, Worc., Gent. 0797 10 00
Winford, Sir John, of Astly, Worcst., Knight 0703 13 00
Wainwright, Robert, of Hol, Worcester 0001 00 00
Washington, Henry, of Worcester, Gent. 0015 00 00
Wainwright, Francis, Holt, Worcest., Yeoman 0012 00 00

To this payment Worcestershire does not appear to have been very heavily charged, as the entire list contains upwards of 3500 names, extending over the whole of England and Wales. The largest payment was that made by Baptist Noel Lord Cambden, which amounted to £9000, "with £150 per annum settled," which in the case of Sir Richard Tancred, Knt., is explained to be "settled on the Ministry." The smallest payment is that of Mr. John Shrimpton above-mentioned. It is stated in the "Pictorial History of England" [vol. iii, p. 525] that by these compositions above £4,500,000 were raised in England, and £1,000,000 in Ireland.

A QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE.

About the year 1823 were born at Bromsgrove four _female_ children at a birth, all of whom lived for many years. They were the children of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, who had five other children, all single births. The writer of this note saw them when about three months old, when they were small for their age. He saw them again when they were about ten years old. They were then very pretty children, with dark hair and eyes. Three of them were very much alike, and exactly of the same height and size. The fourth resembled the others, but was about half a head shorter.

A VIRTUOUS PARISH.

It is a remarkable fact, that from October 2nd, 1842, to October 23rd, 1848, during which period there were entered in the parish register of Suckley 106 baptisms, not one illegitimate birth took place; but this happy state of things did not continue, for in the next six years, ending October, 1854, with 89 entries, there were 5 illegitimate births. Thus, during the last twelve years, the latter have numbered scarcely 1 in 38 of the rising population of Suckley. The average throughout the kingdom is 1 in 16. It is rather a singular coincidence that the illegitimate births, and consequently the illegitimate portion of the community, bear the same proportion to the general population as the paupers do, viz., 1 in 16. This remark must, however, be somewhat modified, for although it cannot be classed amongst _statistical facts_, it is probable that there die a larger proportion of illegitimate than legitimate children.

DROITWICH BRINE.

A correspondent says that the Droitwich brine has for a considerable time been declining in strength; so much so, that constant complaints emanate from the working men that they have considerable difficulty in earning the ordinary wages of labourers; and the coal which is consumed in manufacturing a ton of salt is considerably more than was formerly required. By some of the practical men of the place this deterioration is attributed to the excessive consumption of the last few years, and to the immense quantity that has been wantonly pumped into the river and canal; but the correspondent suggests the probability of the pits being insecure, and in consequence the fresh water mingling with the brine, and thus reducing its natural strength. It has always been an error (according to his opinion) that shafts should be sunk down to the brine, as they enlarge the difficulty of keeping out the water considerably more than the old-fashioned small bore-holes.

SMALL PARISHES.

The smallest parishes in Worcestershire are Oldberrow, Doverdale, Daylesford, Edvin Loach, Abberton, Bredicot, and Little Shelsley. The last named place contains the smallest population, being but 49 in 1851; Bredicot, 67; Abberton, 80 (although the worthy clerk alone mustered 19 children in his own family); Edvin Loach, 69; Daylesford, 66; Doverdale, 56 (here there are but five houses in the parish, besides the rectory and mill, and there is no recollection of any labourer's cottage being in existence); and Oldberrow, about 50 (here also is no labourer's cottage, and the only child in the parish is the rector's little boy; the parson's surplice fees in eleven years amounted to _one shilling only_, and but one interment took place during that time).

A CONTRADICTION.

The parish of Offenham is remarkable for some of the richest land and one of the poorest churches in the county of Worcester.

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S ARREARS.

A paragraph recently appeared in the London publication, known as "Notes and Queries," as follows:

"'Good Queen Bess,' when she visited Worcester, borrowed £200 of the Corporation, which still stands as a 'bad debt' on the town books."

On the occasion of the Royal visit alluded to, a "fare cupp" was bought at London "for the presenting the gyfte to the Queen's Majestie, and xl. pounds in sov'raignes and angells of her own coign and stamp;" a crimson velvet purse, with £20 in it, was also presented to the Queen on her visit to the Cathedral. The total outlay by the city for entertaining her Majesty was £173. 8s. 4d., but the writer is not aware of any record of the Queen's having borrowed £200, or of such an item standing as a "bad debt" on the books, which he has closely examined from a date prior to the Queen's visit.

WORCESTERSHIRE TOKENS--SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

Traders' tokens were issued from the year 1648, towards the close of the reign of Charles I, until the year 1672, when they were cried down by proclamation of Charles II, and a new copper currency issued, the first we had in England, all previously being Royal tokens. During the Commonwealth they were not very numerous, but after the Restoration, in 1660, to the year 1672, they are exceedingly abundant, and were issued in nearly every town and village in England. They were issued without authority, no doubt, as many of them state, for necessary change. In London alone nearly 4000 were issued, and the remainder of England are estimated at 15,000 more. In the year 1669 (when this kind of coinage was first checked) the citizens of Norwich had a pardon granted them for all transgressions, and in particular for their coinage of halfpence and farthings, by which they had forfeited their charter, all coinage being declared to be the King's prerogative; and in 1670 the Worcester Corporation petitioned his Majesty's pardon for "putting out farthings in this city." The following list of Worcestershire tokens, recently published by Mr. W. Boyne, in "Aris's Birmingham Gazette," I now reprint, with a few additions:

WORCESTER.

1. (_Obverse_) A WORCESTER
FARTHING Arms of Worcester; a castle
with a bird above it.
(_Reverse_) FOR NECESSARIE
CHAING C. W. (City of Worcester)
Value.
1667 1/4d.
2. RICHARD ALDNEY 1/2d.

3. _O._ EDWARD BARON OF YE CITTY E.B. conjoined.
_R._ OF WORCESTER HIS HALF
PENY Arms of Worcester; three
pears 1/2d.
4. _O._ RICHARD BEDDOES OF YE Arms of Worcester. (16)59.
_R._ CITTY OF WORCESTER Mercers' Arms. R. B. 1/4d.

5. _O._ RICHARD BEDOES Arms of Worcester.
_R._ HIS HALFE PENNY Mercers' Arms. R. B. 1/2d.

6. A variety with the date 1664.

7. _O._ JOHN CHERRY HIS HALF Arms of Worcester.
_R._ PENY IN WORCESTER 1664 I. S. C. 1/2d.

8. _O._ WILL. CHETLE IN BROD
STRT. IN Merchant's mark. W. S. C.
_R_. WORSTER CLO. HIS HALF
PENY Arms of Worcester. 1/2d.

9. _O._ WILLIAM CHETTLE 1666 Merchant's mark. W. C.
_R._ OF WORCESTER, CLOTHIER Arms of Worcester 1/4d.

10. _O._ HIS HALFE PENNY 1667 WILL. COLBATCH
_R._ THE CITTY OF WORCESTER Arms of Worcester 1/2d.

11. _O._ WILLIAM COLBATCH OF W. C. conjoined.
_R._ YE CITTY OF WORCESTER Arms of Worcester 1/4d.

12. WILL. FINCH 1/2d.

13. DITTO 1/4d.

14. THOS. FOWNE 1/4d.

15. THOS. HACKETT 1/2d.

16. JOHN HURDMAN 1/2d.

17. _O._ JOHN HILL DISTILLER Arms of Worcester.
_R._ CITTY OF WORCESTER
(16)64 HIS HALF PENY 1/2d.

18. _O._ THOMAS JONES 1669 A hat and glove; Feltmakers'
Arms.
_R._ IN WORCESTER HIS HALF PENY 1/2d.

19. JOHN JONES 1/2d.

20. _O._ JOHN LILLIE IN
WORCESTER Weavers' Arms.
_R._ HIS HALFE PENNY 1667 Arms of Worcester 1/2d.

21. _O._ ARTHUR LLOYD IN Arms of Worcester.
_R._ WORCESTER. 1663 HIS
HALFE PENY 1/2d.

22. _O._ WILL MOORE OF WORCESTER Arms of Worcester.
_R._ HIS HALFE PENNY 1668 Mercers' Arms. W. M. 1/2d.

23. EDWARD PRITCHETT 1/2d.

24. _O._ FRAN. RICHARDSON OF YE
CITTY Arms of Worcester
_R._ WORCESTER, HIS HALF
PENNY F. A. R. 1/2d.

25. _O._ HIS HALFE PENY 1664 JOHN SEABORN
_R._ THE CITTIE OF WORCESTER Arms of Worcester 1/2d.

26. JAMES SMITHIN 1/2d.

27. _O._ HIS HALF PENY 1662 WILL. SWIFT
_R._ THE CITTY OF WORCESTER Arms of Worcester 1/2d.

28. A variety is without date, and the centre is brass,
the other part copper 1/2d.

29. Another variety has the date 1663.

30. _O._ WILLIAM SWIFT OF YE W. S. conjoined.
_R._ CITTY OF WORCESTER Arms of Worcester 1/4d.

31. A variety is silvered, and has the initial S. joined to
the last limb of W.; in the other it is joined to the
first limb 1/4d.

32. _O._ JOHN TUBERVILLE Arms of Worcester
_R._ WORCESTER HIS HALF PENNY Mercers' Arms. I. T. 1/2d.

There were 36 of these tokens coined at Worcester, Rd. Bedoes
having issued three varieties besides those attached to his name
above, and Wm. Colbatch another variety.

BENGEWORTH.

33. _O._ EDWARD PITTWAY AT THE A lion rampant.
_R._ RED LION IN BENGEWORTE E.F.P. 1/4d.

BEWDLEY.

34. _O._ THE WARDENS HALFE PENY
OF BEWDLEY In four lines across the field.
_R._ 1668. An anchor between
a sword and rose (Octagonal) 1/2d.

35. _O._ SAMUELL CART A lion passant.
_R._ IN BEAUDLY 1653 S.M.C. 1/4d.

36. _O._ THOMAS DEDICOT,
GROCER, HIS HALF PENNY In five lines across the field.
_R._ IN BEWDLEY
(Three cloves.) SQUARE DEALING (SQUARE) 1/2d.

37. _O._ WALTER PALMER OF A hat.
_R._ BEWDLEY, CAPPER 1656 W.A.P. 1/4d.

BROADWAY.

38. _O._ MICHAELL RUSSELL A dog.
_R._ OF BROADWAY 1670 M.A.B. 1/2d.

BROMSGROVE.

39. _O._ HENRY JEFFREYS Grocers' Arms.
_R._ IN BROMSGROVE H.I. 1/4d.

40. _O._ SAMUEL ROGERS 1668 S.R.
_R._ IN BROMSGROVE HIS HALFE PENNY. 1/2d.

CLIFTON-ON-TEME.

41. _O._ JOHN JENCKINS 1666 HIS HALF PENY
_R._ OF CLIFTON UPON TEAM I.A.I. 1/2d.

DROITWICH.

42. _O._ STEPHEN ALLEN HIS HALFE PENY
_R._ APOTH. IN DROYTWICH Arms of Droitwich; quarterly
1st and 4th, checky, 2d and 3d, two barrows 1/2d.

43. _O._ GEORGE OLDBACK & ***SON THEIR HALF PENY
_R._ OF DROITWICH 1667 Arms of the Town of
Droitwich 1/2d.

DUDLEY.

44. _O._ WILL. BIGGS OF DUDLEY IN Mercers' Arms.
_R._ STAFFO*** W.M.B. 1/4d.

45. _O._ JOHN FINCH OF DUDLEY HIS HALFE PENY
_R._ IN WORCESTERSHIRE Ironmongers' Arms 1/2d.

(Dudley properly belongs to Worcestershire, though it is
surrounded by Staffordshire. Singularly enough, the two tokens
above give it to both counties.)

EVESHAM.

46. _O._ THE BURROW OF EVESHAM Arms of Evesham; a prince's
coronet between two ostrich feathers, a garb in base,
the whole within a border bezantée.

_R._ FOR NECESSARY EXCHANGE B. E. 1/2d.

47. _O._ No inscription Arms of Evesham.
_R._ FOR EXCHAINGE B. E. 1/4d.

48. _O._ PHILLIP BALLORD HIS HALFE PENNY
_R._ OF EVESHAM 1664 P. B. 1/2d.

49. _O._ RICHARD BENNETT Wheat sheaf.
_R._ OF EVESHAM 1666 HIS HALF PENNY 1/2d.

50. _O._ PAUL BENNING HIS HALF PENY
_R._ IN EVESHAM A sugar loaf 1/2d.

51. _O._ WILLIAM BROOKE W. A. B.
_R._ IN EVESHAM 1656 W. A. B. 1/2d.

52. _O._ PETER CROSS P. M. C.
_R._ IN EVESHAM 1649 P. M. C. 1/4d.

There is another described as "PHILLIP CROSS," in all other
respects the same; it may be an error of the die-sinker or
describer. This is interesting from having the earliest date that
is found on these tokens. No. 57 is also of the same early date.

53. _O._ JOSHUA FRANSHAM HIS HALFE PENNY
_R._ IN ESHAM 1666 I. S. F. 1/2d.

54. _O._ RIC. GODDARD, IN BRIDG R. M. G.
_R._ STREET IN EVESHAM R. M. G. 1/4d.

55. _O._ JOHN LACEY A flower.
_R._ OF EVESHAM 1654 I. M. L. 1/4d.

56. _O._ MATHEW MICHELL Grocers' Arms.
_R._ OF EVESHAM 1653 M. M. M. 1/4d.

57. _O._ WILLIAM RUDGE W. A. R.
_R._ IN EVESHAM 1649 W. A. R. 1/4d.

KIDDERMINSTER.

58. _O._ AT THE RAVEN IN A raven.
_R._ KIDEMUNSTER, 1652 R. M. B. 1/4d.

59. _O._ THOMAS BALAMEY IN Weavers' Arms.
_R._ KIDDERMINSTER 1667 HIS HALF PENY. 1/2d.

60. _O._ FRANCES CARTER A pair of shears.
_R._ IN KITTERMINSTER F. M. C. 1/4d.

61. _O._ EDWARD CHAMBERLIN HIS HALF PENY.
_R._ IN KIDDERMINSTER E. A. C. 1/2d.

62. _O._ EDWARD CHAMBERLIN A man making candles.
_R._ OF KIDDERMINSTER E. P. C. 1/4d.

63. _O._ WILLIAM MOUNTFORD A tankard. W. M.
_R._ IN KIDDERMINSTER 1666 HIS HALF PENY. 1/2d.

64. _O._ LAWRENCE PEARSALL Arms.
_R._ IN KIDDERMINSTER HIS HALF PENY. 1/2d.

65. _O._ SIMON PITT 1670 HIS FARTHING
_R._ IN KIDDERMINSTER S. E. P. 1/4d.

(This is one of the few FARTHING tokens which has the value
expressed on it.)

66. _O._ RICH. RADFORD, HIS
HF. PENY Weavers' Arms.
_R._ OF KIDDERMINSTER 1666 Merchant Tailors' Arms 1/2d.

67. _O._ EDMUND AND WILLIAM READE Weaver's Arms.
_R._ IN KIDDERMINSTER 1666 THEIR HALF PENY 1/2d.

68. _O._ JOHN ROWDEN IN Nag's head.
_R._ KIDDERMINSTER 1656 I. A. R 1/4d.

69. _O._ NEVILL SIMMONS,
BOOKSELLER IN KIDDERMINSTER.
_R._ EDWARD BUTLER, MERCER
1663 THEIR HALF PENY 1/2d.

70. _O._ THO. SADLER, HIS
HALF PENY Chandlers' Arms.
_R._ IN KIDDERMINSTER 1664 T. A. S. 1/2d.

71. _O._ WALTER THATCHER A shuttle.
_R._ IN KIDDERMINSTER HIS HALF PENY 1670 1/2d.

PERSHORE.

72. _O._ HENRY GIBBS HIS HALF PENY
_R._ IN PERSHORE 1666 H. G. 1/2d.

73. _O._ GIDEON PALMER Mercers' Arms.
_R._ PERSHORE 1667 HIS HALF PENY G. S. P. 1/2d.

74. _O._ EDWARD PERKINS, HIS
HALF PENY Apothecaries' Arms.
_R._ OF PERSHORE, APOTHECARY 1664 E. P. 1/2d.

SHIPSTON-ON-STOUR.

75. _O._ RICHARD COOPER OF A bee-hive.
_R._ SHIPSTON UPON STOWER HIS HALF PENY 1669 1/2d.

76. _O._ HENRY COTTERELL IN 1666 Mercers' Arms.
_R._ SHIPSTON UPON STOWER HIS HALF PENY 1/2d.

77. _O._ ROBERT FITZHUGH Apothecaries' Arms.
_R._ IN SHIPSON 1664 HIS HALF PENY 1/2d.

78. _O._ EDWARD PITTWAY Ironmongers' Arms.
_R._ OF SHIPSTON E. P. 1/4d.

79. _O._ SIMON SIMONS Mercers' Arms.
_R._ OF SHIPSON 1669 HIS HALFE PENY S. E. S. 1/2d.

STOURBRIDGE.

80. _O._ A STOWERBRIDG. HALF PENY Ironmongers' Arms.
_R._ FOR NECESSARY CHANGE Clothworkers' Arms. 1/2d.

This is a town piece, the arms showing the principal trades
carried on. There is a specimen in the collection of the Society
of Antiquaries, having the reverse indented, doubtless caused by
the previous struck token not having been removed from the die.
It was bequeathed with many other Worcestershire Tokens to the
Society by Dr. Prattinton.

81. _O._ JONATHAN BUTLER, MERCER Arms of Worcester City; three pears.
_R._ IN STOWERBRIDGE 1665 HIS HALF PENY 1/2d.

82. _O._ ANDREW MUCHALL, IRONMONGER,
HIS HALF PENY In five lines across the field.
_R._ OF STOWERBRIDGE 1669 Ironmongers' Arms. 1/2d.

83. _O._ EZEKELL PARTRIDGE HIS HALF PENY.
_R._ IN STOWER BRIDG 1665 E. M. P. 1/2d.

84. _O._ JOHN PRATT OF A bridge of four arches.
_R._ STOW BRIDGE 1668 HIS HALF PENY 1/2d.

85. _O._ EDWARD SPARRYE E. I. S.
_R._ OF STOURBRIDGE 1656 1/4d.

86. _O._ HUMPHREY SUTTON H. S. S.
_R._ OF STOURBRIDGE 1657 1/4d.

SWINFORD (OLD).

87. _O._ JOHN RICHARDSON HIS HALF PENY
_R._ OULD SWINFORD 1669 Arms of Worcester; three
pears 1/2d.

TENBURY.

88. _O._ EDMOND LANE Arms; a chevron between three
arrow-heads.
_R._ IN TENBURY HIS HALF PENY 1/2d.

89. _O._ EDMOND LANE Arms as the last.
_R._ OF TENBURY E. L. 1/4d.

90. _O._ ANTHONY SEARCH PLAINE DEALING IS BEST 1/2d.
_R._ IN TENBURY Mercers' Arms. 1/2d.

OLDBURY.

91. _O._ OLIVER ROUND St. George and the dragon.
_R._ IN OLDBURY 1663 HIS HALF PENY 1/2d.

THE CLOTHING TRADE.

This must have been formerly an important trade in our county and city. The city of Worcester, and the towns of Bromsgrove, Kidderminster, Droitwich, and Evesham, were extensively engaged in it; and when many persons dwelling in other parts of the county had begun cloth making, much to the injury of these towns, an act was passed in the 25th year of Henry VIII, prohibiting all persons from making cloth, except such as resided in the above-mentioned places, but all persons were allowed to make cloths for their own wear, or for their children, servants, &c. At the present day only one loom is in existence in Bromsgrove, and in Worcester the trade has ceased for many years, although the Clothiers' Company still exists as a body for the administration of charitable funds.

THE MORTUARY CLOTH OF THE CLOTHIERS' COMPANY.

The assumption of Miss Strickland that the mortuary cloth in the possession of the Clothiers' Company at Worcester was the pall used at the funeral of Queen Catherine, the first wife of King Henry VIII, who was buried in Peterborough Cathedral, has been, upon examination, refuted. At a recent meeting of the Archæological Institute at Cambridge, the Rev. C. H. Hartshorne read a paper on the funeral of Catherine of Arragon, and produced a document from the Rolls' Court which had never been consulted before, and which gave a full account of the Queen's funeral. The rev. gentleman afterwards alluded to the life of Catherine of Arragon, by Miss Strickland, who says that the pall used on this occasion is now in the possession of the Clothworkers' Company at Worcester. Mr. Hartshorne then produced this pall, which he had been allowed to bring with him. It was spread out and examined, and it clearly appeared that it could not be that used at the Queen's funeral. It consisted of three or four old capes [copes?] put together, and it was utterly impossible to recognise it from the description given in the document produced from the Rolls' Court.

WEATHER RHYMES AND SAYINGS.

If the moon on a Saturday be new or full
There always was rain and there always will.

* * * * *

If it rain on Good Friday or Easter day,
It's a good year of grass but a sorry year of hay.

* * * * *

If Easter be early,
Or if it be late;
It's sure to _make_
The old cow _quake_.

* * * * *

The weather's always ill
When the wind's not still.

* * * * *

When the wind is in the East
It's neither good for man nor beast.

* * * * *

A storm of hail
Brings frost in its tail.

* * * * *

A May wet
Was never kind yet.

* * * * *

As the day lengthens
The cold strengthens.

* * * * *

A rainbow at night
Is the shepherd's delight.

* * * * *

When the reds are out at night
It's the shepherd's delight,
But when out in the morning
It's all the day storming.

* * * * *

At New Year's tide
A cock's stride:
By Twelfth-tide
Another beside.

* * * * *

When Bredon hill puts on his hat,
Ye men of the vale, beware of that.

(This alludes to the rain-cloud settling on the hill.)

* * * * *

A peck of March dust is worth a king's ransom.

* * * * *

When the new moon "lies on her back," as the saying is--that is with its concavity upwards, it is expected to be a dry time, "the rain being kept from running out," but, _vice versa_, it will be wet.

It is said that if the little beetle, the _Carabus_, should be trodden upon, rain will fall. This little glittering insect runs about only in fine weather.

SHIP MONEY.

The first writ for the levying of ship money was issued by King Charles I, addressed to the Lord Mayor and citizens of London. It is dated October 20th, in the 10th year of the reign of King Charles I [1634], and after reciting that "certain thieves, pirates, and robbers, of the sea, as well Turks, enemies of the Christian name, as others, being gathered together, taking by force and spoiling the ships and goods and merchandises not only of our subjects, but also of the subjects of our friends in the sea, which hath been accustomed anciently to be defended by the English nation, and the same at their pleasure have carried away, delivering the men in the same into miserable captivity." The writ commands the citizens of London to provide seven ships of war, varying in size from 900 to 300 tons, with 1,460 men, with ordnance, gunpowder, spears, and weapons, and other necessary arms for war; and directs that their ships shall be at Portsmouth on the 1st of March then next. In the year 1636, King Charles I, by the advice of his Privy Council, sent writs to the different counties for the raising of money to provide ships. This was called ship money; but although it was levied for the nominal purpose of providing ships, the counties, instead of providing any, paid the amount into the Royal Exchequer, and this was really a mere device to raise money without the authority of Parliament.

The county and city of Worcester were assessed as follows:

Tunnes. Men. Charge.
"Worcestershire, one ship 350 140 £3,500
Corporate Towns--
City of Worcester £233
Burrough of Evesham 74
Burrough of Bewdley 62
Burrough of Droitwich 62
Town or Burrough of Kidderminster 27"

On the 10th of November, 1639, King Charles I, by the advice of his Privy Council, caused other writs for ship money to be issued to the several counties of England; and by one of these writs the county of Worcester was assessed thus:

Ship. Men. Tons.
"Worcester 1 112 280"

But at this time thirty-five of the English counties and seven of the Welch counties were in arrears for their earlier ship money, as appears from a table of the arrears, in which there is the following entry as to Worcestershire:

Arrears. Arrears. Arrears.
An. 1636. An. 1637. An. 1638.
"Worcester £096 0 0 £1070 0 0 £710 0 0"

Ship money was declared to be illegal by the statute 16th Charles I, chap. 14, which was passed in the year 1640.

For this information we are indebted to John Rushworth, Esq., Secretary to the Lord General Fairfax, in whose collection it will be found (vol. ii, pp. 257, 335, 975, 978.)

FINES FOR NOT TAKING THE ORDER OF KNIGHTHOOD.

Mr. Rushworth, Secretary to the Lord General Fairfax, in his Historical Collections, vol. ii, p. 71, under the date of July 6, 1630, says that "the King having sent writs to several sheriffs of the several counties for the summoning of all that had forty pound land or rent by the year to appear at the day of the Coronation and prepare themselves to receive the Order of Knighthood," did award a Commission to certain Lords and others of his Privy Council to treat and compound with all those who had made default. This was founded on the Statute De Militibus, a statute stated by the Record Commissioners to be of uncertain date, but which is usually printed as of the first year of the reign of King Edward II. By the statute 16th of Charles I, chap. 20, compulsory Knighthood is abolished. The following is a list of Worcester gentlemen fined by King Charles I for not taking the order of Knighthood; it is extracted from the "Book of Compositions for not taking the Order of Knighthood at the Coronation of King Charles I. 1630-1632. Auditor of the Receipt[11]."

[11] This Manuscript was recently discovered by Mr. Black in the Rolls House Record Office.

"Wigorn. p. 196.

Sir William Sandy, Knight, Collector.

£. s. d.
Walter Blunt, of Sillington, Esquire 15 0 0
John Barnabie, of Bockleton, Esquire 12 10 0
Mathias Maysey, of Hakenhurt, Esquire 11 13 4
John Nash, of Markeley, Gent. 10 0 0
John Winford, of Astley, Esquire 12 10 0
Hunfrey Packington, of Chadsley Corbet, Esquire 31 5 0
Humfrey Parrott, of Bellhall, Gent. 12 10 0
Roger Lowe, of Bromsgrove, Gent. 10 0 0
Robt. Gower, of King's Norton, Esquire 12 10 0
John Crabbe, of Bromsgrove, Gent. 10 0 0
Walter Brace, of Bromsgrove, Gent. 10 0 0
William Chambers, of Northfield, Gent. 10 0 0
Ffoulke, Bourne, of Elmbridge, Gent. 12 0 0
Thomas Ffawnes, of Bromsgrove, Gent. 10 0 0
John Bourne, of Ombersley, Gent. 12 10 0
John Horniold, of Hanley Castle, Esquire 27 10 0
Thomas Moore, of Suckley, Gent. 12 0 0
Edward Dingley, of Sherifelench, Esq. 10 0 0
Roger Dowleswell, of Rushley, Gent. 10 0 0
William Wheeler, of Wicke iuxta Parshore, Gent. 10 0 0
Edward Turvey, of Walcott, Gent. 15 0 0
Armell Greene, of Vpton Snodsburie 10 0 0
Francys Haselwood, of Wick iuxta Parshore, Esq. 12 10 0
John Bridges, of Estington, Esquire 25 0 0
Thomas Copley, of Norton iuxta Bredon, Esquire 12 10 0
John Clent, of Wicke Epi, Gent. 10 0 0
Henry Bromley, of Vpton sup. Sabrina, Esquire 10 0 0
Thomas Nashe, of Claines, Gent. 10 0 0
Thomas Hornihold, of Breedon, Esquire 12 10 0
Thomas Saunders, of Moore, Gent. 10 0 0
Thomas Coxe, of Crowle, Esquire 17 10 0
John Jones, of Crowle, Gent. 10 0 0
Giles, Blount, of Wicke Epi 11 5 0
Philip Bearcroft, of Hanburie, Gent. 12 10 0
John Russell, of Malverne Pva, Esquire 12 0 0
George Lench, of Inkeberrow, Esquire 11 13 4
Samuel Atwood, of Wooverley, Esquire 10 0 0
Raphaell Hunt, of Hanbury, Gent. 12 10 0
Thomas Hunt, of Inkeberrow, Gent. 10 0 0
Robt. Wyld, of the Commanders, Gent. 10 0 0
John Holberrow, of Wooverley, Gent. 10 0 0
Nicholas Langstone, and Will. Langstone, his sonne
and heire 15 0 0

541_li._ 16_s._ 8_d._ vnde solut.
200 25o Oct., 1630.
200 27o Oct., 1630.
141 16 8 4to Martij, 1630.[12]

[12] As the year then began on the 25th of March, the 4th of March, 1630, is the latest date.