Records of Early English Drama
2
Editorial Apparatus
PLEASE RETURN TO
RECORDS OF EARLY ENGLISH DRAMA
150 CHARLES STREET WEST
TORONTO, ONT. M5S 1K9.
ATTN:SALLY-BETH MACLEAN
416-585-4504
TYPESETTING ROOM
RECORDS OF EARLY ENGLISH DRAMA
Records of Early English Drama
SOMERSET
EDITED BY JAMES STOKES
Including
BATH
EDITED BY ROBERT J. ALEXANDER
2
Editorial Apparatus
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
TORONTO BUFFALO LONDON
Contents
VOLUME 2
INTRODUCTION
Historical Background 449
Drama, Music, and Popular Customs
The Documents 506
Editorial Procedures 594
NOTES 605
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 622
627
475
GLOSSARIES
Introduction 1009
Latin Glossary 1016
English Glossary 1036
INDEX 1057
APPENDIXF
1 Undated Record 633
2 Extracts from Royal Household Accounts 634
3 Post-1642 Documents 637
4 The Somerset Hogglers 641
5 Poems about the Wells Shows of 1607 709
6 Chronology of the Wells Shows of 1607 719
7 A Song from the Hippisley Papers 729
8 Satirical Poems from the Trevelyan Papers 732
9 Legal Memoranda from Somerset Family Papers
10 Somerset Revels 751
11 Saints' Days and Festivals 756
TRANSLATIONS 759
ENDNOTES 867
PATRONS AND TRAVELLING COMPANIES 987
744
Contents
VOLUME 2
INTRODUCTION
Historical Background 449
Drama, Music, and Popular Customs
The Documents 506
Editorial Procedures 594
NOTES 605
475
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 622
MAPS 627
APPENDIXES
1 Undated Record 633
2 Extracts from Royal Household Accounts 634
3 Post-1642 Documents 637
4 The Somerset Hogglers 641
5 Poems about the Wells Shows of 1607 709
6 Chronology of the Wells Shows of 1607 719
7 A Song from the Hippisley Papers 729
8 Satirical Poems from the Trevelyan Papers 732
9 Legal Memoranda from Somerset Family Papers
10 Somerset Revels 751
11 Saints' Days and Festivals 756
TRANSLATIONS 759
ENDNOTES 867
PATRONS AND TRAVELLING COMPANIES 987
744
GLOSSARIES
Introduction 1009
Latin Glossary 1016
English Glossary 1036
INDEX 1057
Historical Background
Somerset is a large, geographically diverse county in southwest England, bordered by Devon,
Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, the city of Bristol, and the Bristol Channd. Its landscape
ranges from the substantial elevations of the Exmoor and the Blackdown, Brendon, Mendip,
and Quantock Hills, to the rich farmlands of the south, west, and east, to the farmlands and
watery Levels of central Somerset, where the perennial overflow is now controlled by complex
drainage systems.' Between the seventh and eleventh centuries Somerset had a Saxon culture
intermixed with remnants of the conquered Romano-British culture. Norman landlords who
arrived in the eleventh century found a county already 'densely occupied, with a long and
living tradition of man's presence. '2
Of relevance to this volume is the period that followed - the twelfth through the mid-seven-
teenth centuries - for which records of drama, music, and ceremonial survive. The greater
number of those records date from the beginnings of the Reformation to the onset of the
English Civil War (the point at which this collection ends). But this collection also includes a
number of varied performance records from the period before the Reformation. These earlier
records - typified by plays and ceremonies from Wells Cathedral, Dunster Castle, and the
manor of North Curry, together with civic and parish entertainments from Bath, Bridgwater,
Croscombe, Glastonbury, Taunton, Tintinhull, Wells, Yatton, and Yeovil - reflect the relative
cultural stability and coherence that characterized that period and the relative freedom of
institutions within the county to sponsor and record entertainments.
During this earlier period many of the features that give Somerset its distinctive qualities
fully developed. As the Middle Ages progressed, influence shifted from the ancient adminis-
trative centre of Ilchester and from Bath (where the episcopal seat was situated between 1090
and 1197) to Wells (the new diocesan seat), Bridgwater (a major port), and Taunton (centre
of commerce and administration). Throughout the Middle Ages Somerset continued to be the
most 'intensively cultivated' and heavily populated of the counties in the southwest2 Manorial
landlords became wealthy as the numbers of tillable acres, sheep, other livestock (notably red
cattle), and the varieties of produce vastly expanded on Somerset's ecclesiastical and secular
estates. 4 Cloth making (including distinctive kinds known as Bridgwaters, Chards, Dunsters,
and Tauntons), wool production, glove making, and cheese making became the most signifi-
cant industries. Also important was the growing of wheat (especially in the vale of Taunton
Deane), barley, oats (often used to thicken mingled cloths), woad (for dyeing cloth), teasels
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 453
layfolk as no previous Reformation statute had done' in outlawing the principal means by
which every parish in the land integrated worship and play?' Together with the general con-
fiscation of church goods and the imposition of a new prayer book, these Crown decisions
caused two bloody insurrections in parts of the West Country (a riot at I-Ielston, Cornwall, in
1548 and the Western Rebellion in Devon and Cornwall in 1549), though there was apparently
peaceful, if grudging, general compliance in Somerset. " This process of radical reform was
briefly reversed during the reign of Mary (1553-8), when some of the old forms, practices,
and fabric were restored. In addition attempts by towns to regain lost chantry properties under
Mary apparently coincided with an impetus that was characteristic of the period to develop
local governance in towns.
Some hint of-the complexity of these upheavals can be seen in an array of dramatic records.
Robin Hood games at Yeo,il and Whitsun ales at Yarton both disappeared from churchwardens'
accounts during Edward's reign but reappeared under Mary. In Wells a conflict over the Mid-
summer watch between two local protestant magnates (FizJames and Stourton) and city ocials
in 1554 suggests that the city was moving to reestablish its guild shows and might indicate
that those shows had been suppressed or allowed to lapse during Edward's brief reign. That
same year a group of clothiers in Wells was presented in the bishop's court for making a parody
of the mass, foreshadowing a much more serious incident fi years later, when clothiers op-
posed attempts to preserve or to reestablish the Midsummer shows in that city. The earliest
evidence of-conflict over church ales in Somerset also dates from this decade, in a letter from
a royal commission to the diocese of Wells in 1547 forbidding church ales because of the 'many
inconveniencies' that they caused. Obviously, conflict between reformers and traditionalists
o,er entertainment was present in the county by the mid-sixteenth century.
The pattern of conflict thus set in motion steadily intensified through the reigns of
Elizabeth 1, James 1, and Charles . In the records from those seven decades, the defining charac-
teristic is a complicated pattern of collisions between competing interests: shining alliances
among families (ancient estate owners, newly wealthy recipients of church properties, and
recent arrivals); efforts by bishops to carP/out the wishes of the Crown to reform and to control
while shoring up their own economic base; moves by larger towns to free themselves from
absentee landlords; and contests at the parish level everywhere between reformers and tradi-
tionalists for control of culture and religion.
The progress of reform in Somerset between 1558 and 1580 appears to reflect the pattern of
events occurring nationally, as described by I-Iaigh. The parochial church 'was being restructured
in missionary fashion,' the number of'protestant preachers was increasing, power in county
government was shining to protestant gentry, and conflicts were arising from attempts to sup-
press May Day and Whitsun celebrations. A preacher, for example, had been hired by the town
of Bridgwater by 1571 and payments to preachers can be found in numerous churchwardens'
accounts around the county. 7 At dae same time, most Somerset parishes seem to have continued
holding their traditional fund-raising ceremonies and games during the early years of Elizabeth.
Marked changes can be seen in Somerset records from the second half of Elizabeth's reign.
Clearly, the forces of reform protestantism were able to exert increasing control of the culture. *
Churchwardens like those at Yeo,il now found it prudent not to record payments or collections
456 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Of these many important towns, only four - Axbridge, Bath, Bridgwater, and Wells - have
left extensive civic records. And only the records of the last three contain much evidence of
civic entertainment. A variety of non-civic records from Glastonbury inidcate a similar tradi-
tion there as well. A few other isolated civic records (portreeves' accounts from the assize town
of Chard, for example), some parish records (such as Somerton's collection of payments from
players for their use of its church house and Yeovil's Robin Hood games), and many references
to itinerant and local performers in court records also suggest playing traditions in towns along
major roadways. But most of our knowledge of civic-sponsored entertainment in Somerset
derives from the records of Bath, Bridgwater, and Wells. Thus our picture of civic patronage,
though substantial, is fragmentary.
BATH
Located in north Somerset, Bath is about 170 kilometres from London and is surrounded on all
sides by hills and on three sides by the River Avon. The most prominent geological feature of
the area for at least 10,000 years has been its natural hot springs, the source of the famous baths.
Bath was first settled not long after summer 43 AD by the Romans, who constructed elabor-
ate baths and an impressive temple to the goddess Minerva. Some time after 300 An, around
the principal buildings of this settlement, the Romans built a wall which was repaired, rebuilt,
and was still standing in the eighteenth century, s2 Probably on the very site of the temple and
baths, a prestigious monastery dedicated to St Peter developed during Anglo-Saxon times? In
the late Anglo-Saxon period, four parishes were established and a grid of streets and land plots
was laid out.
After the Norman Conquest the parishes and baths remained but in other respects the city
underwent significant changes. John of Tours, or John de Villula, consecrated bishop of Wells
in 1088, moved his see to Bath in 1090 and transformed the old Saxon monastery precinct
into a cathedral priory. Norman master builders constructed an enormous cathedral (over 350
feet long by 90 feet wide), a bishop's palace, as well as other buildings and they also renovated
the hot baths.
As population grew outside the walls during the 1200s, St Michael's without the North
Gate was founded. For relief of the sick poor who came to use the baths, Bishop Reginald
FitzJocelin founded St John's Hospital in 1180 (see map, p 627). While these changes were
taking place the city began to win charters which gradually defined its government and econo-
mic base. Bath received its first royal charter on 7 December 1189 and a deed ofc 1230 men-
tions a mayor, John de Porta."A charter of 24 July 1256 gave Bath citizens the right to elect
their own coroners and permitted bailiffs of the city to execute writs, ss From 1295 Bath had
returned members to parliament, st On 10 April 14 Edward m (1340) the city received a
charter authorizing citizens 'to appoint their own local assessors and collectors of royal sub-
sidies, s7 By the middle years of the 15th century a mayor, bailiffs, cofferers, constables, aldermen
and proctors, elected at the end of August or beginning of September each year, formed the
municipal hierarchy. 's Until the Dissolution the bishop was overlord of the city but did not
significantly interfere with its affairs; for instance, from 1412 on, freemen pledged their alle-
giance to the mayor alone?
HSTOmC.,tL S,CKROUND 457
By the late fourteenth century Bath's population had reached about 1 100 and the town had
become a centre of cloth manufacture. Names associated with the industry, such as Weaver
and Dyer, are common among witnesses to Bath deeds. 6. During the years 1394-8 Somerset
produced a quarter of England's broadcloths and Bath, producing 1000-2000 broadcloths
per year, was then among the chief contributors to the country's total. 62
In the fifteenth century, when the first dramatic records occur, and in the early sixteenth
century Bath did not change significantly except that a protracted dispute between the city and
St Peter's over rights to ring the first and last bells of the day resulted in a compromise that
gave 'due recognition' to the citizens' claims. A further degree of independence from the priory
was thus affirmed. Another charter of 26 November 1447 gives further evidence of Bath's
developing independence and sheds some light on the duties of civic officials. According to
this document the mayor became 'custos pacis'; he was to have assize of bread, wine, beer, etc,
and the king's clerk of the market could not interfere; he held pleas of personal actions including
trespasses against the king as well as between subjects. The citizens were not required to answer
at county sessions for issues arising in the city and no external justices were to interfere with
ciw matters. s
By 1499 John of Tours' Norman church was in decay so in the early 1500s a new, smaller
priory church in late perpendicular style was begun. The state of the project about 1542 is
described by John Leland:
Oliuer King rbisshop of Bath 1 began of late dayes a right goodly new chirch at the
west part of the old chi rrlch of S. Peter and finishid a great peace of it The residue
of it was syns made by the last prior ther yat spent a great summe of mony yat
fabrike. Oliuer King let almost al the old chirch of S. Peters in Bath to go to ruine.
The walles yet stande. 7
In addition to the priory, Bath had within its walls four parish churches - St Michael's,
St Mary de Stalls, St Mary's Northgate, and St James" - and outside the walls St Michael with-
out the North Gate, all established during Anglo-Saxon times. For this collection, the last
church is the most important because its churchwardens' accounts include late fifteenth-
century dramatic records.
The later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries were times of significant development
in Bath. By 1525 the population had risen to about 1200 and the next 100 years produced
most of the Bath dramatic records. This dramatic activity, especially the frequent visits of
travelling players may have been due to the city's proximity to good roads and its amenities.
Bath also increased its prosperity, strengthened existing institutions, and created new ones
through its response to the suppression of the cathedral priory.
The city's appearance would have attracted travellers. It was surrounded by an elaborate
wall with impressive entrances and towers. 6 Inside the walls a visitor could relax in relative
comfort. Speed's map (see p 627) shows a tennis court and according to Leland a plumbing
system brought water to some individual houses from springs surrounding the city. TM Public
conduits were available as well; no doubt this supply of fresh water helped Bath avoid outbreaks
of the plague experienced by other cities using water from the polluted Avon. 7. Also, a travel-
466 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
14 October, St Calixtus' Day; and 30 November, St Andrew's Day. Three of those fairs (3 May,
14 October, and 30 November) had been established well before 1160. 'u
By the fourteenth century, Wells had developed a prosperous market and was continuing to
seek independence from the bishop. Edward m issued a charter in 1341 extending the burgesses'
privileges to include freedom from tolls; the right to elect the mayor, bailiffs, and constables;
the establishment of a gaol; and stronger borough court jurisdiction. This new charter received
a legal challenge from the bishop, which led to serious rioting, disorder, and eventually cancel-
lation of the new charter. During the next 240 years disputes between town and bishop erupted
periodically. '
Though Bath and Ilchester had been the largest towns in the county in the eleventh century,
Wells was the largest during most of the Middle Ages (followed by Bridgwater), due in part to
new charters and the growth of commerce and industry in the twelfth century and the shift
of the diocesan seat to Wells. 's6 The taxpaying population has been estimated at about 1957
in 1377, but only 1406 in 1524. 'sT No one disputes that between 1377 and 1550 Wells suffered
serious reversals caused by the plague and by economic decline that together changed it from
the largest town in the county to something much smaller and poorer, outstripped by both
Taunton and Bath. 'u But Wells continued to be an important focus of commerce for its part
of the county. Major roadways connected it to Bristol, Bath, Bridgwater, Glastonbury, and
Frome and neighbouring communities found it a natural market centre.
Crafts and trades were important in Wells and the mayor, burgesses, and other civic officials
were drawn from their ranks. 'ss But the origin and development of craft guilds, and their
configuration within the city, are obscure. There is no unequivocal evidence of craft guilds in
Wells before 1555; indeed Shaw categorically says, 'There were no craft-guilds in medieval
Wells,' which would mean that they developed during the sixteenth century. ' But that seems
unlikely. As was earlier noted, the leather trades were present by 1200. The cloth industry
dominated the trades but at least sixty-five occupations were present in medieval Wells, some
(metal workers, goldsmiths, masons, pewterers) necessary for maintenance of the cathedral
and requiring high skill. From earliest days entries recording admission of freemen into Wells
in the Corporation Act Books include a drawing of a glove, apparently symbolizing that control
of the town (the right to admit freemen) was in the han of the burgesses an that admission
was based on specific skills possessed by the applicant. '6' According to Shaw, admission as a
freeman involved taking an oath at a ceremony at which the initiate presented either wine and
several sets of gloves, or wax. Apparently the wine and gloves were distributed to the member-
ship but in some cases the gloves as well as the wax were given to the parish church for distribu-
tion to the poor. ' However, the exact manner of distribution and the precise symbolic value
of the ceremony are uncertain because ordinances governing the ceremony do not survive. '3
By the thirteenth century the major streets in Wells had already been built and the presence
of uniform properties suggests that its small central core was a planned one. '" The city was
divided into four verderies (or taxing districts), each named for a main street (High, Chamberlain,
Tucker, and Southover), plus an out-parish tithing called East Wells, essentially a fifth verdery.
The more affluent verderies were High and Chamberlain (those to the east and nearest to the
cathedral properties and market square), while the other three were predominately working
HISTORICAL BACK(;ROUN D 469
than a separate school. Henceforth the master received an annual salary and a house (rather
than charging the students fees), and an usher was paid to assist him. *sj Because the masters
at mid-century were still strong Catholic sympathizers, it seems likely that 'Protestantism made
little impact on the school during F_Award's reign,' and certainly not during that of Mary
In 1583, the schoolmaster, John Gilbert, was punished by the dean and chapter for taking the
school children and choristers to perform a play at Axbridge parish church (see p 4). He ceased
to be schoolmaster a year later, though whether he simply resigned for his own reasons or was
sacked in the aftermath of the play is unknown. In the tumult of 1607 the then schoolmaster
clearly opposed puritan opponents of the May games and guild shows, and sympathized with
those seeking to reinstate those entertainment, going so far as to encourage one person to
compose an oration for the shows (see pp 292-4, 358, 364, 366).
The persistent efforts of the city to gain independent borough status eventually bore fruit
in the final quarter of the sixteenth century. In 1574 Bishop Berkeley had complained to Bur-
leigh, the lord treasurer of England, that the mayor and burgesses of Wells had taken it upon
themselves to function as a corporation in contravention of the bishop's liberties and that the
town was suffering severe poverty. In 1581, the year of Berkeley's death, the town applied to the
new attorney general (a Somerset man) for a charter, arguing successfully that it had functioned
as a corporation from time immemorial, irrespective of charters, and was therefore already a
free borough. In 1588 Berkeley's successor, Bishop Thomas Godwin, assented to the burgesses'
wish to seek a new charter and in 1589 Queen Elizabeth t granted two charters to Wells.
Through these charters the burgesses were confirmed to be a corporate body composed of a
mayor and twenty-three burgesses who formed a common council. The council annually chose
seven masters (senior burgesses) who then appointed one from their own ranks as mayor. The
common council also chose a recorder, a common clerk, and two serjeants at mace. The burgesses
appear to have been selected, in a representative way, from among the master craftsmen of the
city's trades. The mayor, recorder, and one master served as justices of the peace within the town) u
Ironically the key historical moment in the development of Wells as a free borough with
the charter of 1589 also saw the weakening of political unity in the town. During subsequent
decades, conflict in Wells shifted from burgesses versus the bishop to traditional versus reform-
minded burgesses, culminating in the extraordinary explosion of social conflict in 1607. Even
in that conflict one can see the close bond between town and chapter in that it was the dean,
Benjamin He)'don, who gave permission for the citizens of Wells to hold a church ale after
Bishop Still had refused their request, thereby unleashing a major conflict between puritan
sympathizers and the local oligarchy in that town.
Much of the conflict seems to have developed between recent arrivals in the city- such as
the cloth manufacturer John Hole, who was said to employ 500 people and who seemed to
have little regard for local custom (see pp 261-74) - and long-time residents who defended
local traditions. Theirs was really a struggle for political control of the borough. The earl of
Hertford clearly understood that. In writing to Lord Chancellor Ellesmere on behalf of the
mayor and others of the town in 1609, he charged that 'the gouuernment [of] & authority of
yat Towne & ),e Magistrates ther are endeuored to be wholy ouerthrowen by some Iustices of
ye Peace inhabiting' (see p 359). He seems to have been defending the view of the mayor and
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
477
the stang or the cowlstaff. * A skimmington, as traditionally defined, involved a procession
accompanied by cacophonous drumming and music, with one or more men, sometimes cos-
tumed (frequently as women), and either walking, riding a home (usually backwards or facing
each other if there were two riders), sitting astride a pole, or being carried in a cart. Most scholar-
ship says that skimmingtons were usually undertaken as a form of community justice through
public humiliation, either to disgrace a man who had allowed himself to be beaten or otherwise
dominated by his wife or to punish someone (usually a woman) for adultery or shrewishness.
Only two of the skimmingtons recorded in Somerset during this period (at Cameley and Holford)
were unambiguously intended to satirize a husband beaten by his wife. In fact, skimmingtons
(in this broader sense) were used for a great range of other social and political purposes and
protests as well. Some were part of festive entertainment, as at Yeovil, where churchwardens
willingly rode in great good cheer on a cowlstaffto the church house in 1607. In this context,
the ridings were forms of good-natured street theatre used to express traditional community
values and a mild warning (be generous in your giving or you could be publicly disgraced) by
symbolically capturing and releasing the vicar or a churchwarden. On Midsummer Day, 1634,
a company of men with morris dancers, fiddlers, and a drummer came from North Cadbury
to Yarlington, where they held sports near the church and churchyard. Though not identified
as a skimmington, the event seems similar in character to those in Yeovil. An even more elab-
orate interparish mock muster, with drums, trumpets, and ensigns, in support of a church ale
is recorded at Milborne Port. However, the greatest number of skimmingtons recorded in
Somerset involved neither marital squabbles nor communal celebration only but disputes over
lands and properties (at Flax Bourton, Frome, and Wraxall) or control of the local culture (at
Brislington, Skilgate, and Taunton). Leaders of anti-enclosure riots in 1626-32 in Wiltshire
and Somerset took the name 'Lady Skimmington' and were identified by authorities in court
cases by 'alias skimmington' after their surname. 5 It is dear that the skimmington was a mal-
leable form that could be adapted for many purposes.
Skimmingtons are recorded in every region of the county. The eleven satirical skits and
mock sermons or religious rites that appear in the records are distributed even more widely.
Nearly all of fifteen recorded incidents concerning maypoles occurred north of a line from Old
Cleeve through Bridgwater to Bath (none except the one at Beercrocombe occurring south
or east of a line extending from Dulverton through Bruton). But in general, it does not seem
possible to identify particular kinds of traditional entertainment - whether festive or disputa-
tious - with particular regions of the county; all seem to have been common to the culture of
Somerset.
What can be seen is the devasting effect that the course of reformation, regulation, and
ultimately official suppression had on traditional entertainment. That effect is noted in the
discussion of traditional entertainment in towns, villages, and other settings that follows.
BATH
In Bath the name John Somerkyng in the St Michael's Churchwardens' Account for 1433-4
suggests that there might have been a summer king festival or ceremony there. References in
'480 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
years is uncertain, it is apparent that Glastonbury at this date had festive processional enter-
tainment during early summer that seems to have encompassed the church and the principal
street. Henry Burton claimed that on 13 May 1634 a maypole fell on a churchwarden's child
in Glastonbury. It seems that commemorations of May in Glastonbury survived at least until
that date.
WELLS
The most detailed and therefore most illustrative picture of both festive and 'corrective' tradi-
tional entertainment in combination is in the civic records from Wells, where the close relation-
ship of town, parish, and craft guilds is reflected in its civic, parish, and guild entertainment."
An order in the 1337-8 cathedral statutes attempting to suppress not only clerical shows and
misrule at Christmas but also plays by the laity at Whitsuntide suggests that some ancestor of
the Wells show already existed by that early date (see pp 238-9). Evidently Wells already had
a tradition of parish plays including Robin Hood games and dancing by 1497; in that year the
burgesses ordered the mayor to inquire into the whereabouts of money raised by girls' dancing,
Robin Hood activities, and a church ale. By the 1550s the town had a king's watch at Mid-
summer, identified in the Corporation Act Books with the conventional formula, as 'vsed of
old tyme accustomed,' in which the companies of craft guilds paraded in a prescribed order.
The appearance of the Midsummer watch at this time coincides with Wells' recovery from
the terrible economic and population decline that afflicted it during the fifteenth and early
sixteenth centuries and may be linked to renewed civic pride and industrial recovery.
Records of a Star Chamber case in 1607 provide extensive evidence that in some years Wells
civic officials, craft guilds, and parish jointly staged elaborate May games and June guild shows
which attracted people from not only Wells but surrounding communities to raise funds for
the parish church. These activities, which involved civic and parish officials in processions from
market place to church and back, included a maypole, street dancing, ales, a Robin Hood,
morris troupes, and shows and pageants by the city's six craft guild companies. Reference to a
particular street's 'Cuckcoe Lord' in 1612, together with the considerable evidence in 1607,
indicates that these shows were organized by street or verdery. A former mayor of Wells,
Alexander Towse, testified in 1608/9 that church ales had been suppressed in the parish since
a quarter sessions order in 1594 (see p 432). Since the city's traditional entertainment during
May and June combined secular and religious, civic and parish elements, guild shows too may
have ceased along with the church ales during that thirteen-year period. Though revived in
1607 and mounted again in 1613 during a visit by the queen, the shows could not withstand
the combined opposition of puritan townsmen and justices of the peace. After 1613, no sig-
nificant references to ales or shows appear in the corporation records. However, references to
a maypole and May bower occur in 1635 (see p 384) and accounts of the Cordwainers' guild
include payments for painting the streamer with the arms of the company and for a staff and
crown in 1636, 1640, and 1641, suggesting that some vestige of the May games and June shows
or at least of processions associated with the Midsummer watch may have survived until mid-
century, perhaps longer. ' It seems significant, however, that the one community providing the
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS 481
single richest evidence of combined parish and civic entertainment in the county was also its
cathedral city, and that the city so strenuously resisted suppression of its traditional shows and
gan-les.
The oldest, most extensively documented evidence of church sponsorship of traditional
entertainment is from Wells Cathedral. Statutes of 1258 prohibited wrestling, round dances,
and other 'ludi inhonesti' in all churches, including the cathedral. The chapter seems to have
permitted dramatic performances in the cathedral itself from a very early date because statutes
of 1331 found it necessary to forbid clergy from putting on stage plays in the church using
likenesses of spirits, ghosts, or demons. The only seasonal misrule allowed to continue was
the ceremony of the boy bishop. Statutes in 1338 renewed the previous prohibition and addi-
tionally forbade chapter members to take part in round dances and shows, forbade gambling
and dancing in the churchyard and cathedral close, and forbade plays by the laity in the church
at Whitsuntide or other festivals and 'spectacula' and 'ludibria' by clergy at Christmas time.
However, liturgical plays and ceremonies seem to have been permitted through 1537.
The students of the grammar and song schools at Wells Cathedral took part in a boy bishop
ritual annually on the feast of the Innocents from 1327 (the first account to survive) through
1537 (the accounts for subsequent years leading up to royal suppression of the boy bishop are
missing). Each of the thirty-one surviving communars' accounts from that period contains a
pay-ment of2s 9d to the boy bishop. In 1455 and each year thereafter the amount is further
broken down, specifying 8d to the bishop, 2d to each chorister and acolyte (to the tabellar
instead in 1461), and ld to the communar. In addition, all thirty-two escheators' accounts
between 1397 and 1529 contain a bequest to the boy bishop of ld from the will of Nicholas
de Pontesbury, a sub-dean of Wells Cathedral. (The boy bishop was presumably part of a pro-
cession for the soul of Pontesbury.) Earlier references in the cathedral statutes to raucous plays
on the feast of the Innocents seem unrelated to this annual liturgical procession. Payments for
playing gear indicate that the cathedral had Holy Week plays, including a liturgical Quem
Queritis play, throughout the Middle Ages. There is no evidence that the Quem Queritis was
revived under Mary. By the sixteenth century the cathedral chapter had apparently ceased to
function as an official sponsor of traditional drama, though subsequent sporadic references
indicate continued interest in performance. There is evidence in Wells civic records that the
cathedral choristers occasionally performed unofficially in guild pageants long after 1538 and
that the dean and other dignitaries took part in processions during church ales related to the
city's May games and guild shows (see p 352).
YEOVIL
The most detailed picture of traditional Robin Hood games in Somerset comes from Yeovil's
St John the Baptist's Churchwardens' Accounts. Between 1516-17 and 1578-9 the parish
sponsored a Whitsuntide ale and a Robin Hood game as principal fund-raisers for the parish.
Since an antiquarian transcription of an account from 1457-8 does not mention the Robin
Hood game, one assumes the game came into being some time between that year and 1516-17.
The parish ale - with no mention of the Robin Hood game - continued to be recorded after
482 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
1577-8 but in 1607 a citation in the quarter sessions court charged that it was usual for the
masters and wardens of the town to permit minstrelsy, dancing, and carrying of men upon a
cowlstaff on sabbath days and on May Day in particular this year. One of the masters of the
town challenged those who opposed the events by threatening to include a Maid Marian the
following year. We also know from Thomas Coryate that Yeovil had an ale in 1606 (see pp 189-
200) so it may be that the Robin Hood game had continued unrecorded between 1578-9 and
1607 or that efforts had recently been made to revive it.
The accounts provide some evidence of the nature of the gme. It had at least three char-
acters - Robin Hood, Little John, and a sheriff- who apparently travelled in procession through
the streets with a band of parishioners, drummers, and musicians and carried men, including
churchwardens, on a cowlstaff to the church house. As part of this fund-raising game they
might stop people in the street and demand payment to avoid a ride on the cowlstaff. It seems
likely that the route of the procession was from the church, through the streets, to a dinner and
entertainment at the church house. Robin Hood also provided drink to the bell-ringers on
Ascension Day, perhaps implying that they too might have been thought of as members of
Robin Hood's band. The records refer to several elements of costume and gear- including
jerkins and gowns, ribbons of silk and lace, a horn for Little John, a sword for the sheriff, and
arrows for Robin Hood - which seem to have been part of a permanent stock owned by the
parish. The records also show that the parish made money by renting playing garments to other
parishes in Somerset and Dorset for their own revel and feast days but whether Robin Hood
gear or some other kind of garment is not clear.
What is clear is that the position of Robin Hood was an important one, requiring great trust,
and that he was drawn from the ranks of senior wardens of the non-gentry or yeoman class in
the community. Close study of the records shows that men served as Robin Hood after serving
as senior churchwarden, not before, and that they were drawn in alternate years, when possi-
ble, from the borough and out-parish (hamlets, chapelries, and manors dependent on the parish
church for spiritual services). It is also clear that certain families were involved in preserving
the tradition because they tend to appear as Robin Hood and wardens through the decades.
The importance of the Robin Hood game seems to reflect the importance of the parish to the
laity in a town that lacked independent borough status.
Payment for a Corpus Christi play was recorded once in the Yeovil churchwardens' accounts,
in 1539-40, but whether for a play traditionally sponsored by Yeovil or for a performance
visiting from nearby Sherborne, which certainly had a traditional Corpus Christi play, is not
clear. Yeovil had three medieval chantries which owned considerable properties." Whether
they were associated with local crafts or trades that may have sponsored such entertainment is
not known, but trades were an important presence in Yeovil and local craft guilds might well
have sponsored or contributed to such an entertainment. Though it lacked a charter, Yeovil
had a portreeve-magistrate and eleven burgesses, a mace-bearer, constables, and a strong sense
of civic identity that found expression in its sponsorship of parish activities.
The possibility that the Corpus Christi play was visiting is strengthened by the fact that Yeovil
and nearby towns and villages associated with each other in matters related to entertainment.
At Yeovil the wardens raised money by renting playing garments to other communities. As
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND poPULAR CUSTOMS
483
early as 1447-8 Yeovil rented playing garments ('pannis jocalibus') to Sturminster Newton and
Bradford (probably Bradford Abbas) in Dorset and during the sixteenth century to East Coker
in 1553-4, to Sherborne, Dorset, in 1566-7, to Leigh, Dorset in 1569-70, and to six other
unidentified parishes. A similar practice developed in Sherborne, Dorset (five miles from Yeovil),
between 1550 and 1559, where the wardens rented to Castle Cary, Somerset, and to Stur-
minster and other parishes in Dorset. The geographical areas mentioned in the records of both
parishes were adjacent but seem not to have overlapped, nor to have observed county bound-
aries. The Sherborne enterprise ceased to operate in 1559 and in 1562 Sherborne sold its playing
clothes to Yeovil. The timing suggests that the plays in Sherborne, an abbey town, were too
closely identified with the 'Old Religion' to be acceptable once the protestant character of
Elizabeth's church settlement became clear. Ironically, five years later Sherborne was forced to
rent playing garments from Yeovil in order to stage interludes in the Sherborne church house. 's
OTHER LOCATIONS
Fragmentary evidence of traditional entertainment survives from about half of the villages of
Somerset and from every corner of the county. In many cases that evidence might be no more
than a passing reference to a revel, a musical performance, or a maypole but in the aggregate
it suggests that before the Reformation most, if not all, villages had some form of traditional
festive and fund-raising entertainment similar to that in larger communities. A few instances
of inter-community entertainment that illustrate ancient ties between villages and chapelries
or between villages and towns are also recorded. The inhibiting effect of the Reformation on
traditional entertainment in villages, as in towns, is difficult to chart with precision because
the situation in each place differed. Furthermore, national policy changed several times in the
1540s and 1550s and the full effect of the Reformation was not felt until the latter half of
Elizabeth's reign. Some traditional entertainment survived in some villages through the Com-
monwealth and beyond (see Appendix 3). But in general a pattern in which traditional enter-
tainment came under attack, declined, and eventually disappeared is clear in the Records.
A variety of games involving mock rulers - kings, lords, and Robin Hood - turn up in vil-
lage records. Croscombe had a king's revel in the fifteenth century, which was separate from
and earned less than the Robin Hood ale there. Its nature is never explained in the records but
it seems likely that the king was similar to other mock royalty associated with Whitsun and
summer fund-raising games in Somerset. It seems significant that Croscombe, like nearby
Wells, had both a Robin Hood and a mock ruler, a pattern that seems typical in that part of
Somerset. A summer visit by the king of Montacute was recorded at Tintinhull in 1447-8.
Tintinhull also records a payment for the painting of a king's crown in 1515-16 and for a
Robin Hood ale in 1512-13. Though the king's crown may be for some other purpose, it
suggests the possibility that Tintinhull too had both a summer king and a Robin Hood. Later
seventeenth-century survivals of games in which local gentry served as lord of the ale (a wise
choice of lord in those troubled times) can be seen in the elaborate interparish ales involving
the village of Odcombe and the town of Yeovil in 1606 (see pp 189-200), and Milborne Port
and Poyntington in 1605/6 (see pp 167-70). These revels were widely distributed geographi-
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND pOPULAR CUSTOMS 485
(1607) just as they did in larger places such as the town of Langport (1611) and the city of
Wells (1554-5). Loss of traditional venues and parish sponsorship and persistent resistance
to official suppression of traditional entertainment seem to have infused these activities with
a rebellious element that would not have been present in less discordant times, as is the case
with the revellers who placed maypoles atop the church towers at Bawdrip (1585) and Pawlett
(1587).
Up to the 1570s the parishes still acted as sponsors of traditional entertainment and church
house, churchyard, and church were the locations most often mentioned as venues in villages
and towns. The most frequently recorded event was Robin Hood plays, followed by Christ-
mas plays and summer games. But village entertainment gradually disappeared from parish
records (mostly by 1580) even though the growing number of presentments against performers
in ecclesiastical court records shows that traditional activities of many kinds were still taking
place.
Other events that turn up in the records may have been part of traditional entertainment
but may just as well have been incidental events by travelling professionals sponsored by vil-
lage entrepreneurs. An interlude was played on a sabbath at Wellington in 1587; puppet players
performed at Norton St Philip around 1599; and minstrels played in alehouses or other venues,
like those from Bristol who played at Keynsham for several days in a crowded alehouse in
1630-1.
In the years between 1594 (the first surviving sessions order suppressing parish entertain-
ment) and 1633 (the reissuance of King James' Book of Sports), suppressions drastically in-
creased; a series of seven quarter sessions and assize orders in the county between 1594 and
1630 sought with mixed results to extinguish ales and revels. During the first decade of the
seventeenth century authorities cracked down hard on church ales. Though a few bold wardens
still sponsored ales, usually in alehouses, the authorities seem generally to have succeeded. How-
ever, many small communities continued to hold revels (see Appendix 10). As Bishop Piers
reported to Archbishop Laud in 1633, based on the word of seventy-two Somerset clergymen,
the purpose of the revels was to honour the local patron saint, to provide an opportunity for
'lawfull recreations,' and to provide convivial feasting and fellowship (see p 427). The chief
complaint against them, Piers said, was that they occurred on Sundays, when sabbatarians
'would haue noe manner of recreation,' even during the evening (see p 428). References to
entertainment in village and town records during this period include music, dance, local minstrels,
and other travelling performers like those at Frome in 1622 and Somerton in 1623. Parish
registers at Axbridge and Minehead show that minstrels and their families still lived in those
parishes. '
An order by the judges of the assizes in March 1627/8 renewed the authorities' attempts
to suppress revels and ales entirely and to punish all minstrels and bull- and bearbaiters, to
prevent 'suche inconveniences as vsually happen att suche meetings' (see pp 436-7). But it
was the issuance of that order on 19 March 1631/2 that precipitated a crisis in the county.
The action of the justices alarmed Archbishop Laud, who considered that it intruded on the
authority of the church in such matters and deprived parishioners of healthy and harmless
recreation. In writing to Sir Robert Phelips and two other justices of the peace in May 1633,
488 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
service time at Brislington in 1638, and various writers oflibdlous ballads (see pp 206, 290,
305-6,390-1). The revival of traditional culture seems to have been cut short, at least in the
records, by the Civil War nine years afxer the revival had begun, though evidence of some
traditional forms (maypoles, skimmingtons, puppet shows, bullbaitings) occurs in the records
into the early eighteenth century and, in the case ofbaitings, beyond (see Appendix 3).
HOUSEHOLDS
An ancient Christmas game using wastel bread - played at a feast that in later centuries in-
volved a salute to King John - was part of the tenants' customs at the cathedral's manor of North
Curry in 1314. It provides one of only two documentary evidences of household entertain-
ment in medieval Somerset. The second is from Dunster Castle on 26 December 1405 when
the new lord of the castle, Sir Hugh Luttrell, made payments to three tenants of John Coble-
ston (residence unknown) and six tenants from Dunster for dancing, and to many children from
Minehead who danced before him at what must have been a considerable inaugural feast in
his new home.
Later records show that during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries local gentry governed
the county, regulated its entertainment, and participated in traditional cultural activities.
During the tumultuous period leading up to the Civil War some of their personal accounts
contain payments to musicians - whether during the holidays at home, or while conducting
quarter sessions and assize business in court towns, or when travelling to London. Their cor-
respondence also mentions some local entertainment, such as one family's invitation that an-
other spend Christmas and bring 'tom taberer ... to drive of Melancholly' (see p 421). Other
household accounts reflect their taste for gambling and parish revels, with payments for fighting
cocks, bullbaiting, wagers on wrestling matches, and numerous other games.
PNGPC
There is no evidence that Somerset had any single-purpose, fixed-site theattes during the period
covered by this collection. 2 The earliest identifiable playing places are churches and church-
yards. Diocesan statutes issued in 1258 forbade the use of sacred spaces, such as church build-
ings and burial grounds, for a variety of secular occupations, ranging from court sessions to
sports, dancing, and 'other indecent pastimes.' Although the language is reminiscent of other
thirteenth-century statutes, the very fact that the prohibition was issued suggests that the
problem either already existed or was feared. Similarly in 1338 the dean and chapter of Wells
Cathedral not only reissued that prohibition specifically for the cathedral churchyard and close
but also prohibited 'ludi theatrales,' whether staged by clergy or laity, from taking place in the
cathedral itself. Clerical misrule, described as 'mockeries of their madness' (presumably some-
thing like a feast of fools) was also forbidden. However, activities such as boy bishop ceremonies
and liturgical drama, which could be seen to have an educative or devotional purpose, were
officially sanctioned at the cathedral. More latitude may have persisted in parish churches and
for a longer time, not only towards plays but towards festive events related to fund-raising or
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
489
seasonal feasts. In Glastonbury in 1500-1 the parish paid for pageants and a play, presumably
devotional, on Corpus Christi Day in a site called 'le belhay,' which may have been near the
church precincts. In 1580 the churchwardens at Glastonbury were presented in the bishop's
court for a church ale with morris dance coming into the church, though whether for violating
the sabbath or for dancing in the church is unclear from the records. The schoolmaster of Wells
Cathedral grammar school seems to have left his post soon after allowing the students and
choristers to stage a play in Axbridge parish church in 1582, though whether he was dismissed
or left for other reasons is not clear.
But incidents of churches used for entertainment continued to appear thereafter in the
church courts. By the 1580s some parish churches had become occasional sites for the staging
of protests in the intensifying battle for control of local culture. There survive several notable
incidents of parishioners bringing traditional games or items used in games into the church
for that purpose. Parishioners placed maypoles atop the church towers at Bawdrip and Pawlett
in 1585 and 1587 respectively. The incident at Bawdrip was in connection with a church ale
at Whitsuntide and clearly seems a statement about the right to hold ales and use church
properties. At Pawlett the defendant said that he had placed the maypole in the church both
for merriment and to protect it from theft, presumably by puritan elements. At Holford in
1588 a skimmington with torches and someone riding on a cowlstaff came into 'the middeste
of the churche." At Catcott in 1600 parishioners brought a maypole into the church on May
Day and had knells rung for it, a clear political statement though the person presented simi-
larly claimed to have done so only for merriment. And at Middlezoy in 1604 a man playing
his bagpipe in the church porch 'in reioycing for the king,' caused the ire of one parishioner,
though whether the music itself, the location, or the timing caused his anger is unclear. As of
1616 a fencing school and a cockpit were being maintained in the chapel of East Coker, though
whether that structure was still consecrated at that date was a matter of dispute among the
parties in a court case. A cockfight in the church of Woolavington in 1626 drew a great com-
pany of people. Clearly many tradition-minded locals persisted in their wish to use the church
as a playing place.
Church houses, as secular spaces, continued to function for a longer time as sites for drama
and traditional folk play than did churches. Travelling players performed in the church house
at Bridgwater in 1564-5 and in the parish house at Somerton several times between 1607-8
and 1621-2. Unidentified players paid the churchwardens at Crewkerne for use of the church
house in 1637-8 and in 1639. Church houses were certainly used for feasting, minstrelsy, and
dancing during Whitsun ales (as at Yatton and Yeovil), Robin Hood games (Weston Zoyland),
and revel days (as at Bleadon (see Appendix 10) and Chewton Mendip). 24 In the processional
entertainment that was so typical of Somerset, the church house was often either the ultimate
destination or an interim stopping point for revellers. Many church houses survive in Somerset,
though no longer serving that function, and could form the basis for a valuable study of play-
ing venues. Of those in which performances are on record, only the one in Yatton survives.
But information about the size, location, and some of the parish uses of the others is known,
making it possible to determine such things as their distance from the church, their config-
uration, and some of their resources. The Bridgwater church house, on the north side of High
490 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
Street, was conveyed to the care of two townsmen in 1537. 2 The Somerton church house, site
unkown, was rebuilt in 1581-2. Made of stone, it included a hall, kitchen, and cellar, and was
used for public functions. A second house, the parish house, was bought in the same year,
1581-2, and was used for a time for ales and feasts, was rented to outsiders, including players,
and by 1617-18 part of it functioned as a school. It stood by the southern entrance to the
churchyard and had a hall with a shop and kitchen beneath. 26 Crewkerne church house stood
in the market place between the high cross on the south and the town well on the north, a
good distance from the church. The building is thought to have been timber-framed with a
tiled roof and to have been used for sessions, storage, and lodging as well as entertainment? 7
The church house at Yatton was not only one of the earliest in Somerset (1445), it is one whose
uses for parish entertainment are most fully documented. It survives today as a private dwelling
as does the one at East Harptree. "8 The Yeovil church house stood at the northwest corner of
Middle Street until the 1830s on a site now occupied by the Midland Bank. According to a
1778 lease it had a large chamber containing three chambers within it, a large kitchen, a loft,
cellar, and yard. It was used for ales, dancing, and, as late as 1558, a ceremony known as the
Common Mind. It was used for brewing and baking and had a great store of utensils and table-
ware often loaned to other parishes and substantial individuals for profit. Tintinhull had a
bakehouse and a brewhouse, both replaced by a single church house in 1497. That structure
was replaced by a stone church house in 1531-2 that was demolished in 176320 The church
houses in Chew Magna and Crowcombe are still used for that purpose today and those at
Stoke sub Hamden and Long Ashton survive as public houses2'
Churchyards were also a primary site for traditional entertainment. The records that survive
suggest that nearly every kind of festive activity might take place there. At Priston, for example,
in 1588 parishioners built a summer hall close by the churchyard, presumably for May games,
and a similar bower was constructed near the church stile at Wells in 1607. A hobby horse was
part of a May game in the churchyard at Sampford Brert in 1600, though not without encoun-
tering a hostile reaction from the vicar there, and several records mention minstrels playing in
churchyards for assembled youths and dancers on other occasions. But the most detailed
description of events in the churchyard comes from Dundry where its churchyard (the section
not used for burials and sometimes called the church hay), was described in 1635 as accom-
modating maypoles, dancing, cudgel play, bullbaiting, archery, quoit playing, kissing, and
'other sportes and recreations' (see p 104).
Drama is also recorded at halls of other kinds, whether common, guild, or private. The
common hall is specified as the venue for professional companies performing in Bridgwater:
Worcester's men were there 5 June 1576, 19 September 1581, and 30 July 1582, and Mr Berke-
ley's men performed twice in December 1583. The hall (known by various names) was on Fore
Street22 The payments were ordered by the mayor and therefore seem to be for plays before the
mayor and assembled notables of the town. The hall was selected for other than seasonal reasons.
Players, otherwise unidentified, paid to use the common hall in Chard twice, in 1617-18 and
1618-19 and paid 2s both times seemingly a standard fee. Both halls have been demolished.
In Bath at least one play was performed in the Guild-hall. In 1616-17 the city received 'of
the Queenes players for the vse of the Towne hall iij s. iiij d.' 'Towne hall' is surely the Guild-
492
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
with games, sports, or parish folk play such as that involving May lords and summer kings. (4
But ordinary streets - with the high cross in the market square as one focal point - certainly
were a factor in the way that May games and guild shows were presented in Wells. Streets fig-
ure also in descriptions of the course of traditional processional entertainment in Glastonbury,
Taunton, Weston Zoyland, and Yeovil, among others. Streets could function in this context
as month-long playing places and also inevitably as sites of controversy when maypoles and
bowers were set up in front of someone's door. Such actions had the metaphorical effect of
transforming the street into a revelling place and its impact should not be underestimated. One
woman in Wells, accused of being a puritan, felt that she could not bring herself to go past the
maypole in making her way to church (see p 347), which antipathy helped to induce major
civil unrest in that city in 1607 and later.
Open country could itself become a playing place in the case of intercommunity proces-
sional entertainment, some of which were May games and parish fund-raisers taking the form
of mock musters with battles, dancing, and speeches. The classic incidence is the extravaganza
mounted by Thomas Coryate of Odcombe on Whit Sunday in 1606. Assembling some 100 men
at Odcombe Cross, he then led them to mock skirmishes, with music, against the cohorts of
Yeovil - including amazons - near Henford Hill and near the market cross in Yeovil, where
thereafter he gave an oration in defence of church ales. The residents of Yeovil reciprocated by
marching in like manner to Odcombe at a later time (see pp 189-200). John and Sir Edward
Parham were said to have led mock musters as part of church ales that travelled from Milborne
Port to Poyntington in June 1605, and to South Cadbury and other parishes at other times,
attracting numbers of people variously estimated at between 300 and 5000. Sir Edward himself
was accused of organizing bullbaitings and being one of the morris dancers at such gatherings
(see pp 167-70). In the event of 1605, described by one witness as a May game, the mock
skirmish occurred 'on the downes' between Poyntington and Milborne Port (see p 169). An-
other example concerns church ales with mock musters at Skilgate and Dulverton, in which
men from as far away as Taunton assembled with arms, skirmishes, dancing, and feasting to
raise funds for the parish and to confound the churchwardens of Skilgate who opposed them
(see pp 212-19). Large, movable events with a festive purpose -sometimes with a political or
social agenda as well - were a fact of traditional culture in Somerset.
Permanent bull rings, cockpits, and baiting sites, like the one at Cornhill in Taunton, were
also places for entertainment. There seem to have been many of them and people flocked to
baitings even into the early nineteenth century. 4s An incident at Burnham in 1574 illustrates
a local bearbaiter using the area near his own house as a site for baitings and ale selling.
PLAYING CONVENTIONS
Details in the Records - especially in seventeenth-century court cases and the Wells shows - also
give clues to the dramaturgical principles and conventions underlying traditional playing as it
existed at that time in Somerset (no descriptions of drama by travelling professional compan-
ies survive). Glynne Wickham has said of medieval English drama in general, that it was 'an
actor's and a poet's theatre. ' No texts of medieval drama survive from Somerset but the ale-
DRAMA, MUSIC! AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
493
house skits and other performances by locals recorded between 1554 and the 1630s show those
same two qualities. To be sure, these alehouse impresarios were amateurs, not professionals,
and hardly represent the actors and poets to whom Wickham refers. But the aspiring local
poet of the 1607 Wells shows, William Williams, by plagiarizing Marlowe (see pp 711,716)
and imitating the actions of a player while reciting his rhyme (see p 354), clearly and overtly
referred to current conventions. All were obviously using theatrical techniques recognizable to
their audiences. In the absence of testimony about true professionals, these improvising locals
provide a useful mirror, however imperfect, for glimpsing conventions of the time. In those
plays recorded at Barrington, Fivehead, and Glastonbury, for example, the actors used words,
gestures, and one or two improvised props to create a setting and situation. At Barrington it
was a hogshead used as a pulpit for a mock sermon (see p 6). At Wrington an actor was accused
of transforming an alehouse into a church by setting up a pulpit and spreading a safeguard over
it, kneeling on a cushion to pray, and then delivering a mock jeremiad from the pulpit (see
p 399). This kind of local drama had an improvisational element and clearly relied more on
words, wit, and suggestion than elaborate settings and props.
In secular processional drama, whether Robin Hood events at Weston Zoyland or Yeovil,
or May game and feast day revels at Glastonbury, the locals used the spectacle of movement,
music, dance, and simple costuming to merge the church and community into a single chari-
table play world where funds could be gathered to finance parish services. This kind of com-
munity drama used the landscape itself. Churchyards and greens were transformed - mainly
through the election of mock royalty and setting up of a maypole - into small kingdoms of
sport, dance, and play. May bowers such as those at Old Cleeve in 1619, Priston in 1588, and
Wells in 1634 often stood for a month. Actors used some gear and costuming in all of this
(bells for the morris dancers, jerkins, hoods, staffs, and bows for Robin Hood's band), but the
representation seems to have been generated mainly by word, action, and movement.
However, a much more elaborate use of props, scenery, stagecraft, and costume is to be seen
in Wells. Players in civic guild shows had access to the skills and resources of craftsmen and a
set of traditional stories and characters (mythological, historical, or religious) to reproduce in
a traditional way. In the civic-sponsored processional entertainment at Wells the players rode
on carts (sometimes also called chariots), in wheelbarrows, or on horseback, or they walked,
sometimes carrying banners and other guild emblems such as silver plate, large effigies, stangs
or poles, and other devices. The shows of 1613 certainly included at least three chariots and
perhaps more, given wording in the Corporation Act Book. The horses used ranged from a
blind old nag to what must have been better horses ridden by the attendants of St George. In
1607 two men carried forked poles bearing an egg positioned in the forks. The size and sym-
bolic import of the egg(s) is not clear, but it (or they) may have had some association with
Easter or with charitable giving (the purpose behind riding the stang in some communities
elsewhere such as Yeovil). One show was led by several men carrying a child who played Diana.
Costuming in these shows was a varied and significant part of staging and involved numer-
ous people both as performers and as contributors of costumes and gear. Descriptions contain
many references to 'apparelling' of the participants. In the parodic shows of 1607 the actors
dressed 'in the habittes or formes of trades men' (see p 315) and their wives, with men playing
494
MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
both parts and representing at least six local trades. Items of costume specifically mentioned
included red, blue, and black petticoats, kerchiefs, and a muffler; a grey beard and flaxen hair
(supplied by the dean of Wells Cathedral); a man's black coat; a bloody apron used in butcher-
ing; a velvet coat, square corner cap, and satin hose (also supplied by the dean); satyr skins;
and garments made of cow tails and bracelets made of horns representing jewels, worn by old
virgins accompanied by boys wearing ox, calf, and other skins.
Also mentioned as part of the costumes and props worn or used by these players were a
brush and a hat to carry, with a pouch and other old hats to hang from a man's girdle; a spin-
ning wheel and worsted wool upon a distaff carried and operated by a man in woman's ap-
parel riding horseback; a plank athwart a man's lap as he rode his horse holding a saucer and
hammer and carrying a skimmer and a pewter pot at his girdle; a pair of scales and a basket
with grains in it; a desk and inkwell carried by a horseman who accompanied a money lender;
a board painted to represent two men with a woman between them, with a game attached to
it in which a ball was trundled through holes in the board; a noddy board and pack of cards
carried by a man on horseback; money bags; and a large paper book, presumably representing
a ledger book. One of the parodic shows - the mock killing of a painted calf- included a man
in satyr skins and a picture of a calf with red and white spots painted on a boasd; those colours
matched the maypole standing near the market square. This same show included morris dancers
with 'naked rapyers and daggers in their handes' (see p 347) and armed men who fired their
weapons in the mock killing of the calf.
Costumes and props for shows which seem to have been more purely traditional (as opposed
to topical and parodic) included green garments otherwise not described, plus bows and arrows,
'a longe Clothe yard' for Robin Hood and his men (see p 267); a wheelbarrow to carry 'Old
Grandam Bunche,' described as stirring a pot fdled with 'filthy gutt & puddinges' (see p 268);
white linen garments resembling church vestments worn by choristers who accompanied the
goddess Diana; 'fiche array' for the Egyptian king, his queen, and their four knights (see p 268);
knight's armour for St George on horseback; a sword for 'a naked feathered boy' who led the
pageants on one of the days, clearing the way for them; and a staff for a whiffler, who is de-
scribed elsewhere in the Records as leading the pageants - presumably those held on a differ-
ent day. Some of these shows were set pieces involving additional props. St George, for example,
battled a dragon which had a man inside, as part of the enactment of the rescue of the virgins.
Two giants (male and female) were carried through the streets. They seem to have been large
and were painted and apparelled. On Ascension Day mothers were said to have arrayed their
little children - boys and girls alike - in women's apparel to go about the streets with the morris
dancers and armed troops, perhaps to play the virgins being rescued in one of the pageants
that included a mock battle.
Many of the shows included armed men, both footmen and horsemen, bearing all manner
of weapons, marching in mock musters, and taking part with morris dancers, in the staging of
the mock battles and rescues that seem to have been integral to the shows. Truly these shows
seem to have involved great numbers of the residents, of all ages and stations, in one capacity
or another. Witnesses' statements describe shows that seem to have integrated spectacle, pro-
cession, dialogue, and action in what must have been an impressive way.
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS 495
WOMEN AND PERFORMANCE
Some evidence survives of women's participation in drama and related entertainment in Somer-
set. At Wells on Ascension Day in May 1607, girls were 'appareled like virgins & carried or led
about with others in ye streets,' as part of civic celebrations that are not otherwise described
in detail (see pp 276, 282,935). One of two surviving records of guild performances in the
county, also at Wells, mentions female actors, suggesting some degree of involvement by women
in guild-sponsored events. In a series of guild shows during the queen's visit on 20 August
1613 the daughters of master shoemakers represented Lady Ursula and her child's nurse (see
p 377). Wording in descriptions of the other guilds' shows that day suggests that women or
girls may have performed in at least four more shows as well in 1613: the daughter of Herodias
in the Tailors' show; the queen and the virgin daughter of Ptolemeus, the morris of young
children, and nymphs in the Mercers' show; Venus holding Cupid in the Hammermen's show;
and the old virgins in the Tanners' show.
Wells elected a May lady to co-rule with the May lord. There is evidence that men and women
together - a group of about twenty-five in Wells in 1607 (see p 300) and a group of about six
at Englishcombe in 1588 (see pp 116-17) - took part in street dances and in the processions
to fetch maypoles and construct May bowers. Just as men raised money for the parish with
hoggling games at Christmas and Epiphany; so did the women at Easter, notably at Keynsham
(see p 150). In 1483-4 the wives of Croscombe collected money by dancing. One entry from
Westbury records that a man and a woman took part in a mumming together (see p 387) but
whether it was part of a parish-sponsored event is not clear from the record.
Women's interest in liturgical drama and their contributions to its production are reflected
in several records. In 1504 Agnes Burton, a wealthy widow from Taunton, bequeathed a red
damask mantle 'vnto the said Sepulcre service' and a mantle lined with silk 'to thentent of Mary
Madgalen play' at St Mary Magdalene's Church in Taunton. Communars' accounts at Wells
Cathedral in 1470-1 include a payment of 12d to Christine Handon for supplying 'tinctura
& factura dictorum lndumentorurn' for a play of the three Marys.
Women appear to have been fully enfranchised parishioners who also acted as sponsors
of entertainment and as entrepreneurs. A woman served as churchwarden at Yatton in 1496-7,
and two more, as wardens, were responsible for the ale at Tintinhull in 1453 and presented
its receipts to the parish. A man and his wife kept a bearbaking at North Curry in 1603 and
another couple organized a cockfight in the church at Woolavington in 1626.
Entries in chapter act books also record instances of women's involvement, though not al-
ways as sponsors, in less legitimate activities such as spreading libellous ballads, hanging cuckold's
horns, or attending and abetting satirical representations of clerics and church courts in spon-
taneous skits in the inns and taverns of Somerset.
Itinerant women entertainers also operated in the county. A woman fiddler was placed in
the stocks at Merriott in 1637. A consistory court act book in 1608 includes a description of
a young woman of Shepton Mallet who lived as wife with a man who had a dancing horse;
they travelled the country together when he performed. Whether the woman also assisted or
took part in the performance is not mentioned in the record. The fiddler was arrested not
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
499
players were paid on 25 June in 1558, on a Saturday during the time of the Midsummer fair.
Various other payments, though not datable to the day, were made during periods which in-
cluded one of the four annual fairs. However, an equally large number of other payments were
made for dates quite unrelated to the fairs. For example, 'Mr Barcklyes players' were paid on
30 April 1572; the queen's bearward on 1 May 1582; and Tyller's, a company that may have
been local, around 1 May 1601. A company named Smackerfyll's, which may also have been a
troupe of local players, was also paid on the same day. The variety of those performers suggests
May Day celebrations in Bridgwater, though no other evidence of such celebrations exists.
Other dated entries seem tied more to the accidents of the company's itinerary than to an
identifiable local occasion.
Amounts paid to travelling companies in Bridgwater range from 4d to 30s. In general, the
amount paid the company reflected the importance of its patron but variations in what a given
company might receive suggest that other factors - perhaps the kind or quality of the show,
perhaps the town's budget and relative wealth - were also at work within and between towns.
For example, in 1565 Mountjoy's men received 5s at Wells but lOs at Bridgwater; in 1566-7
they received 5s 4d at Wells but 6s 4d at Bridgwater. However, Sir Henry Fortescue's men re-
ceived 2s at Wells in 1567-9; a Mr Fortescue's men received the same amount at Bridgwater
in 1564 but the identity of this patron is uncertain. Five historical phases can be seen in the
amounts paid to royal companies. Between 1461 and 1504, the king's received 6s 8d (others
averaged 3s 4d). Between 1505 and 1535 the amounts fell sharply to 5s or 3s 4d for the king's
(ls or 2s to other companies). Between 1537-8 and 1552 payment improved. The king's play-
ers moved back to 6s 8d, as did the companies of other great patrons (approximately 5s to other
good companies). Between 1558 and 1583, a time of considerable inflation, a big increase
occurred, ranging from 13s 4d for royal and most other important companies to 6s 8d for
some of the important ones. Between 1584 and 1612 the average amount paid jumped once
to 20s for royals (30s once for the queen's) and seldom less than lOs for others, again reflecting
the inflation that characterized the period. The Bridgwater accounts also record several payments
to travelling waits, unnamed minstrels, and bearwards.
WELLS
Several payments to companies with royal patrons turn up in the communars', escheators', and
fabric a.counts of Wells Cathedral during the late fifteenth century. The king's performers ('mimi')
visited in 1478-9. In 1497-8 payments were made for fifty-three leopards' heads, presumably
used in either a ceremony or a performance during the visit of Henry Val. In 1500-1 three
companies - the performers of the king, the queen, and the prince - all entertained, but whether
on the same occasion and where in Wells are not known. In 1505-6 both the king's and prince's
performers were again paid; this was their final appearance in the records of Wells Cathedral.
In Wells, only three civic accounts survive (as transcriptions in a corporation act book) but
all three record payments to travelling professional companies who also played in Bridgwater at
about the same time - Mountjoy's players in 1565-6 and 1566-7, and Sir Henry Fortescue's
players between 1567 and 1569.
500 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
UNSPONSORED TRAVELLING PROFESSIONALS
The earliest reference to unsponsored travelling minstrels is from an assize roll of 1225 when
two minstrels suspected of theft were outlawed because they fled from the town of Frome,
where they had been harboured by one Alice, the wife of a third minstrel. Alice herself was
ordered to be put under a writ of exigent and banished for taking them in. s' While the two
minstrels were described as vagrants because they were minstrels, Alice and her husband appear
to have lived in Frome.
Quarter sessions records contain many instances of unsponsored entertainers (among the
larger group of unlicensed rogues and vagabonds of the statutes) as being present in towns
where they offered their services to alehousekeepers, enterprising churchwardens, or private
households. Some were from Somerset, like John Browne of Frome, who sought to travel the
county 'in Consort' with a Bristol musician during Christmas time in 1622; or Lewis Cavill,
a piper, whipped in Glastonbury and sent to his home parish in 1614. Some were regional
itinerants, such as the group of fiddlers from Bristol, who stayed at an inn in Keynsham for
five riotous days in 1630; some were apparently from distant parts, such as John Gerrard of
London, who showed 'feates of Leigerdemaine' in Somerton in 1623 and 'consorted himself
with certaine Musitians'; or Richard George of London who travelled with a servant, showed
'feates of activity,' and claimed to have a licence from the master of the revds (see p 435), though
if George did have a valid licence he was not, strictly speaking, unsponsored, s2
Fragmentary evidence in the records gives glimpses of patterns of travel followed by amateurs
and by local and regional professionals. Some of these patterns became little ad hoc circuits
or routes that lived and died with the performer; others reflect ancient traditions in Somerset
life. Two of the oldest patterns of movement from place to place, both associated with parish
fund-raising activities, might be called gathering or hoggling circuits and entreprenurial circuits.
Once or twice a year in many parishes, the churchwardens and organized groups of parishioners
(such as a Robin Hood, May lord, or hoggling troupe) visited chapelries and other dependencies
some distance from the main parish to collect money or goods for church ales to raise money
for the many services that the parish provided. These journeys, sometimes covering several
miles - by the men at Christmas or Epiphany, by women at Easter or hocktide - could involve
dancing and other entertainment, as a witness in 1630 said they traditionally did at Keynsham.
Most surviving evidence for this kind of travel connecting parish and dependent chapels comes
from central and north Somerset, as for that between Chew Magna and Dundry described by
a witness in 1633/4 (see Appendix 4).
Some parishes also supported other parishes' gathering activities by attending their ales and
revels, in a pattern that seems to reflect reciprocal, somewhat formal arrangements or at least
understandings. At Tintinhul[ the wardens paid 3d to the followers of the visiting king (ie,
summer king) of Montacute in 1447-8, but in 1513-14 were required to lay out 20d at the
Montacute church ale 'for the deffawtt ofapparance of our neybars. 's The Tintinhull church-
wardens' accounts also mention payments by the wardens at Chilthorne Domer, Montacute,
and Stoke sub l-lamdon ales in 1516. Expenditures in the Yatton churchwardens' accounts
show similar payments involving six parishes within eight miles of Yatton. Interestingly, the
number of such payments to other parishes declined at Yatton in 1513, near the time when
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS 501
payments to visiting minstrels begin to appear in the Yatton accounts. 'Circuit' is too formal a
word for these interparish activities but they do show that local entertainment extended their
fund-raising performances into neighbouring parishes and found friendly audiences there.
Another pattern can be seen in the activities of local musicians who travelled short distances
to play at ales, revels, or weddings in neighbouring parishes. John Huishe, household servant
of William Poton of Litton, was skilled with four instruments and said by witnesses from six
parishes to have performed at revels and church ales within a seven-mile radius of his home
many times between 1589 and 1594. Reynold Prickett, minstrel/tailor of Pensford, performed
in parishes near his own for thirty years. John Temple, of Winsham, made his living as a minstrel/
joiner (see p 98); William Picketing, of Green Ore, was a fiddler/miner (see p 225); and John
Webbe, of Blagdon, was a minstrel/carpenter, said to play at weddings and 'merrie meetinges'
of his neighbours.
Clearly performers such as these knew the dates when neighbouring communities held their
revels and ales and were able to contract for their services with parish officials, as well as with
private citizens for household or alehouse entertaining. Authorities recognized local travelling
entertainer/craftsmen as a class exempt from prohibitions against rogues and vagabonds be-
cause they were not true itinerants. In 1616 sixteen justices sitting at the quarter sessions in
Wells ruled that the activities of Nicholas Yeomans of Hutton, 'a poore man who is a musi-
tian" and who had travelled to perform at a private dwelling two to three miles from Hutton,
were not within the compass of the statute and that Yeomans should 'be noe farther troubled'
(see p 143).
Local itinerants whose routes extended into neighbouring counties might indeed run afoul
of the law. In 1607 during the quarter sessions' suppression of ales and baitings, Thomas
Nehellinge of Odcombe was presented for travelling with fighting bulls to ales and watches
at Ilton, Ilchester, and Stoke St Gregory in central Somerset, at Sturminster and Sherborne in
Dorset, and at Mere in Wiltshire (see pp 145-6). He apparently operated in consort with John
Allwaye, another baiter from Odcombe. A Somerset ballad singer, John Plumber of Chard,
presented at the Wiltshire sessions in 1620 for stealing a petticoat, had travelled from Chard to
Bristol, Bath, Norton St Philip, and Salisbury during a two-week period, and was returning to
Chard when arrested (see pp 73-4). During a two-week period at Christmas 1633, Thomas
Peetle, a juggler, and his apprentice travelled a seventy-five mile route that took them from
Bristol to Weare, Bridgwater, Taunton, Langport, and Wells, where they were arrested for theft
while en route back to Bristol. At least some of these itinerants seem to have found ready spon-
sors at ales and watches.
Waits and Local Musicians
The earliest references to local waits and musicians appear in the patent rolls between 1314
and 1468. Many of the waits before 1350 were probably watchmen, not performers, but they
are included here because the possibility that they were musicians cannot be absolutely exclud-
ed. They include the son of Henry le Wayt, given a licence to convey lands and properties in
Bathwick (1314); Richard le Pipere (perhaps merely a surname), mentioned as one of a group
who assaulted a man at Thurlbear, near Taunton, and carried away his goods (1338); Stephen
502 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS
le Harpour, charged with others for carrying away goods and documents from Compton
Bishop, near Axbridge (1340); William le Wayte, who sold the manor of Brompton (either
Ralph or Regis) (1342); Richard Wayte, pardoned for acquiring for life, without licence, a mill
in Frome that was held by the Crown (1373); John Gouer, singer, of Huish by Highbridge
(near Burnham) and Huntspill, pardoned for several felonies (1453); Thomas Briker, harp-
maker, parish uncertain but named among a group from Wells and Glastonbury whose arrest
was ordered for counterfeiting the king's money (1468)? 4
BATH
There is some early evidence of harpers in Bath. An undated grant by Walter, prior of Bath,
probably written between 1290 and 1300, is witnessed by Robert le Harpur, and another
harper, probably the king's servant, John of Trentham, was given a corrody by the prior of
Bath in 1309 or 1310.
Evidence of city waits or musicians appears in later documents, s The Chamberlains' Account
for 1568-9 notes payments for waits' liveries, and the account for 1572-3 notes payments
for material to be used in the musicians' coats. Payments were also made to the visiting Bris-
tol waits in 1568-9 and 1586-7. The 'queresters of Wells' performed at the queen's visit in
1574-5 and in 1582-3 William Tucker performed instrumental music at a play. 'Peter the
blinde man' played the organ during a visit by the queen in July or August 1615 and could
be the same Peter who played on the virginals for the queen on 27 August 1615 (see p 636).
A minstrel, Robert Corbet, was cited with others on 15 September 1607 (see p 20) for perform-
ing 'during the time of divine seruice' and Nathaniel Brent, vicar general, was entertained
with music during his visit in 1633-4. The deputy lieutenants, probably in Bath for the an-
nual muster of trained bands in June, enjoyed music at their supper in 1635-6.
BRIDGWATER
The earliest payment to musicians in the Bridgwater records is to pipers from Ash Priors near
Taunton in 1448-9 on the feast of Corpus Christi; it is not possible to know more about
them. The town paid 'the mynstrellis of bristowe' (presumably the waits) in 1495-6 and also
received visits from them on 26 March 1567 and between April and May in 1571 and so one
gets the impression that the waits of Bristol had long had licence to travel in the region, cer-
tainly during the spring and summer. Bridgwater records make no mention of town waits but
it had several resident blind harpers who were neady indigent; the town bought clothes for the
family of one in 1601-2 and apprenticed a blind youth to him in the same year to learn his
trade.
WELLS
Wells was admitting minstrels as freemen of the city by 1409, when Philip Pyper and William
Godyer were chosen as burgesses. In 1555 three men whom the mayor commanded to keep
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND POPULAR CUSTOMS 505
lection toward the Cupp and other Chardges given to the Queene's most excellent Majestie.'"
A chamberlains' account of the period suggests that the full expense of this cup was never re-
covered: 'paid for the Cupe which was giuen to the quene v li. xiiij s. whereof I haue Recived
of philip lones for the Cupe xxxi s. iiij d. '
Though royal visits to Somerset were few in number and broadly spaced in time they seem
to have generated the most lavish entertainment in the records and must have left lasting im-
pressions on those who witnessed them.
THE DOCUMENTS 507
retains Hoiworthy's numbers and arrangement except for a few volumes that have now been
reconstituted. Each volume bears the SRO prefix D/D/Ca plus a number.
Most of the act books involve instance or ex officio business from the bishop's consistory
courts presided over by the vicar general or his surrogates but the collection also includes a
smaller number of commissary generals' act books (up to 1560), act books for deans' and other
officers' peculiars, and act books for bishops' visitations and archbishops' metropolitical visit-
ations. No archdeacons' act books are included. Some of the books have lost leaves and some
consist of sections foliated before binding took place; some are actually unrelated and unbound
broken sections stored as single volumes. Hence foliation or pagination is often discontinuous
and some books or sections have no numbering. Even the books titled 'compert books' generally
record court proceedings, or 'acta,' as well as findings made at visitations, or 'comperta_'
Of the 414 volumes, sixty-three were in such poor condition that they could not be examined.
These are: D/D/Ca 14, 28, 38 (missing), 39, 44, 47, 50, 52, 62, 63, 67, 70, 99, 100, 108,
110, 115, 125, 128-9, 144, 161,164-7, 181-3, 188, 190, 192, 198-9, 202, 205,211-12,
216, 218, 223, 238-9, 245, 250, 256, 259, 268, 275-6, 293, 304, 306-7, 314, 316, 318,
321,323-5, 332, and 335. When (and if) repaired, some of them could be expected to yield
entertainment-related matter.
The collection of ecclesiastical court deposition books for the diocese of Bath and Wells
comprises 137 volumes for the years between 1530 and 1745 (excluding the Commonwealth
period). Of those, 108 volumes belong to the period before 1642. The deposition books, to-
gether with 585 other volumes of diocesan materials, were rediscovered in 1926 by IL Hoiworthy
and his partner, Dorothy O. Shiiton, in 'a large room in the tower, adjoining the Diocesan
Registry' at Wells. There they found 'shelf upon shelf full of old volumes, most of them very
damp and without covers, and three bastions crammed full of loose documents. ' The two
dried all the documents, organized them by date and class, catalogued them, and placed each
volume between thick boards on which they stencilled catalogue numbers. The deposition
books, together with the act books, clergy lists, and iicence books, are now at the Somerset
Record Office. Catalogues prepared by the county archivist, D.M.M. Shorrocks, summarize
their contents and condition.
A few of the volumes of depositions have been repaired; many others are in weak to very
poor condition and can be searched only if handled with extreme care; eighteen of the volumes,
too fragile for handling, were not available for examination. Several of these almost certainly
contain entertainment-related material and, when repaired, will undoubtedly produce material
when searched. These are volumes 9-10, 23-4, 38-9, 46, 52-3, 57, 73, 79, 82, 86-7, and
122-4.
Ten additional volumes (16, 31, 33, 41, 47, 63, 66, 89, 131, and 137) had one or more
sections so fragile that extensive handling would have caused them irreparable harm; hence
only parts of these could be searched, or, in some cases, only the first few pages (so noted in
the list of deposition books below). Yet even that limited search produced entries in six of the
ten, suggesting that all should certainly be comprehensively searched once repaired.
The deposition books are not sorted by jurisdiction or type of business; however, most in-
volve instance together with a few ex officio cases, and belong to one of the bishop's four courts?
THE DOCUMENTS 509
SESSIONS ROLLS
The sessions rolls for this period include seventy-eight volumes. The rolls contain 'examina-
tions, calendars of prisoners, fines, indentures, orders of court, petitions, presentments, [and]
recognizances. ' The greatest number of entries from the quarter sessions for the gED collection
were found in these rolls.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, Q/SR 1-78; 1607-38 (complete run plus three documents from
1561, 1591, and 1597); English and some Latin; paper; average number of leaves per volume, 100
(smallest is 17 in Q/SR 9 and largest is 169 in Q/SR 55); average leaf size 310ram x 200mm (text area
variable); modern foliation (each case also bears a circled 'item' number and some leaves have further
numbers from an earlier numbering system, both the item numbers and the earlier foliation sometimes
proceeding back to front in the volume); individual booklets and other documents repaired and bound
into a series of volumes following a 1905 order of the county council, all having identical caramel-
coloured covers tied with laces.
The volumes that yielded extracts are listed below, together with the locations to which those extracts
were assigned. One entry from Q/SR 46, concerning a wandering mountebank, could not be localized
and is printed in the County section of the Records. One roll, Q/SR 86, pt 2, containing references to
sldmmingtons in 1653 in Bruton and Ditcheat is described in Appendix 3 where the records are pre-
sented. Several rolls contain justices' orders regulating wakes, revels, church ales, bullbaitings, and other
entertainments throughout the county, and those are printed in the County section in chronological
order.
Q/SR 2 1607-8 Weston Zoyland, Yeovil, County. See also Q/SR 37, pt 2.
Q/SR 4 1608 East Harptree
Q/SR 7 1609 Stoke St Michael
Q/SR 8 1609 Taunton. The item excerpted is a paper sheet, originally separate, now pasted into the
book along with others.
Q/SR 11 1610-11 Bicknoller
Q/SR 13 1612 County
Q/SR 18 1613-14 Ilminster
Q/SR 21 1614-15 Charlton Horethorne
Q/SR 24, pt 2 c 1615 Langport
Q/SR 25 1616 Cameley, Nunney
Q/SR 27, pt 1 1617 Glastonbury; High Littleton
Q/SR 29 1617-18 East Coker
Q/SR 36 1620 East Brent
Q/SR 37, pt 2 1607-8 Ilchester, Ilton. The excerpted presentment originally formed part ofQ/SR 2
and was transferred to this roll at some time after the original items were numbered. It is now item
101A.
Q/SR38 1620-1 East Brent, Locking, West Hatch
Q/SR 41, pt 1 1621-2 Trent
Q/SR 42, pt 1 1622-3 Frome, Somerton
Q/SR 43, pt 1 1623 Huntspill
Q/SR 46 1623-4 County
510 THE DOCUMENTS
QISR 47 1624 County
QISR 55 1625 Castle Cary
QISR 58, pt 2 1626-7 Ilton
Q/SR 59 1627 Somerton
Q/SR 61, pt 1 1628-9 County
Q/SR 65, pt 2 1630-1 Keynsham
Q/SR 70 1633-4 Burnham, Wells
QISR 75 1636-7 Frome, LongAshton
QISR76, pt 1 1636-7 Merriott
QISR 76, pt 2 1636-7 Congresbury, Mark
Q/SR 86, pt 2 1652/3-3 Bruton, Ditcheat (Appendix 3)
INDICTMENT ROLLS
The indictment rolls include 'indictments or true bills, presentments by the constables of the
hundreds, and ignoramus (bills of indictments so endorsed to stop proceedings because of lack
of evidence)' plus some 'recognizances, presentments at Assizes, informations and examina-
tions. '7 The indictments are scrawled on small strips of deteriorating parchment in heavily ab-
breviated and fading Latin, making them extremely difficult to read. They contain many
references to play, games, illegal and riotous assembly, and church ales but few of the references
include details clarifi/ing whether these activities involved only dicing, cards, and sports or
musical and/or dramatic entertainments as well. Only those which clearly incorporated the
latter have been included. Most notably, the indictment rolls produced a number of previously
unknown references to bullbaitings and bearbaitings between 1597 and 1613. The indictment
rolls in our period run from 1602 to 1644; forty volumes (actually fifty-three because some
were in two parts) from 1602 to 1619 were searched but they yielded only one entry after
1613, the year in which bullbaitings and bearbaitings ceased to appear.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, QISI 1-40; 1571, 1593-5, 1597-8, 1602-19; Latin and some
English; parchment plus some paper; average number of leaves, 100 (smallest number is 50 in Q/S127,
pt 2, and largest is 174 in Q/SI 7); various sizes (the largest 210ram x 390ram, the smallest 50ram x
100mm); modern foliation; leaves repaired and bound into volumes with identical hard blue covers
250ram x 480ram.
The volumes from wb.ich extracts were taken are listed below, with the locations where the activities
occurred.
Q/SI 4 1597-80dcombe
Q/SI 6, pt 1 1602 Milverton, North Curry, Stoke St Gregory, West Hatch
Q/SI 7 1602-3 Enmore, Fiddington, Ilton, Isle Brewers, Mark, Midsomer Norton, Milverton, North
Curry, Spaxton, Stogumber, Stogursey, Stoke St Gregory
Q/SI 8 1603-4 East Pennard, Halse
Q/SI 10, pt 1 1604-5 Spaxton
Q/SI 11, pt I 1605-6 Ilminster
QISI 13, pt i 1606-7 Iiton
THE DOCUMENTS 515
St John's Hospital Accounts
St John's Hospital was a charitable institution administered, during the period covered by the
accounts, by the city. The Hospital Accounts were read before the mayor on or about the date
for reading the Chamberlains' Accounts; eg, on 1 June 1577 the mayor heard St John's Hos-
pital Account No. 6, and on 5 June 1577, the Chamberlains' Account. The city council also
had the power to hire and dismiss the master of the hospital. '
As with the Chamberlains' Accounts, the Hospital Accounts axe divided into sections and
each section is separately totalled. Grand totals of expenditure and receipts appear at the foot
of the roll. Expenditures appear under headings, such as repairs to the hospital and to its build-
ings, and rents not returned. Income is listed under rents received. Only No. 6 (1576-7) has
a gifts and rewards section.
Bath, Bath Record Office, SJ Nos. 2-106; 1577-1661; English; parchment; 1 or 2 membranes, serially
attached; 567mm x 279mm (text area 551ram x 271mm); written on one side continuously in single
columns; no decoration; no modern wrapping.
Some of the membranes are rolled inside, or attached to, Chamberlains' Accounts of the same year.
Occasionally Hospital Accounts are numbered separately from the Chamberlains' Accounts but others
lack separate numbers.
Parish Records
St Michael's Churchwardens' Accounts
As with the Chamberlains' Accounts, the accounting year of St Michael's parish varied, though
not as radically. Most rolls giving month and day name the feast of the Eleven Thousand Vir-
gins (21 October) or the Sunday following that feast; exceptions are rolls 21-6 (D/P/ba.mi.
4/1/2, 1427-39), which are dated the feast of St Michael (29 September). The quarterly pay-
ment days seem to have been the same as in the Chamberlains' Accounts. '
Two series of numbers occur on the Churchwardens' Accounts. At the head of most rolls
are numbers in a later hand or hands bearing no relation to the chronology of the rolls. A dif-
ferent late hand, however, has written numbers in a correct chronological order on the bottom
front of the last membrane of each roll. The dates given on certain rolls present difficulties.
Dating problems affecting the rolls excerpted for this edition are discussed in the Endnotes
(pp 868-70 if).
The contents of the Churchwardens' Accounts are fairly consistent. Except for SRO: D/P/ba.mi.
4/1/5, roll 59 (a rental), all rolls are divided into sections, with a subtotal at the bottom of
each. At the foot of each roll is a grand total, often with the names of the next year's church-
wardens and a list of church goods. Income was recorded under headings including rents of
assize, or fixed rents; new rents; moneys received (usually for renting or selling church goods);
obits and anniversaries; and donations, usually from wills. Expenses were listed under headings
including arrears from the previous account; rents in arrear; expenses, usually from repairs to
THE DOCUMENTS
517
older (original?) ink foliation on a few leaves only; ff69v and 70 blank; no decoration; very good condi-
tion (some slight modern repair to endleaf, f85, and some staining (by water?) of final leaves); Bodlcian
binding in leather over boards, with title in gold on spine.
William Turner, The Natures and Properties of the Bathes
A Booke of the natures and I properties/as well of the bathes in England as of I other bathes in Germany
and Italy/very necessary for I all seik persones that can not be healed without the I helpe of natural
bathes/gathered by I William Turner Doctor I ofPhysik: I [printer's device] I Imprinted at Collen by
Arnold Birckman/I in the yeare of our Lorde. I M. D. LXIX. sr.. 24366 part 2.
Letter of Philip Henslowe to Edward Alleyn
London, Dulwich College, Ms 1; 14 August 1593; English; paper; bifolium; 305mm x 205ram; endorsed
'To my weal beloved Sonne Edward allen one of my lord Stranges players this be delyuered with spead.'
Bound as item 13 (ff 16-17) in a collection of various letters and papers known as 'The Theatre Papers.'
Bill of Complaint in Perman et al v. Bromley et al
London, Public Record Office, STAC 81237/26 item [1]; 8 November 1614; English; parchment; single
membrane; 475mm x 515mm; good condition; subscribed 'Robert Wyseman'; endorsed with date in
Latin and 'Harker.'
His Maiesties Demands to the honourable House of Parliament
This Civil War news pamphlet contains a somewhat ironic description of the languishing state
of Bath after the breach between King Charles and the parliamentarians.
HIS I MAJESTIES I Demands to the honourable I House of l PARLIAMENT, I Also I Certaine Intel-
ligences I From l/Trutmre, Marlborough, Bathe. I TOUCHING I The execution of the Militia. I With
their number of trained Bands and vo- I luntiers under the command ofCaptaine I Digges and Captainc
Danie/l. I The unlawfull Commission of Aray, I executed by the Marques of Hartford l and the Lord
Seymor. I With the rude behaveour of the Caveliers. I Also the Parliaments Declaration. Iohn Browne Clef.
Pad I Lona( Pn'ntedforlohn lonson. Iu28. 1642.4to. Proper names in italics throughout. Wing: C2296.
BATHAMPTON
Bishop's Court Deposition Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DIDICd 34; 1602-6; English and Latin; paper; approximately 300
leaves; 305mm x 205mm (text area variable); unnumbered; volume of paper booklets; generally good
condition; original binding, parchment cover, badly deteriorated, titled: 'Ex Officio Liber depositionum
testium.'
This book also yielded a case for Norton St Philip.
THE DOCUMENTS 527
except some flourished capitals in headings; paper booklets sewn together, in original vellum bindings
protected by heavy boards tied with string.
This book also yielded cases for Chew Magna and Glastonbury.
CAMELEY
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sgo: Q/SR 25.
Ex Officio Act Book
See Ditcheat (p 533) for sgo: D/D/Ca 231.
Compert Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 267; 1629; English and Latin; paper;, 182 + iii; 319mm x
220mm (average text area 280mm x 194mm); unnumbered; 7 paper booklets sewn together into a
single volume; good condition (original parchment binding coming loose from spine); title: '1629 I
Axbridge I Carie I Frome I Glaston I Ilchester I Merston I Paulett I Wells.'
CASTLE CARY
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (pp 509-10) for sgo: Q/SR 55.
CATCOTT
F.x Officio Act Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 123; 1600-1; English and Latin; paper; 351 leaves; 302ram
x 198mm (average text area 283mm x 196mm); foliation probably contemporary; fragile condition;
original vellum binding, wrapped in light blue wrapper and light brown paper, protected by heavy
boards tied with string.
This book also yielded cases for Croscombe and Sampford Brett.
Compert Book for Bishop's Peculiar
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 233; 1622-33; English and Latin; paper; i + 204 + i; 310mm
x 189mm (average text area 250mm x 130mm); unnumbered; 5 paper booklets sewn together into a
single volume; good condition; original parchment binding, title: 'comperta infra Peculiarem I Iurisdic-
tionem Episcopi I Indpienda 1622 et Terminanda 1633.'
528
CHARD
TIIE DOCUMENTS
Corporation Old Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/B/ch 11/HI; 1601-95; English; paper; 213 leaves; 293mm x
200ram; contemporary foliation, skipping some inserted leaves; a series of irregular loose gatherings
with loose sheets interspersed. The unbound volume contains borough presentments 1601-32, port-
reeves' accounts 1613-44 (with gaps) and 1664-95 (broken series), mayor's accounts 1649-63, and
notes on other borough activities. An undated letter (early 20th century?) now at the beginning sug-
gests that the loose leaves were added with a view to rebinding but the unbound book was afterwards
disarranged.
Wiltshire Quarter Sessions Examination
John Plumber, a ballad-singer, was examined by Wfltshire jps about his movements, in connection
with a theft. His evidence is included here because his home parish was Chard in Somerset.
Trowbridge, Wiltshire Record Office, A 1 ! 110/1621 H; 19 October 1620; English; paper; single sheet;
250mm x 170mm; now mounted as item 184 in a guardbook comprising papers of the particular session.
CHARLTON HORETHORNE
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sRo: Q/SR 21.
CHARLTON MUSGROVE
St Stephen's Churchwardens'Accounts
Taun ton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/ch.mu. 4/1 / 1; 1584-1649; English; paper; 58 leaves (some single,
some bifolia); 305ram x 200mm (text area variable); unnumbered; some deteriorated leaves, many blank
leaves (1586-7, 1588-90, and 1593-5 accounts missing); no binding or cover.
CHELVEY
The record of the Star Chamber suit Gorges v. Davis, concerning performance of scandal-
ous rhymes and libels, survives in the Public Record Office as a bundle of four original docu-
ments - three single membranes and one paper booklet, now stitched together and foliated
continuously. The items excerpted are here identified and numbered separately for clarity.
THE DOCUMENTS 529
Bill of Complaint in Gorges v. Davis
London, Public Record Office, STAC 8/160/17 item [4]; 28 November 1605; English; parchment;
single membrane; 545mm x 750mm; endorsed with date and 'Will/am Mill/.' Foliated '7.'
Interrogatories in Gorges v. Davis
London, Public Record Office, STAC 8/160/17 item [2]; 3 February 160516; English; prchment; single
membrane; 425mm x 323mm; poor condition, eaten away in places; subscribed below date by Thomas
Mynatt. Foliated '5.'
Examinations in Gorges v. Davis
London, Public Record Office, STAC 8/160/17 item [1]; 8 February 160516; English; paper;, 6 leaves;
330mm x 210mm; foliated 1-3 (+ 2 unnumbered blank leaves), 4 (also blank). Depositions by Hugh
Davis and John Tiler ae induded.
CHEW MAGNA
Ex Officio Act Book
See Butcombe (pp 526-7) for SRO: D/D/Ca 97.
CHEWTON MENDIP
Compert Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 25; 1555-6; English and Latin; 124 leaves; 298mm x 205mm
(text rea 203mm x 192ram); modern foliation; no decoration except some flourished capitals in head-
ings; paper repaired with silk lisse in 1961; unbound leaves interfolded and enclosed in a grey folder,
within heavy boards tied with string.
Quarter Sessions Indictments
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (pp 510-1) for SRO: Q/SI 16.
CH ILTON TRINITY
Quarter Sessions Indictments
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (pp 510-11) for SRO: Q/SI 16.
532 THE DOCUMENTS
house, retired bishop of Ndson, New Zealand, of original accounts formerly kept in the parish
chest at Croscombe but now lost. The originals were described by Hobhouse as a paper book
of 122 surviving pages, containing accounts from 1475 through 1548, earlier and later accounts
having been lost; they were a volume 'much dogs' eared, with a tattered remnant of its leath-
ern binding,' suffering 'spoliation' which had set in with the 1548 entries. 16 The date of the
first account has been lost through damage but internal evidence reported by Hobhouse es-
tablishes that it was rendered in January 1475/6. Hobhouse preserved the volume's modern
pagination and appears to have retained original spellings but otherwise modernized his text.
Beginning in 1513-14 he gave truncated versions of some entries, enclosing these summaries
in square brackets, and omitted other entries that he considered redundant. Throughout his
text he also inserted glosses of obsolete words and identifications of persons mentioned.
The Croscombe accounts were usually presented in early to mid-January, most often on the
first or second Saturday after Epiphany. The outgoing churchwardens then settled accounts
with various parish groups, presented their own bill of expenses, and reported other business
before the new wardens were chosen. The year and date given in the headings reported by Hob-
house thus mark the end of one account and the opening of the next. He seems to have mis-
understood the common statement that the account presented on a given date was for the year
past and the dates he assigned to the periods thus accounted for appear to be offby a year.
These accounts resemble modern summaries of account: individual receipts and payments must
have been recorded either by the parish groups in their accounts or by the wardens in their
bills, none of which survive. So there are no indications of the time of year at which most of
the parish's activities took place. In a few cases the exact accounting period could not be deter-
mined. For the first two accounts, this confusion results from the missing date of presentation
in the first account. Other cases are caused by the rare occasions on which Hobhouse recorded
only the month of the presentation (January) and not also the day.
Besides proceeds of king's revds, Robin Hood observances, and wives' dancing, the accounts
record proceeds from hoggling not demonstrably linked to entertainment. These are printed
and discussed in Appendix 4.
Hobhouse, Edmund (ed), Church-wardens'Accounts of Croscombe, Pilton, Yatton, 7;ntinhul Morebath,
and St. Michad's, Bath, Rangingom A.D. 1349to 1560, sus, vol 4 (np, 1890), 1-48.
Chapter Act Book H
See Axbridge (p 511) for Wells Cathedral Library.
Ex Officio Act Books
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 154; 1607-8; English and Ladn; paper; c 115 leaves (leaves
too fragile to coun0; 302ram x 195mm (average text area 280ram x 125ram); contemporary foliation
beginning in the 200s and extending into the 300s; 4 broken sections, probably a continuation of
D/D/Ca 155 and continued in turn in D/D/Ca 156A, and originally forming a single volume with them;
poor condition, not fit for extensive handling; original binding lost.
THE DOCUMENTS 533
See Catcott (p 527) for sRo: D/D/Ca 123.
CUCKLINGTON
Ex Officio Act Book
See Ashcott (p 511) for sRo: D/D/Ca 163.
DITCHEAT
Ex Officio Act Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 231; 1620-1; English and Latin; paper; i + 282; 31 lmm x
183ram (average text area 276mm x 140mm); original foliation 1-326, parts missing; 7 paper booklets
sewn together into a single volume; good condition; original parchment binding, title: 'Wellensis &
BathonieArchidiaconatus Glaston' lurisdict" (rest illegible).
This book also yielded cases for Cameley, East Brent, East Pennard, and High Littleton.
Bishop's Court Deposition Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Cd 78; 1633-7; English and Ladn; paper; 46 leaves; 320mm x
200mm (average text area 295mm x 150ram); unnumbered; in poor condition, binding thread largely
perished, leaves brittle and partly eaten away at bottom edge; original parchment cover, title on front:
'Deposiciones ex officio I Archiepiscopi I Visitatio I 1634.'
This book also yielded a case for Wells.
DONYATT
Compert Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 134; 1603; English and Latin; paper; 199 leaves; 307mm x
197mm (average text area 282mm x 193mm); unnumbered (f [99] an odd leaf folded lengthwise and
f [186] folded in, both unbound); no decoration except some flourished capitals in headings; protecte.
by heavy boards tied with string. The excerpt comes from a loose sheet of charges between ff [43] and
[44]; for dating see endnote (p 899).
This book also yielded a case for Queen Charlton.
DOWLISHWAKE
Bishop's Court Deposition Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Cd 131; 1633-75; English and Latin; paper; approximately
300 leaves; 315mm x 200ram (text area variable); unnumbered; too fragile for extensive handling (some
extremely fragile parts unavailable for examination). This is a large collection of loose depositions, sorted
THE DOCUMENTS 535
EAST BRENT
Ex Officio Act Books
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 171; 1612; English and Latin; paper; 390 leaves; 312mm
x 199mm (average text area 270mm x 140ram); original foliation 1-414, parts missing; 8 paper book-
lets sewn together into a single volume; good condition overall but first and last sections defective;
original parchment binding, title illegible.
See also Bath (p 516) for sRo: D/D/Ca 330 and Ditcheat (p 533) for sRo: D/D/Ca 231.
Qlulrter Sessions Rolls
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for silo: Q/SR 36 and Q/SR 38.
EAST COKER
Bill of Complaint in Buckland v. Pennye et al
The record of this Star Chamber case, involving cockfighting and fencing in East Coker Chapel,
comprises ten original documents now tied together in a single bundle in the Public Record
Office. The items excerpted are here described and numbered separately for clarity.
London, Public Record Office, STAC 8/49/8 item 10; 30 April 1616; English; parchment; single mem-
brane; 480ram x 723mm; good condition except for diagonal tear at top centre, running through the
heading, another tear on the left side mended with a parchment strip, and loss of bottom left corner
with a few words of text; endorsed with date and 'I harker' and in top right corner 'Buckland versus
Masters ( .... ) 14 Iacobi.'
Interrogatories in Buckland v. Pennye et al
London, Public Record Office, STAC 8/49/8 item 6; before 24 May 1616; English; parchment; single
membrane; 425mm x 305mm; subscribed 'Holway/Bristowe.'
Examination in Buckland v. Pennye et al
London, Public Record Office, STAC 8/49/8 items 7 and 8; 24 May 1616; English; parchment;, 2 mem-
branes; 560mm x 300ram; mb [2] subscribed 'Holway/Bristowe' and endorsed '(...) brought in by Iohn
Roache (signed)lad Hacker.'
Report of Bishop of Bath and Wells on East Coker Chapel
London, Public Record Office, SP 16/535; 24 December 1634; English; paper; 2 bifolia making a small
536 THE DOCUMENTS
booklet of 4 leaves, then folded in four for delivery and endorsed; 300mm x 185mm. Bound as ff22-5
in large guardbook covered in red morocco with darker morocco corners and spine, title stamped on
spine in gold lettering: 'STATE PAPERS DOMESTIC I CHARLES I I 535o'
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sRo: Q/SR 29.
EAST CRANMORE
Officio Act Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 232; 1622-4; English and Latin; paper; vi + 243 + iii;
314ram x 176mm (average text area 290mm x 140ram); original foliation 1-241 (ignoring 2 fragmen-
tary original leaves at end); 5 paper booklets and 10 now single leaves (ff37-46) sewn together into a
single volume; leaves extensively repaired and strengthened and volume rebound; original binding lost.
This book also yielded a case for Sutton Mallet.
EAST HARPTREE
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sRo: Q/SR 4.
EAST PENNARD
Quarter Sessions Indictments
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 510) for sao: Q/SI 8.
Ex Officio Act Book
See Ditcheat (p 533) for sRo: D/D/Ca 231.
ENGLISHCOMBE
Ex Officio Act Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 85; 1588-90; English and Latin; paper; i + 270; 309mm x
205mm (average text area 230mm x 192mm); contemporary foliation to f43; no decoration except
some flourished capitals; fragile condition; booklets sewn together, protected by original vellum binding
and enclosed in heavy white folder protected by heavy boards tied with string.
This book also yielded a case for Priston.
THE DOCUMENTS 539
the left edge nearly half the width; subscribed 'Thomas Hocldnson' and endorsed with date and
'Richardum Nicho//is This Bill was Receyved the daye and yeare abouesaid perme Pdcharetam
Deladonne Vid Clericum Magistri Mill Clef Cons.'
Bill of Complaint in Best v. Traske
London, Public Record Office, STAC 8/61/27; 13 December 1608; English; parchment; single mem-
brane; 432mm x 575mm; subscribed 'Charles Best' and endorsed with date and 'Edward Iones.'
GLASTONBURY
For purposes of description the Glastonbury records are subdivided into Parish Records, Monas-
tic Records, Ecclesiastical Court Records, Quarter Sessions Records, and Miscellaneous Records.
Parish Records
St John the Baptist's Churchwardens' Accounts
The original accounts range between 1366-7 and 1625-6 but many are missing or fragmen-
tar), and others are badly damaged in places. They were transcribed and printed by Daniel in
'Churchwardens' Accounts, St John's Glastonbury,' who seems to have been able to read parts
of the rolls that are now illegible and in those places his readings are reported in footnotes or
endnotes. Since the headings of many accounts are damaged and were so already when Daniel
transcribed them, the accounting year cannot always be determined. However, the account for
1421-2 ran from one All Souls' Day (2 November) to the next and the other earliest accounts
may have followed the same practice. The account for 1439-40 ran from Michaelmas to
Michaelmas, as did all later accounts with fully legible headings, suggesting that that was the
fixed custom from the 1430s onwards.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/gla.j. 4/1/7; 1428-9; Latin; parchment; single membrane;
695mm x 195mm (text area 675mm x 190ram); part of account and summary of expenses on dorse;
upper left comer and part of heading obscured.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/gla.j. 4/1/35; 1500-1; Latin; parchment; 3 membranes, serially
attached; mb 1: 365mm x 220mm, mb 2: 545mm x 220mm, mb 3: 305mm x 220mm (average text
width 185mm); mutilated. The first membrane lacks a heading but is datable by a reference to the trans-
fer of a cottage after the death of William Jenyco (Genyco); Jenyco's will (PRo: PROB 11/12, f 79) was
made 27 July 1500 and proved 6 October 1500.
Monastic Records
Tradition ascribed the founding of the church at Glastonbury to St Joseph of Arimathea and
there is some evidence for a monastery in the seventh and eighth centuries. The continuous
THE DOCUMENTS 543
headings; paper booklets originally sewn together, reinforced by leather thongs (now broken); extremely
fragile; wrapped in thin paper, protected by heavy boards in original vellum cover.
This book also yielded a case for Luccombe.
HUNTSPILL
Ex Officio Act Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 203; 1618; English and Latin; paper; 264 leaves; 307ram x
195mm (average text area 290mm x 180mm); original foliation 16-275; opening leaves missing; 6 sur-
viving paper booklets sewn together into single volume; condition of back section poor, otherwise good;
original parchment binding badly deteriorated, title gone.
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sao: Q/SR 43, pt 1.
HUTTON
Quarter Sessions Order Book
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 508) for silo: Q/SO 2.
ILCHESTER
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sao: Q/SR 37, pt 2.
ILMINSTER
Quarter Sessions Indictments
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 510) for sao: Q/SI 11, pt 1.
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sao: Q/SR 18.
ILTON
Quarter Sessions Indictments
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 510) for sRo: Q/SI 7 and Q/SI 13, pt 1.
THE DOCOMENTS 545
Taunton, Somerset Record Offioe, D/P/keyn 4/1/1; 1625-7; English; paper; single sheet;, 300ram x 190mm
(text area 275mm x 155ram); part of the right side eaten away.
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (pp 509-10) for so: Q/SR 65, pt 2.
LANGPORT
Ex Officio Act Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Offioe, DIDICa 169; 1611-12; English and Latin; paper; 248 leaves; 314ram x
201ram (average text area 307ram x 195ram); original foliation; no decoration except some flourished
capitals in headings; paper booklets sewn together with string in original vellum binding, protected by
heavy boards wrapped with string.
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for so: Q/SR 24, pt 2.
LAVERTON
Ex Officio Act Book
See Bath (p 516) for sao: D/D/Ca 155.
LEIGH UPON MENDIP
Ex Officio Act Book
See Frome (p 538) for so: D/D/Ca 240.
LITTON
Bishop's Court Deposition Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Cd 18; 1594-5; English and Latin; paper; vii + 260:310mm x
200mm (average text area 265mm x 150mm); modern foliation; fair condition; sewn paper booklets,
bound with leather strips and spine, cover deteriorated and blackened, no title surviving.
546 THE DOCUMENTS
LOCKING
Compert Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 177; 1612; English and Latin; paper; 173 leaves; 303ram x
190rnm (average text area 218 mm x 175ram); contemporary foliation; no decoration except some flour-
ished capitals; paper booklets sewn together in original vellum binding, protected by heavy boards tied
with string.
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for SRO: Q/SR 38.
LONG ASHTON
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (pp 509-10) for SRO: Q/SR 75.
LUCCOMBE
Ex Officio Act Book
See Holford (pp 542-3) for SRO: D/D/Ca 80.
Quarter Sessions Indictments
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 510) for SRO: Q/SI 7.
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (pp 509-10) for SRO: Q/SR 76, pt 2.
MELLS
Ex Officio Act Book
See Brompton Regis (p 526) for SRO: D/D/Ca 138.
THE DOCUMENTS 5 51
Quarter Sessions Indictments
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 510) for sao: Q/SI 6, pt 1 and Q/SI 7.
NORTH WOOTTON
Act Book for Precentor "s Peculiar
Taunton, Somerset Record Oce, D/D/Ca 162A; 1609-16; English and Latin; paper; i + 193 (2 leaves
apparently missing); 312mm x 185mm (average text area 230mm x 120mm); original foliation 1-195;
6 paper booklets sewn together into a single volume; good condition; original parchment binding, rifle:
'Pulton LiberC 1609 1 16101 1611 I 1612 1 1613 1 1614 1 1615 1616.'
This book also yielded a case for Pilton.
NORTON ST PHILIP
Bishop's Court Deposition Book
See Bathampton (p 517) for sao: D/D/Cd 34.
NORTON SUB HAMDON
Will of William Case
William Case, gentleman, of South Petherton and Norton sub Hamdon had been at-tainted
by Richard m in 1484 for helping to lead Buckingham's rebellion in Wiltshire but returned
with Henry Tudor as a trusted follower who was amply rewarded after the battle of Bosworth
Field. He was usher of the chamber to Henry vii, escheator in Somerset, 1485-6, jp from
1485 until his death, and member of parliament for Somerset in 1491-2. He left a wife, two
unmarried daughters by her, and two bastard sons. He leased a messuage and one hundred
acres of land, meadow, and pasture in South Petherton belonging to Giles, Lord Daubeney,
and other properties in Seo and Ilminster. His will, survives, with many others from the same
period, in a probate register in the Public Record Office.
London, Public Record Oce, PROB 11/10; 14 June 1494; English and Latin; paper;, 271 leaves; 405mm x
320mm; modem stamped foliation (followed here) plus traces of older foliation in ink and more recent
pencil; ornamental capitals at beginnings of wills and statements of probate; remains of old binding,
possibly original; now bound in pro binding of tan cloth over boards.
NUNNEY
Bills of Complaint in Best v. Frowd et al and Best v. Traske
See Frome (pp 538-9).
THE DOCUMENTS 553
190ram (average text area 285mm x 140mm); unnumbered; sewn booklets; unbound and incomplete
at front and back but original stitching and wood bars survive.
PAWLETT
Ex Offido and Instance Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 78; 1587-8; Latin; paper; booklet 1:41 leaves, booklet 2:
17 leaves; 306mm x 203mm (average text area 185mm x 195mm); unnumbered; no decoration except
some flourished capitals in headings; each booklet was originally sewn, but thread has vanished and leaves
are becoming detached, both protected by heavy boards tied together with string (booklet 2 wrapped
in light paper).
PENSELWOOD
Ex Officio Act Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 226; 1622-3; English and Latin; paper; 252 leaves; 306mm x
193mm (average text area 280mm x 163mm); original foliation 1-283; parts missing; 6 paper book-
lets sewn into a single volume; poor condition but usable; original parchment binding badly damaged,
tide missing.
Bishop's Court Deposition Book
See Dulcote (p 534) for SRO: D/D/Cd 58.
Ex Officio Act Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 234; 1623; English and Latin; paper; i + 237; 310mm x
189mm (average text area 160mm x 136mm); original foliation 1-290, with gaps; 6 paper booklets
sewn into a single volume; good condition; original parchment binding, title: 'Liber actorum ex officio
infra archidiaconatum Wellens/s Bathonensis et jurisdictionem Glaston' indp' 29 Aprilis 1623 et terminan'
4 Novembris eodem anno.'
PENSFORD
Bishop's Court Deposition Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/CA 44; 1610-12; English and Latin; paper; 254 leaves; 310mm x
205ram (text area variable); unnumbered; originally a volume of sewn paper booklets, now in 2 parts
(no longer wholly in chronological order); fragile condition, pages missing at front and back of volume,
some edges deteriorated; original string and wood binding in poor condition.
This book also yielded a case for Wells.
THE DOCUMENTS 559
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sRo: Q/SR 8.
THORN COFFIN
Compert Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 236; 1623; English and Latin; paper; i + 182; 301mm x
175mm (average text area 280mm x 147mm); unnumbered; 6 paper booklets sewn into a single vol-
ume; good condition; original parchment binding, title: 'comperta Archidiaconatusl WellensLr I 1623.'
THORNFALCON
Compert Book for Archbishop's Visitation
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Ca 180; 1613; English and Latin; paper; 323 leaves; 303mm x
205mm (average text area 268mm x 192mm); unnumbered; no decoration except some flourished
capitals in headings; paper booklets sewn together with string in vellum binding, protected by heavy
boards tied with string.
TINTINHULL
St Margaret's Churchwardens'Accounts
In 1444-5 Tintinhull's accounting year began and ended at St Margaret's Day, 20 July, the
patronal feast of the church, but by 1465-6 the parish had adopted the Michaelmas-to-Michael-
mas accounting year. The account for 1512-13, however, ran from one Passion Sunday to the
next.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/tin 4/1/1; 1433-1612; Latin and English; paper; iv + 128 + ii;
300mm x 200mm (text area variable); modem pagination 1-256 (old numbers at the tops of pages are
no longer consecutive); some scribal doodling in the margins; several volumes of accounts, extensively
repaired and bound as one in 1971, modern board covers.
A second volume, D/P/tin 4/1/2, 1613-78, contained no entries for entertainment.
TRENT
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sRo: Q/SR 41, pt 1.
564 THE DOCUMENTS
rust-coloured suede similar to that used on Wells corporation documents rebound in the 19th c., tide
on spine: 'Statuta Ecclesiae Cadwdralis Wellenis.' The Ms is a fragment of an earlier volume from which
only statutes, rules, and procedures survive.
Wells Cathedral Statutes
London, Lambeth Palace Library, Ms 729; 1634; Latin; parchment; i + 57; 284mm x 210mm (text
area 223mm x 156mm); contemporary ink pagination, extending to rear pastedown; original blind-
tooled leather binding, tide on spine: 'STATUTA CATHEDRALIS WELLENSISCODEX TENISON
729.'
Cathedral Communars' Account Rolls
The earliest communars' accounts have been published in translation by Colchester in
Cathedral." Communars'Accounts 1327-1600. Besides the rolls described below, two addition-
al sets ofcommunars' accounts were searched. A run of twenty rough accounts between 1545
and 1592 in paper books (except 1547-8, 1557-8, 1563-4, and 1587-8, which are parch-
ment) produced no references to entertainment. A second run in paper books contained ten
accounts between 1602 and 1642 but again none referred to entertainment.
Wells, Wells Cathedral Library; 1327-1538; Latin; parchment; rolls range from 2 to 5 membranes se-
rially attached (1428-9 is two 3-membrane rolls attached to each other at top); average size 550mm-
760mm x 230mm-290mm; written continuously in single columns on both sides (writing on dorse
usually begins top of first membrane in roll); deterioration to 1417-18 dorse left margin, 1418-19 dorse
right margin, 1473-4 left margin, and 1504-5 mb 1. Excerpts taken from all 31 rolls (incomplete
run) in the collection; the roils are not individually numbered.
Cathedral Escheators' Account Rolls
The escheators' accounts, like the communars', ran from Michaelmas to Michaelmas. The boy
bishop payment usually occurs in the distribution of obits section for the first, or Michaelmas,
term. Two volumes by L.S. Colchester, Wells Cathedral: Escheators'Accounts 1369-1600, Parts
1 andZ contain accounts in translation. The Cathedral Library also contains a copy of tran-
scriptions made about 1900 by W.E. Daniel.
Wells, Wells Cathedral Library; 1372-1634; Latin; parchment (except for 1494-5, 1553-4, 1558-9,
1561-2, 1584-5, paper); rolls range from 2 to 4 membranes (except 1518-19 at 5 membranes and
1560-1, 1564-5, and 1600-1 at 1 membrane); serially attached membranes vary between 550mm-820mm
x 230mm-290mm; written continuously in single columns, writing on dotse begins on reverse of last
membrane. Incomplete run of 50 rolls not individually numbered.
Cathedral Fabric Account Rolls
On the cathedral fabric accounts, see L.S. Colchester, We/ Cathedrak Fabric Accounts 1390-1600
574 TIlE DOCUMENTS
WEST PENNARD
Ex Ofcio Act Books
Taunton, Somerset Rcord Office, DIDICa 302; 1634-5; English and Latin; paper; ii + 93 + i; 31 lmm x
197ram (average text area 290ram x 180ram); original foliation 1-85; 8 paper booklets sewn into a
single volume; fair condition, back section poor; original parchment binding, internal binding in front
includes strip from illuminated us, title: 'Ex officio I Libellus I 12'1 1633' I 1634 1 1635.'
See Bawdrip (p 518) for SRO: DID/Ca 73.
Bishops Court Deposition Book
Taunton, Somerset Rcord Office, DID/Cd 21; 1586-7; English and Latin; paper; approximately 250
leaves; 290mm x 190mm (text area variable); unnumbered; extremely fragile and in fragments (not
available for extensive handling); fragmentary original parchment cover, now kept between boards tied
with string.
WHITCHURCH
Draft Ex Officio Act Book
See Westbury (p 573) for sRo: D/D/Ca 135.
WINCANTON
Bishop's Cour Deposition Book
Taunton, Somerset Rcord Office, D/DICd 64; 1629; English and Latin; paper; 90 leaves; 305mm x
205mm (text area 260mm x 145mm); unnumbered; paper booklet stitched to a back cover, front cover
missing. The whole booklet concerns a Wincanton pew dispute; the final two depositions are out of
sequence, belonging at the front.
WINSCOMBE
Ex Officio Act Books
See Bath (p 516) for sao: D/D/Ca 155 and West Bradley (pp 572-3) for sao: D/DICa 283.
WINSHAM
Bill of Complaint in Collins v. Staple
This Star Chamber libel case survives in the Public Record Office in a bundle comprising two
THE DOCUMENTS 577
YATTON
St Mary's Churchwardens'Accounts
These accounts are fair copies, written some time after the original rough accounts were cast,
but they are the oldest versions now surviving. The dating problems presented by particular
accounts are discussed below in Editorial Procedures and in the endnotes.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/yat 4/1 / 1; 1448-1521 ; English; paper; 382 leaves; 320mm x
110mm (text area 265mm x 190mm, each column 80mm wide); modern pagination, some versos un-
numbered but included in the count; sewn paper book, cover is a folded sheet of heavy parchment.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DlPlyat4/1/2; 1522-39; English; paper; 174 leaves; 320mm x 110mm
(text area 265mm x 190mm, each column 80mm wide); modern pagination; sewn paper book, parch-
ment cover from illuminated music codex.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/yat 4/1/3; 1540-60; English; paper; 112 leaves; average size
320mm x 210mm (pp 1-10 and 105-10 are 260mm x 200mm (text area 240mm x 170mm)); mod-
em pagination; leaf tom out between pp 10-11, pp 48-53 (blanks) have a note saying that an account
[ 1550?] was cut out in 1551; sewn book in parchment cover from illuminated music codex.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/yat 4/1/4; 1582-1601 ; English; paper; 119 leaves; 310mm x
200mm (text area 225mm x 190mm); modern pagination; sewn paper book, parchment cover from
illuminated music codex.
YEOVIL
Evidence for entertainment in Yeovil is found in the extant accounts of the parish church, an-
tiquarian transcriptions of further church accounts not now otherwise extant, the Somerset
quarter sessions records, the ecclesiastical court books, and Coryats Crambe. The records are
here sorted accordingly.
Parish Records
St John the Baptist's Churchwardens' Accounts
The surviving original Yeovil churchwardens' accounts are partly in the British Library and
partly in the Somerset Record Office. Another early original account roll was extant in 1836,
when the antiquary John Gough Nichols published a transcription, but cannot now be traced.
A further valuable source for lost or damaged accounts is a transcription made by the eighteenth-
century antiquary Andrew Everton, kept since 15 February 1984 in the Somerset Record
Office. It is used here as a source for accounts no longer extant in the originals and its textual
THE DOCUMENTS 579
Antiquarian Records
John Gough Nichols, the nineteenth-century antiquary, transcribed a Yeovil churchwardens'
account for 1457-8 that is no longer extant in the original. Andrew Everton, an eighteenth-
century Wells antiquary, made a transcription of accounts for 1516-17, 1540-3, 1544-7,
1548-55, 1557-9, 1561-4, 1566-70, 1572-4, 1575-6, 1577-82, 1583-5, and 1587-8,
of which the originals are now lost or deteriorated.
Ac John Gough Nichols (ed), "Account of the Proctors of the Church of Yeovil, Co. Somerset,
36 Hen. Vl. 1457-8,' Collectanea Topographia et Genealogica, vol 3 (London, 1836), 134-41.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/yeo.j. 4/1/6; 1516-88; English; paper; 88 leaves; 405mm x
165mm (unused 35mm rule line left;, text covers entire page); contemporary pagination (also paginated
in same or similar hand, back to front, at bottom of pages); sewn booklets of 7-8 leaves, blank after
p 105 except for notes and jottings on pp 173 to end and on inside covers; prchment and board cover
with heading: 'Copies of some of the old Churchwardens' Accounts for the Parish of Yeovil (made by
M Andrev Everton).'
Quarter Sessions Records
Quarter Sessions Roll
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (p 509) for sRo: Q/SR 2.
Ecclesiastical Court Records
Ex Officio Act Book
See Bath (p 516) for sRo: D/D/Ca 155.
Ex Officio Act Book for Archbishop's Visitation
See Beercrocombe (p 519) for sao: D/D/Ca 252.
Miscellaneous Record
Thomas Coryate, Coryats Crambe
See Odcombe (p 552).
Households
The eleven Somerset families represented in this section are presented alphabetically by the
THE DOCUMENTS 581
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/HI 216; 1641-2; English; paper; 2 sheets; 308mm x 200mm;
unnumbered; top outer edges worn away; written at top and bottom of f [2v]: 'My bro Thomas his
acc0gnt.
LUTTRELL OF DUNSTER CASTLE
Sir Hugh Luttrell was MP for Somerset in the parliament of October 1404. He seems to have
obtained possession of the manor of Dunster and custody of Dunster Castle in February 1404/5.
For transcriptions from the Dunster accounts and excellent background on the Luttrell family
and household see Maxwell Lyte, A History of Dunster and of the Families of Mohun and Lut-
trell; see also his Dunster andits Loreh 1066-1881 (Exeter, 1882) and Documents and Extracts
Illustrating the History of the Honour of Dunster.
Luttrell Household Account Roll
Taunton. Somerset Record Office, DD/L P/37/7; 27 June 1405-27 June 1406; Latin; paper; 13 mem-
branes serially attached; average size 300mm x 420mm (text area 295mm x 410mm for domesdc ex-
penses, 210mm x 430mm for external expenses); generally good condition (some water stains, some
deterioration of outer membranes).
MAY OF CHARTERHOUSE ON MENDIP
Charterhouse on Mendip had been a cell of the Carthusian house at Witham until that house
was dissolved in 1539. In 1544-5 Henry vm granted it to Robert May, and the John May
who hdd it at this time was his descendant. John was sheriff of the county in 1602-3. ' He
was also a Iv and appears as such in Gleason, The Justices of the Peace in England, p 194, where,
however, this John May does not seem to be distinguished from his son and heir of the same
name. Edward Huishe was May's bailiff.
Edward Huishe's Account Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/GB 145; 1592-1614; English; paper; iii + 64 + iii; size varies;
foliated and paginated; ff 1-29 (original accounts): 292mm x 195mm (ff22-7 on repmr paper, 315mm x
195mm), followed by 35 modern lined pages of transcriptions: 325mm x 200mm, 2 unnumbered pages,
33 paginated; repaked originals bound with transcriptions as single volume; original cover (an illumi-
nated medieval concordance) bound in a parchment piece between the transcriptions and original accounts.
PHELIPS OF MONTACUTE
The Phelipses of Montacute were a well established Somerset family by the beginning of the
seventeenth century. Sir Robert's grandmother was a Smyth of Ashton Court; her husband,
582 TIdE DOCUMENTS
Sir Thomas Phelips, was the godfather of Thomas Coryate, the author of Coryats Crambe, and
Sir Robert's father, Sir Edward, was a distinguished jurist who served as a Somerset Iv and
ultimately became master of the rolls. Sir Robert himself served at various times as a Iv for
Somerset, a deputy lieutenant, and sheriffofthe county and was MY for Bath or Somerset in
successive parliaments of James and Charles L He began his career as a severe critic of the
government but became a faidy strong supporter of King Charles and played a prominent part
on the court side in the wakes and revels controversy. The Phelips family papers, now in the
Somerset Record Office, contain an unusual number of items related to national and county
history and several of these will be found described under County of Somerset below.
Nathaniel Tornkyns was the clerk of a council in London that managed various royal prop-
erties, including the manor of Stoke sub Hamdon. He and Phelips corresponded often, using
Spanish nicknames, and were evidently on very intimate terms. His main reason for writing
this letter was to answer Phelips' request for particulars about some men of Stoke sub Hamdon
who had been fined at the last Somerset assizes and had applied to Phelips, as an influential
local magnate, to get the fines reduced. The account of the performance is incidental gossip
inserted in the letter. Tomkyns sat in parliament in 1614 and all through the 1620s. From 1620
on he belonged to the household of Prince Charles and by 1623/4 was clerk of his council.
He was hanged in 1643 for his involvement in an inept royalist conspiracy in London head-
ed by his brother-in-law, the poet Edmund Waller.
Letter of Nathaniel Tomkym to Sir Robert Phelips
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/PH 212; 16 August 1634; English; paper; bifolium; 295mm x
196mm. The document is mounted on a paper strip as item 12 in a brown calfskin guardbook of 57
miscellaneous items (letters, depositions, orders, and a speech of Charles I to parliamen0 tided in gold
on spine: 'PHELIPS I M.S.S. I STATES GENERAL III I VARIOUS.'
PRESTON OF CRICKET ST THOMAS
The Preston papers were inherited by the Hippisleys ofSton Easton and are found in the
Hippisley Collection at the Somerset Record Office. This account is found in a packet of re-
ceipts of John Preston of Cricket St Thomas, jv 1639-40, a militia captain, and sheriffofSom-
erset in 1647; thus it is presumably from the same period. Thomas White cannot be identified
but may have been Preston's servant. The expenses were incurred in London and on a trip
home to Somerset.
Thomas White's Account for John Preston
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/HI 458; c 1628-61; English; paper; single sheet; 320mm x
200mm; right edge and part of sums missing; on dorse: 'Thomas: White his account for London.'
THE DOCUMENTS 583
SMYTH OF ASHTON COURT
The Smyth family were members of the aristocracy with major land holdings in Somerset and
close ties to the Crown. Their rise in status derived from the marriage of Hugh Smyth to
Elizabeth Gorges, daughter of Sir Thomas Gorges of Wraxall, groom of the privy chamber
and keeper of robes, and said to be a favourite of Queen Elizabeth. His daughter was named
for the queen and was one of her god-daughters. Sir Hugh was knighted by James in 1603
and in 1613 Queen Anne of Denmark stayed at his residence during her visit to Bristol.
Hugh Popham was the brother of Alexander Popham (1605-69), of Littlecote, Wiltshire, a
leader of parliamentary military forces in Somerset and an influential puritan in North Som-
erset. Hugh Popham was a captain and the two fought together during the Civil War. Hugh
was killed in 1643 during the battle for Sherborne town and castle. The two were sons of
Sir Francis Popham of Littlecote (1573-1644), himself son of Sir John Popham (?1531-1607)
of Wellington, attorney general under Elizabeth I.
The writer of the first letter was Katherine, wife of Edward, Lord Gorges of Dundalk, of
Longford Castle in Wiltshire. Sir Hugh Smyth's wife, Elizabeth, was Lord Gorges' sister.
Letter of Katherine Gorges to Sir Hugh Smyth
Bristol, Bristol Record Office, AC/C47/3; 7 December 1625; English; paper;, bifolium; 305mm x 191mm;
endorsed 'To the Noble and my most worthy brother Sir Hugh Smyth Knight at his house at Ashton
these be deliuered'; wax seal attached.
Letter of Hugh Popham to Thomas Smyth
Bristol, Bristol lcord Office, 36074(134); 30 May 1641; English; paper;, bifolium; 306mm x 195mm;
endorsed 'To my much honord ffreind Mr Thomas Smyth these. Ashton'; outside sheet used for sums
and other jottings, wax seal attached.
TREVELYAN OF NETTLECOMBE COURT
The Trevelyans of Nettlecombe Court were ancient (from the late fifteenth century) lords of
the manor there. A considerable collection of their family and estate papers survives at the
Somerset Record Office, for which a guide was prepared by Mary Siraut, assistant editor of
the Victoria County History of Somerset. Elkanah Trevelyan matriculated at Oxford on 16 June
1610 and was then recorded to be twenty years old, which would make him seventeen or
eighteen when he wrote this letter. 26 He was then at school, probably at Wellington or else at
Taunton.
Letter of Elkanah Trevelyan to his Father
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/WO 55/3; 1 March 1607/8; English; paper; single sheet; 307ram x
202mm; dorse blank.
THE DOCUMENTS 585
Letter of William Carswell to Richard Weekes
Taunton, Somerset Record Ofce, DD/SF 3883; c 1613; English; paper;, single sheet; 310ram x 200mm;
endorsed 'To my very good ffrind Mr Richard Weekes at his house at Easteninhead give these.'
Letter of Henry Bluett to Richard Weekes
Taunton, Somerset Record Ofce, DD/SF 3066; 4 July 1613; English; paper; single sheet; 310ram x
205mm; endorsed 'To my approued Loueing Unckle and ffriend master Richard Weekes at Wiueliscombe
yeaue theis' and below 'Mr weeks I praye you send me my vjj s. by this beret yore gylls langedone.'
WYNDHAM OF ORCHARD WYNDHAM
The seat of the Wyndham family was Orchard Wyndham, a house near Williton, apparently
built by John Sydenham late in the fifteenth century. The Wyndhams came to Orchard when
a John Wyndham married Elizabeth Sydenham and the family 'became the dominant landowners
in the parish [of St Decuman's] within a century. '2 The will survives, with many others, in a
probate register in the Public Record Office. The codicil from which an extract is taken was
made 2 March 1573/4 and Sir John Wyndham must have died between that date and the prov-
ing of the will on 28 April 1575. At the time of the 1574 entry, the account book includes
payments of school expenses for a younger John Wyndham - probably his grandson, who ob-
tained possession of Orchard Wyndham as heir in 1581. The family continues to own part
of the estate.
Will of Sir John Wyndham
London, Public Record Ofce, PROB 11/57; 2 March 1573/4; English and Latin; paper; i + 456 + i;
410mm x 335mm; modern stamp foliation; opening words and phrases in display script, elaborate
coloured architectural and pictorial flame on title page, and heraldic shields for a few testators; modern
v,o binding in tan cloth over original binding.
Wyndham Family Account Book
This book contains both household and estate expenses. It was kept by Sir John Wyndham
until his death, then by someone else - presumably a steward or guardian of the younger
John Wyndham.
Taunton, Somerset Record Offioe, DD//WYp Box 2, No. 3; 1571-89; English; paper;, 32 leaves; 305mm x
205mm; unnumbered; first 4 pages fragmentary; paper sheets and parchment cover sewn together with
original stitching intact. The accounts are in Sir John Wyndham's hand down to 1575, then continue
in a second hand.
THE DOCUMENTS 589
Letter of Bishop William Piers to Archbishop William Laud
London, Public Record Office, SP 16/250; 5 November 1633; English; paper; bifolium; 340mm x 225mm
(text area 330mm x 180mm); endorsed in Laud's hand 'Mye Lord of Bathes Certificat about the wakes
& other Feasts in Sommersett. Therce.' The letter is now bound as item 20 in a composite MS with
other letters and papers in a standard PRO binding, tide on spine: 'SP 16 DOMESTIC. I CHARLES
I. 1633 NOV. 1-19 250.'
Articles of Impeachment against Bishop William Piers
Articles I OF I ACCVSATION I AND I IMPEACHMENT I Of the House of Commons, and I all the
Commons of ECLat I AGAINST I William Pierce I Doctor of Divinitie and Bishop of l Bath and Wells.
[Rule. Ornament. Rule.] London, Printed for George Thomlinson, and are to be sold in the OM-Baily.
1642. Wing: A3832
County of Somerset
By the 1590s, Somerset courts were strenuously regulating and suppressing traditional enter-
tainments. Most of the documents in this section record the progress of that effort as seen
through a series of quarter sessions and assize orders and a series of letters between King Charles
and Sir Robert Phelips as the conflict between the king (who wished to allow traditional pas-
times) and his lord chief justice (who would not) escalated, eventually culminating in the
humiliating defeat of the chief justice. Apart from the quarter sessions records and the Phelips
papers at the Somerset Record Office, the chief source for these materials is the Public Record
Office. One letter, however, is at the Huntington Library; King Charles' re-issue of his father's
Book of Sports is a printed book; and several justices' orders have survived only as transcribed
by William Prynne for his account of Archbishop Laud's trial.
Quarter Sessions Records
Quarter Sessions Rolls
See above under Quarter Sessions Records (pp 509-10) for SRO: Q/SR 2, Q/SR 13, Q/SR 46, Q/SR 47,
and Q/SR61, pt 1.
Miscellaneous Records
Letter of Sir John Popham to Sir Francis Hastings
Sir John Popham (1531-1607), chief justice of the King's Bench and speaker of the House of
Commons, was Somerset's 'most distinguished lawyer during the time of Elizabeth. TM Knight-
THE DOCI,/MENTS 593
detected, and the Ecclesiarticall History of our Church-affaires, during his PontiflcallDornination, J
faithfully presented to the publike View of the World. [Rule] By WILLL,,M PRa,nE, of Lincolns Inne,
Esquire; Specially deputed to r.his publike Service, by the House of Corn- rnomOrder; Dated 4 Martii.
1644. [Rule. Scriptural texts. Rule.] I LONDON, Printed by Iohn Macock, for Michael Spark senior,
at the sign of the I Blue Biblein GreenArbour. 1646. Wing: P3917.
Editorial Procedures
Principles of Sdection
This collection attempts to include all known documentary references to dramatic, secular
musical, and ceremonial or customal performances before 1642 within the boundaries of
historic Somerset. A very few letters which were written to people in Somerset about perfor-
mances outside the county and are preserved in Somerset archives have also been included
because of their intrinsic historical interest and the insights they offer into the extent to which
people within the county were aware of performances at court and in the major cities.
Performance has been broadly defined to encompass nearly every mimetic, musical, or
ritualistic form of play used to entertain or otherwise engage an audience. Entries may record
an actual and identifiable performance or simply provide information that illuminates a per-
formance tradition within the county. Among the dramatic performances are plays, juggling,
and other 'feats of activity' by itinerants; mummings; Robin Hood, St George, and Pinner of
Wakefield plays and sports; May, summer, and Christmas games and plays, including mock
musters; various kinds of folk rituals; liturgical plays, boy bishops, and lords of misrule; and
several kinds of country house, street, and alehouse dancing. Volume 1 also prints descriptions
of impromptu satirical skits performed in alehouses and recorded in ecclesiastical court books
and quarter sessions rolls, which constitute a unique collection of primary evidence about this
widespread practice. Musical performance includes all forms of secular music, such as that by
itinerant or local minstrels, fiddlers, musicians, town waits, and choristers in secular perfor-
mance, as well as information about musical instruments and practices, but excludes singing
and instrumental music as part of public worship. If the number of references in the Records
is any indicator, bull- and bearbaiting must have been the most popular form of entertainment
in the county and all references to them are printed. Every bull ring and cockpit, being a rough
playing place of sorts, has likewise been included.
Certain 'para-dramatic' activities have been included because of their mimetic elements and
other links to ancient performance traditions, among them skimmingtons or 'riding the stang,'
charivaris, and similar processions (for example, morris troupes leading the way to a bid ale).
Ballads have been included if it can be demonstrated that they were actually performed, be-
came they were often used within the context of a mocking or satirical performance and as
such often turn up in cases of libel. Conversely, allusions to ballads where no actual performance
EDITORIAL PROCEDURES 595
could be verified have been omitted, as have cases in which horns were attached to doors as
signs of cuckoldry. Also excluded for similar reasons was a mock proclamation, slanderously
made in the market at Nether Stowey c 16087 But several poems either clearly intended for
performance or containing allusions to performance have been printed in Appendixes 5,7,
and 8. Hoggling - a 'gathering' activity at New Year's or Epiphany - seems, like other tradi-
tional forms of gathering, to have included singing and other festive elements, though most
references to hoggling in accounts do not list entertainment. All those incidences containing
no specific reference to play have therefore been collected and placed together in Appendix 4.
Revels (also called wakes or feasts of dedication) were one of the most widespread and en-
during forms of traditional festivity in Somerset. For a detailed discussion of them, see above
(p 476), but, in essence, contemporary witnesses describe them as celebrations that included
'lawful recreations,' a phrase used in King James' Book of Sports to include dancing, sports,
May games, ales, and more. These revels also formed a central element in the battle over
traditional parish entertainment in Somerset between King Charles I and his chief jus-
tice, Sir Thomas Richardson. For those reasons, all references to wakes and revels clearly
involving performance as defined above have been included; a typical example of a revel-day
entertainment is the rowdy skimmington held in Cameley in 1616. References to revels and
wakes lacking clear reference to a performance have been collected in Appendix 10. Church
ales, on the other hand, are more problematic. Only those which actually included entertain-
ment such as music, drama, baitings, or dancing have been included - as for instance at West
Bradley in 1639, when the ale included a bearbaiting - but all county-wide restrictions of ales
by quarter sessions or assize judges - whether specifically mentioning entertainment or not -
have been included in the County section as illustrations of the seventeenth-century conflict
over recreation. Equally problematic are references to fairs. They have been included only when
a fair was the context within which a specific entertainment - often by itinerant performers -
was recorded.
Transcriptions and summaries of statutes concerning entertainment and copies of licences
given to local performers are found in legal precedent books (crib sheets, as it were, for justices
of the peace) and clearly guided the judges in their decisions concerning performers. Because
they do not record actual events they have been excluded from the Records but some examples
are given in Appendix 9.
The definition adopted for performance necessarily excludes Easter sepulchre observances
and other purely liturgical rites as well as true military musters, even when accompanied by fife
and drum. Civic ceremonial, bonfires, bell-ringings, and feasts have been excluded unless there
is clear evidence of accompanying entertainment. Nor have references to entertainers in such
documents as bonds and church registers been picked up, unless they demonstrably bear upon
entertainment tradition, as at Bridgwater in 1597-8 (see p 56), but all such references are dis-
cussed in the Introduction. Also excluded were the many references to bowling greens and vil-
lage archery butts. Selecting what to exclude necessarily involved painful choices. For every
reference to entertainment, the records contain at least five for sports and games such as archery,
football, fives, and bowling, as well as to cards, dicing, and other games of skill and chance.
One could easily write a history of such diversions using only court and parish records.
596 EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
Two 'ghosts' or phantom entries turned up during research for these volumes. Bird and
Baildon, Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Dean and Chapter of Wells, vol 2, p 290, reported
that the Communars' Book for 1562-3 at Wells Cathedral included a payment to the queen's
players (transcribed as 'ludicoribus'), but the payment of 24s was actually to the queen's audi-
tors ('auditoribus'). The second is a payment 'for his play' ('ad ludum suum') by King John
in September 1210 to 'Warin ritz Gerold,' the king's chamberlain and owner of Stoke Curci
(Stogursey), during the king's visit to that estate. The payment, occurring in a unique Imprest
Roll recording money lent out and needing to be repaid, actually refers to 20s lent to Warin
by the king enabling him to take part in a gambling game with the king and his entourage.
The account has numerous similar entries.
Because of its length and complexity, a Star Chamber case arising from the Wells shows of
1607 required a somewhat different approach for inclusion and presentation. The case, Hole
v. White et al (mostly preserved in vao: STAC 8/161/1), was a libel suit carried on from April
1608 to November 1609 in the Star Chamber. It was the culmination of a quarrel concerning
matters of religion between two groups in the town of Wells, which apparently began in the
late 1590s and flared in 1607 when John Hole, as constable, attempted to stop traditional May
games on Sundays and other days in May 1607. It quickly escalated to lampoons of Hole and
his supporters that were integrated into traditional guild shows performed during five days in
June. Hole's protests against those shows then caused their supporters to produce two libdlous
songs directed against Hole and friends. Before going to the Star Chamber, the parties faced
one another at a local sessions before the mayor of Wells, at the county assizes, and before King's
Bench. No records survive of those suits except a transcript of the local sessions which was in-
cluded in evidence before the Star Chamber.
vao: STAC 8/161/1 is a rather randomly organized composite manuscript containing mater-
ial relating to stages in the Star Chamber case and described in the Documents section (pp 567-
71). After long and close consultation the editor and the project staffarrived at a method of
selection intended to give an adequate sense of the development of the suit while copiously
extracting the parts of the documentation that are most useful for reconstructing the shows
themselves and any public performance of ensuing songs.
As in the case of most civil suits in chancery or the equivalent, the surviving documents
fall into two main categories, pleadings and proofs. In this case the pleadings consist of the
allegations made by the plaintiff in his bill of complaint, the answers of the defendants, and
the plaintiff's replication, or reply, to their answers. The bill has been included in full because
it contains a complete and relatively concise account of his version of events. It also includes
a full text of each of the two libellous ballads inspired by the shows that might be compared
with the two broadside copies that survive. Since the answers are largdy, and the replication
entirely, formulaJc and procedural, they have been omitted. Where an answer contained some-
thing of substance, that information has been given in an endnote.
The proofs comprise the bulk of the surviving material and are very detailed interrogatories
and accompanying depositions, parts of which are not directly relevant to the May games, shows,
and ballad performances. Examples are Hole's persistent allegations that the churchwardens had
EDITORIAL PROCEDURES 597
spent public money to oppose his suit and the equally persistent denials of the defendants,
or that the defendants attempted to have one ballad printed at London. Most of the inter-
rogatories are directed by Hole to defendants, although several witnesses were also deposed
on Hole's behalf in the summer and early fall of 1609, when the defendants also produced a
much shorter set of interrogatories for a much smaller group of witnesses.
In choosing excerpts from the defendants' depositions, preference has been given to accounts
by the actual participants in the 1607 shows of what they themselves did, while other testimony
either supporting or conflicting with theirs has been summarized or briefly quoted in the end-
notes. Answers amounting to 'I don't know' have been excluded, as have flat denials of Hole's
allegations except in a few very important instances. These rules, however, have not been adhered
to rigidly. For instance, in the brawl that broke out on 3 May 1607, Hole's chief antagonist
was William Watkins, but Watkins refused to answer Hole's interrogatory on the incident and
instead referred the court to his formal written answer to the same charges as Hole had first
made them in the bill of complaint. The main piece of testimony reproduced in the Records
text for this incident is therefore not Watkins' but that of Stephen Millard, another defendant,
who was an eyewitness; many other accounts are either summarized in the endnote to that
excerpt or, if included in the Records text, cross-referenced in that endnote.
Different criteria apply to the depositions for witnesses, which begin in May of 1609. Hav-
ing failed to secure all the admissions he wanted from the defendants, Hole had a fresh set of
interrogatories drawn up and put to various third parties who had witnessed the events in ques-
tion. For any given incident, several of these witnesses may have equal claim to notice, whether
one considers their credibility or the amount and character of detail that they provided. To
spare the reader needless repetition in what is already documentation of great volume and
complexity, it was decided wherever possible to choose one or two particularly full accounts of
any given incident as text material and summarize or quote from other versions in the endnotes.
The same method was applied to the relatively slim amount of evidence elicited by the de-
fendants' own interrogatories or by the supplementary interrogatories put to their witnesses on
Hole's behalf. These depositions have been used in the text only where they add something
genuinely new to what had been established by Hole's main examinations first of the defendants
and then of other witnesses. Where these last phases provide only corroboration or qualification
of points previously made, they have been cited in appropriate endnotes rather than reproduced
at length.
Normally, an interrogatory has not been printed unless at least one answer to it has been
excerpted for the text, but Hole's allegations in other interrogatories are occasionally noted in
the endnotes where they bear on some excerpted answer. As the suit proceeded, it is clear that
Hole or his counsels used earlier series of interrogatories to create new sets as needed with the
result that many interrogatories in later sets cover the same or essentially the same ground as
earlier ones. To avoid cumbersome and unnecessary repetition of Hole's version of events in
particular, such interrogatories have been omitted wherever possible by using the endnotes to
refer the reader back to other interrogatories on the same topic. For discussion of decisions made
in response to the complexities of presentation and dating see p 600.
98 EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
Dating
The usefulness of the documents depends in large measure on the accuracy of their dating; they
have therefore been dated with care, by year and, whenever possible, to the month and day.
The writers of the documents nearly all assume that the AD year began on 25 March, and for
dates between 1 January and 24 March the years have routinely been advanced to conform
with modern practice. This is indicated by using a slash, as in '1476/7.' Exceptional are two
Venetian documents (see pp 373 and 378) which bear New Style (ie, Gregorian) dates. Those
have been converted to Old Style (ie, Julian) dates for subheadings in the records since all other
documents are still on the Julian calendar.
Many of the accounts follow exchequer practice in starting and ending at Michaelmas,
29 September, and they often identifi/the year by reference in their headings to regnal years.
This is generally true for civic accounts from Bridgwater (though note the difficulties discussed
below) and for the lengthy runs ofcommunars', escheators', and fabric accounts from the dean
and chapter of Wells Cathedral. In such clear-cut cases, which cross two of our modern years,
a dual year (eg, 1496-7) has been given, based on the reckonings in C.R. Cheney's Handbook
of Dates (London, 1970). Accounts in the Records and Appendix 4 appear without a date sub-
heading either because they followed a Michaelmas-Michaelmas account year or because the
accounting term could not be confidently established.
Other accounts, however, especially churchwardens' accounts, follow different patterns. In
those cases the actual year of the account is the year followed in the Records text heading and,
where possible, the actual account term is clarified in editorial subheadings or discussed in the
apparatus. A number of accounts present special problems in dating. In three places in the
Bath records only an approximate opening or closing date could be given for an excerpted
chamberlains' account, and those dates were deduced from the regular practice in other years.
In Bridgwater it was often difficult to establish at which Michaelmas a water bailiff's or town
receiver's account begins and ends. Luckily, however, many of these confusingly dated accounts
give the names of the mayors and bailiffs in office during the period of the account. Moreover,
a few documents scattered through the records of Bridgwater bear both an exact date and the
name of the mayor, and sometimes those of the bailiffs as well, making it possible to construct
an accurate list of officials in office at the time. Because the mayor seems never to have served
in two consecutive years, it was possible to use this list to date many of the problem accounts.
In other cases it was possible to date the document by dating one or more of the other elements
mentioned in the account. For a remaining handful of accounts, it was possible only to estimate
a date. The dating problems are discussed in detail in the endnotes.
The accounts of the Bridgwater town receiver also presented other special problems. During
the period when entertainment begins to appear in them, their headings usually say that they
run, like the accounts of other officials, from Michaelmas to Michaelmas (eg, sao: D/B/bw 1549,
D/B/bw 1564, and D/B/bw 1568). The entries in them, however, usually run from December
to December, sometimes beginning a little earlier and sometimes ending a little later. Eventually
the headings came to acknowledge that the normal period of the receivers' accounts was
December to December.
EDITORIAL PROCEDURES 599
If it is difficult to date the account itself, however, it is often relatively easy to date its en-
tries at least roughly. Most entries are not dated but in nearly every account at least a handful
of entries are either dated or datable by day and month. These show that accounts are usually
in fairly good chronological order. Many entries concerning drama are actually dated and most
of the others are in accounts that seem to be clearly chronological. Where possible, therefore,
a date has been provided for each relevant entry, giving, where there is not an exact date, the
limits of the date suggested by the chronology of the account. These dates can be presumed
with certainty to be the date on which the performer received payment and the date of per-
formance is therefore presumed likely to have been on or near that date. Where the account
is not chronological, or there are too few dated entries to tell, the date given is that of the whole
account.
The churchwardens" accounts for St Mary's parish church in Yatton also present special dat-
ing problems. A note at the beginning of D/P/yat 4/1/4 says: 'the yere of our lorde hath bene
allwaies in the bookes of accountes from the fi/rst Daye of Ianua(ry) & not at our ladye day.'
These accounts, which are fair copies of originals no longer extant, are dated according to the
year that runs 1 January to 1 January, even though the accounts begin in February or March.
Therefore, dates on the accounts conform to modern reckoning and have not been advanced
by a year in the usual way. Further, the person who transcribed the fair copy, or the one who
later bound them into four volumes, misdated some accounts, whose proper dates could only
be derived by comparing sums and names of accountants between accounts.
The first nine accounts in SRO: D/P/yat 4/1/3 are dated erratically. The heading for the first
account gives what is either 1530 or 1529, but must be in error since the accounts for years
through 1539 are already in proper sequence in SRO: D/P/yat 4/1/2. Luckily, the accounts in
SRO: D/P/yat 4/1/3 give the names not only of the current accountants but also of the previ-
ous ones and the surplus not only of the current year but also of the year before. These names
and sums show that the accounts in D/P/yat 4/1/3 follow the one for 1539 at the end of the
previous book and run from 1540 to 1548 in the right order.
The writer (who had also written the previous book) dated the first of the nine as 'a thouusand
v hundryth xxti,' which was changed to 'xxixri,' but intending, it seems, 1539. He dated the
second 1540, the third probably 1541 (the appropriate page is missing), and the fourth, fifth,
and sixth 1542-4. He dated the next three 1545-7 but each of these was afterwards re-dated
to one year later. This should also have been done for the preceding six accounts but was not.
The accounts for 1549-50 are missing from the sequence, the latter 'Cutt out' because of'an
yll dede done'; the 1549 account appears at the end of the book, followed by an incomplete
one which may be the missing account for 1550. The writer dated his last surviving account
1551 and others wrote the accounts in the book for 1553-60. In the account for 1546 the sur-
plus carried over from 1545 is the profit made then, not including the surplus from 1544,
which the next accounts omit as well. The 'yll dede' of 1550 may represent the discovery of
the omission. The proper dates for the first nine accounts in D/P/yat 4/1/3, therefore, are:
Date given Correct date
'xxxti'; changed to 'x:xixti' 1540
1540 1541
600 EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
[1541] 1542
1542 1543
1543 1544
1544 1545
1545 changed to 1546 1546
1546 changed to 1547 1547
1547 changed to 1548 1548
Ecclesiastical court records, which yielded many extracts for the volume, present dating
problems as well because the only truly fixable date is the one on which the court was held.
Therefore, the date that is assigned to extracts from the church courts is that of the court pro-
ceeding, while the probable date of the performance, to the extent that it can be derived, is
given in an endnote. When it is possible to trace the dates on which the case moved through
the several stages of its process, those dates are also given, whether in headings for subsequent
extracts concerning the case or in summaries of the process in endnotes.
Equally complex is the dating for the Wells Star Chamber case of 1607. That 'document'
is, in fact, a collection of bill of complaint, interrogatories, witness depositions, and pieces of
evidence made at various times between March/April 1608 and 2 February 1608/9, nearly
every word of which directly or indirectly concerns entertainment. As sorted by the eRo, the
elements of the case are not in chronological order. Further, the order in which the suit un-
folded bears no relation whatsoever to the order of the 1607 shows, which is what will chiefly
interest most users of this collection. The same day's incidents might be discussed over and
over again as the case went on. To keep the sequence of shows clear, endnotes contain many
cross-references as clues to guide the reader through the labyrinth.
To solve the first problem the component documents of the suit have been printed in the
order in which they were produced, so far as that can be ascertained. Thus we place interroga-
tories immediately before the depositions that answered them. Hole produced three long sets
of questions, one used for various defendants at the beginning of proceedings and the other
two for the third-party witnesses, and many short sets of questions directed to one or two de-
fendants in particular. The defendants produced a single set of questions directed to all witnesses
deposed on their behalf. Practical considerations as well as the principles of semi-diplomatic
editing have made it necessary to present each series of questions as a unit; but since the inter-
rogatories are always numbered and the answers always refer to the number of the question
being answered, the user ought with patience to be able to find the question corresponding
to every answer printed. If there is no corresponding interrogatory, an endnote explains and
cross-references the equivalent question in another series. However the many sets of depositions
taken on 10 January 1608/9, each in response to its own short list of interrogatories, have been
arranged in the page order of the examinations for that day in eio: STAC 8116111, because
that sequence may have some as yet undetected meaning and because no other order seemed
more logical. To solve the second problem Appendix 6 provides a chronological summary of
preparations for the shows and their events as the evidence enables us to reconstruct them.
Many documents from quarter sessions rolls are undated pieces cut from rolls and affixed
to pages in bound volumes. Within the volumes cases are arranged chronologically as clusters
EDITORIAL PROCEDURES 601
of material from petty sessions preceding one of the four annual sessions, or from the main
sessions themselves. When the cases bear no specific date, the method has been to derive one
from references to a particular sessions location in the document heading, or by examining the
dates in documents on either side of the one in question. Questionable dates are so identified
in endnotes.
Ecdesiasdcal Court Cases
Theoretically, the bishop was the judge of the courts of his diocese but in practice that authority
had long been delegated to subordinates, especially to the official principal, or vicar general,
who acted as judge for the whole diocese, and to his surrogate judges. In the period of most of
the cases represented here, bishops of Bath and Wells rarely sat as judges, although a few such
cases are represented in the Records. The official principal was normally a layperson and a
civil lawyer; his surrogate judges were clerics in holy orders, holding masters of arts or other
non-legal degrees: one surrogate judge went on to obtain a bachelor's degree in music during
the time he was active as a judge. Since judges were required from time to time either to im-
pose formal excommunication or to lift it by absolution, lay officials would simply have to
order that this be done by a clerical colleague. Usually only one judge presided at a given court
session but instances of two judges sitting together will be found in the Records. The usual
venue was the consistory of Wells Cathedral, although judges sometimes sat in parish churches,
in inns, or even in their own houses.
Registrars were all notaries public and presumably had a detailed working knowledge of
court procedure and canon law. In this diocese, the office of principal registrar was held by
members of one family in turn during much of the period represented in this collection.
Edward, James, and Isaac Huishe were each active at various times as registrar. The court books
show that they did have deputies, whether junior members of the family or others, to help in
the day-to-day tasks of filing and copying or with recording cases. Indeed Edward, who was
named as registrar in most of the cases included in this collection, either used a variety of scripts
to vary the tedium of recording proceedings or else employed unacknowledged assistants. Nor-
mally one or two registrars accompanied judges to court sessions and co-operated as required
in recording cases. When not acting as court reporters, registrars prepared booklets with the
names of the accused and a brief summary of the charges against them, to be taken out by
registrars and judge(s) to a specific session, and took down depositions. They also entered
information, such as summoners' reports, and dealt with correspondence.
The summoners, or apparitors, the court's most unpopular functionaries, were junior officers
of the church courts. Their primary jobs were to deliver citations to accused persons and to
attend each court to report if necessary on their process-serving and receive new instructions.
Since they travelled widely in the diocese, they also provided information to the court about
offences in the parishes they visited. In Bath and Wells the apparitors are frequently named,
both as informers and in connection with the delivery of citations.
The process in church courts seems to have remained fairly constant from diocese to diocese;
a full explanation of standard process can be found in Klausner (ed), Herorekhire/Worcestershire,
(302 EDITOglAL PROCEDURES
pp 38-40. The diocese of Bath and Wells seems to have handled the outset of cases slightly
differently, however.
An office case was commenced when the accused was presented or denounced by officials of
the parish for committing a crime or was brought to the court's attention in less formal ways.
In Bath and Wells, the name of an individual informer might be recorded at the end of the
description of the alleged offence. Since summoners often brought back such information in
the course of their duties and their names were well known to the court, those names are often
abbreviated when they were acting as informers. We have not always been able to expand these
abbreviations. The practice of other dioceses, where office cases were often undertaken on the
grounds of widespread rumour (called charges on the grounds of'publica vox et fama,' common
talk and turnout), might also be followed.
After the information was brought to the attention of the office, a citation was issued in the
usual way notifying the accused person to appear in court on or by a certain date. However, if
witnesses to an alleged offence were known to the presenters or other informers, they might be
deposed for their account before the citation was issued. Thereafter the rest of the procedure
seems to have been as in the diocese of Hereford.
The court books which record proceedings, called act books, tend to be very laconic. So much
of the course of a case was predetermined that repeated formulas were abbreviated to a word or
two followed by 'etc.' A reader familiar with court procedure would have been able to supply
the missing information and in the Translations it has been supplied where appropriate in
round brackets.
Bath and Wells also differed from Hereford in the way in which cases were recorded: sessions
were usually treated independently and each court appearance normally recorded separately.
Before each session a registrar would prepare a booklet with the names of, and a brief notice
of the allegations against, three groups of people: those whose cases were recurring at this
session from a previous one; those who had been presented or denounced by some informer
since the last session and had been cited to appear before this session; and those who had been
presented or denounced too recently to be cited yet. If the accused person(s) were denounced
by those other than the normal presenters, the name of the informer was usually entered after
the charge. Space would be left between entries to record the business of that session and pre-
sumably some blank sheets would be left at the end for those who were named in the course
of someone else's case. The margin would be used for cross-references to previous sessions for
recurring cases (and a cross-reference to the new booklet would be added to the records of
previous sessions).
If more than one session was planned with the same personnel in the same place on the same
day or a series of days, one booklet might be used for all or a series of booklets might be pre-
pared together. Each booklet would open with a formal heading giving the date, place, and
personnel of the first session covered, although with a series of booklets full details might be
given only in the first. The registrar who attended the session would use the space left blank
after each name to record the progress of each case. If the accused appeared, he would record
the appearance, the plea, and the judge's disposition in as few words as possible. If the accused
did not appear, details of the citation process and excommunication for non-appearance might
604 EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
marked with a dagger. Totals are transcribed only when all the amounts making up the totals
are also transcribed. Original lineation has not been preserved in passages of continuous prose.
Where the layout of the original is idiosyncratic (eg, a diagonal left margin), no attempt has
been made to reproduce that format.
Dittography and obvious scribal errors are noted in footnotes. Decay, damage, or other
problems which adversely affect the clarity of the original are either briefly noted in footnotes
or discussed at length in the Endnotes. An asterisk in the editorial subheading line will alert
the reader to the existence of an endnote.
A number of ecclesiastical court records use continuation symbols to indicate that subsequent
text is to be found on a following or preceding page or elsewhere on the same page. Those
symbols are normally not preserved, the text instead being preserved as run-on for clarity, using
a footnote or endnote to explain the peculiarities of arrangement. However, in cases where the
symbol has been referred to in the text, the symbol has been represented in the text itself.
Manuscript punctuation has been retained, except that excessive scribal pointing, most manu-
script braces, and all line fillers have been ignored. Virgules are indicated as / and II.
The spelling of the original has been preserved, along with the capitalization. 'ff' has been
''
retained for 'F'; the standard and elongated forms of T are uniformly transcribed as except
where the elongated form is clearly distinguished as a 'J' in printed sources after c 1625.
Minuscules have been preferred where it has been difficult to distinguish minuscules from
majuscules. Ornamental capitals and display letters have been transcribed as ordinary letters
but are footnoted. Arabic '1' has been used for the T occasionally found in arabic numerals.
Majuscule letters appearing in the middle of words otherwise written in minuscules are pre-
sented as minuscules.
Abbreviated words have been expanded, with italics to indicate letters supplied by the editor.
Because italics mark the expansion of abbreviated forms, original italics and other special fonts
are printed as roman in excerpts from early printed books. Where manuscripts yield insufficient
evidence to judge individual scribal habits, abbreviations are expanded to classical forms in
Latin and modern British forms in English. First names have been expanded wherever possible.
However in cases where it is impossible to determine what the scribe intended - whether, for
example, 'altarist" refers to one or several acolytes - the word has been left unexpanded.
Abbreviations for sums of money ('li,' 's,' 'd,' 'ob' (for half-penny)), 'viz,' and 'etc' or '&c'
and abbreviations cumbersome to expand, including those typical for weights and measures
('lb' for 'pound') are retained. 'Mr' and 'Dr' are left unexpanded when introducing a proper
name, but expanded when used as nouns or when occurring before another title (eg, 'Master
Mayor'). 'Xp-' and 'xp-' are expanded as 'Chr/st-' and 'chr/st-'. The sign "1" has been expanded
as 'es' except when it follows an 'e': in this case it is expanded as 's.' Where single minims are
too many or too few by obvious scribal error, an editorially corrected version is supplied in
the text and the textual oddity is footnoted. Otiose flourishes are ignored. Superlinear letters
are lowered to the line except when used with numerals x , xxm} /.
Notes
Historical Background
1 No comprehensive history of the county yet exists but the Victoria County History (vcu:
Somerset) now being edited by Robert W. Dunning will eventually meet that need. Much
of the information in this historical overview is drawn from the completed volumes of
the vcu and Dunning's History of Somersetand Christianity in Somerset; Aston's Aspects
of the Mediaeval Landscape of Somerset; and Collinson's The History and Antiquities of
the County of Somerset. For references to dated but still useful histories, such as those by
C.M. Church, E. Freeman, T.S. Holmes, W. Hunt, and W. Phelps, see bibliographies
in the above volumes. For discussions of the Somerset Levels, see P..J. Helm, 'The Somer-
set Levels in the Middle Ages (1086-1539),' The Journal of the British Archaeological
Association, 3rd ser, 12 (1949), 37-52 and Michael Williams, The Draining of the Somer-
set Levels (Cambridge, 1970).
2 Dunning, History of Somerset, p 12.
3 Joan Thirsk, 'The Farming Regions of England,' The Agrarian History of Englandand
Wales, Joan Thirsk (ed), vol 4:1500-1640 (Cambridge, 1967), 72. According to Thirsk
(p 72) 'by 1588 it [Somerset] is believed to have been the third most densely populated
county in the kingdom.'
4 Joan Thirsk, 'Farming Techniques,' The Agrarian History of England and Wales, Joan
Thirsk (ed), vol 4: 1500-1640, p 186.
5 Thirsk, 'Farming Techniques,' pp 175, 177; vcn: Somerset, vol 6, p 218; Dunning, History
of Somerset, p 51.
6 Thirsk, 'Farming Regions,' p 72.
7 Alan Everitt, 'The Marketing of Agricultural Produce,' The Agrarian History of England
and Wales, Joan Thirsk (ed), vol 4:1500-1640 (Cambridge, 1967), 471,493, 589-82.
8 See the discussions of private marketing in Everitt, 'The Marketing of Agricultural Pro-
duce,' pp 466, 506-63.
9 N.E Hulbert, 'A Survey of the Somerset Fairs,' sxms 82 (1937 for 1936), 83-6.
10 Hulbert, 'Somerset Fairs,' p 86; Everitt, 'The Marketing of Agricultural Produce,' p 532.
11 Hulbert, 'Somerset Fairs,' p 156.
12 Hulbert, 'Somerset Fairs,' pp 154-5; Barnes, Somerset 1625-1640, p 8.
NOTES
607
Lands in Somerset, 1548-1603,' Southern History 5 (1983), 95-114; and E. Green,
The Survey and Rental of the Chantries, Colleges and Free Chapel ... in the County of
Somerset as Returned in... 1548, SRS, vol 2 (Taunton, 1888).
27 For Bruton, see Eamon Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in Englan
c. 1400-c. 1580 (New Haven, 1992), 384.
28 Letter ofJohn Goodale to Thomas Cromwell in April 1539, l, WO: SP 1/151 item 87.
29 Duffy, Stripping of the Altars, pp 379-82. See also J.H. Bettey, WessexomAD 1000
(London, 1986), 152-3.
30 For the complete text see P.L. Hughes and J.E Larkin (eds), Tudor RoyalProclamations,
vol 1 (New Haven, 1964), no. 287.
31 J.J. Scarisbrick, The Reformation and the English People (Oxford, 1984), 66.
32 Duffy, Stripping of the Altars, pp 458-9, 466-8. See also Frances Rose-Troup, The West-
ern Rebellion of 1549 (London, 1913) and Julian Cornwall, Revolt of tloe Peasant. 1549
(London, 1977).
33 See R. Whiting, 'For the Health of My Soul: Prayers for the Dead in the Tudor South-
West,' Southern History5 (1983), 82-5.
34 On the growth and development of towns, see Robert Tittler, 'The Incorporation of
Boroughs 1540-1558,' History 62 (1977), 24-42, and Architecture and Power: The
Town Hall and the English Urban Community, c 1500-1640 (Oxford, 1991 ), and his
chapter, 'The Emergence of Urban Policy, 1536-58,' in The Mid- Tudor Polity c. 1540-
1560, Robert Tittler and Jennifer Loach (eds) (Totowa, N.J., 1980), 74-93; and Peter
Clark and Paul Slack, English Towns in Transition: 1500-1700 (Oxford, 1976).
35 wc.: Ledger Book D, f 17v.
36 Haigh, English Reformations, pp 275-80.
37 For Bridgwater, see vcu: Somerset, vol 6, p 232. On puritan preachers and lecturers dur-
ing the period, see Scarisbrick, The Reformation and the English People, pp 169-70.
38 On the growing protestant success in changing the fundamental forms and meanings of
religious practice, see Scarisbrick, TIoe Reformation andthe English People, pp 162-88.
39 Draft will of Francis Hastings, c 1596, Huntington Library: HAP Box 15(3). The will
is printed in Claire Cross (ed), The Letters of Sir Francis Hastings, 1574-1609, ss, vol
69 (Taunton, 1969), 116-19. Cross (p xiii) describes him as 'a type of the ideal Puritan
country gentlemen.'
40 Scarisbrick, The Reformation and the English People, p 149. On Catholic justices of the
peace during this period, see D.M. Palliser, 'Popular Reactions to the Reformation Dur-
ing the Years of Uncertainty 1530-50,' in The English Reformation Revised, Christopher
Haigh (ed)(Cambridge, 1987), 109-10.
41 On the general pattern of this imposition of control nationally, emphasizing the 'part-
nership' between Crown and local gentry, see A. Fletcher, Reform in the Provinces: The
Government of Stuart England(New Haven, 1986); and R. Ashton, 'Popular Entertain-
ment and Social Control in Later Elizabethan and Early Stuart London,' The London
Journal 9.1 (summer, 1983), 3-20. For the process and justices in Somerset, see Barnes,
Somerset 1625-1640 and his The Clerk of the Peace in Caroline Somerset; Gleason, The
608 NOTE
Justices of the Peace in England 1558-1640, especially pp 187-206; and David Under-
down, Revel Pa'ot, and Rtbellion, especially chapters 1-5.
42 For excellent histories of the alehouse and the sixteenth-century rise of the alehouse cul-
ture, see Peter Clark, The English Alehouse: A Social History 1200-1830 (London, 1983),
especially pp 151-9; Keith Wrightson, 'Alehouses, Order and Reformation in Rural
England, 1590-1660,' in Popular Culture and Class Conflict, 1590-1914, Eileen Yeo
and Stephen Yeo (eds) (Brighton, 1981), 1-27; S.K. Roberts, 9alehouses, Brewing, and
Government under the Early Stuarts,' Southern History2 (1980), 45-71; and T.B.
Leinwand, 'Spongy Plebs, Mighty Lords, and the Dynamics of the Alehouse,' Journal
of Medieval and Renaissance Studies 19.2 (fall, 1989), 159-84. In 1577, according to
Clark (pp 43-5), there were 100 licensed inns, sixteen taverns, and 215 alehouses in
Somerset - plus no doubt many more unlicensed ones - and by the 1630s, based on
national patterns, the number was much higher.
43 Wrightson, 'Alehouses, Order and Reformation in Rural England,' pp 10, 12; for an
excellent summary of the ways in which the alehouse became a communal centre, 'a
populist refiage for customary rites and entertainments,' and 'a centre for popular irre-
ligion,' see Clark, The English Alehouse, pp 151-9.
44 See Patrick Collinson, 'Protestant Culture and the Cultural Revolution,' in The Birth-
pangs of Protestant England, pp 94-126.
45 See Joan R. Kent, The English Village Constable 1580-1642 (Oxford, 1986), especially
pp 77, 205, 227, 234, 249, 257-61,278, 294.
46 See M. Ingrain, Church Courts, Sex and Marriage in England, 1570-1640 (Cambridge,
1987), 103-5 for Wiltshire.
47 Barnes, 'County Politics and a Puritan Cause Cfilbre,' pp 103-22.
48 Parishes whose clergy were cited in the consistory court between 1633 and 1635 for
denouncing or failing to read the king's announcement concerning sports are cited in
SRO: D/D/Ca 301 and include Lyng, Otterhampton, and Spaxton (f 1 lv); Cricket
Malherbie and Thornfalcon (f 13); Bickenhall, Exton, Fivehead, Timberscombe, West
Quantoxhead, Withiel Fiorey, and Wiveliscombe (f 13v); Combe Florey (f 56); and
Bickenhall, Exford, and Old Cleeve (f 122). Buckland St Mary, Pawlett, and Running-
ton are cited in SRO: D/D/Ca 302, f 17v; and Enmore in SRO: D/D/Ca 313, ff41v-2.
49 Aston and Leech, Historic Towns in Somerset, p 5; and William Savage, 'Somerset Towns:
1. Origins and Early Government,' sauns99-100 (1956 for 1954-5), 49-74.
50 Barry Cunliffe, The City of Bath (London, 1986), 110.
51 Peter Clark, Kathy Gaskin, and Adrian Wilson, Population Estimates of English Small
Towns 1550-1851 (Leicester, 1989), 141-7.
52 Cunliffe, The City of Bath, pp 40-1. Cunliffe (pp 58-71) is the source of the informa-
tion in the next two paragraphs.
53 For a discussion of the founding of Bath monastery, see Patrick Sims-Williams, 'Conti-
nental Influence at Bath Monastery in the Seventh Century,' Anglo-Saxon England, Peter
Clemoes (ed), vol 4 (Cambridge, 1975), 1-10. A possible location of the Saxon monas-
tery is suggested by Elizabeth Holland and Mike Chapman in The Story of the White
Hart Inn (Bath, 1990), 10-14.
NOTE 611
charges), mb [2]. The Horse Bath was recommended by Turner in 1562 and is repre-
sented on Speed's map near the Ham Gate, so the Horse Bath must have been built be-
tween these two dates. For a thorough description of changes at the baths, see Jean Manco,
'The Cross Bath,' Bath History 2 (1988), 52-5 and James, The Baths of Bath, pp 43 -71.
103 Turner, Natures and Properties of the Baths in Englan sig Bii.
104 BRO: 1641 Survey of Corporation Property, p 6.
105 BRO: CA No. 14, 15 June 1583 (Charges and expenses), mb [2].
106 Wroughton, King Edward's SchoolatBath, p 35.
107 Wroughton, King Edward's School at Bath, pp 12, 18.
108 BRO: CA No. 39, 16 October 1601 (Gifts and rewards), m b [1].
109 David Underdown, Somerset in the Civil War and Interregnum (Newton Abbot, 1973), 13.
110 James, The Baths of Bath, Appendix 1, pp 153-8; BRO: CANo. 22, 14June 1587 (Gifts
and rewards), mbs [1, 2]; Breving Book at Bath, Syon House MSS X. II. 12 (4), ffl lv-16,
now at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland. This Breving Book is transcribed by C.R. Batho
(ed), The Household Papers of Henry Percy, Ninth Ead of Northumberland (1564- 1632),
Camden Society, 3rd set, vol 93 (London, 1962), 8-15.
111 Reginald W.M. Wright, 'Jacobean Bath,' SHS, Proceedings of the Bath and District
Branch (1939-47), 380-91. See also Austin J. King and B.H. Watts, 'Some Visitors to
Bath during the Reign of James I,' The Antiquary 14 (1886), 1-6, 64-9.
112 Wroughton, A Community at War, pp 24-40.
113 Cunliffe ( The City of Bath, p 110) bases his estimate ofbetween 900 and 1500onamutti-
plier of 3.5 and the Bath Record Office 1641 Survey of Corporate Property, which lists
300 houses. Robert Tittler has pointed out to me that this population figure may be
overly cautious because some houses probably incorporated more than one household.
Thus Tittler suggests a multiplier of 6.5.
The Survey record of 300 houses is about the same number as Speed represented in
his map, probably drawn in the late sixteenth century (see Stephen Bird, 'The Earliest
Map of Bath,' Bath History I (1986), 135). As Marta Inskip has suggested to me, Speed
might have gathered his information after 1568 but before 1575-6. The main body
of Speed's insert includes a Horse Bath but he includes the New Bath only in a separate
drawing, perhaps because construction on it had not begun when he drew the main plan
(see above, footnote 102).
114 See payments for 'pesthouses' (quarantine housing for the sick) in BRO: CA No. 69, 13
October 1626 (Payments), mb [3].
115 Wroughton, A Community at War, pp 56-65.
116 Aston and Leech, Historic Towns in Somerset, p 13.
117 M.W. Beresford and H.P.R. Finberg, English Medieval Boroughs: A Handlist (Newton
Abbot, Devon), 155.
118 See above, p 450 and Hutbert 'Somerset Fairs,' pp 140-3.
119 Dilks (ed), Bridgwater Borough Archives, sRs 53, p viii; Dunning and Tremlett (eds),
Bridgwater Borough Archives, s,s 70, pp xi-xiii; Dilks (ed), Bridgwater Borough Archives,
sgs 48, pp xxiii-xxiv; Dilks (ed), BridgwaterBorough Archives, sgs 60, p viii.
614 NOT
191 Heal, Of Prelates and Princes, pp 115, 123, 131,146.
192 Heal, Of Prelates and Princes, p 148.
193 Heal, Of Prelates and Pdnces, p 182. On the income ofthe dean and chapter, seeLehmberg,
The Reformation of Cathedrals, pp 26-7.
194 Heal, Of Prelates and Pdnces, pp 272-4; Hembry, Bishops of Bath and Welh, pp 182-206.
195 Heal, Of Prelates and Princes, pp 171,286, and passim; Lehmberg, The Reformation of
Cathedral, p 230; Hembry, Bishops of Bath and Wells, pp 132-210.
196 Hembry, Bishops of Bath and Wells, pp 53-78.
197 Lehmberg, The Reformation ofCathedral, pp 79-99.
198 On the lives and episcopates of these bishops see Hembry, Bishops of Bath and Wells,
pp 100-253.
199 Hembry, Bishops of Bath and Wells, pp 132-48.
200 John Harington, Nugae Antiquae, vol 2 (London, 1804), 156.
201 Hembry, Bishops of Bath and Wells, pp 183,203-5, 211.
202 Hembry, Bishops of Bath and Wells, pp 226-53.
203 Dunning, History of Somerset, pp 31-2.
204
205
2O6
2O7
208
2O9
Dunning, History of Somerset,
Barnes, Somerset 1625-1640,
members of the gentry at this
Dunning, History of Somerset,
pp 39-41.
pp 11-14. For sketches of many of the most important
time, see pp 18-39.
p 58.
Barnes, Somerset 1625-1640, p 15.
Barnes, 'County Politics and a Puritan "Cause Clbre,"' p 122.
Dunning, History of Somerset, pp 58-9; and J.S. Morrill, The Revolt of the Provinces:
Conservatives and Radicals in the English Civil War 1630-1650 (London, 1976), 97-9.
Drama, Music and Popular Customs
1 Thomas Pettitt, 'Early English Traditional Drama: Approaches and Perspectives,' Rom
25 (1982), 1-30.
2 On the pervasive nature of civic mimesis, see Peter Borsay, '"All the Town's a Stage":
Urban Ritual and Ceremony 1660-1800,' in The Transformation of English Towns
1600-1800, Peter Clark (ed) (London, 1984), 228-57.
3 On the 'Furry Dance' (which seems similar to the Wells long dances) held in Helston,
Cornwall, every 8 May flora ancient times, see James Reeves (ed), The Everlasting Circle
(London, 1960), 147-9.
4 On the term, see Frederic Thomas Elworthy, The West Somerset Word-Book, The English
Dialect Society (London, 1886), 674. The current standard analysis of form and func-
tions ofskimmingtons can be found in E.P. Thompson, 'Rough Music,' in Customs in
Common (New York, 1991), 467-538. See also C.R.B. Barrett, '"Riding Skimmington"
and Riding the Stang,"' Journal of the British Archaeological Association, ns 1 (1895),
58-68. For discussions that explore the festive and political uses ofskimmingtons, see
Martin Ingrain, 'Ridings, Rough Music and the Reform of Popular Culture" in Early
NOTES 615
7
9
10
11
12
13
14
Modem England,' Past and Present 105 (1984), 79-113 and Underdown, Revel Riot and
Rebellion, pp 99-103, 109-112. Underdown offers numerous useful insights into the
cultural conflicts in Somerset during this period and their effects on traditional enter-
tainment and customs. He argues that regional cultural differences were reflected in the
topographical contrasts between arable areas with their common fields, nucleated villages,
and strong attachment to neighbourhood and custom, and the woodland, pasturing
regions characterized by small enclosed family farms, cloth-making industries, looser
manorial ties, larger parishes, and residents less firmly attached to tradition and custom.
He associates some traditional entertainment (maypoles, revels, rural sports) with wood-
pasture areas and argues that parishes in clothing districts were less cohesive while their
elites were more unified, and that therefore attacks on traditional culture were more suc-
cessful and less resisted in those regions (pp 4-8, 44-53, 76-88, 96-105). But the
records would not seem to support those assumptions. Robin Hood entertainment is
recorded in all three areas described by Underdown (arable, wood-pasture, and mixed).
Revels were recorded the length and breadth of the county (see Appendix 10). Some of
the most tenacious defences of traditional entertainment occurred in the heart of the
wood-pasture areas, for example, Wells. The focus of efforts at control seems to have
been determined not so much by the kind of landscape as by the areas that happened
to be controlled by reform-minded justices. And support for traditional culture seems
to have had less to do with class and income level than with whether one was native to
the area or a recent immigrant, though in all cases the evidence is too fragmentary to be
more than tentative in drawing any conclusions.
Buchanan Sharp, In Contempt of All Authority: Rural Artisans and Pa'ot in the West of
Englana 1586-1660 (Berkeley, 1980), 101-7.
uao: CA No. 3, 8 June 1569 (Annual expenses), mb [1]. Although the Bath Chamber-
lains' Account gives the date as Midsummer night, 24 June, in other localities this fes-
tival was usually held on Midsummer Eve, 23 June. See P,.W. Ingram (ed), Coventry,
PINED (Toronto, 1981) for extensive records for Midsummer Eve regulations and expenses.
See uao: CA No. 7, 30 June 1578 (Extraordinary charges), mb [2] 'for oyle to shower
the harnes agenste mydsomer x d.'
uao: CA No. 73, 15 October 1630 (Payments), mb [2]; CA No. 75, 12 October 1632
(Payments), mb [2].
uao: CANo. 76, 11 October 1633 (Payments), mb [2]; CA No. 77, 10 October 1634
(Payments), mb [3].
See Dilks (ed), Bridgwater Borough Archives, sas 60, pp 4, 7, 48, 55, 57, 65, 75, 84, 124.
On the Holy Trinity Guild, see Dilks (ed), Bridgwater Borough Archives, SRS 58, p xiv.
Nicholas Orme, Education in the West of England: 1066-1548 (Exeter, 1976), 206.
The term 'corrective' entertainment is suggested by the discussion of the 'penal' contexts
ofcharivaris by Ingrain, 'Ridings, Rough Music and The Reform of Popular Culture",'
p 96.
sao: DD/SAS SE 50/1, ff [68v], [73v], [75].
Collinson, The History and Antiquities of Somerset, vol 3, p 207.
NOTES 619
Greenfield (eds) Cumberland/Westmorland/Gloucestershire, REED (Toronto, 1986), 302- 5
and 425-6 and Mark C. Pilkinton (ed), Bristol, REED (forthcoming).
64 PRO: SP 14/68 item 62.
65 Thomas Lake to Dudley Carleton, 19 May 1613, PRo: SP 14/72 item 146 and Chamber-
lain to Carleton, 10 June 1613, PRo: SP 14/74 item 1. Probably this is the visit referred
to by Chamberlain in a letter to Carleton dated 29 April 1613, PRO: SP 14/72 item I20.
66 There are warrants for payments to John Tonstall, gentleman usher of the queen in PRO:
SP 39/3 items 12 and 54.
67 Hembry, The Bishops of Bath and Wells, p 211.
68 PRO: SP 14/74 item 55. The Chamberlains' Account for 1612-13 (see p 21) also in-
dudes a payment to the king's trumpeters 'at the Queenes beinge here in September.'
69 PRO: SP 14/74 item 60. Letter of Sir Ralph Winwood to Dudley Carleton, 28 Septem-
ber 1613.
70 Chamberlain to Carleton, 23 February 1614/15, PRO: SP 14/80 item 38.
71 Letter from Chamberlain to Carleton, PRO: SP 14/81 item 17.
72 PRO: E 315/107, f26v.
73 PRO: E 315/107, f27v; note also a letter from Bath by Viscount Lisle to Lady Lisle,
dated 28 August 1615, which states that gout forced the queen to postpone her depar-
ture 'this day senight.' William A. Shaw and G. Dyfnallt Owen (eds), Rrport on the Manu-
scripts of the Pdght Honourable Viscount De LTsle, V.C., vol 5: Sidney Papers, 1611- 1626,
HMC, ser 77 (London, 1962), 307.
74 PRO: SP 14/81.
75 See the letter of Joseph Hall, bishop of Exeter, to Sir Henry Spelman, 21 September 1628,
at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas, Austin, Pforz-
heimer MS 142.
76 Bath, Bath Central Library, Shickle's detailed transcript, p 2, for 25 January 1612/13-30
September 1616.
77 King and Watts, 'Some Visitors to Bath during the Reign of James ,' p 67n2.
78 Shickle detailed transcript, p 8.
79 BRO: CA No. 60, 2 July 1619, mb [1].
The Documents
1 R. Holworthy, 'Discoveries in the Diocesan Registry, Wells, Somerset,' The Genealogists'
Magazine 2 (March 1926), 3.
2 See R.W. Dunning, 'The Wells Consistory Court in the Fifteenth Century,' SaNdS 106
(1962), 46--61.
3 Bates (ed), 'Introduction,' Quarter Sessions Records, vol 1, p xix.
4 Bates (ed), 'Introduction,' Quarter Sessions Records, vol 1, pp xx-xxi.
5 Interim Handlist of Somerset Quarter Sessions Documents and Other Official Records Pre-
served in the Somerset Record Office, Shire Hall, Taunton (Taunton, 1947).
6 Interim Handlist, p 19.
NOTES 621
34 Gleason, The Justices of the Peace in England, 1558 to 1640, p 92.
35 AL. Humphreys, The Somerset Roll (London, 1897), 81.
Editorial Procedures
PRO: STAC 8 299130.
PRO: E 101/325/21, mb 3. For a transcription and discussion of the account roll, see
Thomas Duffus Hardy, Rotuli De Liberate Ac De Misis et Praestitis, Regnante Iohanne
(London, 1844), 231. On the history of Stogursey, see Henry C. Maxwell Lyre, 'Curci,'
SANHS 66 (1921), 98--126.
624 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
- 'The Corporation of Axbridge, in the County of Somerset,' The3rdRepon of the
Manuscripts Commission. Appendix (London, 1872), 300-8.
- 'The City of Wells. Additional Report,' The 3rd Report of the Manuscripts Commission.
Appendix. (London, 1872), 350-1.
Hobhouse, Edmund (ed). Church-wardens'Accounts of Croscombe, Pilton, Yatton, ntinhull,
Morebath, and St. Michael's, Bath, Rangingjgom A.D. 1349 to 1560. sRs, vol 4 (1890).
Holmes, Thomas Scott (ed). The P, tgister of Jotm Staffora Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1425-1443.
2 vols. sRs, vols 31-2 (1915-16).
Humphreys, Arthur L. Somersetshire Parishes: A Handbook of Historical Reference to All Places
in the County (London, 1905).
James, P. Rowland. The Baths of Bath in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries (Bristol,
1938).
- 'The Incorporation of the City of Bath: Its Origin and its Working.' Unpublished typescript
deposited in the University of Bristol Library, 1956.
King, Austin J. and B.H. Watts. The Municipal Records of Bath: 1189 to 1604(London, [1885]).
King, J.F (ed). Inventory of Parochial Documents in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and the County
of Somerset (Taunton, 1938).
Kirby, Ethyn Williams. William Prynne: A Study in Puritanism (Cambridge, Mass., 1931).
Little, Bryan. The Building of Bath 47-1947." An Architectural and Social Study (London, 1947).
Maxwell Lyte, Henry Churchill (ed). Documents and Extracts Illustrating the History of the
Honour ofDunster, sgs, vol 33 (1917-18).
- A History of Dunster and ofthe Families of Mohun and LuttrelL Pt 1 (London, 1909).
Murray, John Tucker. English Dramatic Companies, 1558-1642. 2 vols (New York, 1910).
Nichols, John. The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth. 3 vols (London, 1823).
- The Progresses Processions, and Magnificent Festivities of IG'ngJames the First. 4 vols (London,
1828).
Nichols, John Gough (ed). 'Account of the Proctors of the Church of Yeovil, Co. Somerset,
36 Hen. vI. 1457-8,' Collectanea Topographia et Genealogica. Vol 3 (London, 1836), 134-
41.
Olivey, Hugh P. North Curry: Ancient Manor and Hundred. Notes on the History of the Three
Parishes: North Curry, Stoke St. Gregor West Hatch, Contained Therein (Taunton, 1901).
Pearson, C.B. (ed). 'The Churchwardens' Accounts of the Church & Parish of S. Michael
without the North Gate, Bath, 1349-1575,' sam/s 23, 24, 25, 26 (Taunton, 1878-81);
rpt sam/s, ns, 3-6 (1877-90).
Penley, Belville S. The Bath Stage (London and Bath, 1892).
Phelps, William. The History and Antiquities ofSomersetshire. 3 vols in 2 (London, 1836, 1839).
Powicke, EM. and C.P,. Cheney (eds). Councils &Synods with Other Documents Relating to the
English Church. Vol 2, AD 1205-1313, pt 1, 1205-65 (Oxford, 1964).
Quaife, G.R. Wanton Wenches and Wayward Vdves. (New Brunswick, NJ, 1979).
Reynolds, Herbert Edward (ed). Wells Cathedrak Its Foundation, Constitutional History, and
Statutes (Leeds, 1881).
Rushworth, John. Historical Collections (London, 1682).
626 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Somerset Medieval Wills. (Second Series, 1501-1530), with Some Somerset Wills Preserved at
Lambeth. ss, vol 19 (1903).
Wickham, Glynne. The Medieval Theatre (London, 1974).
Wood, John. An Essay towards a Description of the City of Bath (London, 1765).
Wright, R.W.M. (transl). 'The Churchwardens' Accounts of the Church of Saint Michael
(extra muros) 1349-1575, Transcribed from the Original ass, by Rev. C.B. Pearson.'
Bath Central Library handscript (Bath, 1926).
Wroughton, John. A Community at War: The Civil War in Bath and North Somerset
1642-1650 (Bath, 1992).
- King Edward's School at Bath, 1552-1982: The Fall and Rise ofthe Grammar School (Bath,
1982).
APPENDIXES, TRANSLATIONS, ENDNOTES, PATRONS AND
TRAVELLING COMPANIES, GLOSSARIES, AND INDEX
APPENDIX 1
Undated Record
BATH
St Iichad's Churchwardens'Accounts sRo: D/P/ba.mi. 41117
mb [2]* (Church expenses)
...Et in I ell pannilium empto pro saluacione [cor] ^rcorone iiij d. Et solutis
pro ij casys faciend/s & cooperacione de le Crowne xij d ....
635
the LordStanlove of harrington Treasurer of his Mest/es Chamber for all such somes of money as hath
beine receaved and paied by him within his Office from the feaste of St: Michaell Tharchangell Anno
Regni Regis lacobi Decimo vntill the feaste of St: Michaeil Anno Regni Regis Iacobi vndecimo
conteyning one whole yeare:'
Receiver General Account Book
London, Public Record Office, E 315/107; 1615; English with some Latin in headings; paper; ii + 41 + ii
(fly leaves 19th ); 450mm x 365mm; 19th pagination; originally single leaves now bound; condition
is generally good although some folios are torn, particularly at outside edge and bottom right comer;
early 19th brown cloth board binding with title on brown leather spine.
42
WELLS
1613
Pipe Oce Chamber Account
f 19
Bodl.: Rawlinson A 239
ooo
Item payd to the sayd Henry Colborne for the allowance of
himself one yeoman vsher, two yeomen of the Chamber two
groomes of the chamber two groomes of the wardrobe and
one groome porter for wa)rting attending and makeing ready
dyvers roomes & standeswhich were appoynted five severall
tymes at wells for her Mestie for the beholding ofdywrs
pageantes, showes, and sportes which were there presented
vnto her Ma/estie by the Lord Bishop and the towne of Welles
by the space of Eight dayes Mens Augusti 1613 as appeareth
by the like Bill
vij li. xvj d.!
10
15
BATH
1615
Receiver General's Account Book PRO: E 315/107
p 21
Musicions that plaid [vntil her Ma/estie] at the house where
her Mestie dined goeing [th] to the Bathe the xj th of August
aforesaid her Maieies Comaundement signified by Mr Hero
Musicions [of] ^rofl Andouer who played at the Bathe the xijth of
August aforesaid her Maieies Comaundement signified by Mr Hero
ooo
x s./
2O
25
3O
28/ Andouer: Andover. Hampshire
APPENDIX 3
Post- 1642 Documents
In spite of official opposition, several local traditions - notably riding skimmington, revelling,
and May games - survived in some places during the Commonwealth period. Records from
that period have not been comprehensively searched for this volume but those that have
incidentally come to light are presented here to suggest something of the resiliency of those
traditions. Records from the Restoration have not been included though ample evidence survives
of efforts to revive traditions during that period, notably May games (SRO: Q/SR 153, ff 14-15,
Q/SR 216 ff216-16v, Q/SR 212 f25, Q/SR 103 f37v, and Q/SR 100 f23), rope dancing
(Wells Cathedral: Document Add/2309), and riding skimmington (SRO: Q/SR 152, Item 1A).
No doubt more such references would turn up with a systematic search.
BRUTON AND DITCHEAT
See The Documents above (pp 509-10) for sRo: Q/SR 86, pt 2.
LANGFORD BUDVILLE
Quarter Sessions Petition
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, Q/SPet 1 67; c 1650; English; paper; bifolium; 308mm x 202mm;
unnumbered; text on f [1], the rest blank; good condition; mounted on modern paper sheet, in a folder,
kept in a guard book with 79 other items, folder labelled in upper right corner: 'Q/S pet 1 (pt 1 of 2).'
BRUTON
165213
Quarter Sessions Roll
f 107" (24February)
SRO: Q/SR 86, pt 2
Taken before John Carye, Iv
Thomas Gill of Brewton w/thin the said County Ciuear doth confesse that
Tuesday night last beinge Shroue Tuesday he with others, namely Ralph
10
APPENDIX 4
The Somerset Hogglers
Hoggling was a gathering or fundraising activity conducted door to door and seems to have
been common in early Somerset as some record of it survives from fifteen parishes. That it
could include performance appears from a case in the bishop's court concerning the parish of
Keynsham where, according to one deponent, the hogglers 'vsed to singe songes & bee very
merrie & haue good entertaynement att such howses as they went to' (see p 152). Since this
comment proves that performance accompanied hoggling at Keynsham the whole body of the
evidence for hoggling there has been included in the Records text. In the Glastonbury church-
wardens' accounts for 1428-9, the reference to hoggling is embedded in a block of entries
referring to entertainment and that placement might suggest that at Glastonbury, too, hog-
gling was associated with performance. On the whole it seems likely that hoggling involved
entertainment in most places where it is attested, even though the documentation never men-
tions it explicitly. But as some uncertainty exists, the Glastonbury hoggling extract has been
given below rather than in the Records and the remaining references to hoggling in Somerset
have also been collected in this appendix.
As far as one can tell hoggling was a seasonal activity. In Keynsham the men conducted
their hoggling on 26 and 27 December while the women held theirs at Easter (see p 150).
Glastonbury had hogglings at both Epiphany and Easter though whether by both men and
women in turn is not indicated. Hoggling in Portbury is variously described as occurring in
Christmastide, on New Year's Eve, or at Epiphany. In the Blagdon churchwardens' accounts
the expenses related to hoggling almost always fall between dated entries for Christmas and
Easter and sometimes between two January dates, suggesting that hoggling was conducted
during the twelve days of Christmas as in Portbury. In Banwell there is some evidence (see
below) to suggest that hoggling occurred as part of an Easter ale. In Cheddar the hogglings
are never dated but appear to have occurred some time between 18 October and 23 April, given
the way in which the accounts are usually organized. For other parishes the time of hoggling
is quite uncertain, though in Chew Magna and Dundry one parish's hoggling evidently coin-
cided with the other parish's church ale (see below). Its recurring association with the Christmas
season suggests that hoggling in Somerset could have resembled hogmanay, the gathering game
performed on New Year's Eve or Epiphany in many northern counties (see Clement A. Miles,
Christmas in Ritual and Tradition Christian and Pagan (London, 1912; rpt Detroit, 1968),
328-32 and Thomas K. Hervey, The Book of Christmas (Boston, 1888), 316-20).
APPENDIX 4
643
the ale continues through the second decade of the seventeenth century. The hoggling bread
repeatedly mentioned in those accounts may represent gifts in kind but might also suggest some
use of loaves in the hoggling activity itself.
Before the Reformation the proceeds of hoggling seem to have been applied for the most
part to maintaining one or more votive lights. The Giastonbury entry for 1439-40 directly
follows one recording the Easter collection for the 'Trendeli,' which was a circular hanging
frame supporting candles that probably provided the main light for the church. At Croscombe
in 1517-18, and apparently again in 1533-4, the accounts refer to the money brought in by
the hogglers as being for their light. References to hoggling lights or hogglers' lights also occur
in the Piiton accounts for 1509-11 and the two pertinent Tintinhuli entries (1444-5 and
1465-6). Henry vm's injunctions of 1535 forbade votive lights before images and that may
explain why Hobhouse reports no mention ofhoggling in the Croscombe accounts after that
date. Ifhoggling had been closely associated with votive lights that might also explain why it
ceased at Banweli and Cheddar during the reign of Edward v, when the authorities were espe-
cially hostile to all remnants of'the old religion'.
Already in Elizabeth's reign, and increasingly after her death, traditional forms of church
fundraising such as ales and hoggling began to give way to church rates. Puritans favoured
rates because they involved no traditional revelry or observance that might get out of hand
and parish authorities preferred them because they replaced discretionary giving and disput-
able custom with a compulsory tax proportioned at least roughly to the ratepayers' wealth.
This tendency is mirrored in several ways in Somerset parish records. At Brent Knoll the trans-
ition took place early and it can also be traced at Cheddar. The presentments excerpted for
Keynsham in the Records and for Brent Knoll, Chew Magna, and Portbury below illustrate
the disputes that could arise over a traditional practice such as hoggling and thus go far to ac-
count for its disappearance. Yet they also provide some of the best evidence for its nature and
purpose in Elizabethan and Stuart times. For further discussion ofhoggling in Somerset see
Stokes, 'The Hoglers,' pp 807-17.
As in the Records text, the editions of Hobhouse and Daniel have been used where original
accounts have been lost or have deteriotated further since their versions appeared. For particu-
lars of their editions see the document descriptions for Croscombe and Glastonbury in the
Introduction (pp 531-2 and 539).
BANWELL
St Andrew's Churchwardens'Accounts
The dating of these accounts is less straightforward than it at first appears. Study of the open-
ing and dosing sums and the names of incoming and outgoing parish officers shows that the
accounts dated 6 December 1515 to 6 December 1581 are ordered in a largely unbroken series.
The Latin formula used to date them down to 1556-7 appears to give the opening of the ac-
counting term but must in fact give the closing date. Beginning with 1557-8 the headings
are in English and give both regnal years and .D rendering dates but in the reign of Elizabeth
644 AFFENDtX 4
the rendering dates seldom match the regnal year. The explanation for this apparent mismatch
is that the Banwell accounts were presented on 6 December, only nineteen days after Elizabeth's
accession day; the regnal year given is usually the one most nearly coinciding with the account
year and during which the great majority of the receipts and payments were received or made.
For a few accounts, however, the regnal year given is the one in which the rendering day of
the account actually fell and in a few others the AD date is wrong. After the accession of James I
the dating becomes straightforward except for one error in 1611-12. All these exceptions are
briefly discussed in the endnotes.
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/ban 41111; 1516-1602; English (except f 1, Latin); paper; 245
leaves; 310mm x 230ram; unnumbered; sewn paper booklets, frayed edges (especially final 20 leaves);
parchment cover titled: '1516. Anno Henrici octauo septimo.'
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/ban 4/1/2; 1606-51; English; paper; 163 leaves; 320mm x
215mm; modem pagination (some pages, mostly versos, unnumbered and some blank leaves ignored);
sewn booklets (leaves extensively repaired and inset into new paper); generally quite legible but minor
losses of text have occurred at the edges of leaves throughout; modern quarter leather binding (1988).
The leaves are now bound out of order, the accounts for 1637-51 preceding a fragmentary account for
1605-6 and complete accounts running from 1606-7 to 1636-7.
BLAGDON
St Andrew's Churchwardens'Accounts
The dating of these accounts is not always clear. Normally the names of churchwardens and a
single year date are the only indications supplied; no account term is specified and the date of
rendering is frequently not given. In early years it appears that churchwardens were elected in
late December for the following year (eg, on 16 December 1599, wardens were chosen for 1600)
and some evidence also exists that the old wardens rendered their account when the new wardens
were chosen. However from 1607-8 on the accounts were clearly rendered in the spring. There-
after, even where rendering dates were not given, dated payments in the normally chronological
series of expenses in a given account usually show a progression from Whit Sunday or Trinity
Sunday in one year to Easter of the following year. This change seems to have begun with the
accounts of the wardens for 1604, since a fifth quarter, from Christmas 1604 to Easter 1605,
was added to the end of their account. The account headed 1606 thus began in the spring of
1605. It is not perfectly clear when that account closed nor when the account which closed
in March 1608 began. Possibly the account term was fluid during this transitional period or
possibly an account for 1606-7 has been lost. In any case the accounts from 1604-5 are pre-
sented with double years and the rendering dates are given where known. Before 1604-5 a
single calendar year is normally assigned. When hoggling payments fall within a dated sequence,
they are usually found between payments for Christmas and those for Easter. Special cases are
explained briefly in endnotes.
APPENDIX
645
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/P/blag 4/1/1; 1599-1654; English; parchment; 52 leaves; 308ram x
207mm; modern foliation; deteriorated leaves from a sewn booklet, now laminated between sheets of
uniform size, first and final leaves and parchment cover unrepaired; cover titled: 'Blagdon Churchwarden's
Accompts 1599 to 1654.'
BRENT KNOLL
Bishop's Court Deposition Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DIDCA 35; 1603-5(?); English and Latin; paper; 103 leaves; 300ram x
195rnm (207mm x 145mm); unnumbered; volume of sewn paper booklets; fairly good condition, parts
at the beginning and end appear to have been cut out (the first clear date (f [27]) is 14 November 1603);
original binding, parchment cover with 'Examinatio testium' on front-
CHEDDAR
St Andrew's Churchwardens" Accounts
These accounts are dated only by a single year and the names of the churchwardens. No account
term is given; a rendering date (29 May (Ascension Day) 1617) is given only once and incid-
entally. Internal evidence suggests that a double year should be assigned to each account, with
the year specified at the opening taken as the starting point. It is not clear either what the ac-
count term was nor that it remained constant, but such evidence as is available points to a start
sometime in the spring. Receipts do not appear to have been recorded in chronological order
and so they provide no indication of the time of year at which the hoggling took place. However,
the hoggling receipts usually precede those for St George's fair (23 April) and St Luke's fair
(18 October).
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/SAS SE 14; 1612-74; English; paper; ii + 107 + ii; 300mm x
190ram (280ram x 155mm); modern foliation; paper booklets repaired as single volume; modem brown-
grey cover with 'M.S.S. Cheddar 1612 to 1674' on spine. The accounts for 1621-30 are missing.
CHEWMAGNA
Bishop's Court Deposition Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, D/D/Cd 131; 1633; English and Latin; paper; 30 leaves; 315mm x
200mm (variable x 145ram); unnumbered; first leaf dated '1633' and on the final leaf is '1633 Loscomb
et alii contra hazell et hunt/.' The hoggling entries occur in a booklet concerning one case only, which
for this collection has been counted as a separate unit- The Deposition Book is a large collection of loose
depositions, amounting to some 300 leaves, tied into three stacks arranged in rough chronological order
(1632-5, 1636-9, and 1640-75); this booklet is part of the first stack. The depositions are too fragile
for extensive handling or foliation and some extremely fragile parts were not produced for examination.
654 APPENDIX 4
Item Receuydoff lohn Banwell & lohn Sayre hogleres
offthe marsshe
Summa vjii. xv s. ij d.
iij li. vii s. iiij d.
1543-4
St Andrew's Cimrctnoarderm " Accounts
f [78] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
ooo
Item Receuyd offwill/am glasyer & lohn parker
hoglers off the vplonde iiij li. viij s. iiij d.
ltem Receuydofflohn shippard & Robart
Kockes hoglers ofye marsshe iij li. viii d.
SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
Summa totalis vii li. ix d.
10
1544-5
St Andrew's Churchwardens'Accounts
f [80v] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
Item Receuyd off Raffe bowmer & Robartt lvdwell hogleres off
the vpIond xlix s. j d.
Item Receuyd offlohn sayre & Iohn sayre hogleres of the marsshe iij li. xs.
v li. xixs. j d.
15
20
1545-6
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts sao: D/P/ban 41111
f [83v] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Item Receuyd off Iohn beele & will/am Cirke hogleres
offthe vplond iij li. vij s. [vj d.] ij d.
ltem Receuydoff Iohn lrisshe & vmfrye tryppe hogleres
offthe marsshe vj li. vj d.
Sum total ix li. vij s. viij d.
1546-7
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [86] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Item Receuyd offRichard parstowe & Iohn blandon
hogleres off the vplonde iij li. ix s. ij d.
35
40
656 APPENDIX 4
1556-7
StAndrew's Ctmrclnoardens'Accounts SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [113v] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Item Receuyd off lohn craye & henry matthewe hogleres
offthe vplond
Item Receuyd offvmffrye tryppe & Robartt Cryse hogleres
of the marsshe
iij li. xxj d.
v li. ij s. iiij d.
1557-8
StAndrew's Clmrchwardens'Accounts SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [1 16]* (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
ooo
Item Receuydoff Robartt Cryse for mony vnpayd off
Ther yet off hoglyng
Item Receuyd oflohn Barton & lohn payne hoggleres
off ye vplond
Item Receuydof Iohn Symondes & Iohn buscyll hogleres
of the marsshe
Summa viij li. xvij s. ix d. oh.
viij d.
v li. vj s. viij d.
iij li. xj s. j d. ob.
lO
15
2O
1558-9
St Andrew's Ctmrdnoardens" Accounts SRO:
f [119v] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
D/P/ban 4/1/1
Item Recyved of william Crasse & Richard Nedes hoglares
of the vplond
Item Recyved of william busscell & Richard mastre hoglares
of the marshe
iiij li. xv s. x d.
vj li.
25
3O
1559-60
StAndrew's Ctmrdnoardens'Accounts SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [122v] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Item Receved of Thomas yeuynges & Nicholas warren hoglers
ofye vpland
Item Receved of Iohn Tokye and water kencotte hoglers of the marche
Summa viij li. vj s. viij d.
lxvj s. viij d.
Cs.
35
4O
APPENDIX dt 659
f [ 156v] (New officers chosen)
yt ys agreed that Ihon webe & rychard luffe shalbe hoglers for the vp land:
and for the marshe Ihon zayer ye yunger Iohn Wyly ...
1568-9
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts sgo: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [157] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Item Receved ofIohn webbe & Rychard luffe hoglars of
the vplonde
Item Receved of Iohn Sayer & Iohn Wylly hoglars off the
marshe
lxvj s. viij d.
v li. iiij s. ij d.
1569-70
St Andrew's Churchwardens' Accounts
f [159v]* (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
sRo: D/P/ban 4/1/1
Item Recevid ofRychard neds & lohn berd hoglers of
the vp land
Item Recevid ofIohn mors & Iohn huishe hoglers of
the marche
iiij li. xviij s. iiij d.
iiij li. vj s. viii d.
1570-1
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts sRo: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [161 v] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Item Recevid of Iohn Hawkins thelder and wyllyam buscell
of the gantt hoglers of the marche
Item Recevid oflohn wall & Richard biddele hoglers of
the vpland
iiij li. vj s.
iiij li. xiij s. vj d.
f [163v] (New officers chosen)
Raffe Davis & Iohn Devenshire hoglers for the vpland
Iohn Daye & Iohn Hawkins the younger for the marche hoglers
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
21/ xviij s.: corrected, perhapl fom xix s.
660 APPeNDiX 4
1571-2
St Andrew's Churchwardens'Accounts
f [164] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Recevid of Raffe Davis & Iohn Devensher hoglers of
the vpland
Recevid oflohn hawkins the yonger & Iohn daye
hoglers of the marche
SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
iiij li. xvj s. viij d.
iiij li. xvij s. [(..4] tiiij d.
1572-3
StAndrew' Churclnvardens'Accounts sgo: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [167]* (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Recevid of master ^rhornerl gentellman & Thomas stevens
hogglers of the vpland
Received of hewe Canway & william knight hogglers of
the marche
iiij li.
iiij li. vii s. viij d.
1573-4
StAndrew' Churchwardens'Accounts sgo: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [ 169v]* (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Recevid oflohn Paine & Richard goodridg hogglers for
the vpland
Recevid of Thomas Bussher & thomas morsse hogglers
for the marche
vii. xvd.
iiij li. xiij s. x d. ob.
ix I. xiij s. x d.
oh.
f [171v] (New officers chosen)
oo.
Hvmfrie Egill & Iohn Collyns hogglers for the vpland
Lawrence knyght and Iohn buscell ofeste Rollston hogglers for the marsh
1574-5
StAndrew' Churchwardens'Accounts SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [ 172v]* (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Recevid ofhvmfrie Egill & Iohn Collyar hogglers of the vpland vj li. ij s. ix d.
Recevid of Lawrence knyght & Iohn buscell hogglers of
the marche v li. ix s. x d.
33/ este Rollston: harala about 2 miles north of Banwell
APPENDIX 4 661
1575--6
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts SRO: D/P/ban 41111
f [179]* (Rendered 6 December) (New officers chosen)
hogglers for the vpland is chossen Water Craye Hewe
benatt
hogglers for the marche is Appoynted William treper &
William Sayer of Saynt gorge
iiij li. xij s. iiij d.
iiij li. xvj s. iij d.
1576-7
St Andrew's Churchwardens'Accounts sp.o:
f [ 179v]* (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
D/P/ban4/l/1
ooo
Item Recevyd by vs wardens of thomas Reue of Combsburye
at Wyne fayre Daye for his gifte that he gave to the parishe
for want the hoglers did not axe it
xij d.
lO
15
f [183]
hoglers for
the vpland
hoglers for
the marche
(New officers chose.)
harry welshman
and lohn masten
lohn Buscell and
Thomas ffarr
1577-8
St Andrew's Churchwardens" Accounts
f [187] (Rendered 6December)
SRO: DIPIban41111
2O
25
And also it is Agreed by the consent of the wholl parishoners at this accompts
houldon the sixe daye of December in the xxj th yere of the Raynge of our
souerainge ladye Elizabethe that nowe is Quene that from hence forth the
hoglers shall paye theire monye all wais the Sondaye beffore Sayntt nycholas
Daye accordyng to the ould order vpon payne ofvj s. viij d. A peced that
maketh defaultt And also the highe wardens shall all wayes hencforth k(.)pe
there accustomed daye for there accompt which is Sayntt nycholas Daye vpon
payne ofx s. A man
hoglers
William geuyns and William goodridge
hogglers for the vpland this yere
40
8/ Saynt gorge: hamlet I mile northwest of Banweil 8/ iij d.: blaued
APPENDIX 4 665
Chosson hoglers for this yere for the vpland abell walker and Raffe Barton
Chossen for the marche Iohn payne the younger and henrye Longe
f [250]*
Reseved more y,,t was behind of Abell of gathering ob. acre
of william wild and nicholas stonne for the last yere
iij s. vj d.
1592-3
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts sao: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [217v] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Item Recev/dof Iohn shepard for his part ofhoglinge
Item Recev/dmore oflohn warrin for his hoglinge
Item Recev/dmore of Edmond shepard & Iohn wall
for their hogling yat was to getheringe
Item Recev/dmore viii s. iij d. for ouer hogling monys
Item henrie longe and Iohn payne ye yonger hath
delyverid in at this accompts for hogling in Redy
mony for the marshe gifte
Item Raffe Barton & Abell walker hath delyverid in At this
accompts for hogling in Redy mony for the vplandes gifts
oo.
xij d.
XS.
viii s. iij d.
iiij li. iiij s. viii d. ob.
xlix s. ij d.
l0
15
20
1593-4
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts sgo: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [221 ] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Recevid of hattie longe and Iohn paine at one tyme yat theye
gathrid of the churche gift yat was behind in their yere
Recevid at one other tyme of the said harrye and Iohn for
the parishe gifte yat was behinde in theire yere ofhogling
for william sayers gifte
Item Recevid oflohn stevens and for that was behind in his
yere of hogling
25
vj 5. x d. 30
ij s. vj d.
xxd.
35
f [224]
hoglers choson for this yere for the vpland is Gorge page and Robard godwine 40
hoglers chosson for the marche this yere is Richard goodridge & Iohn Bossher
6/ was: corrected from is 6/ ob. acre:, exparuwn conjectural
a'PENDtX 4 667
RecevMof Richard goodridge for yat he was behind for his
hogling
Recevid of Wiliam Tripe and Thomas Knight hoglers of the
marche
oo.
Recev/dof the hoglers of the vpland beinge william Baker
& Richard nobell
Recevidof the hoglers of the marche beinge Iohn Tokey
and Thomas hill
iij s. iiij d.
xij s.
iij li. iiij s. vj d. ob.
iiij li. xvij d.
f [2331 (New offmers chosen)
ooo
hoglers for the vpland Thomas stonne and Iohn Egill
hoglers for the marche Thomas Symonds and mathewe Irishe
1597-8
St Andrew's Churchwardens'Accounts
f [233v] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Recevid of the hoglers of the vpland beinge Thomas
stonne & lohn Egi||
Recevid of the hoglers of the marche beinge Thomas
Symonds & mathewe Irishe
SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
iij li. xvij s. viii d. oh.
iiij li. vj s. xj d. ob.
f [23 1 (N,w officers chosen)
hoglers for the vpland is chosson Iohn love and Iohn Deane
hoglers for the marche is chosson Edward Buscell & william Buscell
i0
15
20
25
30
1598-9
StAndrew's Churchwardou'Accounts SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/1
f [236v] (Rendered 6 December) (Receipts)
Receaued of the hodlers of the Mearshe beinge Edward Bustle 35
& william Bustle iij li. x s.
Receaued of the hodlers of the vpland beinge Iohn Loue and
Iohn Deane the some iij li. vi I s.
Receauedalso of lohn Loue, Iohn Deane, Edward Bustle,
for ther brwinge for the same yeare v li. xiij s. iiij d.
APPENDIX
Receued of Rychard Nobdl & Edward Luffe hoglers for
the vpland the Some of
Receued of Edmond Shepard on of The hoglers of The march
for this yeare The Some of
p 154* (New officers chosen)
hogglers for the vpland
hogglers for the marsh
lohn Ienings
[lohn] Thomas noise
lohn Kencot
lohn hayne
671
iij li. iij s.I
10
(Hogglers" receipts)
Item receaved of William Irish being hogler for the Marsh
in Anno 1607
Item receaved of Edmund Sheppard being hogler for the
Marsh in Anno 1608
Item receaved of Edmond Sheppard being hogler for the
marsh Since the Acoumpt the Sore of
Receaved of Rychardnobell & Edward Luffe hoglers for the
vpland the Sore of
v s. iij d.
Iv s.l v so
OS.
xiij s. ij d.
20
1609-10
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts SRO: D/P/ban 4/1/2
V 155 (Reed11April) (Receipts)
Item Receued more of william Ierish hogler for The march
Item Receued more of Edmond Shepard hogler of The march
Sines the last Accoumpt the Some of
Item Receued more of Edward Luffe hogler for the vpland Senes
the last accovmpt
Item more Receued of Iohn Kencot & Iohn Hayne hoglers
of the marsh for the church giftes the Some of
Item more Receued of Iohn Ienynges & Thomas morse
hoglers of the vpland for the church gifie
Item more Receued of Edmond Shepard
v s. iij d.
iij li. x s.
xiij s. ij d.
iiij li. xvij (...)
iij li. xvj s. j d(.)
vii s. ix d.
25
3O
35
672
APPENDIX 4
p 160 (New officers chosen)
ooo
hoglers of the marsh
hoglers of the vpland
Iohn Tuckey
Iohn morse
Iohn Rooe
william Edgi(..)
(Late receipts)
Item Receuede of Iohn Kencot Senst The Last Accoumpt
the Som of
Item Receued of Iohn Kencot Sines the last accoumpt the
Som of
1610-11
StAndrew's Clrurclnoardens'Accounts sRo: D/P/ban 4/1/2
p 161 (Rendered 10 March) (Receipts)
Item Receued of Iohn Kencotte beinge hogler the yere Paste
of Collected mony Due to the church the sume of
Item Receued of the sayde Iohn kencotte colected monye as
afforsayd The Some of
p 162
Item Receued of william Edgill & Iohn Roo hoglers for the
vpland for the church gifte for this yeare the Some of
Item Receued ofIohn Tockey and Iohn morse hoglers for
the march for the church gifie for this yeare the Some of
iij s. v d.
iiij s. x d.
iij li. xiiij s. v d.
iiij li. ij s.
i0
15
20
25
30
p 166 (New officers chosen)
hoglers for the vpland
Iohn Edgill
[ Iohn Ienings]
Edmund payne
hoglers for the marsh
35
APPENDIX 4 673
Iohn wall
Iohn Simons
ooo
and there Remayneth to be collected of the hoglers of the
march
xxviij s. vj d.
p 167 (Late receipts)
.oo
Item mor Receued ofIohn Tockey hogler of the march Senes
the last accoumpt
Item more Receued of Iohn Tockey hogler of the march Senes
the Last acoumpt
xxij s.
xviij d.
i0
1611-12
StAndrew' Clmrchwarden'Acounts silo: D/P/ban 4/1/2
pp 169-70 (Rendered 15 March) (Receipts)
Item Receued of Iohn Tockey hogler of the march
Item Receued ofIohn Edgell & Edmond Payne hoglers of the
vpland the Som of
Item Receued ofIohn walle hogler of the marshe the Som of
Remaynethe of the marsh bill to be collected the Som of
& of the vpland bill the Som of
p 174 (New officers chosen)
hogglers of the vpland
mr Richard calthropt
Edward morse
hoglers of the marsh
Thomas sayer
Edmund [Irishe] hayne
xxiiij s. vij d.
iij li. xiiij s.
iiij li. xvj s. I
X'Vj $o
iijs. yd.
15
20
25
30
1612-13
StAndrew' Clmrcinvardem'Acounts silo: D/P/ban 4/1/2
p 175 (Rendered 7April) (Receipts)
ooo
Item Receued of Iohn walle hogler of the march Sines the
Last Accoumpt
o.o
xvs. vj d. oh.
35
40
APPENDIX 4
Item received of the same Thomas Sayer
Item received of Iohn Clarcke hoggler for the vpland
Item received oflohn Knight of the marsh
1615-16
StAndrew's Clrurctwardens'Accounts sao: D/P/ban 4/1/2
p 197 (Rendered6April) (Receipts)
.oo
Inprimis receaved since the Laste Count Daye of Iohn Knight
hogler of the March for ye Laste yeare
Item receiued of lohn Clarcke hogler for the vpland
ooo
675
IO
19s.
30s. 4d.
BLAGDON
15
1600
St Andrew' Clrurctrwardens" Accounts
f5
so: D/P/blag 4/1/1
Item receaued by collecting the deuotion of the parishionours
^r& others 1, which commonlye is called hoggling [th] to the
valewe of
1601
St Andrew' Clrurctrwardens" Accounts
f 7v (Rendered 26 December)
sRo: D/P/blag 4/1/1
vii. xj s. x d.
20
25
lohn Olonde & henrye osone churchewardens 1601
(.)tern they Receved of the parrisheners By collect/on &
devocion of others commenlye called hogline monaye vj li. j s. x d.
ooo
30
1602
St Andrew's Clrurclnoardens' Accounts
f 8v
sgo: D/P/blag 4/1/1
ooo
Item Receuedofthe parrisheners w/th others comrnlye called hogline monaye
forte poundes xvij s. ij d.
35
40
3/ iii (...): edge ofleafdecayed 4/ iii i |i. (...): edge ofleafdecayed
678 AFPENDIX 4
1612-13
StAndrew's Churctnvardens'Account sgo: D/P/blag 4/1/1
f 18v (Rendered I I April) (Receipts)
Item Receaved of hoglyne/monaye 3 from the youthes
with others [xx s. (.)j d.] xxv s. ij 6)
1613-14
StAndrew's Churctnvardens'Account sRo: D/P/blag 4/1/1
f 19v (Rendered 15 May) (Receipts)
Item Receved for hoglyne Breade & cheese
Item Receaved ofhoglyne monaye ofyouthes & others
xxvj s. viij d.
xxij s. vj d.
1614-15
St Andrew's Churcttwardens" Account
f20v* (Receipts)
SRO: D/P/blag 4/1/1
[Anno domini 1615 [1615] the xxi th of Maye]
[Item receiued of the Hoglers Bread and Chease
[Item receiued of the youthes & others
xxj s.l
xviij s. xj d.]
(Charges)
[Item payd for the Carringe of the bage for ye hoglers
[Item payd to the Writer that went with the hoglers
f 21v* (Rendered 27May) (Receipts)
Item received money for the hoglinge Bread & Chease
Item of the youths and others
10
15
25
xij d.]
viii (.)] 30
Kxj S. 35
xjx S.
21/ 1615: correctedfrora 1614
29/ xii: correctedfrora vii
APPENDIX 4 679
(Charges)
Item payd to Iohn Preston for Baringe the bage A hoglinge
Item paid to the writer that went with the hogelers
1615-16
St Andrew's Churchwardens" Accounts
f 22* (Rendered 25 March) (Payments)
SRO: D/P/blag 4/1/1
ffor bearing the bag to Iohn Preston at hogling
f 22v (Receipts)
ffor bread and Chease given in hogling
of the youthes and others
1616-17
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts SRO: D/P/big 4/1/1
f 23 (Rendered 11 May) (Receipts)
Item Receavedfor bread & Chese geathered in hoglyne
Item geathered of the youthes & others in hoglyne
1617-18
StAndrew's Churchwardens'Accounts sRO: DIPIblag 4/111
f 24 (Rendered 26April) (Receipts)
Received for bread and chease gathered in hogling
Received of the youths which they voluntarily contributed
1618-19
St Andrew's Churchwardens'Accounts
f 25 (Receipts)
Receiued of the youth, which they gaue voluntarily
Receiued for bread and Chease in Hogling
SRO: D/P/blag 4/1/1
xxvj s.
xxvs. j d.
s.
viii d.
5
iiij d. ,o
xxiiij s.
X[XllJ $.
xxxv s. vj d.
ijli. ijs. iijd.
jli. xs. 0
15
20
25
30
35
40
680
APPENDIX 4
(Charges)
paid to Iohn Preston for carying the bagg
1619-20
St Andrew's Churchwardens'Accounts
f 26 (Receipts)
SRO: D/P/blag 41111
Item Received of the youth which they gaue voluntarily
Item for bread and Cheese gathered in Hogling
(Charges)
Item to Iohn Preston for caryeing the bag
1620-1
St Andrew's Churchwardens'Accounts
f 26v (Receipts)
SRO: D/P/blag 41111
Item of the youth of the parish
Item for bread & cheese gathered
(Charges)
Item to lohn Preston for caryeing the bagge
ooo
1621-2
St Andrew's Cburdnaardens" Accounts
f 27v* (Receipts)
SRO: D/P/big 41111
Item for bread and Cheese
Item gathered of the youth
0
j$o
li. s. d.
1 17 3
1 9 -
- 1
li. s. d.
2 6 9
1 10 -
- 1
li. s. d.
1 8 8
1 9 4
l0
15
2O
25
35
4O
686 AFPENDIX 4
CHEW MAGNA
163314
Bishop's Court Deposition Book sp, o: D/D/Cd 131
ff [6-6v]* (20 March) (Deposition of Robert Wade, husbandman, aged 77)
Taken before William Tegh, Edward Bernard, and Samuel Wade, commissaries,
in a chamber of the Flower de Luce Inn in Chew Magna, in the presence of
Alexander Jett, notary public
Ad vltimum interrogatorium respondet that I heeretofore before rates were
made for the repeyring of the parishe church of Chewmagna aforesaid, [wh]
and other things therevnto belonging, when churchales weare vsed & the
church of Chewmagna aforesaid thereby repeyred, [an] the Inhabitants of
Chewmagna aforesaid went a hogling to dundrie and there had come given
them, which was spent att the churchales, and dundries men in the like manner
[ga] had come given them from Chew/Et aliter respondere nescit//
l0
15
Signum Roberti + Wade/
20
ff [15-15v] (21 March) (Deposition of William Wade of Dundry, yeoman,
aged 80)
Taken before Edward Bernard and Samuel Wade in the home of John Stibbins
of Dundry in the presence of Alexander Jett, notary public
ooo
Ad secundum art/culum allegationis predicte deponit et dick that this deponent
was borne and bredd vpp in dundrie articulate and there hath lived for all his
lieftyme and yet liveth, and hath byn of remembrance for art least threescoare
yeares last past and vpwards, and he deposeth and sayeth that in his first tyme
of memorie, and soe for manie yeares after bothe the Church of Chewmagna
and the church or Chappell ofdundrie was repeyred and mayneteyned by
Churchales and the profitts & commodities that came of the same, in which
tyme ofchurchales the Churchwardens of Chewmagna for the tyme being
vsed to come to dundrie, and there to hoggle and gather from some of the
Inhabitants ofdundrie theire good will in Come or monie if they pleased to
giue anie, which by repoorte was imployed att the said churchales but this
deponent deposeth and sayeth that alwaies being an Inhabitant ofdundrie
from his bearth as aforesaid, and haueing had meanes in the said place for
fifiie yeares last past & vpwards vnder his father & in his owne righte, he
19/ Signum ... Wade: Wade has signed with his personal mark
690 APPENDIX 4
AC
1488-9
St Mary's Churchwardens" Accounts
p 16 (12January 1487C-19January 1488/9)
Comys the hoggelers and presents in
delyvered to Rychardatt Wyll for the stoke
Hobhouse: Church-Wardens'Accounts
VS.
ij s.
AC
1489-90
St Mary's Churchwardens" Accounts
p 17 (19January-16January)
Comys the hoggelers and presents in
Delyveryd to Rychard art Wyll a stoke
Hobhouse:
Chu rch- Wardens'Accounts
vj s. ij d. ob.
ij s.
10
15
AC
1490-1
St Mar3?s Churchwardens'Accounts
p 18 (16January- 15January)
Hobhouse:
Comys the hoggelers and presentyth in
delyveryd to Rychardatt Wyll
Church- Wardens'Accounts
v s. iij d. ob.
ij s.
20
AC
1491-2
St Mary's Churchwardens" Accounts
p 18 (15 January-14 January)
The hoggelers
Rychardatt Wyll receives
Hobhouse: Church-Wardens'Accounts
iiij s. ix d.
ij s.
25
30
AC
1492-3
St Mary's Churchwardens'Accounts
p 19 (14January-12January)
The hogglers
Rychardat Wyll receives
Hobhou:
Chu rch- Wardens'Accounts
iiij s. iv d. ob.
ij s.
35
APPENDIX 4 693
AC
1503-4
St Mary's Churchwardens" Accounts
p 26 (14 January-13 January)
The hogrars bring
P4chardVoll of the same receives
Hobhouse: Church-Warden/Accounts
VS.
ij s. viii d.
AC
AC
AC
AC
1504-5
St Marls Churchwardens'Accounts
p 27 (13 January-12 January)
ooo
The hoglars bring
P4chardVole receives of the same
Hobhouse:
1505-6
St A4ary's Churchwardens'Accounts Hobhouse:
p 27 (12Januaryl504/5-January 1505/6)
The hoglars bring
RichardWolls receives
1506-7
St Mary's Churchwardens" Accounts
p 28 (January-January)
.oo
The hoglars bring
P4chard Volls receives
Hobhouse:
1507-8
St A4arfs Churchwardens'Accounts Hobhouse:
p 29 (January 1506/7-13January1507/8)
ooo
The hoglers bring
P4chardVoll receives of same
Church- Wardens" Accounts
vjs. ij d.
ij s. viii d.
Church- Wardens'Accounts
iij s. ix d.
ij s. viii d.
Church- Wardens'Accounts
iv s. vii d. ob.
ij s. viii d.
Church- Wardens'Accounts
iiij s. v d.
ij s. viii d.
i0
15
20
2
30
35
5/ hogrars: Hobhouse adds
696 APPENDIX 4
AC
AC
AC
AC
AC
AC
1518--19
St Marff s Churclnoardots'Accounts
p 35 (17January-15January)
Hobhouse:
Church- Wardens'Accounts
The hoglers, tokers, young men and maidens present
xxix s. vj d.
1519-20
St Mars Churchwardens'Accounts Hobhouse: Church-Wardens'Accounts
p 35 (15 January-14 January)
ooo
The hoglers, Tokers, young men, maidens, and pascall xxxviij s. vj d.
1520-1
St Marff s Churchwardens'Accounts Hobhouse: Church-Wardens'Accounts
p 35 (14January-14January)
.oo
[The hoglers, towkers, young men, maidens, the pascall, and Saint George's
profits as usual .... ]
1522-3
St Mars Churchwardens'Accounts
p 36 (January-January)
ooo
[The hoglers and outgoings as usual.]
Hobhouse:
Church-Wardens'Accounts
1523-4
St Mary's Churchwardens'Accounts Hobhouse: Church-Wardens'Accounts
p 36* (January 1522C-17January 1523/4)
[The hoglers, young men, maidens, and Towkers as usual, expenditure ditto.]
1524-5
St Marff s Churchwardens'Accounts Hobhouse: Church- Wantens'Accounu
p 37 (17January- 16January)
ooo
[All the usual entries of receipts and payments, except that there are no Saint
Michael or Saint George receipts.]
700 AFFEDL 4
1511-12
St Mary's Churchwardens'Accounts
p 11 (29January-20January)
o.o
Item for hogglyng bred
ooo
SRO: DD/WO 49/1
vj s.
1512-13
St Mary's Churcbwardem'Accounts
p 13 (20 January-9 January)
oo.
Item we receuyd for hoglyng bred
ooo
SRO: DD/WO 49/1
10
vs.
St Mary's Clmrclwardem'Accounts
p 17" (19 January-5 January)
Item of lohn Pyndon for hoglyng bred
SRO: DD/WO 49/1
iiij d.
15
20
1514
St Mary's Churchwardens'Accounts
p 19" (5 January-3O December)
Item receuyd for hoggling bred
SRO: DD/WO 49/1
1514-15
St Mary's Churchwardens'Accounts
p 21 (30December-22 December)
ooo
In primis we made offoureoglyn bred
SRO: DD/WO 49/1
1515-16
StMary's Churchwardens'Accounts SRO: DD/WO 49/1
p 23 (22 December-28 December)
.oo
Item made ofoglynbred [& yn mony xj quarteres] at
v d. a quarter
Item gaderd of mony
vij s. j d.
vj s. ij d. ob.
iiij s. iij d.
xiiij d. ob.
25
3O
35
APPENDIX 4 701
1516-17
St illary's Churchwardens'Accounts
p 24 (28 December-20 December)
Item made of oglynbred
SRO: DD/WO 49/1
1518-19
St lllars Churchwardens'Accounts sao:
p 27 (25 December-25 December)
Item made ofhoglyng bred and yn mony
DD/WO 49/1
1519-20
St lllary's C]urchwardens" Accounts
p 29 (25 December-6 December)
Item made ofogglyng bred
SRO: DD/WO 49/1
1520-2
StMao/s Churclwardens'Accounts SRO: DD/WO 49/1
p 31 (6December 1520-27January 1521/2)
Item We made of hoglyng bred
1522-3
St lVIary's Churchwardens'Accounts
p 33 (27January-20January)
Item made of the hoglyng bred
sRo: DD/WO 49/1
1523-4
St Mao/s Churchwardens'Accounts
p 35 (20January-16January)
Item made of the hooglyng brede
SRO: DD/WO 49/1
vs. vd. 5
l0
vij s.
15
vij s. vj d. ij d.
20
25
vij s.
30
35
v s. ij d. 40
19/ ij d.: addedin a different ink
APPENDIX 4 707
...And for the hogling monie mention in this article this I deponent can saie
nothing in particuler, but deposeth & sayeth that for & during the tyme of
his memorie, there hath bene & yet is a vse & Custome in the parishe of
Portburie aforesaid att Christmas yearelie aboute new yeares [da] daie to goe
aboute the parishe to all Inhabitants rhowseholdersl a hogling and rtol collect
[peoples] theire voluntarie guifies in monie what they please to the vse of the
Church ofPortburie & reparations thereof, & necessarie ornaments therevnto
belonginge: And this deponente [hath] heeretofore [hard] ^ramongest 1 diuers
[antien] others hath hard one Richard Graile de [ead'] Portburie defunctus
aboute two yeares agoe and then aged by estimation [seaventie three] threescoare
& thirteene yeares old to repoorte & talke of the premisses Et aliter deponere
nescit//
f [13v] (Deposition of Rse Wade, aged 60, wife of Thomas Wade, husbandman)
Ad secundum art/culum allegac/on/s siue materie predicte deponit et dicit quod
credit articulum esse verum, reddendo rationem credulitatis sue dicit that this
deponents ^rformerl husband for the space of term yeares or thereaboutes
ended aboute twentie yeares [to] ra 1 goe, rented the said Mansion howse [fr]
& growndes therevnto belonging, from the then Lord of the Manner, [Sir
Iohn W] by [I] name Iohn Wake Esquier...
20
f [14v]*
25
...But she deposeth & sayeth that during the tyme this deponent & her said
husband soe lived in the said [p] Mansion howse aforesaid & held the same &
the grownds therevnto belonging, the parisheners appoynted for that purpose
vsuallie once a yeare on new yeares eue came a hogling to theire said howse,
& there they had such voluntarie contribucion to the vse of the Church of
Portburie aforesaid as this [said] deponents said husband was willing to
bestowe vppon them. Et aliter deponere nescit/.
30
ff [16v-17] (Deposition of Thomas Wade, yeoman, aged 47)
Ad tercium articulum allegacionis siue Materie precte in vim iuramenti sui
prestiti examinatus deponit et dicit that this deponent hath lived within the
parishe of Portburie aforesaid for the space of eighteene yeares last past or
thereaboutes, and during the said tyme hath bene as a parishener & holder[s] 40
11 mention:firmentioned 21 deposeth: d wm'tten overs
APPENDIX 5
Poems about the
Wells Shows of 1607
The conflict arising from the Wells Shows of 1607 inspired two of the proponents to write
poems celebrating the events and attacking those who opposed them. One of the poems at
least was widely disseminated and sung; both figured as evidence in the suit that John Hole,
their chief target, brought in the Star Chamber against the organizers of the shows. Besides
furnishing vivid examples of early seventeenth-century satirical poetry the poems provide useful
descriptions of the shows, supplement the testimony in the suit (see Appendix 6), and give a
record of their authors' perceptions of the shows' significance in the life of the town.
The first, and apparently the more popular, is a ballad called variously 'My Loving Friends'
from its opening words or, in some copies, 'William Gamage's Idle Brains' (p 321,11.38-9 and
p 711, 1.5). Gamage wrote this ballad in July 1607, apparently while imprisoned in Wells for
his part in the shows (for a full discussion, see the Endnotes, pp 936-7). Along with Edmund
White and John Gylbert, Gamage seems to have been one of the chief organizers of the shows.
He had ridden through Wells on 25 June carrying the 'holing game' (briefly described in Ap-
pendix 6), which seems to have become notorious throughout the county and is mentioned
both at the opening of the ballad and in its refrain. Both the game and the obscene jokes that
Gamage was accused of making and eliciting as he rode with it were designed to accuse Hole,
the puritanical town constable who had tried to stop the shows, of philandering and hypocrisy.
Gamage was obviously proud of his literary effort and his authorship was widely known: eg,
to William Evans and Edward Carye. He also admitted it to the lord chief justice when Hole
complained about the ballad at the Taunton assizes (pRo: STAC 8/161/1, sheets lv-2, 53,
68-8v, 74, 125, 131,168, 170v-1,173v, 177, 183, and 216v).
Questions put to Gamage and others by the examiners suggest that the court had as many as
thirteen exhibits, among which were copies of the ballads by Gamage and Morgan marked E and
B respectively. Two other exhibits (G and H) to which Gamage refers were copies of his ballad
written in his own hand but neither they nor any exhibits other than E and B survive. Both
ballads also survive as copied into the bill of complaint lodged by Hole, of which the original
and two administrative copies are extant. When shown exhibit G in December of 1608 Gamage
at first denied that it was in his hand and refused to provide a sample of his writing (sheet 144)
but when re-examined in August of 1609 he admitted that he had written out both G and H
(sheet 150). There is no reason to think he wrote out E; the writing does not match his signature
on sheet 150, the spelling of his name in the heading is not the one he himself used there, and
the text is corrupt in ways that are unlikely for an autograph.
710 APPENDIX
The version surviving as exhibit E consists of twenty-five stanzas. It is written on a single
leaf, now bound wrong way round so that the first half (sheet 117v) follows the second (sheet
117). The two pages are each arranged in double columns and ruled in boxes, one for each
stanza, but many lines in the left columns run over into the adjoining boxes. There are several
corrections. The version in the bill of complaint (p 267, I. 11-p 269, I. 19) comprises thirty-
six stanzas and includes additional descriptions of the shows of 17 and 18 June (the combat
of St George and the Dragon and the mock tradesmen's ride), praise of the 'gentles' who had
supported the shows, scorn for those opposed, and a lament for the prisoner's own plight. Al-
though wording varies, none of the variants affects the substance of the poem and the common
stanzas present the same picture of events. Exhibit E is missing the eleventh stanza of the bill
version. It also lacks all but one of the final eleven stanzas; that one (the thirty-fifth in the bill
version) appears as stanza 20 in exhibit E. Three possibilities might explain the discrepancy
between the two surviving versions of the ballad. The part surviving only in the bill might have
been copied from a second sheet of exhibit E now lost; or the shorter version might have been
prepared as a 'travelling text'; or (perhaps most likely) E may be one of the unfinished versions
confiscated by Gleson from Gamage's room in the bailiff's ward.
According to the bill of complaint the second poem, 'Tell Me of Flesh,' was written in
September 1607 by William Williams alias Morgan junior, of Wells, who was described as a
gentleman (sheet 133) though his father kept a shop (sheet 136v). Williams himself admitted
authorship. This second poem may have been less widely disseminateA than the first but was
certainly copied and circulated. Williams' deposition of January 1608/9 suggests that the court
then held several copies (sheet 135v), all of which Williams denied were in his own hand. Par-
ticulars are available of two copies which found their way into the hands of the authorities.
One, a fair copy, was requested by Tyderlegh and found by him on the counter of the shop
where the younger Williams sold cloth; he ultimately turned it over to constable Hole (sheet
53v). The other was a copy which Williams claimed to have found 'before his fathers ^rshoppe
windowel; this was turned over by Williams to the bishop (a Iv) at an earlier semion and appar-
ently became exhibit B (sheets 136v and p 718). Except for the texts in the three versions of
the bill of complaint (p 271, 1.19-p 272, 1.22), exhibit B is the only copy now surviving. Like
exhibit E (Gamage's ballad) it is now bound into vRo: STAC 8/161/1 wrong way round, so
that the second hal f (sheet 118) precedes the first (sheet 118v). The Wells schoolmaster, William
Evans, deposed that in July 1608 he had heard the poem read at the house of Nicholas Weekes,
an attorney in the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster and that several days later a copy
had been brought to his own house by William Tyderlegh, who taught Evans' daughter to play
the lute (pp 294-5). Tyderlegh, who also kept a shop in Wells, deposed that George Greenstreet,
the May lord that year, had also come into his shop carrying a copy (sheet 53v).
This poem differs from Gamage's in several significant features. Whereas Gamage's served
mainly to celebrate the shows while gibing at Hole, Williams' poem, written after the assizes
at which some of the showmakers were gaoled, is mainly a bitter at-tack on the chiefoppon-
nents of the shows, Hole, Mead, Palmer, and Yard. It runs to sixty-six lines, opening with two
six-line stanzas rhyming ABABCC that form a kind of proem and continuing in ymed couplets
with no further stanzaic pattern. Unlike Gamage's straightforward narrative it is conceived in
APPENDIX 711
theatrical terms as a series of rhetorically charged speeches; Tyderlegh deposed that he had seen
Williams deliver it 'with the action of his foote [&] and hand, much like a player,' so that he
thought it 'had bene a parte of some play' (p 354, 11.19-21); one line (p 716, 1.25) is actually
adapted from Marlowe's Tamburlaine (see p 932, endnote to VRO: STAC 8/161/1, sheet 219).
The main body of the poem, beginning with that line and extending to p 717, 1.18, 'I hold
yt not soe much as veniale synninge,' is cast as a kind of dramatic monologue put in the mouth
of'Rampant' (p 717, 1.19), who is a lay figure combining characteristic features of at least two
of the intended targets: he wears the flat cap and pouch that Meade was known by (p 717, 1.10)
but stands upon his Aucthoryty' and wields it with 'the furious vigor ofencensed wrarth' (p 716,
11.36-7), as the defendants considered Hole had done while exercising the office of town con-
stable. Rampant rages at having his 'secret vices' openly reproved (p 716, 11.33-4); this is
probably meant to refer to the general suspicion in Wells that Hole had been philandering with
Yarde's wife (for which he was cited later in the ecclesiastical court) and to Gamage's holing
game as an evident allusion to those rumours. Rampant is willing to spend 'a hundred golden
chipps' (p 717, I. 16) to defend his tattered reputation; this alludes to money spent by Hole to
bring suit against the defendants at the assizes or to other earlier actions brought by Hole against
burgesses involved in his discommoning, while his boast of how much time, wealth, and effort
his actions will consume (p 717, II. 11-14) must have echoed the defendants' feelings about
the trouble these actions had put them to. Hole seems to have failed completely to appreciate
that this part of the poem is put in the mouth of a caricature of himself, since he complained
in his bill of being called rascal and vile jobbernowl in Williams' poem (p 272, 11.27-9), when
in fact it is Rampant who applies those terms to his detractors (p 716, 1.29) and identifies him-
self as the city's 'quintessence ... ofwytt' (p 716, 1.30).
Most of the rest of the poem (p 717, 1.21 to the end) is another monologue, this time put in
the mouth of'one of madd Condicion' (p 717, 1.19), which may be Williams' ironic descrip-
tion of himself. Here Rampant is directly abused under the new nickname of'Captayne ... Ta-
ra-ra' (p 717, 1.24) but again in terms that make him a combination of Hole and one of his
companions; his supposed lechery, cowardice, and hatred of drums and music derive from
Hole but the comparison of him to 'a felters hatte tornd wronge syde outwards' (p 717, 11.26-7)
is a swipe at Yarde, who was a hatter. Thus Williams' poem, like Gamage's, attacks all the shows'
opponents as moralistic hypocrites but by rolling them into one composite figure Williams
was able to employ much more biting personal invective.
1607
William Gamage't "My Loving Friends" PRO: STAC8/161/1
sheet 117v col 1-sheet 117 col 2 (July)
william gamege his idle Braines
My lowing frinds that Loves to play
vse not [t(.)] my cullver holls by day[el
7/ lowing: jbr loving
712 APPENDIX
but in the night I hold ^tit 1 best
when all these birdes are In therilr nest
yet I doe liue In quiett Rest
and hold my hoalling game the best
And loving frindes I cannot ch[ew]roolse
but now leve of all sports to v[(.)]se
saue only paper ynke and pen
to write the sports of welles may[e] men
yet I &c//
which howe In shorte I will recit[t]e
as fast as I with pen can writ[t]e
and bringe the ^rsamel Into my minde
you shall he[a] tin [thosese] rthose may[e]gams finde
yet I &c/!
Now first the lord of May[e] came [l]in
and all his men attennding hime
with truloue knotts most finelye knite
[knited] everye thing most braue and fitte
yet &c//
you virgins all of everye sorte
that in your rwelles 3 mayntaine our sport
greave not thouge somre the[a] r at do frowne
thay live not loved In the towne
yet &c//
Therir musicke and therir daunsing sporte
was loye vnto the greater sorte
greue not though some ther be yat spume
y[e]t doth to ther disgraces turne
yet I &c!!
The wadicke Captains stout rand bould
ther merye meetting did vphold
& marche Alonge with all his trayne
quitt through ye town & bake agayne
It I &c//
l0
15
2O
25
3O
35
4O
9/ write: correctedfkomwritt 40/ It:ryet
APPENDIX 5 713
The gallant pinner with good regard
came with his men as it was heard
singing A song ofwakfeeld green
and had greatt prayse whet he was seen
yet I &cll
And Robine hood was likwise senne
w/th all his gallants braue ^r&l green
therilr arrowes wet a Iust clothe yeard
if it be true as I haue heard
yet I do &c//
A Paynted Calf as I hard saye
was brought for shew annother day
but afterward was slayn In fight
for darkninge of the waye to light
yet I &c//
Our gallaunt minded marshall trayn
did one the crose our sports maintayne
& eke St george [of welles proceed ] rdid greatly grace 1
with thundring peeces in that place
yet I &c
Then did St george of welles proceed
with all his knightes most braue In de(..)
therilr Irish foottmen did attend
and all men did the same Commend
yet I &c//
Then came also two men In hey[e]re
between them both one ege did bear
and each of them A forked post
for to preserve yat ege from lost
yet I &c//I
l0
15
20
25
30
35
11 gallant: n corrected from rn
4/ prayse: se corrected over other letters
191 gal|aunt: u corrected from rn
261 de (..): edge of sheet torn
32/ between: w written over t
APPENDIX 6
Chronology of the Wells
Shows of 1607
Descriptions of the Wells shows of 1607 taken from the Star Chamber case Hole v. White et
al are copiously excerpted in the Records text. In keeping with a_D editorial procedures, they
are presented there in an order reflecting the successive stages in the legal process that created
them. Those legal examinations, however, are naturally more concerned with the nature and
purpose of the events than with their sequence, and a clear picture of the shows as they actually
occurred does not readily emerge from them. The following summary is meant to draw together
information from the many documents generated by the case, supplemented by other evidence
of traditional entertainments in Wells, to provide a chronological framework for study of the
Records text itself. References are added (in parentheses) to the synopsis of each day's events,
usually at the end. These refer to pages of the Records text and Endnotes when the source
material appears there and otherwise to the relevant sheets of rico: STAC 8/161/1.
Constructing such a chronology does, however, present certain problems. Because of their
legal relevance, some shows were described by witnesses in more detail than others. Witnesses
offered sometimes contradictory interpretations and descriptions, apparently based on their own
attitudes towards the events and other personal factors. The examinations began well after the
shows were done and extended over the course of two years, evidently affecting some witnesses'
memories. Details of such discrepancies are covered in the Records text and its endnotes.
Terminology also presents a problem. Some participants in the case, for example, seem to
have used the terms 'church ale' and 'May games' in a collective sense to mean all the events of
May and June 1607 (p 262; t'to: STAC 8! 161 ! 1, sheets 157- 8, and 183), perhaps reflecting
their understanding that the main purpose of the entertainments that year was to raise money
for repair and maintenance of the parish church in the traditional way. Furthermore, both
examiners and deponents sometimes use the phrase 'games, shows, pageants, and sports' in
generally describing the entertainments, without providing definitions dearly distinguishing
one event from another. It is worth noting, though, that no witness seems ever to have used
the word 'pageant' to characterize any event in May except the parading and shooting of the
painted calf on the 10th (eg, p 289, !.5).
A further complexity is that many of the participants - forming a cross-section of the popu-
lation from husbandmen to 'gentles' to officials of the town and the cathedral chapter- vari-
ously appear in the Records as sponsors, advocates, and/or participants at differing times during
720 APPENDIX 6
the shows. These changing roles reflect the integrated purpose and nature of the entertainments
and the integrated nature of traditional governance in Wells.
Despite these complexities, the case of Hole v. White et al and its attendant documents
provides a uniquely detailed description of a series of entertainments in Wells encompassing
all the major festival days between May Day and Midsummer Day commonly associated with
traditional entertainments in England. One can also see in the Records a clear demarcation
between the events in May (traditional parish-sponsored games, dancing, and processions on
all Sundays and feast days) and those in June (traditional civic and guild-sponsored shows,
pageants, and processions staged by the principal streets and occurring during the week ap-
proaching Midsummer Day, historically associated in Wells with the Midsummer watch).
Whether by accident or design, the Robin Hood game at the end of May acted as a bridge be-
tween the two months' events.
1 May 1607 (Friday)
The festivities began early in the morning on May Day, perhaps a little before dawn, when a
group of about twenty men, women, and children, headed by Thomas Petters, a journeyman
shoemaker, paraded through the streets to bring in May and set up a maypole in the High
Street. They were led by a boy drummer hired by Petters. Hole claimed that the merrymaking
included dancing in rounds from the maypole to the house of Stephen Millard, a tailor, later
in the day but Millard denied it. Hole's further claim that the drumming began by night on
30 April seems to rest on a confusion with May morning (pp 298, 300, and 938; vRo: STAC
8116111, sheets 200, 213v, and 220).
3 May 1607 (Sunday)
This day's confrontation between Hole and the revellers seems to have created much of the
trouble subsequently arising from the shows. Events began with early-morning drumming,
which gathered together between twelve and twenty people to fetch in May. Petters said he
had begun at 5:00 and stopped as soon as Hole told him to but two other witnesses said
the drumming had begun at 4:00 M and continued through the time of morning prayer.
The central feature of the day was street dancing led by the lord and lady of the May. These
were George Greenstreet, gentleman, and Thomasine White, wife of Edmund White, barber
surgeon. Music was provided by two fiddlers, a taboret, and perhaps two drummers. The danc-
ing took place between morning and evening prayer and then resumed after evensong and con-
tinued until late evening. Estimates of the assembled crowd ranged from 200 to 400-500
and estimates of the number of dancers in the evening varied from fifty to a hundred.
The witnesses seem in fact to be describing two distinct kinds of dancing at two different
times. The first, in mid-afternoon, may have been held near the maypole and a May bower,
since according to one witness the two fiddlers were playing in a bower near Hole's home when
he tried to arrest them. On the other hand, the mayor testified that when he authorized Hole
to arrest Wingood the taborer for disobedience, he had been playing in a bower near the church
APPENDIX 6 721
stile. If all witnesses are accurate, there may have been two bowers, one at either end of High
Street (which becomes St Cuthbert at its lower end), the taborer playing in one and the fiddlers
in the other.
At some point between morning and evening prayer Hole as constable had attempted to
stop this music and dancing as violating the sabbath laws and had tried to arrest the two fid-
dlers. This led to a dispute between Hole and William Watkins, a master of the town, over
whether music and dancing were allowed on Sunday outside service time. The fiddlers either
escaped or were rescued and must then have resumed playing, since the defendant Stephen
Millard, a tailor and a town serjeant at the time, claimed that at evening prayer time both the
musicians and the dancers had peaceably ceased at his request and had all gone to church, as
far as he knew, the musicians leaving their instruments at his house for safe-keeping. Some
time later, however, the musicians were found playing cards in Millard's house when they should
have been in church. They were arrested again but freed by the intervention of Watkins and
other sympathetic leading citizens and were back on the streets after evensong to play for the
second dance.
This was a long dance, perhaps resembling the modern Helston Furry Dance, and was ap-
parently led by the May lord and his lady. Between thirty and forty couples danced hand in
hand along the streets, stopping outside Hole's house, drinking at a tavern called the George,
and meeting Hole as he tried to make his way along the streets. He claimed he was jostled
and swarmed by the dancers and drummers; certainly one witness confirmed that, given the
way the dancers were proceeding hand in hand, no one could get by them without breaking
the line. Whatever the actual character of the encounter between Hole and the revellers, they
afterwards continued dancing right out of the town to the house of John Gylbert, gentleman,
in East Wells, where they were entertained with beer. The long dance may have begun as early
as 5:00 PM and ended as late as 10:00 PM, although one of the dancers said they were dispersed
before daylight was gone (pp 262-3,275-6,283-4, 300-1,313, 320-1,326, 330-2,335,
338-9, 341,346-50, 935,944, and 951-3; pao: STAC 8116111, sheets 33v-5, 55v, 65-6,
and 205).
10 May 1607 (Sunday)
On this day a parry of young men staged the pageant of the spotted calf. The maypole put up
on 1 May stood between St Cuthbert's Church and the house of John Yarde, a hatter and a
friend and associate of John Hole. On Sunday 3 May Yarde's wife had complained that the
pole prevented her from going to church and had called it a painted calf, presumably com-
paring it to the calves worshipped by the Israelites in the Old Testament. In response Edward
Carye, gentleman, had commissioned Walter Sm)rthe to paint a picture of a calf for the fol-
lowing Sunday. According to one witness the calf was painted with red and white spots on a
board similar in colour to the maypole. Hole described the board as being like a shidd or target.
An armed band, led by Carye as their captain and accompanied by fifes, trumpets, drums,
and morris dancers armed with swords and daggers, escorted the picture about the streets from
dinner time until evening and again after evening prayer and shot at it from time to time, saying
APPENDIX 6 723
23 May 1607 (Saturday)
Hole read out the king's proclamation on observing the sabbath to some of the defendants in
the mayor's house or garden but the mayor told him that such pastimes were lawful on Sun-
days as long as they were not held in service or sermon time (pp 338, 348, and 952).
24 May 1607 (Whit Sunday)
In the evening the lord and lady of the May again led street dancing at the maypole near the
High Cross. An interrogatory put to John Gylbert, gendeman, who danced with the May lady
Thomasine White between 8:00 and 9:00 I,M, suggests that the male dancers all wore their
ladies' liveries, perhaps favours or garlands (pp 306-7, 313-14, and 944; vRo: STAC 8116111,
sheets 28-8v).
31 May 1607 (Trinity Sunday)
This day there were street shows, including a Robin Hood, an armed troop with drums and
ensigns, and morris dancing in the market-place before many people. Robert Prinne was the
Robin Hood and Steven Millard, a tailor, was one of his men, carrying a bow and arrow. Yarde
remembered that people assembled that day at the sounding of a drum after dinner by John
Rodway, servant of Edmund White, and also after evening prayer by Rodway and Thomas
pa)rtey. Hole claimed that three great drums had been struck up in service time but no witness
corroborated that (pp 277,320-1,336-7,342,935,944, and 949; vto: STAC 8/161/1,
sheet 141).
14 June 1607 (Sunday)
An interrogatory asked whether there were shows on this day but churchwarden Thomas Hall
admitted only that ten to twelve parishioners of St Cuthbert's Church had gathered in the
church house for a breakfast of calf's head and bacon with the minister. They may have been
planning the series of shows that began the following day (I,Ro: STAC 8/161/1, sheets 194 and
212v).
15-18 June (Monday to Thursday) and 25 June (Thursday) 1607
There followed five days of shows, each apparently mounted by one of the town's five verderies
(taxing districts, each centred on, and named for, a principal street). It seems to have been
customary when a church ale was held in Wells for officials of the benefiting parish, the town,
and the cathedral chapter to accompany these shows in procession from the sponsoring street
to the High Cross, on to the church house for a supper, and back again afterwards. One church-
warden recalled that the giants were carried in before the meat at the suppers on 15-17 June.
Both wardens testified to a parish gathering to refurbish and apparel the giants. In Wells, as in
724 At'PEN DLX 6
most other seventeenth-century English towns, the members of any given trade or group of
related trades tended to live and do business together in or near a single street and a compari-
son between the shows of 1607 and the officially sponsored ones of 1613 suggests that each
day's show in June was chiefly, if not wholly, the effort of a particular trade or group of related
trades (pp 318-19, 345-6, 352-7,936, 945-8,951, and 953-4; pro: STAC 8/161/1,
sheets 212v, 213v).
15 June 1607 (Monday)
Nothing is known about Monday's shows except that they were sponsored by Tucker Street
(p 333), which, as its name implies, was associated with the doth trade. In 1613 the Shearmen
and Tuckers' Company provided only a small show of 'A Streamer w/th their armes' (p 372),
presumably meaning that they walked in procession with a banner bearing their guild device.
16 June 1607 (Tuesday)
This day's show was for High Street, which other sources identifi/as the quarter of the shoe-
makers and the tailors and other senior tradesmen. Its residents processed with their show by
way of the market-place to the church house for the supper, accompanied by the cathedral
choristers in white habits singing hymns and songs, and then returned to High Street the same
way. One witness remembered the High Street shows as including a 'pageant' on which the town
plate was carried, a man in a tent who played the sackbut, a giant and giantess, and St George
and the dragon but he may have confused the latter with the next day's events. One witness
remembered a gathering made in support of the High Street shows (pp 333,338-41,352, 358,
and 947-8; pro: STAC 8/161/1, sheets 23 and 72).
17 June 1607 (Wednesday)
On this day residents of Chamberlain Street, probably connected with the Mercers' Company,
came to the church house with their shows, which went on until between 9:00 and 10:00
One major show dramatized St George and his knights, who slew the dragon. St George was
played by David Trymme, a servant of Sir John Rodney, jl, (knighted by King James in 1603),
from Rodney Stoke, five miles from Wells; among the knights were William Williams, Edward
Carye, and William Peters (all described as gentlemen) and William Christopher (a yeoman
from Middlesex); estimates of the size of St George's retinue are about twenty or thirty persons.
One witness remembered that the fight between St George and the dragon had taken place after
supper. As staged for Queen Anne in 1613 this was an elaborate show, including an Egyptian
king and queen with their court and their daughter, the princess whom the saint rescued from
the dragon. Apparendy it was much the same in 1607, since Gamage also mentioned 'the Egipt
kinge' and his queen (p 268, 11.21-2). Gamage referred several times to the various characters
portrayed in this show, suggesting the possibility that they appeared on more than one day. If
so, the second time may have been in East Wells' shows on 25 June, since in the 1613 staging
APPENDIX 6 725
the Hammermen (who are connected with that verdery) displayed the virgin-devouring
dragon.
On the same day an audience of perhaps 600 saw a show of the goddess Diana, represented
by a child dressed in white and variously said to have been carried either on men's shoulders
or in a coach or both. Diana was accompanied by four, five, or six cathedral choristers dressed
in white linen (which some witnesses thought was their vestments), either riding on horseback
or walking. As they went they allegedly sang hymns or an anthem such as they sang in church;
one witness claimed to recognize what they sang as settings of the Psalms. One reason for all
this uncertainty may have been that the choristers took part in two days' shows.
Garnage's ballad confirms that Diana was accompanied by six nymphs, who were presum-
ably choristers dressed for the part. The ballad also mentions Actaeon pursued by his hounds
as figuring in the shows of 1607 (p 268, II. I I - 13) and one would naturally expect him to have
appeared on the same day as Diana, which was 17 June. The defendants' answer to the charges
seems to refer to a single show of Actaeon and Diana. Guns were fired as part of the show on
17 June and one witness recalled morris dancing and a display of the giants on the same day
as the show of Diana. William Watkins, gentleman, was said to have acted as a whiffler for it
(pp 268, 333-4, 337, 339-40, 352,358, 365,372, 947-8, and 956; pro: STAC 8116111,
sheets 32v, 35, 63-3v, 68, 72, and 157).
18 June 1607 (Thursday)
This day's show was staged by the tanners, chandlers, and butchers ofSouthover verdery. They
appear to have modified a traditional show so as to mock Hole and his friends Yarde, Palmer,
and Meade, the chief opponents of the church ale. Because of their dearly libellous intent, Hole
sought more detail about this show and the one on 25 June than about any others. At least
five horses were used, ridden by:
1/ Thomas Byson, miner, playing a haberdasher or hatter (representing John Yarde)
2/ Matthew Lancaster, husbandman, playing a woman spinning (representing John Hole or
his wife)
31 William Torr (trade unknown) and Robert Atwell, alias Tanner, chandler, face to face on one
horse, with a book, desk, and inkwell, playing a usurer (identified by some witnesses as
Humphrey Willis) and a scrivener or notary (Richard Bowrne).
41 John Smith, husbandman, playing a pewterer (Hugh Meade). Smith claimed to have been
recruited on the day itself while he was on his way home from work.
51 James Lideard, alias Btasier, butcher, and one Gamin, an apprentice of John Eddicote, shoe-
maker, playing a grocer (Humphrey Palmer) and his assistant on one horse with a pair of
scales, weights, and a basket of grains, which they pretended were raisins and threw to the
crowd.
Though played by men of various trades, this show was evidently organized by the tanners,
chandlers, and butchers. William Atwell, a tanner, supplied a horse and Robert Atwell provided
726 APPENDIX
some of the props and costume used by Byson. Another horse used belonged to Henry Foster,
a tanner and a master of the town. Robert Atwell, a chandler, rode in this show, as did James
Lideard, a butcher. Ralph Gorway, chandler, was made to testify about the show.
Estimates of the number of onlookers varied widely, from 200-300 to 1000 (the estimate of
100 on sheet 60 may be a mistake for 1000); Hole himselforginally estimated the crowd at
2000 in his bill. Drums accompanied the street parade, one being played by John Rodway, but
Hole's claim that armed men afoot and on horseback also escorted it was not borne out by wit-
nesses. The participants in this show took supper at the church house as part of the ale, along
with others, who included the mayor and masters of the town. The show resumed after supper
and was accompanied to the High Cross by some at least of the masters before they returned
home. One witness, however, reported that the supper was in the churchyard and said that some
or all of the disguised persons 'did act some thinge in representation of the trades men before
named there in sight of many beholders.' Watching this show at the High Cross, Hugh Meade
was so enraged by John Smith that he seized Smith's hammer and the dish he was pretending to
beat and tried to pull him from his horse. Later that evening Meade complained of the show to
the mayor, Alexander Towse (pp 263-4, 277-8, 281,285-7, 291-2,302-3, 306-8,317,
322-5,328-30,343-6, 350-1,353,355-7, 933-4,936-8,945-6, 951, and 953-4;
VRO: STAC 8/161/1, sheets 4v, 24v, 35-5v, 43-3v, 46v-7, 48v-9, 58-8v, 60-60v, and 68-8v).
19 June 1607 (Friday)
On this day Hole, Meade, and others believing Thursday's show to have been aimed at them,
complained to the mayor, Alexander Towse. He held a preliminary hearing and took some
evidence but then adjourned proceedings until Sir John Rodney and Dean Heydon, local jvs,
could join him on the bench and Hole had time to prepare his case in full. At the time of this
hearing Edward Wadham was asked by the families of the men being charged to intervene and
use his influence on their behalf as his poor neighbours (pp 326 and 328-9; pro: STAC 8116111,
sheet 208).
25 June 1607 (Thursday)
On this day the residents of East Wells Street brought their shows to the church house. One
witness said that a great company of people brought forth many shows but only one was
described in the lawsuit because of its libellous character. It involved three men on horseback
with various properties. William Gamage, who later wrote the ballad about the shows, rode
carrying the holing game. This game consisted of two yard-long painted boards joined together
at a right angle, the upright one being painted with pictures of two men and a woman. At the
bottom of the upright board were nine holes, through which he trundled a small ball on the
horizontal board. Several witnesses identified the painted figures as representing Meade, Yarde's
wife, and Hole, who was later to be cited in the church court on suspicion of adultery with
Mrs Yarde. Gamage was accompanied by two other riders: one representing a notary with a
desk, a pen, and a large paper book and the other carrying a cribbage board and playing cards.
nvPnox 727
The former was apparently a man named Jasper, the latter one Thomas Baler or Ballard; both
may have been servants of John Gyibert. All the actors made speeches and miming actions as
they paraded through the streets and various spectators made obscene puns on the names Hole,
Meade, and Yarde as the show went by. According to Hole and certain witnesses sympathetic
to him, Gamage himself made an obscene remark to the notary as they rode that could be
construed as making light of the royal proclamation Hole had cited as his authority for sup-
pressing shows and revelry on the sabbath. Estimates of the crowd of spectators range from
400-500 to 3000, Hole's original figure in his bill. Armed men, both on foot and on horse-
back, paraded the same day with drums and ensigns but Gamage denied they were intended
as his escort. John Rodway again sounded his drum.
East Wells Street was the headquarters of the Hammermen's Company, comprising carpen-
ters, joiners, coopers, masons, tilers, and blacksmiths, and this show bears hallmarks that make
it very appropriate for them. The holing game itself was a piece of carpentry. John Gylbert
had commissioned it but like the spotted calf, it was actually prepared by Walter Smythe, who
was called a joiner and carpenter by some witnesses (although he himself and others termed
him a painter). A rider, a witness, and one of the show's suppliers all lived in East Wells Street
and/or were miners (pp 264-6, 278-9, 287-90, 307-8, 313-17, 344-5, and 353-4,942-3,
and 949-50; VRO: STAC 8/161/1, sheet 142).
The Shows as Described in Gamage's Ballad
Some details about the sports and shows are confirmed, and others added, by Gamage's ballad
(pp 267-9; a version also appears in Appendix 5, pp 711-16). Besides the general music and
dance, he described the following sports:
The May lord with attendants (probably 3 May)
Warlike captains and their train (10, 14, and 31 May; perhaps also 16-18 and 25 June)
The painted calf(10 May)
Robin Hood and his men (31 May)
The giant and giantess (15-17 June)
The pinner of Wakefield (15 June for Tucker Street?)
The town plate, escorted by eight in lawn (16 June)
St George and the dragon, with ordnance, knights, and Irish footmen (17 June; perhaps also
25 June)
The Egyptian king and queen (17 June, with St George and the dragon)
Diana with six nymphs (17 June)
Actaeon chased by his hounds (17 June, with Diana?)
A show with 'men of trade' (ie, the mock tradesmen; 18 June)
Old Grandam Bunch making puddings from a filthy gut (18 June?)
A whiffler (18 June)
Six men carrying Noah working on the ark (25 June?)
Two men in hairshirts carrying an egg on a cowistaff (date unknown)
A naked feathered boy preceding some or all of the shows
728 APPENDIX
Either modesty or (more likely) a belated discretion seems to have prevented Gamage from
mentioning his own show of 25 June in his poem except in general terms in the opening
stanza and the refrain. One known show of 16 or 17 June has no apparent counterpart in the
ballad, namely the man with a sackbut. Four of Gamage's shows have no counterparts in the
descriptions in the lawsuit but they are presumably either some of the shows from 15 June
never described there or else other unspecified shows for 16-18 and 25 June. Gamage seems
to imply that Grandam Bunch in her wheelbarrow rode on the same day as the mock trades-
men. Noah building the ark was presented by the hammermen in 1613, which might suggest
that in 1607 it was one of the 'many shows' on 25 June. The defendants" answer to the charges
refers to a show of'Princ(.) Authur and his knight' (p 365, 1.39) which is mentioned nowhere
else in the surviving documentation. Other shows may have been put on that are described
nowhere.
APPENDIX 7
A Song from the
Hippisley Papers
The following poem, in the form of a lyric dialogue in the pastoral tradition between a shep-
herd and a courtier, is written in a late sixteenth-century hand on a single sheet. Since the
opening lines are written between four lines of a musical setting, it was probably meant to be
sung by one or two performers. The cover side of the sheet has what appears to be the title,
'hath she turnd her love to ieste.' The sheet is part of a miscellany of literary and personal
documents collectively designated sRo: DD/HI 564 in the Hippisley family papers. It comes
there between a sheet of early seventeenth-century recipes and an undated table of heraldic
terms and forms of blazon.
Duet with Musical Notation
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/HI 564; late 16th c.; English; paper; single sheet; 206mm x
202ram.
NOTE ON THE MUSIC
DAVID KLAUSNER
The music of this dialogue ballad is consistent with the style of the printed broadside ballads
of the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, though this particular tune is otherwise unat-
tested. It is written in a rather sloppy hand, not likely professional, using the combination of
coloured semibreve and minim. The coloured semibreve is also used as a perfect note in the
triple rhythm; this is notationally incorrect but common in the late sixteenth century. Barring
is used to indicate the change of singer, as well as to mark the ends of the principal phrases.
At least twice the scribe cancelled the stem of a note with a short horizontal stroke (bars 7, 20,
and possibly 15). In two places he seems to have written notes a step too high (bars 18 and
19) and these have been corrected. The rest of the text fits the music very easily though oc-
casionally a note must be divided to accommodate the words.
730 APPENDIX 7
Late 16th century
Duet with Musical Notation
single sheet
sto: DD/HI 564
Cortier. Howe nowe sheaperde what meanes yat, whye wearest you willowe 5
in thy hate,.
Ar those scarffes of Red & yeolowe, turned to breunches of greene
willowe.L
rsheperde auncer, a They are Chaunged so am I, sorowes lives [lett] loyes doe
dye, 0
It is fdlies It is shee makes mee were this willowe tree/.
Cortier what thy fdl that Loved thee Lounge, Is it shee yat dothe thee
Wrounge.
she yat loved thee lounge and beste, Is hir love howe turned to Ieste
sheperd shee yat loved me lounge and beste, bides me set my harte at Reste t5
Loves annother loves not me, which makes me weare this willowe
tree
Cortier Come then sheperd let vs Ioyne., since thy happe is like to myne
ffor even she yat loved me trew, nowe hathe chaunged me for a
newe 20
sheperd Cortier if thy happe be so, Thou art partaker of my woe
thy ill happe dothe myne apease, companye dothe my sorowes ease
Cortier Sheperd then be ruled by me, caste ofgriffe and willowe tree
seinge thy greefe breedthe hir contente, let hit goe doe not Lament
sheperd Cortier ill be ruled by thee, the.are lyethe greff & willowe tree 2
and Hencfoorthe will do as they, Chaunge for a Newe love euerye
daye
APPENDIX 8
Satirical Poems from
the Trevelyan Papers
In the contentious atmosphere of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Somerset people often
used poetry and song to make political, religious, or personal points. While some of those ef-
forts were simply posted up (sometimes together with horns) on a house, a church door, a tree
or bush, or even an animal, most were meant to be read aloud, sung, and/or acted out for a
sympathetic audience, usually at the expense of the subject's reputation. In Wells, for example,
one singer of a libellous ballad was said to have delivered it 'with the action of his foote [&c]
and hand, much like a player, which moued this deponent to thinke that the said verses had
bene a parte of some play' (see p 354), and another performed sundry times 'in open places
and Comon Alehowses ... & by reason therofto gather people aboute him' (pRo: STAC 8/161/1
sheet 43). Thus such poetry - however scurrilous, polemical, or slanderous it might become -
was part of the world of performance in Somerset and offers valuable clues to the conventions
that governed performance at that time.
Court papers of the period for Somerset are rife with this kind of performed poetry collected
as evidence in court cases. Any specimens that can be connected with a specific performance
have been included with text for those locations, as, for example, the two ballads from Wells
mentioned above. The two poems that follow, however, have been reserved for this appendix
because while they may have been intended for performance, they cannot be localized. Even
if not meant to be performed, they certainly imitate the form of theatrical song and speeches.
Stored as item 251 in a packet of the Trevelyan papers, sRo: DD/WO 53/1, together with
a large bundle of correspondence, is a poem whose front cover identifies it as A Kentishe Lybell
for A Keyte : 1594:.' A kite is a bird of prey but in that period the word could also mean, meta-
phorically, 'a person who preys upon others, a rapacious person' (orn Kite sb 2; see Henry v
. i. 76 and IG'ng Lear . iv. 262). A Kentish crow (see p 734, 1.7) is also the name for a certain
kind of carrion bird (otrn under Kentish a). This poem dearly seems intended to pillory some par-
ticular woman in libellous terms though neither the author nor the victim can now be identified.
The same packet also contains, labelled as item 238, ['he May Poles speech to the Traveler,'
which uses the conceit of a monologue delivered by a maypole to trace the origins of May
games to 'Poperye' and beyond that to pagan rites associated with the Roman goddess Flora.
The version in the Trevelyan papers is unsigned and undated but the same poem appears, with
variations, in Thomas Hall's f, unebria Florae, The Downfall of May-Games, 2nd ed, corrected,
(London, 166l; Wing: H434). Hall took his BA at Oxford in 1629 and was for many years
734 APPENDIX
2 single sheets (198ram x 155ram and 205ram x 150ram) and 1 bifolium (205ram x
155ram); modem pencil pagination.
1594
A Kentish Libel for a Kite
n tX-Xvl
SRO: DD/WO 53/1/251
A soreing goes our kentishe keyt
& checkes to see the emptie luar
Beware the Crowe for she will smite
And force a bunting nowe be sure
A blacke birde is a noble praye
when hungry Gorge is sett on edge
yf Partridge faile yt is the waye
to ^rseasel^ [seese] a pye in euere hedge.
But plentie birdes forbeare ye worse
of fyner foode shee ^rnedesl not faile
Soe thought our hobbie at the first
But howe shee tells another tale.
In Gadding tyme awaye shee went
to seke the sporte that wone not fame
for Barren is thewild ofkente
The kistrils haue destroede ye game.
Noe sonner shee broke the Iesse
and founde her legges at libertie
But haggerd lyke shee doth professe
to serve herself full dayntelie.
The pleasure ioste in her ^[soe] rsearel age
did make her hate the rufier houd
She meanes noe more to brooke the cage
where beachinges are but hungrie foode
She prvnes she bathes she montes ye hill
at mornyng & at Evenyng late
for much yt is was against her will
the Pan[tus]rther should ympeache her gate.
13/ euere: fr euerie
151 birdes: fir biddes(?)
25/ shee:frhad shee(, a)
371 is wa: one of the two words i redundant
10
15
2O
25
3O
35
735
10
11
12
13
14
15
To caste the Ryn shee tooke greate care
w/th allowes & w/th hote perfumes
yfany feathers were not fayer
Shee cepte them owte wh borowed plowmes
A monthe or two shee keapt the stand
and prayed at large vppon the plaine
where shee was lymed out of hand
& bound vnto the pearche againe.
Her crains had bine all to shorte
& much restraned her wanton will
wh/ch made her wearie of her sporte
& seeke to lengthen owt her string
But see the lucke of madding myndes
see howe they speede that love to range
for Iesse ofsilke a rope shee findes
meethinkes yt is a hard exchange.
What (hard quoth I) naye softe & layer
some taunters ^ratl m[(.)]y tearmes may carpe
were that the worse she would not care
the one canne bide both hard & sharpp.
But O, the Butes be to badd
to stutdye is the hempten staye
yet let her bayte till she be madd
she cannot beare the [bell] rblock 1 awaye
Her tiering is retired quyte
her castinge is caste of & gone
lesse worke maye serve a gowtie kTte
the faulkner keepes more hawkes than one
Haggard to mewe, white haulkes be quoye
your keeper c.ales yong birdes to fiste
that made his tarssill take a trye
that [when] he will flye but when he lyste
10
15
20
25
30
35
41 cepte: forimpte(?)
121 will: fbr wing
737
Both high & lowe yeald me respect./
I can comand them att my becke./
I thinke thou art som Puritan./
or Senceringe Presitian./
That loves nott May-Poles, mirth, & Playes
but cryes, alas, these wicked dayes./
They stoppe there eares & shoott there eyes./
least they behold our vanityes./
But goodman goose cappe lett them knowe./
I doe disdayne there holy showe./
There Peevish humores I doe scorne./
& hold them wretches all forelorne./
There censures eake I doe shake of./
& att there zeale I freely scoffe./
I will stand here in spight of such./
& glad to here when they doe grutch./
But prethee fellow learne of me./
My birth, my wealth, my Pedagree./
My name, my fame, my power, prayse./
my state, my age, my honered Dayes./
I am Sir May-Pole. that's my name./
men, may, & mirth, gave me the same./
Dame flora once Roomes famous Whore./
did give to Roome in dayes of yore./
By her last will great legasies.
her yearly feast to solempnise./
In May-tymes, sportfull, pleasantnes./
in lust, procuringe wantones./
In shewes, & [gh] syghtes of fresh delightes./
which ravish mens afections quite./I
In Bowers, & May-spriges, gayely built./
in flowers & garlandes all be dilt./
In tuftes of Trees, & shadowy groves./
in Roundes, & songes, & wanton loves./
And thus hath flora, May, & mirth./
began & cherished my birth./
Tyll tymes & manors so favored me./
that from a sprige I waxt a tree./
Then all the people lease & more./
my height & tallnes did adore./
Roomes Idoll godes made much of me./
for furthringe ther Idolitry./
10
30
35
40
738 APPENDIX 8
When this enlarged was my fame./
then into other landes I came./
And found my Pompe & Bravery./
increased much by Poperye./
Sith ther will-worship I advanct./
I was most hugely countenanct./
All Township had me in request./
wher ere I came that Towne was blest./
In: honor of the Holy Roode./
they fetcht a may-Pole from the woode./
And to saye south, I am next kin
vnto the now Roomes man of sin./
And why? scarce vnder [(.)] Heavens Cope.
Ther is (as I see) like the Pope:/
Therfore the Papistes give to me./
the Paupall second dignitye./
Hath holy father much adoe
when he is chosen? so have I to./
Doth he vppon mens shoulders ride?/
that Honor doth to me Betyde:/
Ther's Ioye art my Plantation./
even as art his Coronation.II
Men wemen childern on a heape./
doe singe & dance & friske, and leape./
Yea Drum & drunkard on a route./
before me make a hideous shout./
whose loud allarrum Bellowinge Cryes./
doe fright the earth & perce the Skyes./
Hath holy Pope his noble gaurd?/
so have I to, that watch & ward./
ffor where 'tis noysed that I com./
my followers sommond on by drum./
I have a mighty retenew./
the skum of all th(.) Rascall Crue./
Of [fiddelles] ^rfiddlersl, Pedlers, Iaylescape slaves./
of Tinkers torncotes tosport knaves./
Oftheves of scape-thrifts many a one./
w/th Bouncinge Bess and Iolly Ioane./
The Hobby horse doth thyther Prance./
Mayd marrion, & the Morrish Dance./
10
35
40
1/ this:. ]br thus
..dPEN DIX 8 739
Oflacke & Iill, that runs for sport./
ofcutt & longtayle all the sorte./
Of Hell-Brooke lasse the rabball route./
of ragg & tagg the filthy scoutt./
All that can scoffe & Iest & fleere.!
all that can swagger, swill & sweare./
All that can dance & drabb: & drinke.!
to me they come as to a sinke./
They me for ther Commander take./
& I doe them my blacke-gaurd make./
The Pope doth keepe his Iubile./
a tyme of much good mirth & glee/
On them that vnto Roome will goe.!
great benefltes he doth bestowe./
ffor sins yea past & sins to come./
he sayth he can them free from Dome./
In hope ofabsolucion./
he Bringeth men to transgression./I
And if they will on him believe./
doe what they list hee'le them forgive./
I doe a [voyce]/power) in doinge this./
my honor is as great as his.!
My yearly Iubily, keepe I.!
wich great concurse doth dignifie.!
And to all such as him frequent./
I promise mirth and good content./
I doe enlarge the [(...)] consience
and qualifie each vile offence./
I take away all trace of evell.
of sine, of death, of hell of devill./
I tell them tis a tyme to laugh./
and give them selves full leave to quaffe./
To drinke there healthes vppon the knee./
to mix there talke with ribaldry./
To drinke, to spue, to brawle, to fight./
to scoffe & revile, with all there might./
I bidd them cast ofgravitie./
and wemen eake there modestie./
I bid the servante disobaye.!
the child to say his parentes nay.!
The poorer sort that have noe Coyne.!
I can Command them to porloyne.!
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
740 APPENDIX
All this & more I warrant good./
for tis to mayntayne neiborhoode./
The Pope is a freinde to lechery./
witnesse his stewes for venery./
In this I corn nott much beheinde./
I give them leave to take there kinde./
I have allurementes for the same./
as they doe knowe that loves the game.I/
ffirst musicke doethe there passion charme./
then liquor stronge there lust doth warme./
Then dancinge Iestures lookes & words./
much fuell to the fire affordes./
And cause there workes doe hate the light./
the take th'advantage of the night./
which covereth with darke Cannopie./
the means procuringe Basterdie./
The Pope doth challenge power devine./
I next to him may say tis mine./
I can command more Countenance./
then can the lordes owne Ordenance./
To me they doe there love converte./
that from the church have turnde ther hart./
On me they can Bestowe much cost./
that on the poore wold thinke it lost./
ffor me they can adventure life./
that flee the gospells threamed strife./
The Honor of the saboth day./
the dancinge greene hath turnd away
Lett prechears prate till they waxe woode./
where I am corn they'le doe noe goode.
The Pope doth every where beat downe./
the Haters of his triple Crowne./
Ball, booke, & Candle doth defle./
such as will not him edifie/
And to effect his dire intente./
newe locastes still from hall are sent./
which acre each where there villaneyes./
& ill'de the world w/th tragedies./
Somtyme there lives somtyme there state[(.)]./
must [pay] pay for it, [(.)] that doe them hate./
And have nott I as great a wrath./
& doe nott I as great a scath./
10
15
2o
25
3o
35
4o
APPElq DIX 8 7zi1
Have I nott vassdles like the devill./
to plague such with all kinde of evell./I
which gainst me speake or dare to frowne./
much more that say the'le pull me downe./
In Coller, that they plead for me.
they fight against all honestye./
To make there foes seeme odious./
they first [procle] prodeyme them factious./
And terme them rebels to the state./
and say they seeke to ruinate./
And to breede discorde in each thinge./
yea yat they hate there soveraigne kinge./
And if they bee not purged the land./
no church nor Common wealth can stand
Then lybles fowle are cast abroade./
where filthy slanders lye on lode./
Incarnate devills wee doe them call./
of men most vile the worst of all./
Rogues theeves & drunkardes, sayth our pen./
compared with these are honest men./
Yea puritan wee doe them prove./
all such as doe nott May-Poles |ove./
And if that matters there bee found:/
that wantts good proffe to make it sownd.
we have while scores, full gladd to to sweare./
& freely wittnes false to beare./
Yea: when my rogues doe victualls wante.
& money cloathes and all waxe scante./
Then foarth a fo(..)anginge wee doe goe./
and fall vppon the common foe./
No pillage seemeth halfe soe good./
as what's stolen from the Brotherhoode./
Thus doe wee Ioy our foes to greeve./
& tis our death that they doe live./I
And least yow thinke my nobdl sport./
mayntayned allone by baser sort./
I have somm of a better note./
that Iett it in a silkin coate./
I cannott boast much of there grace./
But this I say they are men of Place./
10
15
2o
25
35
4o
25/ while:./r whole
742 APPENDIX 8
whose Contry worship hath great prayse.!
for may-polinge it now a dayes./
Though cold enough in better thinges/
in this they raigne like perish kinges./
Though like to the Beare by vsury:/
yet prodigall to mayntayne mee./
Yea gentils of the femall kinde./
to me devoted have there mirde
They keepe my feastivals with Ioye./
& save me from my foes anoye./
Them selves som tymes will lead the dance./
& Tomboy like will sk[(.)]ippe & prance./
And then they seeme Oh: fatall happed
as light as fethers in there capped
Oh: how much bound to them am I./
to grace me with there levitie./
And vnto these sore learned men./
perchance devine what say yow then./
That have disputed oft in [solles] schooles./
I hope these are hoe simple fooles./
They stifly doe maynetayne my cause./
to be accordinge to gods lawes./
They say I benifite the poore./
and doe increase the Churches store./
They make it good wear& nott for me./
all love wold perish speedely./I
These Champion like doe me mayntayne./
that add vnto there Churches gayne./
when neyther feare of god or man./
can make them love. they say I can./
Oh: leape for Ioy yee papistes all.I
seeth they doe yow my converse calle./
And [cleve] cleave noe more to popish rites.
yow are the may Poles proselites./
Now traveler learne more grace to shewed
& know that thow thy betters knowe.!
Thou hear'st what I say for my [selfe] sdfe./
I am noe Ape, I am no elfe.I
I am noe bugg, I am noe baboone./
noe man ofcloutes, noe man inth'moone./
I'm no Iacke straw noe Iacke a lent./
noe Iacke inth'barns, w/th bow bent./
10
2o
3o
35
4o
APPENDIX 743
I'm none of them yat Aide require./
noe fightinge knave hoe begginge flyre./
I am hoe base mans parrasite./
I am [(.)] the great mens [proselite] favorite.
And seeth thou must now part me flow./
iett this my blessinge with thee goe./
Ther's never a knave in all the towne.
nor swearinge courteour or base Ciowne./
Or dauncinge lobb: or mincinge Queane./
or popish clarke be it prest or deane./
Or knight debayst nor genteiman./
that followes drabb the cuppe or can./
That will give thee a frindly iooke
if [yo] thou the may-Pole canst nott brooke./
10
APPENDIX 9
Legal Memoranda from
Somerset Family Papers
The years between the early 1590s and the 1630s were marked by concerted legalistic efforts
to regulate traditional culture in Somerset. The high number of lawyers in the Somerset com-
mission of the peace in 1608, for example, gave that commission 'its particular quality' (Gleason,
The Justices of the Peace, p 194). Local justices at the petty and general sessions were under
considerable pressure from above to enforce statutory regulations prohibiting certain traditional
entertainments in their areas of jurisdiction. As early as 1595 the chief justice, Sir John Popham,
had written to Sir Francis Hastings, the puritan justice from North Cadbury, exhorting him
'to hold on the Corse for suppressyng of the Churchales agred on at [Taun] Brygwater sessyons
last' (see p 432).
Several personal copy books belonging to Somerset justices of the peace contain summaries
of statutes used as legal precedents. The portions of those books relating to regulation of enter-
tainments are induded here because they show something of the legal thinking and the priorities
behind the series of suppression orders issued by the justices during this period of contention
over cultural practices in Somerset.
Several justices, however, opposed the blanket suppression of entertainments and sought
grounds to distinguish between local entertainments and performers on the one hand and
genuine itinerants being prosecuted as vagrants on the other. A licence issued by the Dorset
justices permitting two local minstrels to travd and perform for a year within the county turned
up among the papers of one of the Somerset justices, Christopher Pw_ston, who served 1608-22
(sRo: DD/HI 469, vol 2, f [124]). Preston, who lived at Cricket St Thomas near the Dorset
border, was evidently using the Dorset licence as a model for his own legal actions in Somerset.
It appears to illustrate that the attempts to regulate culture and also the resistance to that regula-
tion were part of a process that transcended the borders of counties in the southwest of England.
The copy books also include a transcription (not printed in this volume) of a licence for
keeping a church ale (sRo: DD/HI 469, vol 2, f [121v]) and others concerning sports and
gaming in Somerset (sv, o: DD/HI 469, vol 1, ff6v, 7v, and 35).
Both Joseph Crocker, the presumed compiler ofsRo: DD/HI 469, vol 1, and the anonym-
ous compiler ofsRo: DD/HI 459, packet 1, item 5 cite parliamentary statutes in the then
usual way by regnal year or years and chapter (abbreviated 'c.'). These can conveniently be con-
sulted in The Statutes of the Realm, 11 vols in 12 (London, 1810-28; repr 1963). The statutes
cited by the two compilers are an Act for Tinkers and Peddlers, 5 & 6 Edward w (1551-2),
APPENDIX 9
745
c. 21 (Statutes, vol 4, pt 1, p 155); an Act for the Uniformity of Common Prayer, 1 Elizabeth I
(1558-9), c. 2 (Statutes, vol 4, pt 1, pp 355-8); an Act for the Punishment of Vagabonds, 14
Elizabeth I (1572), c. 5 (Statutes, vol 4, pt 1, pp 590-8); an Act against Seditious Words and
Rumours Uttered against the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, 23 Elizabeth (1580-1), c. 2
(Statutes, vol 4, pt 1, pp 659-61); an Act for the Punishment of Rogues, Vagabonds, and Sturdy
Beggars, 39 Elizabeth (1597-8), c. 4 (Statutes, vol 4, pt 2, pp 899-902); and an Act for
Punishment of Rogues, Vagabonds, and Sturdy Beggars, 1 James I (1603-4), c. 7 (Statutes,
vol 4, pt 2, pp 1024-5). Crocker also cites 'Lambert,' meaning William Lambarde, whose
Eirenarcha, or of the Office of the Justices of Peace first appeared in 1582 (src: 15163) but went
through many later editions; for particulars see src, vo| 2, p 47. Crocker's reference on f60v of
his precedent book to Eirenarcha book 3, 'f' (rightly page) 354 as his authority for a justice's
power to license bearwards, players, and others (p 747, i. 1) corresponds to the 1591 edition
(src:. 15166) but his further memorandum that the power was restricted by the 1597-8 statute
shows that he wrote the paragraph after that act was passed. His marginal note on f 117v about
power of bail (p 748, I1.11-12) corresponds to the 1610 edition of Eirenarcha (src: 15171 ) but
was probably added to his precedent book after he compiled it. The source of the reference to
'Cap. 5' in the excerpt from the Treve|yan notebook (p 749, 1|.23-4) is not clear.
PRESTON OF CRICKET ST THOMAS
Ralph Barrett's Precedent Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/HI 469, vol 2; late 16th century; English; paper; 193 leaves +
booklet of 4 leaves; 310mm x 210ram; unnumbered; sewn booklets; parchment cover made from a
Dorset deed. No date, title, or identity, except the name 'Raphe Barrtt,' which appears on the cover.
The book contains precedents from the reign of Elizabeth I or earlier, a court baron description, and
orders from a sessions court in Dorset.
Joseph Crocker's Precedent Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/HI 469, vol 1; c 1600; English; paper; 161 leaves; 310mm x
200mm; contemporary foliation; booklets sewn with twine and leather strips, parchment cover. The
name 'Joseph Crocker' appears on the first leaf but Crocker has not been identified. Summaries of stat-
utes from c 1597 or earlier are arranged alphabetically and by topic.
jv's Precedent Book
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/HI 459, packet 1, item 5; early seventeenth century; English;
paper; 23 leaves; 205mm x 150mm; unnumbered; parchment cover. The book contains summaries of
Elizabethan and early Jacobean statutes, including orders dated 1605 and 1613.
TREVELYAN OF NETTLECOMBE COURT
Notebook of a Student at Law
Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/WO 52/2; c 1600; English; paper; 143 leaves; 202ram x 503ram;
unnumbered; paper booklets sewn into a single volume; original parchment cover with leather strips
stitched into spine.
748 APPENDIX 9
whoe pumshe
Rogges and
Ley pemons by
enterludes
playes
compel| to saye
other prayers.
interrupt to say
prayers-
Setting forth
in writing
any matter
to defame
ye queene
f 105v
Any Iustice of peace or counstable. & the tythinge men assistd with the
minister & one other of the parishe shall punyshe roges by whippinge vntill
hee be bloudye, and after conveid from parishe to parishe to the parishe he
was borne in by the space ofa yeere .... stat. 39. elizabetheC. 4.
f117v
Iustices are to consider whether powre of bailmente be not taken from them
by statute generall or particuler Lambert Liber 3. f. 346. viz.t
Roges vagaboundes, not bailable comitted to prison, stat. 14. elizabetheC. 5.
10
15
Early 17th century
JP's Precedent Book sgo: DD/HI 459, packet 1, item 5
f [2v]
o-- 20
If any person by enterludes, playes, songes, rymes or by any other open wordes
haue declared or spoken any thing in derogation of the booke of common
prayer: or shall by threaminges compell or maynteine any person, vicar &c to
say common prayer or minister any sacramentes otherwise then in the booke
of common prayer,: or interrupt any person to saye prayers or administer ye 2s
sacraments according to the booke of common prayer & convicted 1. offence
forfeit to the queene 100 markes or .6..6. monethes imprisonment. 2. offence
400 markes or a yeares imprisonment. 3. offence all. his goodes forfet: &
imprisonment during life. 1. Elizabethe c: 2.
... _'30
ff [3v-4]
Of felonies concerning the queene.
35
If any man advisedly & with a malitious intent against the queene eyther
within this realme or her dominions or out of her dominions, shall devise
wryte, printe or set foorth any booke, ryme ballet, letter, or writing conteyning
false seditious & slaunderous matter to her ma/esties defamation, or to the
moving of any insurrection within her dominions: or haue wished I her death 0
271 .6..6.: dittography
750
APPENDIX 9
comon lawe, and so the reason is apparant, that the vnlaufull muste be malum
de se and not malum prohibitum ....
APPENDIX 10
Somerset Revels
A revel day, as explained by Bishop Piers in a letter to Archbishop Laud (see p 428), was
another name for the feasts of dedication that were 'generall' in Somerset. Many were held,
according to Piers, on Trinity Sunday (one week after Whit Sunday, a period when many ales
were also held) or else on a Sunday soon before or after the feast of the saint to whom the
church was dedicated. But whatever the saint's day was, almost all revels were held some time
during the summer, broadly defined by Piers as the time between Lady Day and Michaelmas.
All records of those revels that demonstrably include some form of dramatic or musical enter-
tainment have been included in the Records text. Others which do not explicitly mention such
entertainments but do attest to traditional revel days in specific parishes are summarized below.
They provide further evidence of the kind of event at which traditional parish entertainments
were likely to occur. Several entries referring not to revels but to play days are also included
here on the presumption that they were revel days by another name.
In the following table the dedication of the parish church has been given for each location,
following E.H. Bates, 'Dedications of the Churches in Somersetshire,' sam4s 51 (1905), 105-35.
The dates, or possible alternative dates, of the patronal feasts have also been supplied, follow-
ing C.R. Cheney, Handbook of Dates for Students of English History, corrected ed (London, 1978).
Even this small sampling shows that Bishop Piers' identification of parish revels with 'Feasts
of the Dedications of their Churches' (p 427) was an oversimplification. Bleadon, Middlezoy,
and Winscombe clearly held revels near the day of their patronal feasts. So did Bradford on
Tone, Isle Abbotts, and West Buckland but with some disagreement about what the chief
feast of St Mary the Virgin was: the first two places followed the usual reformed Anglican
usage and chose dates near the Nativity (8 September) but West Buckland evidently kept up
the pre-Reformation usage and chose a date near the Assumption (15 August), even though
that feast no longer appeared in the calendar of the Book of Common Prayer. Ashwick, Broad-
way, East Harptree, Minehead, and South Stoke may also have observed days near their patron-
al feasts and the Fivehead brewing about Trinity Sunday (27 May in 1621) could conceivably
have been for an ale to be held near St Martin's Day in summer (4 July), which remained in
the Prayer Book calendar. The Cameley revel seems to have been held on the day prescribed
by the Convocations of Canterbury and York in 1536 as the anniversary of the consecration
of a church.
Probably, though, some of these revels, and all revels of churches whose patronal feasts fell
APPENDIX IO 753
CAMELEY (St James, 25 July)
1607 Revel, Monday, 5 October (sao: D/D/Ca 155, f 207v).
A hundred and more persons present from Cameley, Cholwell, Clutton, High Little-
ton, and Kilmersdon; held at either Cameley or High Littleton (two miles distant).
CHAPEL ALLERTON (dedication unknown)
1620 Reval, Ascension Day, 25 May (sRo: Q/SR 34, f 19).
CHELVEY (St Bridget, 1 February; translation 10 June)
1639 Revel, Tuesday, 25 June (sRo: D/D/Cd 89, f [27]).
Attracted residents from Wrington and others.
COLEFORD (originally St Mary the Virgin)
1633 Revel, Ascension Day, 30 May (sRo: Q/SR 70, f 121).
People present from six parishes (Coleford, Holcombe, Kilmersdon, Leigh upon
Mendip, Midsomer Norton, and Stoke St Michael); a riot occurred.
EAST HARPTREE (St Laurence, 10 August)
1610 Reval, in summer (sRo: D/D/Ca 163, f 123).
At Shrole (a hamlet halfa mile northeast of East Harptree).
FIVEHEAD (St Martin, 11 November; translation 4 July)
1614 Revel (sRo: Q/SR 20, f 138).
Parish clerk sells ale on revel day.
1621 Play day, Sunday after Holy Rood Day, 6 May (sRo: Q/SR 38, f93).
Churchwarden brewed beer then and also about Trinity Sunday, apparently at an
ale.
HIGH LITTLETON (Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday)
1607 See Cameley
ISLE ABBOTTS (St Mary the Virgin(?), 8 September)
1625 Play day, 10 September (sRo: Q/SR 53, pt 1, f 89)
KINGSBURY EPISCOPI (St Martin, 11 November; translation 4 July)
1616 Revel, late May (sao: D/D/Cd 49, p 5).
Person riding to the revel from Puriton, fifteen miles away.
LAMYATT (Sts Mary and John, 6 May, 8 September, or 27 December)
1610 Revel, first Sunday after Trinity, 10 June (sao: D/D/Ca 163, f74v).
Churchwardens locked the church door because the parson was late.
754 APPENDIX IO
MERRIOTT (All Saints, 1 November)
1618 Play day (SRO: DD/TMP 8, f[25v]).
Calves killed, presumably for a feast.
MIDDLEZOY (Holy Cross, 3 May)
1620 Revel, Sunday following Holy Rood Day, 7 May (s.o: Q/SR 34, f 19).
MINEHEAD (St Michael, 29 September)
1632 Prohibition of revel (s.o: D/P/m.st.m 2/9/1, single sheet).
Copy of assize order made 19 March 1631/2 (see pp 437-8) prohibiting ales and
revels with note at foot directing Nicholas Browse (minister of Minehead, 1585-
1635) to publish the order 'before [your] the day of your wonted Revell.'
NORTON FITZWARREN (All Hallows, 1 November)
1616 Revel, Rogation Monday, 5 May (s.o: Q/SR 23, f33).
RADDINGTON (St Michael, 29 September)
1617 Revel, Sunday, 20 July (SRO: D/D/Ca 206, p 169).
Two persons living in church house sold drink during evensong.
RODNEY STOKE (St Leonard, 6 November)
1632 Revel, in summer (s.o: D/D/Cd 77, ff [52-2v]).
A revel called 'Knacker's Hole Revel.'
SHEPTON MALLET (Sts Peter and Paul, 29 June)
1623 Revel, Monday before Rogation Week, 12 May (sRo: Q/SR 42, Pt 1, f 10).
SOUTH STOKE (St James, 25 July)
1627 Revel Day, Sunday, late in summer (s.o: D/D/Ca 206, f 165).
A company at the house of one John Smith, disliked by other parishioners.
STOKE SUB HAMDON (St Mary the Virgin, 8 September)
1610 Revel, Trinity Sunday, 3 June (s.o: D/D/Cd 44, f [17v]).
People travelled to the revel from Yeovii.
WEARE (St Gregory, 12 March; translation 3 September)
1633 Revel (s.o: D/D/Ca 317, ff140, 143v-4).
Six men's hands met on a woman's 'privie members.'
1638 Revel, Sunday, 8 July (suo: D/D/Ca 289, f77v).
Included cudgel play; people from Badgworth and Biagdon (within a six-mile radius)
were present, afternoon to evening.
APPENDIX IO 755
WELLOW (St Julian, 27 January)
1638 See Brislington
WEST BUCD (St Mary the Virgin, 8 September; Assumption 15 August)
1603 Revel 0'Ro: STAC 8/141/13, nos [24-5])
1610 Revel, c 19 August 0'Ro: STAC 8/202/11, f 18 and 'ao: STAC 8/141/13, nos
[24-51).
Described as 'a great Assemblie'; a feud between two families. See also Bradford on
Tone.
1612 Revel, csummer (sao: D/D/Ca 172, f 199)
1625 Play day, csummer, on a Sunday (s.o: D/D/Ca 248, f[36]).
WILLITON (All Saints, 1 November)
1591 Revel, Whitsuntide (sao: D/D/Wy 37/1, f 2v).
With a church ale.
WINSCOMBE (St James, 25 July)
1628 Revel, Sunday, 27 July (sv.o: D/D/Ca 261, f 248).
APPENDIX 11
Saints' Days and Festivals
The following table lists the dates of all the fixed holy days referred to in the documents. All
days are entered under their official names but as an aid to users, unofficial names occurring
in the Records are also given in parentheses and, where clarity seemed to require, repeated in
their alphabetical places. The exact dates of moveable feasts are given in textual footnotes, fol-
lowing the tables in C.IL Cheney, Handbook of Dates for Students of English History, corrected
ed (London, 1978), 84-161.
All Saints (All Hallows)
Ascension Day (Holy Thursday)
Ash Wednesday (Fast Wednesday)
Candlemas
Christmas
Corpus Christi Day
Easter
Epiphany (Twelfth Day)
Fast Wednesday
Good Friday
Holy Innocents
Holy Thursday
Invention of the Cross (Holy Rood Day)
Lady Day
Lammas
Michaelmas
Midsummer Day
Pentecost (Whit Sunday)
St Giles
St James
St John the Baptist, nativity of
(M:asummer Day)
1 November
Thursday after Rogation Sunday, ie, 40 days after
Easter
the first day of Lent
2 February
25 December
Thursday after Trinity Sunday, the eighth Sunday
after Easter
Sunday after the first full moon on or following
21 March
6 January
see Ash Wednesday
Friday before Easter
28 December
see Ascension Day
3 May
25 March
1 August
29 September
24 June
seventh Sunday after Easter, ie, 50 days after Easter
1 September
25 July
24 June
APPiND|X II 757
St John the Evangelist
St Lawrence
St Luke
St Mark
St Mary the Virgin, Annunciation to (Lady Day)
.... Assumption of
.... Conception of
.... Purification of (Candlemas)
St Matthew
St Michael and All Angels (Michaelmas)
St Nicholas
St Peter
Sts Philip and James (Philip and Jacob)
St Stephen
St Thomas the Apostle
Trinity Sunday
Twelfth Day
Whit Sunday
27 December
10 August
18 October
25 April
25 March
15 August
8 December
2 February
21 September
29 September
6 December
29 June
1 May
26 December
21 December
Sunday after Pentecost,
ie, eighth Sunday after Easter
6 January
see Pentecost
Translations
ABIGAIL ANN YOUNG
The Latin documents have been translated as literally as possible. The order of records in the
Translations parallels that of records in the original. Place-names and given names have been
modernized. The spelling of surnames in the Translations reflects the same principles used in
the Index. Capitalization and punctuation are in accordance with modern practice. As in the
Records text, diamond brackets indicate obliterations and square brackets cancellations. How-
ever, cancellations are not normally translated; they may be translated when a whole entry is
cancelled, especially if it appears that a cancellation may be administrative rather than the cor-
rection of an error, or if it seems of special interest or relevance.
Round brackets enclose words not in the Latin text but needed for grammatical sense in
English. In accounts of cases heard before ecclesiastical courts, phrases in round brackets have
been used to complete formulae suspended with 'etc,' when the remainder of a formula can be
deduced with certainty (see the section on ecclesiastical court procedure pp 601-3 for a flail
discussion of such cases).
The two Italian documents sorted under Wells (pp 373-4 and 378-9) were translated by
Konrad Eisenbichler. Not all the Latin in the text has been translated here. Latin tags, formulae,
headings, or other short sections in largely English documents are either translated in footnotes
or not at all. In translated documents containing a mixture of Latin and English, the English
sections are normally indicated with "(English)" but in some cases, in which the syntax of
English and Latin sections has become entangled or in which it seemed preferable for clarity,
the English text appears in the translation in modern spelling. Individual documents which
consist of a single line, and other short entries, especially those that are part of repetitive annual
series, are not normally translated, unless they present some unusual syntactic or semantic
problem. However, in deciding whether to translate simple Latin formulae in court books, the
overall complexity of the entty has been considered. All Latin vocabulary not found in the
standard Latin dictionary, the Oxford Latin Dictionary, is found in the glossary.
18d
15May
TRANSLATIONS
Today he appeared and when he was sworn, he replies in the same way in
every particular and his case was dealt with in the same way, etc.
761
AXBRIDGE
1619
Ex Odcio Act Book SRO: D/D/Ca 215
f 235 (16November)
oo.
The lord's office (against) Richard Saunders
Information is likewise laid before the lord judge that (English). Kinge (gave
this information). (Saunders) was cited in person after having been taken
there within the parish by David Kinge, summoner, etc, on the 13th of this
November, etc, about which (Kinge) has sworn an oath, etc. Today the said
Saunders appeared. The lord (judge) charged him with the detection, etc, and
bound the same (Saunders) with an oath, etc, to reply faithfully, etc, and he
warned, etc (ie, and he warned Saunders not to do the like hereafter).
The lord's office against Joan Saunders, his wife
For the same offence. Likewise, etc, as to the (summoner's) information, etc.
Today (blank).
1636
Ex Ocio Act Book
f 57v (24 May)
SRO: D/D/Ca 309
on (0 48, in
book 27
Enqui
(folio)
Enqui
Proceedings of the court held in the consistory bore William Piers, bishop of Bath
and Wells, and William Hunt, cleric, surrogate judge, in the presence of James
Huishe, notary public
Against John Edwardes
After being sworn, etc, he replies and stated (English) and otherwise he
denied (the charge); therefore an enquiry is ordered.
Against Robert Castle
After he was sworn, etc, the case proceeded in like manner.
762 TRANSLATIONS
28 Februa O,
28 February
BARRINGTON
163617
Ex Ocio Act Book sao: D/D/Ca313
ff 71v-2 (14February)
The lord's office against Thomas Thorne
Information is laid before the lord bishop (ie, before his court) (English). The
lord bishop (gave this information).
Cite (Thorne).
The lord's office against Mr Matthew Buckett, cleric, the curate there
For being present, seeing, and hearing the same, and not acquainting the said
reverend father therewith. The same (bishop gave this information).
Today he appeared (and) the lord (bishop) warned him to appear on the next
(court day) to reply to the detection, etc.
BATH
1433-4
St Michael's Churchwardens'Accounts sao: D/P/ba.mi. 4/1/2
mb [1]* (29 September-28 September) (Expenses)
...And (they account) for 12d paid for straw bought and for the transport of
the said straw to the house of John Somerkyng ....
1465-6
St Michael's Clurchwardens" Accounts sRo:
mb [1]* (21 October-20 October) (Receipts)
D/P/ba.mi. 4/1/3
...And (they account) for 20d in coin received from the hire of the king's
crown at the feast of Pentecost this year ....
1467-8
St Michael's Churchwardens'Accounts sao:
mb [1]* (21 October-20 October) (Receipts)
D/P/ba.mi. 4/1/3
.oo
...And (they account) for 2s 2d in coin received from the hire of the king's
crown at Bath and Swainswick.
TRANSLATIONS 765
1493-4
St Michael's Churchwardens'Accounts SRO: D/P/ba.mi. 4/1/4
mb [1] (27 October-25 October) (Receipts)
...And (they account) for 10d received from the summer king for a crown
rented to him for that year ....
16 June
1606-7
Ex Odcio Act Book
f 58* (2June)
SRO: D/D/Ca155
Proceedings of the morning session held in the episcopal consistory of Walls Cathedral
before Anthony Methwyn, m, cleric, surrogate judge, in the presence of Edward
Huishe, notary public
The lord's office against Mr William Powell, cleric, rector of Bathwick
(English). Today the said Powell appeared in person. The lord (judge) charged
him with the detection, etc. Replying to the same (detection), he stated, etc
( ie, that the detection was true), wherefore the lord (judge) ordered him to
acknowledge his fault in the parish church there (ie, in Bath) next Sunday
immediately after the reading of the gospel.
1610-11
ExOddoActBook SRO: D/D/Ca163
See Bathwick 1610
St Michael's,
Bath
20 September
1629-30
Ex Owio Act Book SRO:
f [17]* (16September)
D/D/Ca273
Proceedings of the court held in the consistory before Arthur Duck, vicar general
Against John Philipps and Jane Howse
(English)
Consult the examination of the said Margery Smith, alias Power, in the
presentment book. Cite (Philipps and Howse) for the next (court day).
TIa,SLATOtS 767
2s lOd
The lord's office against Nicholas Shewn and Richard Marner of the same
(parish)
Today they appeared in person. The lord (vicar general) charged them that
they kept a church ale at Whitsuntide last past. Nicholas Shewn says that the
Lord Paulet gave them authority there. Then the lord (vicar general) charged
that (English). (Shewn (?)) denied that this charge was true saving that he
confesses that there was such a pole set up but not by his knowledge or
consent, as he says. Therefore the lord (vicar general) ordered compurgation
(...) for him, that is, to undergo compurgation by six of his neighbours the
Friday next after next Michaelmas, when a proclamation had been made
beforehand.
BEDMINSTER
1629
Ex Odcio Act Book
f 269v* (19 May)
sao: D/D/Ca263
Proceedings of the morning session held in the episcopal consistory of Wells Cathedral
The lord's office against James Jones in the second instance
Information is laid before the lord judge that (Jones) was dancing on Sunday,
the 3rd day of May 1629, all evening prayer time. John Curie of the same
(parish gave this information).
Today he appeared and when he was sworn (blank).
BEERCROCOMBE
4 July
From the same
plac
1626
Ex Ocio Act Book for Archbishop's Visitation sRo: D/D/Ca 252
f 79v (20June)
ooo
The lord's office against Christopher Tyse
Information was laid before the lord judge that he did help fetch a maypole
on Whit Sunday last and was not at morning prayer that day by means thereof.
Morck (gave this information). Cite (Tyse) for the next (court day).
The lord's office against Jonah Baker
For the same offence
Cite (Baker) for the next (court day).
770 TRANSLATIONS
To the third article he says and deposes that on a Sunday happening about in
(the) summer now last past before this his examination - (it) was a twelvemonth
(ago) as he now remembers, otherwise he does not completdy recall the time -
(English) and otherwise he does not know how to depose.
f 136v (20 October)(Deposition of Thomas Tiseyer, husbandman, aged 62)
When examined on the strength of his oath already taken he says and deposes
to the second and third articles that (English), as he says, and otherwise he does
not know how to depose.
f 138 (Deposition of John Hull, carpenter, aged 40)
He says to the second and third articles (English) and otherwise he does not
know how to depose except from the report of others.
f 147v (2 November) (Deposition ofAlice Musterde, aged 40, wife of James
Musterde, day labourer)
When examined on the second article, she says and deposes (English), as she
says, and otherwise she does not know how to depose.
ff 148v-9 (Deposition of John Hannocke, husbandman, aged 39)
He says about the second article (English), as he says, and otherwise he does
not know how to depose.
He does not know how to depose to the third article (English). And otherwise
he does not know how to depose.
f 164 (17 November) (Deposition of Walter Tapscott, husbandman, aged 32)
He says to the second (article) (English), then offering (the same) reason for
his knowledge as (he did) in the article next preceding and otherwise he does
not know how to depose.
To the third article he says that the same is true (English), as he says, and
otherwise he does not know how to depose.
774 TRANSLATIONS
place the said Hix appeared in person and humbly sought the benefit of
absolution from the sentence of excommunication which had been elsewhere
issued against him and was still hanging over him. The lord (vicar general)
absolved him, etc, at his petition and restored him, etc, after he had first taken
an oath to obey the law and abide by the commands of the church, etc. Then
the lord (vicar general) charged him with the presentment. Replying to the
same, he stated that it was true (English) submitting himself, etc (ie, to the
lord's correction). Therefore the lord (vicar general) warned him, as to the
two parts of the aforesaid latter presentment, (English) and thus the lord
(vicar general) dismissed him from the office as far as those two parts of the
presentment (are concerned). And then the lord (vicar general) warned him
(English) and to certify (that payment) on the next court day following (English)
and to certify (his payment) on the next court day following.
CLOFORD
6 May
1606
Ex Officio Act Book
f 41v (29April)
SRO: D/D/Ca146
Proceedings of the morning session held in the episcopal consistory of Welk Cathedral
before Anthony Methwyn, ma, cleric, surrogate judge, in the presence of Edward
Huishe, notarypublic
The lord's office against Richard Holway
There is a report (English) at time of divine service; (English) at time of divine
service; (English). Gorway (gave this information).
Cite (Holway) for the next (court day).
COMPTON BISHOP
C. 6
2s ld
1634
Archbishop's Visitation Book
f [1 lv]* (c September)
SRO: D/D/Ca297
The lord's office against Peter Graie
Presentment is made by the churchwardens and sidesmen there (English).
782 TRANSLATIONS
(St) Matthew's
( parish (?))
( SO Matthew's
( parish (?))
(St) Matthew's
( parish (?))
(St) Matthew's
( parish (?))
St) Mat'ew's
parish (?))
2 July
(English)
He was cited after being taken in person within the parish of St Cuthbert in
Wells by David Kinge, a summoner, etc, on the 17th of this July, etc, about
which (Kinge) has sworn an oath, etc. Today, after the said Dodd was called
and did not appear, etc, the lord (judge) pronounced the same (Dodd)
contumacious, etc.
The lord's office against Thomas Vincent
For the same offence
(The court proceeded) in like manner, etc, as to the (summoner's) information,
etc. Today his case was dealt with in like manner as in the next previous case,
only changing what had to be changed, etc.
The lord's office against John Baker
For the same offence
He was sought by the same summoner on the 15th of this July, etc, about
which (the summoner) has sworn an oath, etc. Today the lord (judge) decreed
(blank).
The lord's office against John Kingsburie
For the same offence
He was cited after being taken in person within the parish of St Cuthbert's
in Wells by the same summoner on the 17th of this July, etc, about which
(the summoner) has sworn an oath, etc. He should be cited anew.
The lord's office against William Dinghurste
For the same offence
(The court proceeded) in like manner, etc, as to (the summoner's) information,
etc. He should be cited anew.
1639
Ex Officio Act Book
f 34 (25June)
sRo: D/D/Ca330
Proceedings of the morning session held in the episcopal consistory of Wells Cathedral
The lord's office against William Dodd, John Dodd, Edward Wills, Robert
Leafe, William Morys, John Morys, Stephen Verbie, Thomas Hale, and John
Traisdon
Information was laid before the lord judge (English). Backweli (gave this
information). Cite them.
784
7 November
TRANSLATIONS
For the same offence. (The court proceeded) in like manner as to the
(summoner's) information, etc. Today (blank).
Excommunica-
tion
tion
Excommunica-
tion
ENGLISHCOMBE
1588
Ex Officio Act Book sgo:
ff [101v-2]* (2 October)
DID/Ca85
Proceedings of the morning session held in the parish church of Wrington before
John Daye, Liar, official principal, in the presence of Robert Owen, notary public
The lord's office against John Roberts
Presentment is made (English).
He was cited on the same day by the same summoner, about which (the
summoner) took an oath, etc. Today his case was dealt with in like manner
as in the preceding case against Thomas Steevens.
The lord's office against Thomas Junettes
Presentment is made for the same charge.
(The court proceeded) in like manner as to the (summoner's) information.
Today his case was dealt with in like manner as in the preceding case against
Joan Skryne of Bathford.
The lord's office against Thomas Jeninges
Presentment is made for the same offence.
Cite (Jeninges) for the next (court day).
The lord's office against Katherine Butler
Presentment is made for the same charge.
(The court proceeded) in like manner as to the (summoner's) information.
Today her case was dealt with in like manner as in the preceding case against
John Roberts.
The lord's office against Marian Morley
Presentment is made for the same charge.
(The court proceeded) in like manner as to the (summonerS) information.
Today she was excommunicated in like manner.I
The lord's office against Richard Cosyer's maidservant
785
TRANSLATIONS
Presentment is made for the same charge.
(Her citation proceeded) in like manner. Today she is likewise excommunicated.
FARLEIGH HUNGERFORD
Freely
dismissed
1610
Ex Ocio Act Book
f 187v (30 October)
sRo: D/D/CaI63
Proceedings of the morning session held in the consistory of Wells Cathedral bCore
Anthony Methwyn, clem'c, srB, surrogate judge, in the presence of Edward Huishe,
notary public and registrar
Against William Matthew
(English) at time of divine service and (this detection) will be proven. Gorway
(gave this information).
He was cited by the same (summoner) on the 28th of this October, etc. Today
he appeared and when he was sworn, he denied everything and for a lack of
proof the lord (judge) dismissed the same (Matthew) from the office in this
respect.
FARLEIGH IN BACKWELL
3 November
17 November
Let (the
proceedings)
be stayed.
1607
Ex Ocio Act Book
f 232* (27 October)
sRo: D/D/Ca155
Proceedings of the morning session held in the consistory of Wells Cathedral
before Francis James, to, vicar genera in the presence of Edward Huishe,
notary public
Late of Flax Bourton, now of Winfordt
The lord's office against Josiah Cox
(English)
Consult the reply against the said John Wood in the file as to the remaining
foregoing matters.
He was cited on the 25th of this October by Lawrence Hill, summoner, etc.
Today the said Cox appeared in person. The lord (vicar general) bound him
with an oath, etc, to reply faithfully, etc, (and) warned, etc. After being
examined on the strength of his oath, he replies and acknowledged that in
TRANSLATIONS 787
6May
6 May
Christopher Davies of the same (parish): (English). And there is common talk
and rumour about it. Gorway (gave this information).
Cite (George) for the next (court day).
The lord's office against the said Elizabeth Davies
For the same offence
(She should be cited) in like manner, etc.
tiot
2 November
1624
Ex Ojcio Act Book
f 162 (26October)
SRO: D/D/Ca240
Proceedings of the morning session held in the episcopal consistory of Wells Cathedral
bore Robert Withers, cleric, surrogate judge, in the presence of Jaraes Huishe,
notary public and registrar
The lord's office against Richard Punfeild
Information was laid before the lord judge that there is a report of his
incontinence with Lettice Ellice, alias Edgell, of the same (parish), (English).
And that there is common talk and rumour about it. Vernon (gave this
information). He was cited by the same (Vernon) on the 22nd of this October
to the end (that he appear), about which (the summoner) has taken an oath,
etc. Today after the aforesaid Punfeild had been called and did not (appear),
(blank).
The lord's office against Lettice Ellice
For the same offence
She was sought by the same (summoner) on the same day, etc. Today the
lord (judge) decreed (blank).
GLASTONBURY
1428-9
St John the BaI)tist' Churchwardens'Account s.o: D/P/gla.j. 4/1/7
single mb* (Revenues of the office)
ooo
...And (they are answerable) for 8s received from William Deor (blank) and
his fellows playing on the feast of Christmas. And (they are answerable) for
26s 8d received from Walter Brewderer and his fellows playing in the town
on (Midsummer) ....
796
TRANSLATIONS
HOLFORD
1588
Ex Ocio Act Book
f [1201 (30April)
SRO: D/D/Ca 80
Proceedings of the morning session held in the consistory of Wells Cathedral
before John Daye, zz, official principal, in the presence of Edward Huishe,
notary public
The lord's office against Thomas Shurte
(English).
Today the said Shurte appeared. The lord (official) charged him with the
detection. Replying, he denied that the same was true, wherefore the lord
(official) warned the same Shurte to be present in the parish church of Bridg-
water on the next day of a visitation session there before him (ie, the official),
to see the further proceedings to occur in this matter.
He refuses to pay for the case (ie, to pay court fees (..
The lord's office against William Brewer
(The court proceeded) in like manner as to the detection. (His case was dealt
with) in like manner in every respect.
The lord's office against Henry Emes
For the same fault
( His case was dealt with) in like manner.
HUNTSPILL
1618
Ex cio Act Book SRO: D/D/Ca 203
f 163 (12 May)
The lord's office against William Hackwell
Information was laid before the lord judge (English). Spiggott (gave this
information). (Hackwell) was cited after being taken in person within the
parish there on the 1 lth of this May by Nicholas Spiggott, summoner, etc,
who, etc. Today (blank).
798 TRANSLATIONS
the number of a hundred persons and more - assembled themsdves unlawfitlly
and riotously with the aforementioned Thomas at llton aforesaid in the
aforesaid county on the same day in the same year and then and there behaved
themselves in a disorderly and unlawful manner and the aforementioned
Thomas Nehellinge then and there conducted himsdf in an unlawful manner,
contrary to the peace, Crown, and dignity of the said lord king and contrary
to the form of statute laid down and provided in this case.
True bill
ISLE ABBOTTS
1623/4
Bishop's Court Deposition Book sRo: D/D/Cd 58
f [26v] (27Janua.)(Deposition of Alexander Pyre, alias Pitman, husbandman,
aged36)
Taken bCore Anthony Methwyn, spa, in the presence of James Huishe, nota, public
When examined on the strength of his oath already taken, he deposes and
says to the aforesaid detection (English), as he now recalls the time, (English).
And he deposes the foregoing from his own heating, sight, and understanding,
(English). And otherwise he does not know how to depose.
KEYNSHAM
20 September
20 September
1619
Ex Odcio Act Book sRo: D/D/Ca215
ff 105-5v* (3 August)
The lord's office against William Saunders
Information is laid before the lord judge (English). The said Saunders was
sought by William Cooke, a lettered summoner, etc, on 31 July last, etc,
about which (Cooke) has taken an oath, etc.I
The lord's office against Geoffrey Bayly
For the same fault. (The court proceeded) in like manner, etc, as to the
(summoner's) certificate, etc. Today his case was dealt with, etc, in like manner
in every respect as in the next preceding case, etc.
The lord's office against John James
TRANSLATIONS
805
Muchelney.
commonly
called the
'Seeyn gate'
canon and civil laws): greetings, grace, and blessing. Since, with the excuse
of some excesses and faults, along with scandal, which local rumour brought
to our attention had been sprouting up in the said monastery and among
those serving in the same for some time, we recently, intending to carry out
the duty of the pastoral office in this regard - because indeed we were careful
not to give easy credence to the situation being as local rumour reported -
therefore decided that our ordinary visitation in the aforesaid monastery
would begin on the next-to-last day of August last as this need demanded
and that we would personally go down to the place according to the canons
instituted (ie, for visitations) and see whether the truth might be exchanged
for the rumours and since while carrying out the office of visitation on the
said day and in the said place as carefully as we were able we found one thing
in particular among others worthy of reformation - that is (the situation) at
the eastern gate of the convent church of the aforesaid monastery, which gate
is commonly called the 'Sexteyn gate.' Not only do suspicious persons, and
especially women well known for promiscuity, have too frequent entrance,
accompanied by scandal, through it at unsuitable and suspicious hours and
times under the pretext of being laundresses or some other pretended service,
but also some monks of the said monastery, letting go the reins of monastic
decency, do not fear to go out through it at will to pleasures, shows, and dis-
solute gatherings. Nay, more - sometimes, as is sorrowful to relate, after
compline some monks, going out alone one by one through the said gate,
abandoning the observance of the religious life they professed, are seen and
taken gossiping with suspicious persons shamelessly outside the walls of the
monastery. They also take away inappropriately through the said gate for the
use of these suspicious persons food which ought to be given as alms to poor
folk, thus defrauding charity and together with these (ills), other, as it were,
unspeakable evils are daily committed through this opening of the gate.
Accordingly, this scandal, about which we are sick at heart, will very truthfully
spring up for the entire monastery for a very long time to come unless some
remedy is speedily provided. For we, desiring to oppose so many evils and the
occasion of the said scandal with all our might and to provide in a fatherly
way for the religious life, usefulness, and good reputation of the aforesaid
monastery and everyone living in the same (and) trying to adhere to the
teaching of gospel truth with which we are instructed - that if your hand or
your foot offend you, cut it off and cast it from you - have decided that the
aforesaid gate should be closed and remain closed, so that no entrance or
exit shall be open through it at any time, just as indeed we have decreed by
the tenor of the present (letter) as justice demands. Wherefore we entrust to
all of you together or two of you separately, the third being absent, and we
order by virtue of your obedience, strictly enjoining that you shall cause the
816 TRANSLATIONS
fortieth year of the reign of our lady, Queen Elizabeth, by the grace of God
of England, France and Ireland queen, defender of the faith, etc, keep and
maintain at the aforesaid Odcombe in the aforesaid county bull-baiting,
called 'a bull baiting,' and then and there sold and uttered ale and hopped ale,
called 'ale and beer' contrary to various laws of the said lady queen, without
obtaining any licence of any of the justices of the peace in the aforesaid
county, contrary to the form of the statute set out and provided in cases of
this kind and contrary to the peace of the said lady queen, her Crown and
dignity.
OLD CLEEVE
1614
Ex 02'o Act Book
f 135" (17May)
sRo: D/D/Ca 184
18d
31 May
Proceedings of the morning session hem in the episcopal consistory of Wells Cathedral
bore Anthony Methwyn, sty, surrogate judge, in the presence of Edward Huishe,
notary public and registrar
The lord's office against Gregory Hobbs
(English). He was cited by the same (summoner) on the 9th of this May, etc.
Today the said Hobbs appeared. The lord (judge) bound him by an oath and
warned, etc (ie, warned him to reply faithfully). After being examined on the
strength of his oath, he replies and stated that the accusation, etc (/e, that the
accusation was true), submitting himself, etc (ie, to the lord's correction).
Wherefore his case was dealt with likewise, etc, just as (was done) in the
preceding case against Thomas Farmer, etc, which he wishes to be applied (to
him (?)), etc.
18d
31 May
The lord's office against William Wattes
For the same fault. He was sought by the same (summoner) on the 7th of
this May, etc. Today the said Wattes appeared. The lord (judge) bound him
with an oath, etc, and warned, etc (/e, warned him to reply faithfully). And
then his case was dealt with likewise in every way, etc, just as otherwise
likewise in the preceding case against Thomas Farmer, which he wishes to be
applied (to him (?)), etc.
TRANSLATIONS
PAW-LETT
817
Call on John
Macham of
Pawett.
1587
Ex Officio and Instance Book
f [7]* (11 May)
SRO: D/D/Ca 78
Proceedings of the morning session held in the parish church of Banwell bore
Thomas Godwin, bishop of Bath and Wells, and John Daye, tn, chancellor, in
the presence of Robert Whithorne, notary public
The lord's office without promotion against John Cornishe of Pawlett
It was decided that Thomas Hardacre, John Williams, Edward Smythes,
William Clerk, John Clerk, George Fyrankyn and Robert Nicholls, cleric,
vicar of Puriton, should be called.
Today John Williams appeared, whom the lord (bishop) questioned. He said
(English).
John Smyth and Edward Smythes (and) William Clerk confirmed the charge
in the detection (English).
The said John Cornishe states that he did set up the maypole in the steeple
or tower of the church which he did, as he says, for a merriment and safeguard
of the maypole from stealing, as he says.
Then while the lord (judge) charged him with the article as to the three beliefs,
he states (English).
Then the lord bishop decided (English).
Afterwards (Cornishe) sealed (the bond) and then the lord (bishop) cancelled
(it) at the petition of some parishioners which had already been made. The
lord (bishop) deferred this business (ie, of the bond) until (the situation) about
the amendment and reformation of (Cornishe's) life (and) religious practices
was better known, etc, especially in (...). And (Cornishe was ordered) to (...)
(ie, to do penance (?)) and to certify by the Thursday next after the next feast
of the Holy Trinity and to hear his (ie, the bishop's) further will.
Edward Pirry and John Bennett, churchwardens of Pawlett, should be called
next Monday, etc, touching the setting up of a maypole.
TRANSLATIONS
831
Innocents or of other saints which follow Christmas or to bring in likenesses
of ghosts (or spirits or demons) for shows of mockeries in the same (church)
or by the obscene ravings of their gestures to hinder the divine office in any
way and had consequently issued a statute, we, Walter de London and the
chapter of the aforesaid church, wishing to suppress (this) with a timely
restriction, by adding (new measures) against the malice of those doing this,
decree and order that if any vicar presumes to use these gestures in the
abovesaid church hereafter contrary to this statute, that he shall remain
suspended ipso facto from the wearing of the habit and the reception of
commons, until the dean and chapter deem him to be reconciled.
(Chapters 18-19)
Concerning the vicars of the church of Wells saying the canonical hours by
skipping over or cutting words short, and wandering on hunts or fowling
trips, and walking about the streets and open places
Also we are certainly warned with great perturbation that very many vicars
of the said church of Wells, abandoning the modesty of the clerical order -
by neglecting to say or sing the canonical hours, by cutting off (words), by
mixing in extraneous and generally conflicting and indecent conversations,
and by being present in person on hunts and fowling and fishing trips -
while they ought to be offering to God the sacrifice of praise in purity of
conscience and devotion of mind and seeming to care nothing about the
clerical order, follow after round dances and shows and walk through the
streets and open places of the city day and night and lead a life of pleasure
with singing and great tumult, from which various indecencies follow and
the ecclesiastical office is much disturbed to the offence of the divine majesty
and the scandal of people standing by, we therefore, the abovesaid dean and
chapter, wishing to confront rash d,ring of this sort, forbid the same (vicars) to
presume to commit such actions hereafter. And if anyone fails in the foregoing
or any particular of the foregoing, he should know that he will incur suspension
from the wearing of his habit for two months, receiving nothing at all from
the church in the meantime.
Concerning the vicars of the church of Wells involving themselves in secular
business and using taverns and playing publicly at gambling or dice
Also since many vicars of the said church of Wells involve themselves in
secular duties and commerce and also play at gambling and dice and use
taverns to the dishonour of the clerical order and the manifest scandal of the
church, we therefore, the abovesaid dean and chapter, wishing to confront
rash daring of this sort, decree and order that those failing in this way shall
832
TRANSLATIONS
incur ipso facto suspension from the wearing of the habit for two months,
receiving nothing from the church in the meantime.
ooo
( Chapter 21)
That round dances, pastimes or shows, or stone-throwing not take place in
the churchyard or church close
Also since dissensions, the shedding of blood, and violent acts often arise from
round dances, pastimes and shows, and stone-throwing in the aforesaid church
and its churchyard and close, and from these things the said church of Wells
suffers many losses, we the abovesaid dean and chapter, wishing to dispel this
sort of insolence by the care of our concern, decree and order that, if anyone
presumes to do the foregoing or any particular of the foregoing in the future
or takes part knowingly in rash acts of this kind, he will incur an ipso facto
sentence of greater excommunication.
( Chapter 26)
A prohibition of stage plays and shows and showings of ghosts (or spirits or
demons) in the church of Wells
Also since stage plays are put on in the aforesaid church by the laity during
Whitsuntide and also on other festivals and not only are likenesses of ghosts
(or spirits or demons) introduced in it for shows of mockeries but also the
priests, deacons, and subdeacons of the said church of Wells, using in turn
mockeries of their madness on the feast of the Holy Innocents and festivals
of other saints which follow Christmas, hinder the divine office by the
obscene ravings of their gestures (and) make the honour of the clergy grow
cheap in the sight of the people, whom they ought rather to charm at that
time with preaching, we the abovesaid dean and chapter - lest, at the time
when they ought to be asking for the forgiveness of their sins, they are then
offered an occasion for sin or caught in the act of sinning - determine that
the before mentioned custom, or rather corruption, of mockeries ought to
be completely rooted out from the aforesaid church, decreeing therefore that,
if anyone presumes to use gestures of this sort hereafter in the aforesaid church,
he will be bound with the fetters of ipso facto excommunication from which
he shall by no means be absolved unless he first makes adequate satisfaction
in the judgement of the dean and chapter to the same church to which he
offered so great an insult. And, lest this salutary statute be neglected on the
pretext of ignorance, we order that it be solemnly published every Sunday and
TRANSLATIONS 833
solemnity during the next year following in the presence of a large number
of the faithful.
1397-8
Cathedral Escheators'Account Rolls WCL
mb 2* (Michaelmas term) (Distribution of obits)
...Also (spent) on one procession made on the eve of the Conception of
St Mary for the soul of Nicholas de Pontesbury, 5s 3d (distributed) at the
procession among sixty-three persons, ld for each one; ld for the (boy) bishop;
ld for the acolyte/s; ld for the chorister/s...
1399-1400
Cathedral Escheators" Account Rolls wcL
mb 2 (Michaelmas term) (Distribution of obits)
...Also (spent) on one procession made on the eve of the Conception of
St Mary for the soul of Nicholas de Pontesbury, 4s 10d (distributed) among
fifty-eight persons, ld for each one; ld for the acolyte/s; ld for the chorister/s;
ld for the (boy) bishop.
1400-1
Cathedral Escheators" Account Rolls WCL
mb 2 (Michaelmas term) (Distribution of obits)
...Also (spent) on one procession made on the eve of the Conception of
St Mary for the soul of Nicholas de Pontesbury, 4s 9d (distributed) among
fifty-seven persons, ld for each one; ld for the acolyte/s; ld for the chorister/s;
ld for the (boy) bishop.
1402-3
Cathedral Escheators" Account Rolls WCL
mb 2 (Michaelmas term) (Distribution of obits)
...Also (spent) on one procession made on the eve of the Conception of
St Mary for the soul of Nicholas de Pontesbury, 4s 7d (distributed) among
fifty-five persons, ld for each one; ld for the acolyte/s; ld for the chorister/s;
ld for the (boy) bishop.
TRANSLATIONS 839
1473-4
Cathedral Comraunars'Account Rolls WCL
mb 1 (Necessary expenses)
...And on the commons of the boys' little bishop and his canons on Holy
Innocents' Day, that is, 8d for the bishop, 2d for every other (boy acting as)
his canon and 1 d for the communar, 2s 9d...
Cathedral Fcheators" Account Rolls WCL
mb 3 (Michaelmas term) (Distribution of obits)
...And (spent) on one procession made on the eve of the Conception of
St Mary for the soul of Nicholas de Pontesbury, 3s 8d (distributed) among
forty-four persons, ld for each one; ld for the boys' bishop; ld for the acolyte/s;
ld for the chorister/s.
1478 -9
Cathedral Communars'Account Rolls WCL
mb 2 (Necessary expenses)
...And on the commons of the boys' little bishop and his canons on Holy
Innocents' Day, that is, 8d for the bishop, 2d for every other (boy acting as)
his canon and ld for the communar, 2s 9d...
( External expenses)
...And on a reward made to the lord king's performers at the hand of the
steward, 6s 8d...
1480-1
Cathedral Escheators' Account Rolls WCL
mb 2 (Michaelmas term) (Distribution of obits)
...And (spent) on one procession made on the eve of the Conception of
St Mary for the soul of Nicholas de Pontesbury, 3s 9d (distributed) among
forty-five persons, ld for each one; ld for the boys' bishop; ld for the acolyte/s;
ld for the chotisterls.
840 TRANSLATIONS
1490-1
Cathedral Communars'Account Rolls wCL
mb 2 (Necessary expenses)
...And on the commons of the boys' little bishop and his canons on Holy
Innocents' Day, that is, 8d for the bishop, 2d for each canon and ld for the
communar, 2s 9d...
Cathedral Escheator$'Account Rolls WCL
mb 4 (Michaelmas term) (Distribution of obits)
...And (spent) on one procession made on the eve of the Conception of
St Mary for the soul of Nicholas de Pontesbury, 3s 9d (distributed) among
forty-five persons, ld for each one; ld for the boys' bishop; ld for the acolyte/s;
I d for the chorister/s.
1491
General Act Book
p 190"
sRo: D/D/Cal
Proceedings of the court hem in Wells Cathedral in the Mary Chapd next to the
cloister before Thomas Harrys, vicar general
ooo
He was accused on a charge of heresy and has been indicted upon the same
charge before the justices of our lord king at Ilchester, just as appears in a
bill (of indictmen0 sent to the aforesaid lord vicar general and exhibited. The
articles of this heresy are contained in that bill, each and every one of which
the same (blank) has expressly denied. He stated nonetheless that he does know
how to read English and has never attended school and that he has no English
books nor does he use any English books of this kind except only (that he has
used) English books of interludes, in English, 'Ordinals for plays.'
1494-5
Cathedral Escheators'Account Rolls WCL
mb 5 (Michaelmas term) (Distribution of obits)
...And (spent) on one procession made on the eve of the Conception of
St Mary for the soul of Nicholas de Pontesbury, 3s 4d (distributed) among
forty persons, ld for each one; ld for the boys' bishop; ld for the chorister/s;
I d for the acolyte/s.
846 TRANSLATIONS
1605-6
Bishop's Court Deposition Book sRo: D/D/Cd 36
pp 382-3* (1 November) (Examination of William Stott, miller, aged 44, upon
articles exhibited by Eleanor Cox against Miles Brokenburrowgh)
Taken before Thomas Merest, surrogate judge
When examined on the strength of his oath already taken, he deposes and
says to the second article (English)- as he now recalls; he does not perfectly
remember the day and time otherwise - (English). And he says these things
from his own sight, hearing, and understanding (English). And otherwise he
does not know how to depose.
p 385* (Examination of Ralph Harvie, miller, aged 32, upon the same articles)
When examined on the strength of his oath already taken, he deposes and
says to the second article (English)- otherwise he does not recall the time-
(English). And otherwise he does not know how to depose.
.oo
1608-9
Star Chamber Minute Book
f 28 col 3*
Alnwick Castle: Letters and papers, vol 9 23/6
(English)
The perverse licence of an actor grows great.
There should be reciprocity when someone confesses voluntarily.
He who is silent appears to consent.
I dared not because they were not really good, I condemn not because they
are indifferent, I do not because they are often damaging: spoken of public
masks or like shows.
A scandalous libel is an amusing pleasure, but Aristophanes died of it.
An equal power of daring to do something has always belonged to painters
and poets.
English)
A bow always drawn snaps.
848 TRANSLATIONS
1610--II
Bishop's Court Deposition Book SRO: D/D/Cd 44
f [149v]* (23 July) (Deposition of Philippa Wilson, aged 26, wife of Thomas
Wilson, taken on behalf of Agnes Vernon against Thomasine Comb)
Taken before Thomas Merest, cleric, surrogate judge
When examined on the strength of her oath, she deposes and says to the
second article of the aforesaid libel (English), as she now recalls the time, (but)
she cannot recall otherwise, (English). And she deposes these things from her
own hearing, sight, and understanding, (English). And otherwise she does
not know how to depose.
ff [ 155v-6]* (29July) (Deposition of Alice Byson, alias Hopkins, aged 56, wife
of David Hopkins, glover)
Taken before Edward Tynes, cleric
When examined on the strength of her oath, she deposes and says to the second
article (English), as she now recalls the day and time (but) otherwise does not
perfectly remember (English). And she deposes and says this from her certain
hearing and knowledge, (English). And otherwise she does not know how to
depose.
1611-12
Sessions Book 1
f [147v]
WTH
Presentments by John Alfora one of the wardens of the shambles
(The wardens) present upon their oath that Michael Alford of Wells in the
county of Somerset, butcher, did on 2 November in the ninth year of the
reign of our lord, James, king of England, etc, at Wells aforesaid in the
aforesaid county slaughter one bull and did sell its flesh to various lieges and
subjects of the said lord king, when the aforesaid bull was not baited, in
English 'baited,' contrary to the form of the statute provided in a case of this
kind.
And that John Millard the elder slaughtered a bull on the same day and in the
same year abovesaid, in the aforesaid manner and form.
Puriton
TRANSLATIONS
And that Robert Dunstone slaughtered a bull on the same day and in the
same year, in the aforesaid manner and form.
And that the aforesaid Michael Alford slaughtered a bull as above on 9 November
in the year abovesaid.
849
And that John Millard slaughtered a bull as above on 14 December in the year
abovesaid.
And that Giles Spratt slaughtered a bull as above on the same day and in the
same year.
1612-13
Ex Ojicio Aa Book SRO:
ff 82v--3" (20 Oaober)
D/D/Ca 174
Proceedings of the court held before Dr James, in the presence of Edward Huishe,
notary public
[Against Sir (blank) Swankin, cleric
(English). The vicar general desires that (Swankin) be suspended, etc, and that
(Swankin) not be restored until his return and by him.]
Letter of Antonio Foscarini, Ambassador, to the Doge and Senate of Venice
,.sv: Sertato, Secreta. Dispacci, Irtghilterra
f [1 ] (23 August)
Most Serene Prince,
Having found out along the way that the queen had proceeded to the baths
in this city, I came here directly. I found her majesty accompanied by a number
of ladies and gentlemen greater than usual and all the nobles of this province
gathered here, (and since) the king has never been in this (province), all sorts
of people are gathering to see the queen, and with all high terms ofhonour
and homage they show their pleasure in seeing her. Yesterday I paid homage
to her majesty, uttering words of compliment in the name of your excdlencies
that were appropriate, to which she answered fully and with affection. She
then inquired of me about your serenity's health; she said that I should extend
to your most excellent lords her favour; and moving on to other pleasant talk,
she wished that I attend upon her all day long, during which (time) she saw
852
TRANSLATIONS
1615-16
Session Book 1 WTH
f [190] (8January 1615/16)
Presentment Walter Brit and Giles Spratt, wardens of the shambles
Also (the wardens) present that John Doddrell - he is discharged for
insufficiency of presentment, 2 September 1616 - and John Alford - he is
discharged for insufficiency of presentment, 2 September 1616- slaughtered
a bull on 16 September last before it was baited, in English 'before he was
baited.'
And (the wardens) present Thomas Strotten - he is discharged, 2 September
1616 - for the like (offence) on the same finding.
Examination ofAngelo Nodaro Asv: Inquisitori di Stato, Busta 155
f iij (12 February)
All the questions regarding item 39: whether he knows if the Ambassador
Foscarini dealt indiscreetly with the queen of England when he went to visit
her on the journey to Scotland?
Answer: I do.
Question: Whether he has heard speak of it?
Answer:. I remember that in the city of Wells the lord ambassador, after having
taken leave from the king, went to visit the queen, who was at that time,
because of the heat, wearing a vest with slits in it, and her shirt came out from
the cuts in her sleeves. The lord ambassador, speaking with her on the manner
of dressing in that country, touched with two fingers the shirt that came out
of those slits, praising it as beautiful, which thing Muscorno said he did in
order to touch her flesh, and he built on this.
Question: Whether one could determine if her majesty and those who were
present were displeased by this action?
Answer: No sir, because truly one could not be displeased by it.
Question: Who was present?
Answer: Of those who were with the lord ambassador there was no-one else
but Muscorno and me. (He) added that if the queen had been disgusted, she
would not have brought the lord ambassador with them to see a bull hunt,
as she did.
TRANSLATIONS
ledge his fault before the minister, churchwardens, and twelve others, etc, and
to certify.
On 4 November 1634, the schedule of penance, etc, was introduced together
with a certificate, etc.
4 November
C. 24
The lord's office against John Stokes
Presentment is likewise made as above.
He appeared on 27 October 1634 and (was dealt with) in like mannerA
The lord's office against Henry Loxton
Presentment is likewise made as above.
He appeared on 27 October 1634 in the consistory at Glastonbury before
Mr William Hunt, cleric, surrogate judge, etc. And he stated that the
presentment, etc (ie, that it was true). Therefore the lord (judge) enjoined
him to acknowledge his fault before the minister, churchwardens, and twelve
others, etc, and to certify, etc.
On 4 November 1634, the schedule of penance, etc, was introduced together
with a certificate, etc.
The lord's office against Nathaniel Jeninges
Presentment is likewise made as above.
On 27 October 1634 (his case) was dealt with in like manner.
WEST BRADLEY
1632
Ex Ocio Act Book
ff 49-9v* (3July)
SRO: D/D/Ca 283
The lord's office against David Warfeilde
Information is laid before the lord judge (English). Mr L. Williams (gave this
information). (Warfeilde) was cited by Edward Greene, a summoner, etc, on
the 27th of last June there, etc, about which (Greene) has sworn an oath, etc.
Today he appeared and after he was sworn, (blank).
The lord's office against Alice, his wife
For the same fault
( Her case was dealt with) in like manner, etc, as to the (summoner's) information,
etc. Today (blank).
TRANSLATIONS 855
The lord's office against Steven Gregorie the elder
Information was laid before the lord judge (English).
(His case was dealt with) in like manner, etc, as to the (summoner's) information,
etc. Today he appeared and after he was sworn, (blank).
The lord's office against William Waker
For the same fault
(His case was dealt with) in like manner, etc, as to the (summoner's)
information, etc. Today he appeared and after he was sworn, (blank).
The lord's office against Susan, his wife
For the same fault
(Her case was dealt with) in like manner, etc, as to the (summoner's)
information, etc. Today (blank).
29 October
1639
Ex Ocio Act Book
f 163" (22 October)
SRO: D/D/Ca 330
The lord's office against George Pyper, one of the churchwardens there
There is a report (English). Humffies (gave this information). Cite (Pyper).
WEST COKER
(On f) 330
29 April
1617
Ex Ocio Act Book
f 118" (IApril)
SRO: D/D/Ca 201
Proceedings of the morning session held in the consistory of Wells Cathedral before
Anthony Methwyn, cleric, surrogate judge, in the presence of Edward Huishe, notary
public
.oo
Against Richard Millard
After he was sworn, he replies and stated (English). And it is decided that he
ought to be dismissed, etc, with a warning. And he has to pay his fee on the
29th of this April.
856
TRANSLATIONS
WEST PENNARD
1586
Ex Ocio Act Book
f [79] (8Ju)
SRO: D/D/Ca 73
Proceedings of the court held in the consistory of Welk bore John Daye, zzo, vicar
general
The lord's office against John Fry of West Pennard
Today the said John Fry appeared in person. The lord (vicar general) charged
him (English). Replying, he states (English), otherwise submitting himself,
etc (ie, to the lord's correction). Therefore the lord (vicar general) enjoined
him to do penance, etc. Then the lord (vicar general), with the consent of
the said John Fry, commuted his penance into a payment of money, that is,
that he should pay 3s 4d of his own money to the poor box, to the use of the
poor of the said parish, etc, to be divided among the poor, etc, and (he has)
to certify one week from today.
1635
Ex OgO'o Act Book
ff 55 -5v (12 May)
sao: D/D/Ca 302
In the same
place
26 May
{On f) 125
2 June
Proceedings of the court held in the consistory bqCore William Hunt, cleric, surrogate
judge, in the presence of Alexander Jett, notary public
Against James Pearce in the first instance; Robert Champion, and Henry
Dunckerton
(English).
After he was sworn, etc, he replies and denied that the detection is true, etc.
Therefore the lord (judge) decided that there should be an enquiry, etc.I
Against James Pearce in the second instance
After he was sworn, etc, he replies and stated that there was a common
rumour, etc, and that there have been songs made upon them about the
same; therefore the lord (judge) enjoined him to undergo compurgation
by four of his neighbours, trustworthy fellow-parishioners there, after an
announcement had been made, etc.
TRANSLATIONS
LUTTRELL OF DUNSTER CASTLE
1405-6
Lutrrell tIousehold Account Roll SRO: DD/L P/37/7
mb 10" (27 June-27 June) (External expenses and gifis of the lord)
Also on 26 December on the lord's gift to three tenants of
John Cobleston playing before him, 3s 4d; on a gift of the
same (lord) to six tenants of Dunster playing before him,
3s 4d ; on a gift of the same (lord) to many children of
Minehead dancing before him, 21d
.oo
Also on the lord's gift to the St Nicholas' clerks, 12d...
8s 4d
DIOCESE OF BATH AND WELLS
c 1258
Statutes for the Diocese of Bath and Wells
f llOv cols 1-2"
Vadcan Library: MS ottob, lat. 742
That secular pleas should not be held in churches or in churchyards
Our lord and saviour cast those who bought and sold out of the temple so
that a home of prayer would not become a den of thieves, which the witness
of scripture has established. On account of this we strictly forbid public
markets to be held in churches or in their porches or in churchyards on
Sundays or other days, or secular pleas to be held, or buildings to be built
there - unless a period of hostility demands it - and if they have been built,
they should be wholly torn down. And became many bodies of the saints and
those worthy of salvation rest in churchyards and on this account reverence
ought to be shown to them, we also order that priests shall announce in their
churches that no one dare to put on wrestling matches, round dances, or other
indecent pastimes in churchyards, especially on churches' festivals or saints'
vigils, became those who do such things or are present there are shown not
only to make offerings to demons but also bring harm to holy places and
sacred times. But the rectors, vicars, or priests of churches in whose parishes
such things are shall be punished severely, since this could not be hidden from
them, unless they have given timely warning of it to the archdeacon or his
official.
866
TRANSLATIONS
PORTBURY
1637
Bishop's Court Deposition Book sRo: D/D/Cd 131
f [13v] (Deposition of Rose Wade, aged 60, wife of Thomas Wade, husbandman)
To the second article of the aforesaid claim or matter, she deposes and says
that she believes that the article is true; offering a reason for her belief, she
says (English) ....
ff [16v-17] (Deposition of Thomas Wade, yeoman, aged47)
ooo
To the third article of the aforesaid claim or matter he deposes and says when
examined on the strength of his oath already taken (English) ....
TINTINHULL
1444-5
St Margaret's Churchwardens'Accounts s,o: D/P/dn 4/111
p 40 (22July-21July) (Receipts)
ooo
...And of 2s received from the proceeds of the hogglers' light from John
Warwyke, formerly one of the wardens there...
1465-6
St Margaret's Churchwardens'Accounts spo: D/P/dn 4/1/1
p 74 (Receipts)
.oo
...And of 22d received from William Warefull and John Trent from the hogglets'
light this year...
872 ENDNOTES
11 Bao: CA No. 2 mb [1]
The regnal year, written over an erasure, reads 'Nyntethethe' and on the dorse '9 th Elizabeth' is corrected
to "1577 19 th Elizabeth' in a later hand. The correction is clearly right since at the end of the roll's
Extraordinary charges secdon, mb [2], is the total of payments by the chamberlain 'for this xixth yere
of our soveraine ladye Quene Elizabethe.' Moreover, the corresponding St John's Hospital Account Poll,
Bao: SJ No. 6, is dated 1 June 19 Elizabeth.
The following entries appear in this order under Gifts and rewards, suggesting a chronological
arrangement of the section:
1/ payment to a pursuivant for a proclamation adjourning Michaelmas term, doubtless STC: 8082,
'Adjourning Michaelmas Term Because of Plague,' 29 September 1576, noticed in Paul L. Hughes
and James F. Larkin (eds), Tudor Royal Proclamations, vol 2 (New Haven, 1969), 411 (No. 619).
2/ for wood to the poor at Christmas
3/ to the Lord Mountjoy's players on Good Friday, 5 April in 1577.
The payment to the lord chamberlain's players appears before 1/, and so probably occurred between
23 June 1576, the starting date of the roll, and October 1576. The payment to the earl of Bath's players
appears after 3/, and so probably occurred between 5 April 1577 and 5 June 1577, the closing date of
the roll.
Murray printed three dramatic entries for Bath in this year as supposedly coming from the Chamber-
lains' Accounts (English Dramatic Companies, vol 2, p 200). Two of these are the entries for the lord
chamberlain's players and the earl of Bath's players as given here, but with the sum given to the earl of
Bath's men misreported as 8s 3d. The other is the payment to the earl of Worcester's players that actually
appears in the St John's Hospital roll for this year, 8go: SJ No. 6 mb [1] and is printed here (see p 12).
Murray did not indude the payment to Lord Mountjoy's players on Good Friday that comes between the
other two in the Chamberlains' Accounts. These errors and oversights arose from uncritically following
Belville S. Penley, The Bath Stage (London, 1892), 11-14. Other serious errors by Penley are noted
below (see below, endnote to CA No. 11 mb [1]).
12 Bao: SJ No. 6 mb [1]
None of the other St John's Rolls contains a Gifts and rewards section or references to drama. Probably
these records would normally have appeared in the Chamberlains' Accounts and if so the most likely
date for the beginning of the year including these payments would be 23 June 1576, the day after the
date of the Chamberlain's Account for 1576.
A John Chapman (1.5) paid rent for the Hart Inn (go: CA No. 11 (1580-1), mb [3], under Rents
withheld) and for a garden (ao: CA No. 3 (1568-9), mb [1], under Increased rents). Perhaps this is
the same John Chapman who is named as mayor at the heads of CA No. 16 (1583-4) and CA No. 39
(1599-1600). At the foot of CA No. 35 (1595-6) 'Ihon Chepman' is named as an alderman.
12 Bao: CA No. 7 mb [1]
Varnish obscures these dramatic records, except for the payment to Sir Richard Rogers' players (1.14).
12 BgO: CANo. 11 mb [1]
Murray (English Dramatic Companies, vol 2, p 201) follows Penley (Bath Stage, p 12) in giving these
entries twice, once correctly under 1581 and again wrongly under 1583. They both mistepott the sum
874 EOT
14 BRO: CA No. 22 robs [1], [2]
The 'lordes' for whom the Bristol waits played (!.9) were probably Warwick and Leicester since the
payment to the waits occurs i the accounts directly after gifts to those noblemen. Moreover, Leicester
must have been in Bath during the first half of April 1587 since he wrote letters from there between
6 and 14 April 1587. The date of his arrival in the city is not certain but on the 14th he left for Bristol.
Thus the payments to Bath waits were probably made between 1 and 14 April 1587. For this information
I am indebted to Dr Simon L. Adams of the History Department, University of Strathdyde.
14 BUO: CA No. 23 mb [1]
The following entries in this Gifts and rewards section, coming in this order, suggest chronological
arrangement:
1/ to the 'quenes maiesties plaiers,' 13 July (1587) (1.20)
2/ m 'mr Harnman,' 15 April (1588)
3/ to 'Doctor Dale & mr Bisse,' 22 May (1588)
'Doctor Dale' is again Dr John Daye, the vicar general, and 'mr Bisse' may be Philip Bisse, STD, who acted
as a commissary in the ecclesiastical courts. The payment to Sussex's players 0.21) appears between 1/
and 2/and so probably occurred between 13 July 1587 and 15 April 1588. The payment to Warwick's
tumblers (ll.21-2) appears between 2/and 3/and so might have occurred between 15 April and 22 May
1588. The payment to Leicester's players (!.22) appears after 3/and so might have occurred between
22 May and 18 June 1588, the presentation date of this roll.
14 BRo: CA No. 25 mb [1]
The payments to the queen's players on 19 July 1588 and 14 August 1588 (ll.28-30) are in chrono-
logical order in the section and so the payments to Essex's players probably occurred between these two
dates. The payment to the queen's tumblers (ll.30-1) might have been made between 14 August 1588
and 20 June 1589, the closing date of CA No. 25. The mayor who paid the rumblers, named at the head
of both this and the preceding roll, was John Walley, Jr.
Two and a half lines have been erased after the payment to the tumblers but the erased letters can be
read and contain no dramatic records.
15 BRO: CANo. 29 mb [1]
Since there is no roll for 1590-1 the beginning of the financial year covered by CA No. 29 cannot be
determined exactly. Probably, though, the previous roll was presented in June 1591 because all the
other dated rolls until 1593 have a June date and there is nothing at the head of CA No. 29 (presented
10 June 1592) to suggest that it covers more or less than the usual twelve-month period. Moreover, in
the Stipends and out-rents section (mb [1]) there is a payment to the schoolmaster for Midsummer,
24 June, which must have been Midsummer 1591 since CA No. 29 ends at l0 June 1592. The year
covered by CA No. 29, then, must have begun at least as early as Midsummer 1591.
The writing on !1.9-11 of the roll becomes gradually fainter and more cramped and was perhaps
added after the other sections on the membrane had been written out.
The 'Earle of Harfordes plaiers' (11.7-8) must have been those of the earl of Hertford since there
was no earl of Hereford at this time. Robert Devereux the younger, son of the earl of Essex, was styled
Viscount Hereford by courtesy from his birth in January 1590/1 until his father's attainder and execution
on 25 February 1600/1 but he could scarcely have had a company of players under his patronage at this
ENONOTF.S 879
27 aRo: CA No. 77 mb [2]
Sir Nathaniel Brent (1574-1652) was warden of Merton College, Oxford, 1621-45 and vicar general
of the province of Canterbury 1629-41. He was an important nadonal official, sent on several foreign
missions; see further Levack, The CivilLawyers in England, pp 212-13 and a/vB.
27 BRO: CA No. 79 robs [1], [3]
The date of these payments is not certain but an entry in the Bath City Council minutes, vol 1, p 109,
for 29 June 1635 (Monday), agrees 'to entertayne the deputie liuetennants on tewsday night at Suppe'
This Tuesday, presumably, was 30 June 1635. The muster appears to have been an annual summer
event and probably in 1636 the deputy lieutenants were also entertained in June or July.
The purpose of the musters was inspection of the local militias. According to Barnes, however, the
deputy lieutenants were overwhelmed with paperwork and hence the musters were plagued with 'wasted
time, the inane routine of inspection, and the perfunctoriness of all officers' (Somerset 1625-1640,
p 121). In a memorandum on 'the office ofa mustermaster' prefixed to his own muster book, Sir Robert
Phelips, a Iv for Somerset, complained that 'they doe eyther out ofignoraunce or carelesness so dispose
the mustering ratt that tyme 1, as that the soldier doth rather seeme to act a maygame, then to reape any
knowledge or dexterity by that action' (sRo: DD/PH 222, f 1).
28 sao: D/D/Ca 330 f 25v
John Pinchin ('Iohannem Pinckin,' 1.5) is listed as a shoemaker by Elizabeth Holland in 'Occupations
in Bath in the Reign of James l,' Citizens of Bath, 2nd ed (Bath, 1989), 14. His name also occurs several
times in the Chamberlains'Accounts for 1592-3, nao: CA No. 31, mb [1] under Increased rents and
casual receipts, 'oflohn Pinchin for his freedome iiij s.' and further down 'receavedof Iohn Pinchin
for his fine and seale xlvj s. viii d.'; under Rents and duties witheid 'of Iohn Pinchin for a quarters rent
xi) d.'
28 sao: D/D/Ca 330 f 108
The Three Tuns Inn (11.20, 22) and the Hart Inn (1.24) are located on Stall Street on the map of Bath,
p 627 and Holland and Chapman, Citizens of Bath, map facing p 19. Daniel Buckley, cleric, (1.15)
may be the same man mentioned in Bishop Piers' register, 'Daniel Buckley Litteratus,' one of five
candidates ordained priest on this occasion (sao: D/D/B Register 20, p 55). Ha)ward (1.20) is not
mentioned there nor does he appear elsewhere in Bath records.
28-9 Wing: C2296 p6
The evidentiary value of this extract is doubtful. Like most Civil War news pamphlets, His Maiesties
Demandsis unabashedly partisan (pro-parliament in this case) and is couched in a facetious, ironic style.
The immediately preceding episode, for instance, is an account of how a band of cavaliers supposedly
broke into Windsor Great Park, helped themselves to the king's deer, and were imprisoned at the keeper's
behest, but were released by a mob of nazons.'
29-30 sao: D/D/Cd34 nf
The activity described here appears to be a folk custom, perhaps a game related to mumming and fund-
raising. The o/o (Cob sbt w') quotes the phrase 'Limping and dancing., like Mummers about a cobloafe,'
from New Quires to Pr,,lates (1647). W. Carew Hazlitt describes a Christmas custom from Aston,
Birmingham, in 1795 involving servants disguised in winnow-sheets following a dinner on Christmas
ENDNOTES 883
44 SRO: D/B/bw 1451 f 12v
The heading is missing but the water bailiff is identified as William Gryne or Grenesey, who does not
appear as such elsewhere in the records of Bridgwater. The account cannot be earlier than 1536-7
because it mentions the earl of Bath (ff 13, 19), who acquired that title on 9 July 1536. Many of the
names mentioned appear in the accounts of the same office for 1534-5(?), 1540-1, and 1542-3
(SRO: D/B/bw 1439, D/B/bw 1441, and D/B/bw 1436), which argues that this account belongs to
about the same decade.
44-5 SRO: D/B/bw 1441 ff 16, 18v, 19, 19v, 20
The heading gives the year as 32 Henry vm, which might mean civic account year 1539-40 or 1540-1.
This must be the account for 1540-1 because it names the mayor as John a Wood and the bailiffs as
Thomas Jones and James Boysse, whereas the bailiffs for 1539-40 were John Nicholas and John a Wood
(sao: D/B/bw 2089).
The account seems to be in chronological order. The payment to Bridgwater's players (p 44, !.25)
precedes the Christmas wage payments on f 16v. The payment to Dorset's minstrels (p 44, !.31) follows
entries dated 16 and 19 June and the Midsummer wage payments (24 June?) and precedes an entry dated
'le weke after Relykyng Sunday,' which was 10 July. The next datable entry is on f20, for St Matthew's
Day, 21 September; the payment to '[e berewarde harry' (p 45, 1.14) i the very last item there, following
the Michaelmas wage payments (29 September). The excerpts from ff 19 and 19v can probably therefore
be dated between 10 July and 21 September and except for the reimbursement to the mayor of what
he had given the admiral's men in sack (p 45, 11.3-4), they are probably in chronological order as
incurred.
Margery Hyatt (p 45, !.7) was, it seems, the widow of William Hyatt, her husband's successor in
business, and the mother of Richard Hyatt. William had owned a lime kiln in Bridgwater and hence
dealt in coal but also in such things as sack and herrings. After he disappears from the accounts (in
1532-3) Margery enters them (in 1534-5), dealing in coal for a kiln and herrings. Richard was water
bailiff in 1547-8, churchwarden in 1548-9, and mayor in the 1560s. See SRO: D/B/bw 1435, ff 3, 4v,
5, 8-8v; D/B/bw 1437, ff 10v, 12; D/B/bw 1439, ff2v, 5; D/B/bw 1445; and D/B/bw 1447.
45 SRO: D/B/bw 1436 ff 7,7v
The heading gives 3 October 'the (blank) yere of Kyng henry the viii th' but it names the mayor as John
Newport, who served 1542-3 (SRO: D/B/bw 2067).
The account seems to be in chronological order. The payment to the earl of Bath's bearward (!.21)
comes right before the Christmas wage payments. The sixth payment after the one to Dorset's players
(!.30) is dated 'a lent fayere daye'; Lent in 1542/3 ran from 7 February to 24 March.
Richard Gibbs was a bailiffin 1549-50, 1554-5, 1555-6, and 1561-2, and the 'gybbys' mentioned
here (!.27) may be the same man or a relative. See sgo: D/B/bw 1698, D/B/bw 1346, D/B/bw 1229,
D/B/bw 1208, D/B/bw 1449, f 13v, and D/B/bw 1467, fS.
On f 18 of the account is a payment of 16s 8d to 'lohn andersye & his company the thyrd daye of
marche.' Though no play is mentioned, the similarity to the phrasing for Gybbys suggests this payment
might also have been for a performance of some kind and probably to locals, Andersey being a common
name in the district.
45-6 SRO: D/B/bw 1442 ff 17v, 18v
The heading gives the date 4 October 35 Henry vl and names the mayor as John Colford, who served
1543-4 (SRO: D/B/bw 2065, D/B/bw 373, and D/B/bw 358).
ENDNOTES
885
account exists for 1562--3 (SRO: D/B/bw 1463) and a note added in November, after the period of the
account, gives the mayor then as Mr Edwards, who served in 1562-3 (f 14v and a note pinned to 13v;
SRO: D/B/bw 1889 and D/B/bw 1943).
The third entry following the payment to the bearward (p 48, 1.3) is for Corpus Christi Day, 28 May
1562, and the account seems to be in chronological order.
48 sgo: D/B/bw 1463 ff 5, 5v, 20
The heading gives the date as 1563 and 5 Elizabeth , either of which could mean civic account year
1562-3 or 1563-4, and names the mayor and bailiffs as John Edwards, Philip Hollworthy, and Edmund
Clowter. This should be the account for 1562-3 because Edwards was mayor then (sRo: DIB/bw 1889
and D/B/bw 1943) but the allusions to Lord Ambrose Dudley (1.17) and the earl of Warwick (1.23)
give one pause. Ambrose Dudley was created earl of Warwick on 26 December 1561 and the change
of style from Lord Ambrose Dudley in the entry from the Michaelmas quarter to earl of Warwick in
the one from the Midsummer quarter following would suggest that the account ought to be for 1561-2.
Which is more likely? Is the heading of this account (and so, perhaps, those of others) wrong or did
Ambrose Dudley's players present old documents to identify themselves towards Christmas 1562?
A 'Mr foskew' (1.12) owned property in Bridgwater from 1566 (see sRo: D/B/bw 1466, f 1; D/B/bw
1545, f2; D/B/bw 1546, f2; and D/B/bw 1549, f2). On his identity see Patrons and Travelling
Companies under 'Fortescue.'
48 sRo: D/B/bw 1464 ff 2, 5
The heading gives the date as 1565, which might mean civic account year 1564-5 or 1565-6, but
names the mayor and bailiffs as Jeffrey Shrycum, John Payor, and Humphrey Morlay, who seem to have
served in 1564-5 (sao: D/B/bw 1279, dated 1 October 1565, at the end of their term presumably).
The proclamation (1.36) confirms the date of the account as 1564-5 and helps to date the payment
to the queen's jester, for it was the proclamation 'Against assaulting her Majesty's Officers,' issued on
21 March 1564/5 (STC: 7986).
From 1559 to 1569 the queen's jester (1.35) was Jack Grene (Chambers, Elizabethan Stag vol 1, p 48n).
49 sRo: D/B/bw 1544 f 8
The heading gives the date as 1567, which might mean civic account year 1566-7 or 1567-8, and names
the mayor and bailiffs as Richard Hiat, Robert Watts, and Edmund Clowter, who appear nowhere else
in the records of Bridgwater as such. A receipt of money (f 5) and a payment (f 9), however, are dated
August 1567 and both those entries come about where they should for business transacted in August
of the year of the account and not where they might be (at the beginning of receipts and payments) for
business of the previous year.
49 sao: D/B/bw 1549 f 4v
The heading describes this account as for 'one howlle yere Endyd at myhcllmas last past in the yere of
our god 1569,' and six pages are headed' 1569.' The fifty-four entries dated by day and month, however,
begin late in November and end in December of the year following and in one column headed' 1569'
(fT) the first entry is dated 'the 29 of ffebrwarye.' If that were correct, the account would be for 1567-8
because 1569 was not a leap year, and if so the year headings would have been added later and in error.
But the names of current and recent town officials tend to support Ciowter's dating for the account as
a whole, suggesting that 29 February is the error and that 1568-9 is the proper date. This seems to be
888 ENDNOTES
'Mr thomas' (i. 11) was probably William Thomas, mayor 1580-1 (sao: D/B/bw 2174-5). The
payment immediately before this one is dated July and the sixth after is dated 2 August.
53 sRo: D/B/bw1576 ff5,6
The heading describes this as the account for the year ended in 1586 and the approval at the end (f6)
is dated 24 October 1586 and signed by John Edwards, mayor, who served in 1586-7 (sRo: D/B/bw
2174-5). Moreover, the first payment is dated 17 October 1585 (f 5). The payment to 'the fyrste pleares'
(1.25) immediately precedes one referring to 'mathias fayer,' presumably a fair held on or about St Matthias'
Day, 24 February; the payment to the queen's players (!.30) is the third to last in the account but it is
not dear that the account is in perfect chronological order.
53 sgo: D/B/bw 1577 f 4v
There are two accounts for this year. The town receiver died in the middle of his term, his widow
declared his account on 20 May 1586 (f4), and another took over. The heading describes this part as
approved 2 December 1586 and extending from Lady Day to Michaelmas 1586. The entries dated by
day and month suggest that the account actually runs to late November. Pages are headed '1586?
54 sao: D/B/bw 1580 f 5
The heading gives only November 1592. The many entries dated by day and month begin in October
of one year and go to November of the next. The pages are headed '1591' or '1592' and the approval
of the account is dated 20 November 1592 (f 10).
54 sgo: D/B/bw1581 ff 5,6
The heading gives only December 1593. Pages are headed'1592' or' 1593.' Enu-ies begin late in November
and end in December of the next year, 1593. The account is arranged in a nearly perfect chronological
order and contains many dated entries. The payment to the admiral's men (!1.34-5) falls between two
others made in late September and so was probably itself made at that time.
The writer's abbreviation for "William' (1.29) seems peculiar (resembling a supedinear 'th') hut he
used it repeatedly in this and other documents, and the name he used it with is always that of William
Jones, mayor 1592-3. That this man's first name was William is clear from his signature (sRo: D/B/bw
1580, f 10), yet later the mayor is given as Alexander Jones (i.35). Perhaps W'tlliam died before his term
was finished and was succeeded by Alexander. The payment on f 6 made by Alexander Jones' order
follows one dated 27 September and precedes one dated 24 September hut the second date may be an
error since entries dated 28 November and 28 December closely follow it.
'my L sandyshes pleares' (i.37), called 'the lorde Sandiche pleares' in 1602 (see p 57, 1.26), is taken
to mean Chandos' players because his players are recorded at Gloucester in 1594 and 1596. Lord Sandys
could be meant but his players are not recorded in Devon or Gloucester. There were no Lords Sandwich
or Cavendish at this time. For Chandos' players see John M. Wasson (ed), Devon, RD (Toronto, 1986),
162,474 and Audrey Douglas and Peter Greenfield (eds), Cumberland/Westmorland/Gloucestershire, RV.V.D
(Toronto, 1986), 313-14, 437- 8.
55 so: D/B/bw 1582 f 4v
The heading gives only December 1594 but many entries are dated 1593 or 1594 and several pages
have '1593' or '1594' at the top. The entries begin in December of one year and end late in November
of the next. The account was approved 6 December 1594 (ff3v, 6). The excerpted entry comes between
ones dated 19 October and 15 November (1594) and the account appears to be in chronological order.
ENDNOTE 889
55 SRO: D/B/bw 1583 f 3
The heading gives only December 1595 but many entries are dated 1594 or 1595. The entries begin
6 December 1594 and end 3 December 1595 and the account was made up 10 December 1595 (if2, 6).
55-6 SRO: D/B/bw 1584 ff 3,3v
The heading states that this account was 'yeven in the tenthe of dessember anno 1596.' The entries
begin 10 December 1595 and end 10 December 1596 and the account was made up the same day
(ff 1, 6v). The payment to the queen's players (p 55, 1.37) comes right before one dated 2 July and five
entries after one dated 13 May.
'my Lorde nobells pleases' (p 56, 1.5) were perhaps Lord Ogle's players, who were paid at Gloucester
in 1578-9 and three times during 1593-6; see Douglas and Greenfield (eds), Cumberland/Westmorlandv'
Gloucestershire, pp 306 and 312-14. The payment to 'my Lord egle players' at Lyme Regis, Dorset, on
18 August 1595 (Mayor's Account for 1594-5, DORO: DC/LR/N23/2, f74) was also most likely made
to Lord Ogle's players; it will appear in C.E. McGee and Rosalind Hays' collection for Dorset, forth-
coming in the REED series. There has never been a Lord Noble in the English peerage and there was no
Lord Noel (Nowell) until 1616/17 but 'Lord Noble' could represent a vague reminiscence of'Lord Ogle'
by a writer working from memory.
56 SRO: Q/SO 1(4) p6
Fulbrooke's parish is not named. This action was taken at the general sessions in Bridgwater and the
watches and dandng must have occurred some time earlier, probably after the previous sessions in April
at Ilchester.
56 SRO: D/B/bw 1605 tT 5, llv
The heading describes this account as running from Michaelmas in 38 Elizabeth x 'vnto the xxvth day
of ffebruar,' when a new receiver (John Podie) was chosen. This heading, however, would appear to
apply only to the payments on ff5-6 and the top of f6v, which are not individually dated and were all
written out neatly and apparently at one sitting. From f 6v 1.3 the payments are entered untidily and
apparently one by one and some are dated, beginning with one for 2 March. What this might suggest
is that the payments down to Podie's appointment are a fair copy, while those made during his term of
office are a working copy. If so, we can only say that the payment to Worcester's men (1.22), which occurs
in the neat section, was made some time before 2 March 1596/7 and probably before 25 February. The
entries excerpted from f I Iv, on the other hand, come from the rough section; they follow an entry dated
2 June 1597 and precede one dated 10 August and so were very likely made between those dates. The
account ends with its approval on 23 December 1597 (ff 16, 20v).
Presumably 'stoles sone' (1.27) was entitled to an apprenticeship at the expense of the town. See Berry,
'The Player's Apprentice,' pp 73-80.
56 SRO: D/P/bw.m. 2/1/1 f [80]
Apparently, the Bridgwater parish register specifies persons' professions only when they are otherwise
unknown to the parish (ie, non-residents). Robert Moone is so identified. The town receiver's account
for 9 December 1597, the day following Moone's burial, includes a payment to the queen's players (1.34),
who had visited annually since 1593 and who were the only company paid to play in Bridgwater since
the previous July. Thus Moone was probably a member of that company, though he is not among some
two dozen men associated with it in surviving documents. For discussion see Berry and Stokes, 'Actors
and Town Hall in the Sixteenth Century,' pp 37-56.
ENDNOTF- 895
and recorded on f [262], at which Hix was supposed to appear but did not. He was accordingly ordered
to be excommunicated for contumacy by the vicar general, and the decree was delivered on 23 October
by Launcellet, one of the summoners.
78 sRo: D/D/Ca 25 p 66
Some people apparently presented at the same time as Mullens for other offences appeared during
January 1555/6 (as recorded on pp 62-3) but there is no evidence that he ever appeared. Presumably
his presentment was made late in 1555,
78 sRo: Q/SI 16 f 61
At the top of the document, partly obscured by stitching, is the date 13 January 1607 (ie, 1607/8);
thus it must relate to the Wells sessions which began that day. A heading on the previous leaf, f 60,
specifically identifies the Wells sessions.
79 sRo: Q/SI 16 f 64
Since this presentment was made by the jury for Andersfield hundred, the incident can be confidently
localized at Chilton Trinity, which lay partly in that hundred. Chilton Polden, five miles to the west,
lay entirely in Whitley hundred.
The previous leaf, f 63, was a presentment at the general sessions in Wells, 12 January 1607/8; f 64
is dated 21 September 1608 and Sommer may have been presented at the Bridgwater sessions which
were then in progress.
79-80 sRo: D/D/Ca 297 f [11v]
No court headings survive to this point in the volume; pages are damaged. Since we know from marginal
dates that Graie was cited on 1 October, it seems likely that this session, at which he was fLrst denounced
to the court, was held in September. Graie was also presented for several other incontinency charges.
81-3 PRO: STAC 8/43/3 single mb
'Marston' (p 81, 1.8) is Marston Magna, five miles northeast of Yeovil and about three miles southwest
of Compton Pauncefoot.
This case and a related one concerning Milbome Port (see pp 167-170; pRO: STAC 8/291/12) reflect
an ongoing conflict between two groups of prominent families in east central Somerset representing
Catholic (traditionalist) versus reform protestant elements fighting for control of religion, culture, and
traditional entertainment in the county. On the traditionalist side, connected by marriage, land, and
religion, were the Gilberts, Keyneses, Bretts, Tillys, and Parhams and their respective allies. On the
reformist side, connected in similar ways were the Hastingses, Ewenses, Rogerses, and Meres and their
various supporters. The reformists were led (in stature) by Sir Francis Hastings, a knight and jv and a
committed puritan (p 82, 1.25; see Clake Cross (ed), The Letters of Sir Francis Hastings, 1514-1609,
sgs, vol 69 (1969), xxii-xxxii).
An earlier Matthew Ewens, a baron of the exchequer, had purchased the manors of North and South
Cadbury from Hastings. Alexander Ewens, esquire (p 83, 1.9), was this Matthew Ewens' brother. The
Matthew Ewens of this case, a II' (p 83, I. 15), was Alexander's son and apparendy allied philosophically
and religiously with the mother of Maurice and Henry Gilbert (p 81,11.8, 36, etc), with James Kcynes,
gentleman, Maurice Gilbert's uncle (p 82, 1.39), and with George Gilbert, Maurice's brother (p 82,
ll.40-1). Robert Sibthorpe, minister and preacher (p 83, 11.5-6), was rector of North Cadbury. The
ENDNOTES 899
96 sgo: D/D/Ca231 f 240
Hannam was informed on by John Cooper the elder, resident of East Pennard, who had himself been
cited for attending a bearbaiting at about the same time as this one in August (see p 116, I1.12-14). It
appears that both involved the Mattock bearward Hugh Palmer.
96 sao: D/D/Cd78 f [3]
Ewens' deposition is one of a series dated '24 Aprilh 1633 stilo Anglie' (f [2]). That is likely an error,
however, since the phrase 'stilo Anglie' is normally applied in the Wells court books only to dates within
the period 1 January-24 March and the following deposition, also excerpted here (pp 96-7), is dated
1 April. The correct date is most likely 24 March.
A summary of the charges against Dorvell and his punishments can be found in sao: D/D/Ca 299,
f2v, where they are included with charges against two other residents of Ditcheat who had also com-
plained against the current official laxity concerning matters of religion and traditional parish enter-
tainment.
97-8 sgo: D/D/Ca 134 loose sheet
This loose sheet of charges has been placed between ff [43] and [44] and has no date on it. The sheet
is preceded in the book by no court headings but headings on subsequent folios identify the volume as
a consistory court book for proceedings held at the cathedral before the vicar general in 1603. Court
days on entries in folios preceding and succeeding the loose sheet are dated July and August; f [43], for
example, says 29 July. Hence a date in the summer of 1603 is likely. The parish and deanery (Crewkerne)
are identified in the margin of the sheet.
Apparently there were church ales in 1602 and 1603. The vicar, William Fies, was incumbent of
Donyatt from 24 April 1592 until 1623 (Weaver, Somerset Incumbents, p 357); Weaver gives his surname
as 'Tyes,' but that must be an error.
98 sao: D/D/Cd 131 ff [29-9v]
This case concerns charges brought against Nicholas Hardie, curate of Kingstone (near Ilminster) for
conduct not befitting a cleric. An interrogatory posed to him at his examination on 1 July 1635 before
the vicar general asked whether he had fought and brawled with Temple the fiddler, while full of drink,
at the church ale held in Dowlishwake (sgo: D/D/Cd 131, f [41v]) and further asked whether he had
spent the night there 'drinking, potting & carorwlzing.'
The advowson of Kingstone was held by the vicars choral of Wells Cathedral until 1558, when it was
transferred to the person farming the rectory (though the vicars choral retained the right to approve
the choice) (vctt: Somerset, vol 3, p 208). A Nicholas Hardie (presumably the same person) had been
nominated as incumbent of Cricket St Thomas by Christopher Preston, jp, and served from 1598
through 1614 (Weaver, Somerset Incumbents p 347). Shortly after this episode, Henry Jeanes, a 'learned
preacher,' became vicar of Kingstone, serving until 1641, and was described as 'generous, free-hearted,
jolly, witty, and facetious' (Collinson, History and Antiquities ofSomerseg vol 3, p 323).
99 sao: D/D/Cd58 ff [35-6]
This deposition is not dated but it comes between dated ones for 9 Mach 1623/4 and April 1624.
100 sgo: D/D/Ca 222 f 9
The court heading is entirely missing but '25 September 1621' (a Tuesday) has been written on a strip of
repair paper on f 1. Part of the outer edge of fg, including some words in the court process, is missing.
ENDNOTF_ 903
115-16 sao: D/D/Ca231 ff 193v, 200v
There is no complete court heading for the 24 October session; only a date is given on f 186. The sub-
sequent extract, the presentment of Beenes (p 116, !1.6-10), makes it dear that the bearbaidng happened
around August 1620.
116-17 silo: D/D/Ca85 ff [101v-2]
Englishcombe is in Bath deanery (f [99]). Junettes and Jeninges were again cited on 13 November to
appear on 25 November; there is no evidence that they complied (ff [167v-8]).
The Thomas Steevens (p 116, 1.34) who had received the same treatment as Roberts (Robettes) was
declared contumacious for non-appearance and ordered excommunicated by his parish priest (f [101]).
Joan Skryne (p 116, 1.39), given the same treatment as Junettes, was declared contumacious in the same
way but had her punishment reserved (f [100]). These two earlier cases were otherwise unconnected
with those of Roberts and Junettes.
117 silo: Q/SI 7 f 11
The heading on f 8 shows that the general sessions were being held in Bridgwater on 20 September.
'Blacksole greene' (1.28) was presumably the village green of Blaxhold, a tithing that belonged parochially
to Broomfield but formed one manor with Enmore. It is not marked on the modem one-inch Ordnance
Survey map but appeared on sheet 75 of the original map as Black, shill Farm, one mile west of Enmore.
118-19 silo: D/D/Ca 155 f 232
The section of text, 'Cox having ... Imtituc/on' (p 118, 11.28-31) continues further down on the page,
linked by a '+' symbol; the portion 'as take eate ... remanentia' (p 118, 11.31-5) is at the foot of the
page, linked by a small rosette symbol. The rest of the Ms was searched but the continuation referred
to in the text was not found. The only other volume that might have contained relevant material, silo:
D/D/Ca 154, was judged too fragile for examination.
'Boorton' (p 118, 1.26) is Flax Bourton near Bristol (see p 120). Winford (p 118, 1.23) is four miles
southeast of Farleigh and Clapton in Gordano (p 118, 1.27) is three and a half miles northwest of Farleigh.
119 silo: Q/SI7 f 50
Keen Thorne (1.27) was a hamlet of Fiddington parish lying on the main road between Cannington
and Nether Stowey (courtesy of Robert Dunning, editor, vc//: Somerset). According to Michael Costen,
University of Bristol, Keen Thorne survives today as 'Keenthorne House' in Fiddington parish; see
Ordnance Survey map reference ST 218394 (letter from Jennifer Scherr, Society for Name Studies in
Britain and Ireland, Library, University of Bristol).
119-20 sao: D/D/Ca 163 f 40v
Handcock and Sally appeared at a session on 5 June, admitted the offence, and were ordered to do
penance; at that session it was decided not to pursue the charges against John Bryne because he was
only nine years old (ff 54, 53v).
120 rico: STAC 8/242/15 item [2] single mb
The controversy concerns possession of pieces of ground called Northfield and Badifont's Lease in Flax
Bourton, owned by the plaintiff Prowse and sought by the Coxes of Flax Bourton. Over several years,
Prowse charged, the Coxes and an armed group at various times entered his grounds, worned the cattle,
ENDNOTE 905
126 SRO: DIPIgla.j. 41117 single mb
The upper left corner of the roll is deteriorated, obscuring part of the heading. What remains is 'vicesimo
octauo usque idem festum proxime sequens.' A transcription printed by Daniel in 'Churchwardens'
Accounts,' vtsD 4, p 140 gives the first part of the heading, which apparently then survived, as 'Walteri
Prise et Walteri Wilcokes Custodum bonorum ecclesie beati Johannis baptiste (...) anno domini millesimo
cccc vicesimo octavo usque idem festum proxime sequens' (ie, 1428-9).
Several of the Glastonbury accounts lack headings or dating formulas but in the fourteenth century
the accounts seem to have been made at Christmas (Daniel, 'Churchwardens' Accounts,' vQs/ 4, p 93),
and in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries almost always at Michaelmas (for example, Daniel, 'Church-
wardens' Accounts,' vQs/ 4, pp 190 (for 1439-40), 285 (1489-90), and 286 (1498-9)). The two excep-
tions are 2 November in 1418-19 and 1421-2 (Daniel, 'Churchwardens' Accounts,' vQs 4, pp 185,
Besides the receipts from the Christmas and summer plays, this section of the account also lists receipts
of 6s from hoggling at Epiphany (see Appendix 4) and the large amount of 53s 5d from a church ale.
Collectively, these four receipts appear to identify the major fund-raising opportunities for the parish that
year at which entertainment might well have occurred and perhaps provide a clue to the pattern into
which traditional fund-raising entertainment fell in Glastonbury. The ale is the only undated one among
the four.
127-8 PRO: E.135 2/31 single mb
This indenture survives because Renynger, the last organist before the abbey's dissolution, submitted it
as evidence to support a later claim for an annuity (see Watkin, 'Last Glimpses of Glastonbury,' p 79).
128-9 PRO: SC6 Henry vm/3118 mbs 12, 20
It is not clear who the clerks of St Nicholas (p 128, 1.36; p 129, 1.3) might have been. The fact that it is
the hosteler, an officer normally charged with the care of guests, who dispersed money for them, suggests
they may have come to the abbey from elsewhere. Members of a monster,/are in any case unlikely to
be referred to as 'clerid,' a term which normally distinguished the secular clergy in contradistinction to
monks. In the fourteenth century there was, in addition to the monastic school, an almom'y school at
the abbey, whose students were apparently young clerks in minor orders (Nicholas Orme, Education in the
West ofEngland: 1066-1548 (Exeter, 1976), 206). Even if such 'clerks of the school' were still receiving
instruction at this time, there would be no reason to assodate them with St Nicholas. The parish church
of St John, Glastonbury, had had a St Nicholas altar, light, and aisle from at least the fifteenth century
(see, eg, the 1418-19 churchwardens' accounts in Daniel, 'Churchwardens' Accounts,' sn 4, pp 185 -- 6)
but there is no evidence for a group of clerics maintained by the parish for that altar. However the
parish clerks of London had been organized since at least 1439 into a company under the patronage of
St Nicholas (called in a will of that year 'the brederhede of seynt Nicholas' (see F.J. Furnivall (ed), The
Fifty Earliest English Wills in the Court of Probate, London, A.D. 1387-1439, Early English Text Society,
original set 78 (London, 1882), 114) and it is conceivable that this reference is to members of that com-
pany or of a similar guild elsewhere.
In his Faiths and Folklore of the British Isles, 2 vols, 2nd ed (London, 1905; rpt New York, 1965),
W. Carew Hazlitt claimed on the authority of the eighteenth-century antiquarian Thomas Tanner and the
S'LXteenth-century polemidst John Bale that the English expression 'St Nicholas' clerks' referred to children
engaged in boy-bishop games (see vol 1, p 70 and vol 2, pp 436-7). However, an examination of his
sources does not bear out this claim. Tanner was attempting in a letter to Thomas Hearne to explain
why rogues or highwaymen were called 'St Nicholas' clerks' and offered as a fanciful etymology that this
ENDNOTES 907
responded to questions about the puppet playing and minstrelsy. They agreed in dating those events
about twelve months earlier, in December 1583 or possibly January 1583/4 if Marchant's reference to
the time of sessions (p 130, 1.18) meant those normally held each January in nearby Wells. But this date
seems to be incompatible with that given by Howell in his reply to articles charged against him given
in November 1584 (p 130, 11.5-8), for there he said the puppet playing took place at the sign of the
Hart at Glastonbury about two years before. There is no disagreement, however, about the place.
131-2 sgo: D/D/Ca97 ff [230v-1], [231v]
Launcellet (p 131, ll.32, etc) appears to be the summoner of the court since he is delivering the citations.
Mayne (p 132, 1.13), a Wells resident, and his son also provided music for the Wells civic and parish
shows in 1607 (see pp 261,275,283-4).
On 7 August 1593 before Gilbert Boorne, vicar general, in the consistory of Bridgwater parish church,
with Robert Owen, notary public, acting as registrar, Leakey, both Parkers, Hatch, Coombe, and the
musidan Robert Mayne were dismissed (ff [237v-8]). The order against Blanchard was renewed at the
same time (f [238]).
132 sgo: Q/SI29 f 35
In their punishment of Cavil/the justices were carrying out the provision of the Act for the Punishment
of Rogues and Vagabonds of 39 Elizabeth (1597) that such people, when apprehended, should 'be
stripped naked from the middle upwardes and shall be openly whipped until/his or her body be bloudye,
and shalbe forthwith sent from Parish to Parish by the Officers of every the same, the nexte streighte
way to the Parish where he was borne' ( The Statutes of the Realm, vol 4, pt 2 (London, 1819), 899). As
this and the following entries (for 1617) make clear, the authorities in Glastonbury were attempting to
eradicate all forms of entertainment that violated laws, religious or otherwise, by a strict application of
their mandate. Cavil] presumably came to the attention of the authorities through plying his minstrel
trade in some unsanctioned venue. The place name 'dorington' (I.35) would appear to be an error for
Dodington, two miles southwest of Stogursey.
132-3 sgo: Q/SR27, pt 1 f 79
A copy of the same order is recorded in the Quarter Sessions General Order Book, sgo: Q/SO 2, p 511.
The entire order has also been printed in Bates, Quarter Sessions Records, vol 1, p 211. Quaife, in Wanton
Wenches and Wayward Wives, p 220, quotes from this inddent but wrongly identifies the justices as May
and Still.
134-6 sgo: D/D/Ca 206 pp 269-71,274,275
The blanks preceding the two occurrences of the name 'Daniell' (p 134, 11.19, 20) have been filled in
with line fillers, presumably when the registrar discovered that 'Daniel/' here was the first name and
not the last.
The phrase 'emanavit eodem' (p 134, 1.6m) refers to a left marginale in an otherwise unconnected
case at the top of the page reading 'emanavit 12 December.' Given that date, the phrase must refer to
Stockes' excommunication, which we know was promulgated between October and 15 December. There
is no blank space after 'Quo die./' in the case against Curtis (p 135, 1.36) but in fact nothing was
recorded for the 26 September session. A case concerning illegal midwifery, on the top ofp 275 of this
act book (represented by excerption dots on p 136, 1.12), interrupts the series of charges for Sunday
labour on the maypole.
Typically in Somerset May games extended to much more than merely fetching in May. The term was
910 IRNDNOTE
Records concerning Nehellinge began in April 1607, when he and a John Allwaye, both of Odcombe,
were presented for keeping bulls (see p 200): that charge was dropped for lack of evidence. Then at
the Bridgwater sessions, 15 September 1607, Nehellinge, identified as a husbandman, aged 24, was
indicted for having earlier kept a bullbaiting on 1 July 1606 at Ilton (see above, ll.16-31). All the bait-
ings in the extract had occurred 'since Easter,' ie, between 5 April 1607 and 13 January 160718. This
extract has been printed in Bates, Quarter Sessions Records, vol 1, p 6.
'Gregory Stoke' (p 146, 1.1) is Stoke St Gregory, where presenunents were made for bullbaiting in 1602
and 1603 (see pp 224-5). 'Sturmyster' (p 146, !.3) is Sturminster Newton. Ralph Down ('Rafedowne,'
p 146, 1.4) about one mile to the southwest, is just west of Rolls Mill.
146 sao: Q/SR58, pt2 f 174
The page bears no dated heading but is one among a series of presentments, dated 9-12 January 1627,
several of which have references to the Wells sessions (for example, ff 173 and 178). The servant, Thomas
Single, made counter-charges against his master at the next sessions, 3-5 April 1627 at Iichester
(SRO: Q/SR 58, pt 2, item 86; Bates, Quarter Sessions Records, vol 2, p 32). The complaint by Roocke
concerns offences that occurred between 22 May and 10 August 'this last summer'; thus the bullbaiting
seems to have occurred c29 June 1626.
147 SRO: Q/SI7 f 55
For the date of these presentments see p 909, endnote to the excerpt under llton. A William Bicknell
of Isle Brewers, who died in 1628, left a will (Crisp (ed), Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills, vol 5, p 53).
He was wealthy enough to bequeath 200 marks to his daughter.
147-9 SRO: D/D/Cd 17 tT [23v-4], [25v-6]
The outer edges of the pages in this booklet are worn and crumbled so that some text has been lost.
Batten (p 147, 1.23) and Nethwaye (p 148, 1.28) are among a group of five witnesses deposed about
the case, a dispute over contributions for church repairs in Keynsham parish church. John Harvie, a
maltman who had lived in the parish for fifty of his seventy years, did not mention hoggling by name
but otherwise bore out the facts given by Batten and Nethwaye (ff [21v-3]), as did Thomas Abbott,
aged 53, another former churchwarden (ff [27-8v]), and William Tibbot, aged 40 (IT [28v-9v]).
William Jones and Thomas Gaye (p 148, 1.16) held property in Whitchurch and had apparently
refused to make any contribution to the parish church in Keynsham. Whitchurch, along with Queen
Charlton, had originally formed part of the manor of Keynsham (Collinson, History and Antiquities of
Somerset, vol 2, pp 417, 441 ). It appears from these depositions that the churchwardens, John Leman
and William Byde, wanted to prove that customary contributions from those districts continued, even
after each had formed a distinct chapelry.
149 sRo: D/D/Ca 215 ff 105-5v
The book has no court headings except for dates. The maypole game occurred eight or nine weeks before
this session of 3 August, thus around late May or early June 1619, if the report is accurate.
150-1 sgo: D/D/Cd 59 ff [2-2v], [31]
Like the previous depositions from D/DICd 17 printed above (pp 147-9), these arise from a dispute
over contributions by residents of formerly dependent chapelries to church repairs at Keynsham. William
Heyward, the accused party, was a resident of Queen Charlton. Cox's deposition is one of three taken
END NOTES 915
In his complaint Walton also claimed that these assemblies were being held in defiance of orders made
by justices of the county adjoining, presumably Dorset or Wiltshire.
South Cadbury (p 168, !.6) is about a mile south of North Cadbury, near Sparkford.
169-70 vao: STAC 8/291/12 item [1] f 2v
The interrogatory itself (f4) asks whether the company also assembled at North and South Cadbury
with one '(.)eskett and others .... '
170-1 pao: STAC 8/299/24 item [2] single mb
This accusation comes within a case arising from a land dispute between Hugh Williams of Milborne
Port, aged nearly 80, an usher of the royal chamber and former yeoman of the queen's guard, and several
locals, including Robert Popley, yeoman; Roger Popley; George Warman; Thomas Hollard; Christian,
his wife; and George Hollard, all of Milborne Port. Williams accuses them of threats, assaults, and
generally dissolute living, of which the parodic activity extracted here is but one example. The defendant,
Roger Popley, does not choose to mention the mock knighting in his answer. No other documents for
this case survive in the pro bundle.
171-2 sv.o: Q/SI6, pt I f 39
A heading on f35v identifies these as indictments and presentments brought to the general sessions in
Bridgwater on 14 September, the Tuesday before St Matthew's Day, 1602.
176 sRo: D/D/Ca 163 ff 113-13v
Clevedon ('Cleeuedon,' 1.13), where the minstrel had planned to play on Whit Sunday and the two days
following, is three and a half miles west of Nailsea.
176 pro: PROB 11/131 f 467
John Hole was the chief antagonist and target of those who staged the Wells shows of 1607 (see pp 261-
74). He named the two other chief antagonists- Humphrey Palmer and Hugh Meade, both of Wells -
as his overseers, along with John Hoddynot and Paul Guibson, both of Castle Car), (f467v). Appently
Hole had moved his main residence from Wells to North Cadbury.
177 sRo: D/D/Ca 174 f 235v
This case and two others following it on the page were crossed out by the registrar. Banfield's statement
does not make clear whether he was watching actors, bowlers, card players, or other participants, nor is
the day given.
177-9 WCL ff 55v--6, 56v--7
Liber Albus contains two custumals for North Curr describing three groups of tenants. Each custumal
recorded a slightly different list of customary services and dues owed and received. The present excerpt
is from the custumal for the tenants of North Curry church (fi r 55-9v; forty-four tenants with forty-
two tenements ranging from half an acre to halfa yard/and, about ten to fifteen acres). The other is for
tenants of the andent demesne (ff60-3v). This group included eighteen royal office-holders and other
tenants with free tenure, also called sokemen (who occupied fourteen tenements, ranging from two yard-
lands, (forty to sixty acres) to just under four acres, ff 60-1v), and eleven tenants in villeinage (who
occupied ten holdings ranging from three quarter-yard/ands (fifteen to twenty-two acres) to one quoter
yardland (five to seven and a half acres, ff61v-3v).
922 ENDNOTES
204 SRO: D/D/Ca 234 f 99
Except for the date, the particulars of this session are the same as those of 17 June above.
205 SRO: D/D/Cd 44 f [184v]
These depositions were taken on articles on behalf of the defendant in a matrimonial cause brought
by Agnes Prickett against James Bisshe. Presumably he sought to discredit Agnes by disparaging her
parents.
206 SRO: D/D/Ca 162A f 44
The charge of making rhymes is the ninth of twelve articles presented, seven of which were against the
vicar, Mr Gibbs. They were first brought at a session on 19 January 1610/11 (ff41v-2).
206 SRO: D/D/Ca 191 f [43]
Pitcombe, about a mile southwest of Bruton, was the seat of the Berkeley family, who also had estates at
Norwood Park and Stoke. The properties of Bruton Abbey were acquired after the dissolution by Sir
Maurice Berkeley and included Pitcombe chapel (Collinson, History and Antiquities of Somerset, vol 3,
pp 215 and 224, where '37 Henry vH' is presumably a misprint for '37 Henry vm,' ie, 1545-6). At
this time 'the ladye Bark(...)' 0.26) who had the farm of the chapel must have been Margaret, widow
of Sir Henry Berkeley. At his death in 1601 Sir Henry left his widow a life interest in the Bruton estates,
which she was still enjoying when their son Maurice died in 1617 (Hasler, The House of Commons 1558-
1603, vol 1, pp 430-1 and 433).
207 SRO: D/D/Ca 309 f 6
The court heading on f4v is fragmentary but the date is probably 4 December. Enough survives to
suggest that the session was on a Friday and the Latin date ends in the letters 'rto,' which can only be
'quarto.' Of 4, 14, or 24 December 1635, only the fourth was a Friday. The book has been repaired and
has modern pagination at the bottom, but the references given here are to the contemporary foliation
written at the tops of the pages. The recurring marginale 'eodtm' (ll.llm, 19m, 24m) refers to a cross-
reference in the previous entry to another court book, numbered '24 libro 14.'
207 SRO: D/D/Ca315 f 57
Also presented separately for other misuses of the churchyard were Thomas Bennett, for playing skayles
(f 57), and James Bennett and William Hawkins, for fighting (f 57v).
208-9 SRO: D/D/Ca 85 ff [102], [168]
Thomas and Lawrence Smith (p 208, 11.29, 39) reappeared at the 13 November session (f[168]). At
that time the charge against Thomas, referred to in the charge against the new defendant Evans (p 209,
1.13), mentioned only the ill-treatment of the rector. Evans was probably involved in the preparations
for the summer hall as well. Lawrence Smith, like Evans, was dismissed but Thomas Smith remained
excommunicate.
South Stoke (p 208, 1.29m) is a village four miles northeast of Priston. Thomas Watts (p 208, 1.30)
was parson of Priston 1577-88/9.
209 SRO: D/D/Ca 330 f 17
Maggs also appeared at a session on 25 June (SRO: D/D/C 319, f89), at which he confessed the charge.
ENDNOTE 925
grounds for suppression of the kind we see beginning to appear by 1594, with a succession of orders by
justices at the sessions.
The events in this case that occurred in Taunton are included here under Skilgate to enable the reader
to see the entire episode in context. North Quarme ('Northquarum,' p 212, 1.25) is a hamlet about
seven miles northwest of Skilgate near Exton. Dulverton (p 214, 1.37) is a small town on the southern
edge of Exmoor, about five miles west of Skilgate.
219 sgo: D/P/som 4/1/1 p 193
The heading of the account says it was 'made and geven vppe' on 22 April 1606. The previous account
was 'geven vp before the panfish in the parrish house ofSomerton' 2 April 1605 (p 190); thus the account
fell between those dates and the parish custom was evidently to render accounts on the Tuesday after
Easter. All the Somerron accounts excerpted for the Records have been dated by this method.
A note on p 440 of the accounts suggests that the parish house may have become the school house.
The building was demolished c 1840.
220 sgo: D/P/som4/l/1 p 214
Costs for church windows broken by players of fives often appear in Somerset parish records but none
for the breaking of windows in church houses (a different sort of structure with a surface less appropriate
for such games). The reference to 'the players' rather than 'players' or 'fives players' mirrors wording
used in reference to actors in neighbouring entries. Furthermore, no fives players are cited elsewhere in
the account. Thus it seems most likely that this breakage was done in connection with a stage play by
the visiting 'enterlude playeres' (see p 220, 1.5 immediately above).
223 sgo: Q/SI7 f 5
The leaf bearing this and three other presentments has no separate heading. The first presentment is for
an offence which took place on 12 September 1 James I (1603) and this presentment is no doubt for
an event in the same year. These charges were therefore probably presented at the Bridgwater sessions,
20 September 1603 (f4). Stogumber is in the hundred of Williron and Freemanors.
225 sgo: Q/SR7 f35
'Stokelane' (1.25) is an alternative name for Stoke St Michael. Green Ore (1.21) is about eight miles
northwest of Stoke St Michael, near Chewton Mendip. Pickering and Wyborne were arrested for stealing
coneys in or on Leigh Down, which does not appear on either the modern or the original one-inch
Ordnance Survey map but was probably a hill in the vicinity with a private rabbit warren.
225-6 sgo: D/D/Ca 174 f 122
The whole case is scored out in the act book but some words had already been cancelled, notably the
apparent start of a qualification to Bartlett's denial (p 226, !.2) and 'dim issus gratis' (p 226, 1. lm).
227 vgo: PROB 11/14 f 49
The mantles that Agnes Burton left to the sepulchre service would have been cloaks. The title 'Dame'
occurring at the outset of her will and this mention of her being 'professed' (I.33) suggest at in her
second widowhood she had become a professed sister at one of Taunton's hospitals or almshouses. Some
of the chantries and almshouses there were associated with St Mary Magdalene's parish and a hospital
had existed since at least 1236. See Emanuel Green (ed), The Survey and Rental of the Chantries, Colleges
END NOTF. 927
a revel on its feast of dedication, on St Margaret's Day in high summer (20 July). All other evidence for
interparish visits of this kind in Somerset tends to show that they were typically mounted to help raise
funds for the neighbouring parish through entertainment.
231 sgo: DIP/tin 4/1/1 p21
Hobhouse asserted that the play mentioned in the 1451 entry was mounted 'by five parishioners, who
gave the nett profits to the new rood-loft' ('Church-wardens' Accounts,' p xiv). (This was repeated by
F.A. Gasquet in TheEve of the Reformation, 3rd ed (London, 1923), 301, who wrongly cited the page
from Hobhouse as p xii.) But Hobhouse's assumption seems unwarranted. In the original account an
enn-y three places above this one refers to wood from a demolished roodloft sold to John Gille and one
other man, as one of a series of purchases of salvaged wood by various people. Others of the five men
also appear elsewhere in the receipts section; Cribbe, for example, paid rent for the bakehouse and a
house belonging to it. While these enn'ies certainly do identify the five connected with the Christmas play
as substantial people in the parish, there is no compelling reason to assume an immediate connection
between the play and the ebuilding of the roodloft.
231 sgo: DIP/tin 4/Ill p 96
Ales were held on the feasts of Sts Philip and James (1 May) and St Margaret (20 July). This entry ap-
pears between other entries for those two dates; it may belong to one or the other or to a third ale, held
between the other two, for which we have no exact date.
232 sao: Q/SR41, pt 1 f 48
The information was signed by the minister, the constable, and several parishioners and presented at
the Bridgwater sessions, 1-3 October. Trent, a village three miles northeast of Yeovii, is now in Dorset
but was part of Somerset until 1896.
Thomas Gerard 0.26) was a member of an ancient family with lands at Trent and also in Dorset and
the author of the Survey of Somerset of 1633 and a similar survey of Dorset (see Collinson, History and
Antiquities of Somerset, vol 2, pp 381-6 and E. Margaret Thompson, 'A List of Somerset Recusants,
34 Eliz-3 James I,' vQso 5 (1896), 97-102). John Seward 0.27) was rector of Trent 1586-1625. Adams
and the Loscombs (ll.28-30) seem to have belonged to families long resident in Trent. Bisshope's 0.31)
identity is not known but an earlier member of the family had been co-defendant with a Gerard in a
Star Chamber suit. Earlier members of both families were also listed as recusants (Humphreys, Somer-
setshire Parishes, p 705).
232-3 SRO: D/D/Ca 65 f [111]
Lide and Wilkins reappeared on 9 February 1581/2 and were ultimately dismissed (ff [123-3v]).
233-4 SRO: D/D/Cd28 nf
It is not perfectly dear when William Sartin alleged the dandng at Wedmore to have taken place. Sn'ictly,
his words (p 234, 11.3-4) meant twelve months before Whitsuntide or Trinitytide 1604, ie, 27 May-
9 June 1603. More likely, though, he meant in Whitsuntide or Trinitytide 1603, ie, 12-25 June.
235 sRo: D/D/Ca73 f [101v]
The notary public is not named here but his handwriting identifies him as Robert Whithorne, who
entered the process at the sessions of 16 July 1585 and 8 July 1586.
EIqDIqOTFA 937
and drculate copies (sheet 214v); John Gorway confirmed that Gamage did 'sing the same vnto diuerse
persons and shewe them a Coppye thereof' (sheet 38).
Others who testified about the composition of the ballad were William Tyderlegh (sheet 53), Thomas
Gleson (sheet 56), Giles LichCord (sheet 60v), Richard Trickett (sheet 61), William Christopher (sheets
63v-4), John Ward (sheet 65), and John Brent (sheet 75v). Some of the copies, at least, eventually
reached the hands of the authorities (eg, John Gylbert, sheets 13Ov-1). Gleson, sent by the bishop, had
confiscated four or five unfirfished copies from Gamage's room in Price's house (sheet 56).
Between July and September knowledge of the ballad seems to have spread widely, especially among
servants and children. William Tyderlegh said it had been 'dispersed into many places of the Towne'
(sheet 53). Bartholomew Cox, aged 34, gendeman, deposed that he had found and confiscated a copy
in the house of Andrew Boureman, where 'certayne schollers of the Grammer schoole in Wells afore-
sayed lodged' (sheet 74). Virtue Hunt had heard Gamage and 'somme other Idle boayes to singe' it (sheet
216v). Others who had heard it sung, whether by schoolboys or others, were Oliver Martin (sheets lv-2),
Henry Boureman (sheets 68-8v), Thomas Petters (sheet 177), Thomas Haggatt (sheet 183), William
Atwell (sheet 125), and John Gylbert (sheet 131).
291-2 PRO: STAC 8/161/1 sheets 164-4v
Lideard's answer to interrogatory I confirms that there was another horse in the show of 18 June, besides
those mentioned by Byson in the parts of his testimony excerpted and noted above, carrying two riders
facing each other; it also identifies an additional actor, the apprentice Gamm. His master, the shoemaker
John Eddicott, was involved, with others of his family, in the Cordwainers' show for Queen Anne in
1613 (see pp 375-7).
For testimony on how the horses for this show were procured see the deposition of Richard Collins
(pp 350-1) and the corresponding endnote.
293-5 pro: STAC 8/161/1 sheets 168-8v, 169, 169v-70
In answering the second interrogatory Evans did not say whether he had procured Atwell's costume.
Henry Downton, however, thought that Evans had done so; see Downton's deposition (p 304). Matthew
Jefferis' account of these events (see p 358) largely agreed with Evans'.
Evans' version of his dealings with the Wykes family about Williams' ballad (pp 294-5) gives a dif-
ferent impression from the one vouched for by Roger Shattocke and Nicholas and Edward Wykes (sheets
61v-2v and 66v). According to them, Evans told Nicholas Wykes of the existence of Morgan's poem
and young Edward Wykes then produced a copy, which Evans read from aloud and then asked to borrow.
He kept it a long while, returned it, then borrowed it back again, and finally Edward Wykes went to
Tyderlegh to ask him why Evans was keeping it so long. According to Shattocke, Evans said the copy
was 'false written in some partes' (sheet 61v). Tyderlegh said only that he had had a copy, showed it to
Evans, and on Evans' advice turned it over to Hole 'for his owne discharge' (sheet 53v).
295-6 pro: STAC 8/161/1 sheet 187
Evidence abounds that Edward Carye was the leader of the armed band. For example, Stephen Millard
said that Carye was 'the Cheefftaine, or leader of the band of armed men' during all or most of the
shows on 15-18 June and that William Orchard of Wells was his lieutenant; Millard could not, however,
remember who was the drummer or the bearer of the ensign (sheet 214v). Virtue Hunt remembered
that on a Sunday or holy day in May 'a greatenumber of young men assembled aboute 7. or 8. of the
Clock in the evening of the same daie in the streetes of Welles having a Drumme and a trumpett with
ENDNOTE$ 939
like a real scholar and let him expose his own deficiencies but the project had been aborted because the
speech proved unsuitable (see pp 293-4 and 358). What is less clear from their evidence is whether
Atwell's speech was rejected as simply not funny enough or as dangerously scurrilous. Benjamin Heydon,
the dean of Wells, had been one of the justices who gave permission for the Wells church ale of 1607
to take place, while Bishop Still signed the order made at the Wells sessions of 13 January 1607/8
renewing the prohibition of such ales (see pp 433-4). If the two men's actions reflected their personal
attitudes towards such events, then the Wells Cathedral establishment may well have felt some ill will
towards the bishop. In answering Hole's charges, however, the defendants maintained that Still and his
offidal, Francis James, had themselves investigated Atwell's proposed speech and concluded there had
been no intention to ridicule the bishop (see p 366); the absence of any apparent further interest in
the speech from the Star Chamber Minute Book might suggest that the court accepted their explana-
tion. See further Matthew Jefferis' testimony, p 358 and endnote.
Richard Bowrne claimed that Dean Heydon's wife and Joan, wife of William Alford, were also present
at the reading of the libel at the deanery, along with some others. Bowrne deposed that his meeting
with the dean in an adjoining parlour was disturbed by the reading. When he went to see what was
happening, he was berated by Mrs White, who then left. Alice Croker, who was Mrs Heydon's servant,
then gave Bowrne the ballad at his request and he delivered it to John Hole (sheets 49v-50). Alice
Croker's version of events is different in some particulars, being more sympathetic to Mrs White. She
also said that Bowrne snatched the song from her pocket, where she had put it after Mrs White gave it
to her (sheet 59v).
305-6 pro: STAC 8/161/1 sheet 183
White himself admitted to having repeated Gamage's ballad in his shop (sheets 13-13v), and Humphrey
Palmer, one of the targets of the paroles, deposed that from inside his own shop he had seen White
standing before his shop door, singing ^rTherholinge game is the beste' and repeating it two or three
times (sheet 34). John Ayshe, mayor of Wells in 1608-9, deposed on 3 June 1609 that White had had
a copy of the ballad before the Taunton assizes of 1607, and that both White and his servant, John Hiscox,
had openly sung it even after the assizes (sheet 45v). White himself admitted having heard it at the
house of Sir Edward Hext, Iv, not long before the assizes (sheets 13-13v) and Henry Baron corroborated
this, adding that it had been brought there by the plaintiff, John Hole (sheet 31yr. Hole's wife apparently
provided the copy of the song that was read at Dean Heydon's house by Downton and others (sheets
49v-50 and 59v).
307-8 pro: STAC8/161/1 sheet 126
Interrogatory 4 of the series put to Rodway is not printed in the Records because it covers essentially
the same questions about the events of 31 May 1607 as number 14 of Hole's series for the principal
defendants (see p 277).
Although Rodway consistently claimed that no one had hired him as a drummer, several witnesses
deposed that Edmund White had kept Rodway in his house during May and June of 1607 and that
Rodway had served as a drummer for shows during these months (Humphrey Palmer, sheet 34v; Daniel
Tuthill, sheet 36v; Christopher Croker, sheet 41; Richard Bowrne, sheet 50v; and John Ward, sheet
66).
Christopher Croker further charged that, when coming near John Hole's door, Rodway used to beat
his drum '^ra greate deale more r vehemendy, then he vsed to beate the same drumbe, ^rat other tymes r
ofsett purpose and as he veryly thinckethe in reproache of the Complainant...' (sheet 41). In weighing
42 ENDNOT
early emperors to slanders and libels directed against them. The name of the next authority (1.24) is
not completely legible but it does not appear to be Latin, suggesting it is one belonging to the later
reception of Roman law as the civil law of medieval and early modem Europe. Charles v (i.25) probably
refers to a law or derision of the sixteenth-century Holy Roman Emperor Charles v, although the exact
reference is unknown. The last maxim, 'arcus seraper tensus rumpitur' (1.26), does not fit well with the
others. Perhaps it was intended as an argument for action rather than warnings: just as a bow which is
always kept bent will break, so a penalty which is threatened but not applied will lose its force.
Since William Williams (p 312, !.25) had not yet been examined by November 1608, the statement
about his confession must be based on his formal answer (sheet 91). For the others listed on this folio
- Atwell, Haggatt, and Lideard - both formal answers and examinations were available.
313-14 vgo: STAC 8116111 sheets 130, 130v
Interrogatories 1 and 3 of the series put to Gylbert, aged 35, are not excerpted in the text because
number I covered essentially the same points about the events of 3 May as interrogatory 5 of Hole's
series for the principal defendants (see pp 275-6) and 3 is similarly covered by numbers 24-6 of that
series (on events of 25 June; see pp 278-9). Gylbert was, however, asked more specifically about the
amounts allegedly drunk by dancers on 3 May. Gyibert's version of the events of 3 May should be
compared with those of Edmund White (pp 283-4), Thomas Petters (pp 300-2), Stephen Millard
(pp 320-1), and Christopher Croker (pp 346-7). Interrogatories 3 and 13 concern the events of
25 June.
315 vgo: STAC8/161/I sheet 153v
Article 27 may be in a different hand from that of articles 1-26, or the writing may look different merely
because of the distorting effect of trying to write on the rougher surface of the dorse.
315-16 pro: STAC 8/161/1 sheets 143-4
Interrogatories 1-3 of the series put to Gamage are not excerpted in the text because they covered essen-
tially the same points about the show of 25 June 1607 as numbers 24-6 of Hole's series for the pfindpal
defendants (see pp 278-9).
Edmund White confirmed the description of the board carried by Gamage (sheet 1 Iv), as did Stephen
Millard (sheet 214v). Walter Smytbe, examined on 4 June 1608, admitted to having framed the boards
for Gamage to carry and delivered them to John Gyibert's house and offered the further detail that
Gamage's ride and 'other thinges & Pageantes carried & shewed in the saied streetes' were seen by 'a
great nomber of People assembled' (sheet 163). Various other witnesses also reported having seen the
riding: Leonard Crosse, while returning from the fields to his house (sheet 85); William Williams, alias
Morgan, who viewed it as it passed his father's shop (sheet 135); Stephen Millard, a tailor, who played
one of Robin Hood's men in the show of 31 May (sheets 214-14v); and Virtue Hunt, a master shoemaker,
standing at his door. Hunt described the rider as 'a man disguised with a long beard and a Rugg Gowne'
and claimed he had only afterwards learned who it was (sheet 216v).
Crosse denied having realized at the time that the two men painted on the nineholes board represented
John Hole and Hugh Meade and the woman John Yarde's wife; he claimed to have discovered this only
by later report (sheet 85). None of the witnesses deposed at this stage of the proceedings admitted hearing
Gamage say the words alleged about holing's being against the king's commandment or proclamation;
Stephen Millard, deposed on 10 January 1608/9, was the first to contradict Gamage on that point,
alTrming that he had indeed heard Gamage, as he rode, speak the words of which he was accused (sheet
ENDNOTF 945
Gamage finished his copying (sheet 65). William Stott, a lead-miner, denied that he or any other
defendant in his hearing sang any of the verses in any part of the Mendips outside Wells (sheet 168).
322 PRo: STAC 8/161/1 sheet 215
John Brent deposed that he had seen Godwin as a spectator at several of the shows in the company of
'the better sorte and ranck of people' (sheet 159).
323-4 PRo: STAC 8/161/1 sheets 215v-16
Smith's account of the events of 18 June should be compared with those of the participants previously
deposed: Thomas Byson (pp 285-7), James Lideard (pp 291-2), and Robert Atwell (p 308). John Brent,
aged 37, a freemason, confirmed that Smith had indeed ridden as described in the first interrogatory
(sheet 159). William Stott said that as Smith rode he saw him 'knacking ofa sawcer with a hammer'
and that Smith had taken horse in Southover Street near the house of Irt Atwell, alias Tanner (sheets
165v-6). On the use of Henry Foster's horse see the deposition of Richard Collins (pp 350-1) and its
endnote.
326-30 PRo: STAC 8/161/1 sheets 216v-17, 217v
Towse's answer to interrogatory 2 concerning Hole and the taboter could refer to either 3 or 17 May,
but its reference to a bower, also mentioned by John Ward (sheet 66) in evidence for 3 May, suggests it
is for that date.
In Towse's answer to interrogatory 3 the 'oute parishe' (p 327, 1.11) means the suburbs beyond the
town boundaries, of which East Wells was one. As a borough justice, not enrolled in the commission
of the peace for the whole county, Towse had no jurisdiction over these suburbs.
Although Towse in his answer to interrogatory 12 (p 328, 11.1-14) declined to confirm that any
brethren had accompanied him, Stephen Millard remembered that Towse, Henry Foster, William
Atwell, Edward Wadham, 'and diuers others, of the masters of the towne whose names he remembreth
not' had watched the show of 18 June in the market-place, 'And he doeth not knowe that any of them
^for 1 of the Defendantes dyd dislike with the)re so ryding' (sheet 214v). See further John Smith's answer
to a similar interrogatory (interrogatory 4, on p 324) and the evidence of John Gorway (pp 345-6) and
John Isaac (pp 355-6).
Edward Wadham, esquire, stated that on 17 June (the day of the show for Chamberlain Street) he
had supped at the church house in the company of Sir John Rodney, Dean Heydon, and 'dyvers other
doctors of the Church of Wells' as part of that day's church ale (sheet 212). Matthew Jefferis deposed
that on the day of the show for Tucker Street (15 June) Towse had accompanied other defendants to
the church house (sheet 71). Robert Creese asserted that on 15, 16, and 17June (the dates of the shows
for Tucker, High, and Chamberlain Streets respectively), when Towse and others came to supper at the
church house, they had 'onlie the Gyantes carried before theyre meate,' stayed only about an hour, and
after giving their 'benevolence for the benefit of the Church they quietlie departed' (sheet 213v).
Many examinates - wimesses and defendants alike - testified about the shows of 18 June and only
the most noteworthy are cited here. Several witnesses admitted having seen the show, while distancing
themselves from both its content and its sponsors. Four claimed they did not at the time know its mean-
ing, namely Thomas Haggatt (sheet 184), Stephen Millard (sheet 214v), James Godwin (sheet 215),
and George Greenstreet (sheet 218v). Contrary to what Towse said about him, Godwin claimed that he
had failed to note the particulars of the show 'because he delighted not in them' (sheet 215). Matthew
Lancaster's evidence supports the chronology of events after the show as given by Towse. According to
ENDNOTES 949
Christopher Croker's answer to interrogatory I0 generally mirrored Yarde's, except that Croker claimed
the mayor, Alexander Towse, had watched the shows on 31 May in the company of Leonard Crosse,
William Watkins, William Bull, William Evans, and Edmund White. Both Yarde and Croker contla-
dicted Towse, who, in answering a parallel artide, said he had not seen any shows on 31 May or even
known about them until they were over, nor had anyone complained to him about them at that time
(sheet 217). Croker also stated that there had been two drummers after dinner but he named Rodway
and one Thomas Combe. See also p 935, endnote to pro: STAC 8/161/I sheets 5v-6, 6v, for comments
of Edmund and Thomasine White concerning the drumming by Rodway on 31 May. Rodway himself
answered evasively when asked about 31 May, saying that no one had hired him and he could not re-
member when he played the drum (replying to interrogatory 4, p 307). Croker identified Edward Carye,
Thomas Petters, Virtue Hunt, Stephen Millard, and William Williams, alias Morgan, as among the par-
ticipants in that day's shows. According to him, the company often fired its weapons (sheets 39-9v).
Richard Bowrne agreed that shows had been held on Trinity Sunday but could remember no details,
except to observe that fewer people than usual had been at church 'by reason of the preparac/on for that
busines' (sheet 48). Croker made the same daim (sheet 39). Others who deposed about 31 May were John
Raines, aged 26, linen draper, and William Lane, aged 42, husbandman. Raines said he knew nothing of
the events (sheet 32v) while Lane remembered only the armed men discharging their weapons and the
drums (sheet 42). For further details see p 944, endnore to pro: STAC 8/161/I sheets 213v-14, 214v.
343-4 pro: STAC8/161/1 sheets 30v-I
Interrogatory 13 of Hole's general series, dealing with the show of 18 June 1607, is not printed in the
Records because it covered the same ground as his earlier ones on the same subject, numbers 17-19
oftbe series for principal defendants (see pp 277-8), number 2 put to James Lideard (see p 291), and
number I put to John smith (see pp 322-3). Baron's account confirms the general picture which emerged
from the defendants' statements; like them, he was unaware of any words spoken by the actors which
named or referred to real persons or events.
Estimates of the number of spectators varied widely. John Gorway, like Henry Baron, esdmared 200-
300 (sheet 37); Daniel Tuthill and Christopher Croker said the number was 500 or 600 (sheets 35, 39v);
three other witnesses - Ralph Gorway, John Weiiman, and Katherine Weiiman - all said that I000
persons were present (sheets 46v, 58, and 58v respectively).
344-5 PRO: STAC 8/161/1 sheet 35v
Interrogatory 18 of Hole's general series, which Tuthill answered, concerning the shows on 25 June, is not
printed in the Records because it corresponded to ardcles 24-6 of the series for principal defendants
(see pp 278-9). Many witnesses for the plaintiffgave depositions that matched Tuthill's answer to this
ardde very dosely, apparendy mirroring the language of the interrogatory: namely Rbert Hole (sheet 25),
Henry Baron (sheets 31-I v), John Raines (sheet 33), Humphrey Palmer (sheets 33v-4), Christopher
Cmker (sheet 40), William Lane (sheet 42v), John Ayshe (sheet 45), Ralph Gorway (sheet 47), Richard
Bowrne (sheet 49v), William Tyderlegh (sheets 52-3), Joseph Hill (sheet 55v), Katherine Wellman
(sheets 58v-9), William Christopher (sheet 63v), and Matthew Jefferis (sheets 70-70v). Christopher,
Jefferis, Raines, Gorway, and Rbert Hole confirmed that John Yarde dwelt at the sign of the Crown.
Neither Robert Hole, Palmer, nor Christopher remembered any drumming. Robert Hole recalled
the picture as only one man and a woman (sheet 24). All remembered snatches of dialogue from the
show. Tyderlegh's answer differed in some particulars from the others and is therefore excerpted (see
pp 353- 4).
950 ENDNOTES
Jefferis also affirmed that Gamage did indeed say as he rode, 'he Holes for a Crowne, others I then
replyed Fie Fioles not [for a Crowne] within a yarde or in a yarde for a Crowne: The sayed Gamadge
answered Fie Holes w/thin a yearde or in a yarde for a Crowne'; and he alone reported that when Gamage
'came to the doare of [th] Iohn Yarde of the sayed Cittye habberdasher, dwellinge at the signe of the
Crowne the sayed disguised person and his Companye made some little staye and there iterated or
repeated the wordes aforesayde' (sheets 70-70v). Of all the thirty-eight witnesses deposed to this general
series of articles, sixteen answered interrogatory 18 dealing with Gamage's ride but only four were asked
to answer interrogatory 19, which asked about other riders in the show as well as who, if anyone, had
spoken the words 'holing is against the king's commandment.' John Ayshe affirmed that both Gamage
and others had indeed said 'That Holinge in the streetes is against the kinges Proclamacion and agahaste
the Lawe, and therefore [the] yf they would hole it they should hole it in the playne Meade, biddingc
him that carryed the deske to write it downe, that Fiolinge in the streetes was against the kinges
proclamacion' (sheet 45). Besides Ayshe, the others who responded were Daniel Tuthill (sheet 35v),
Richard Collins (sheet 41 v), and Matthew Jefferis (sheet 70v). All generally corroborated Ayshe but none
provided any additional detail.
In his bill of complaint John Hole had estimated the number of persons gathered for this show at
3000 (see p 265). Tyderlegh, on the other hand, estimated them at 400-500 and added that the parading
company itself was 'great' in number (sheet 53). All others only said there was a great multitude or some-
thing similar.
345 PgO: STAC 8/161/1 sheets 36v-7
Interrogatory 23 of the general series, which Gaytes answered, is not printed in the Records because it
made substantially the same allegations about the spread of'My Loving Friends' as interrogatory 4 put
to Walter Smythe (see p 288). William Lane alT, rmed in his reply to the related interrogatory 21 that
sundry times he had heard Oliver Martin sing the ballad by Gamage, 'takinge greate delighte therein,
^r&l with great forwardnesse in open places and Comon Alehowses vsed often tymes to singe the same
& by reason thereof to gather people aboute him' (sheet 43). John Ward had heard Robert Atwdl,
alias Tanner, sing the song 'in the Alehowse diuerse tymes' both before and after the Taunton assizes
of September 1607 (replies to numbers 21 and 23, sheets 65-5v). John Isaac had also heard Oliver
Martin, alias James, openly sing the libel after the assizes (sheet 67v). Stephen Millard affirmed that
it had also been sung at a church ale in Pylle in July of 1607 (see pp 321-2 and endnote). Henry
Boureman said that the copy of Gamage's ballad marked 'A' had been delivered to Grace White, a
servant of Andrew Boureman of Wells, and Andrew's son William had made the copy marked 'N.'
Neither of these copies survives in PRO: STAC 8/161/1. According to Boureman, 'all or moste parte
of the schollers of the sayed W/g/am Evans haue often sunge the same within the sayed school' (sheet
68v). A number of witnesses, including Matthew Jefferis (sheet 70v), reported an attempt by John
Fiiscox (Edmund White's servant) and Thomas Fiaggatt to have this ballad printed in London by John
Budge (called 'Bridge' by Jefferis). Fiaggatt deposed that Hiscox had urged him to have it printed but
that he had refused (although he had taken it with him to London), while Fliscox denied having had
anything to do with it (sheets 183-3v and 123, respectively). Budge, a Wells native, in general
confirmed Haggatt's account, saying that Haggatt had brought it for him to read but that they both
concluded it was libellous and he, Budge, had refused to print it (sheet 55). William Christopher had
heard Gamage read the libel before the assizes (sheet 64). See further Walter Smythe's testimony above
(p 290).
ENDNOTES 951
345-6 VRO: STAC 8/161/1 sheet 37v
Ardde 14 of the general series is not printed in the Records because it covered the same ground about the
events of 18 June as Hole's interrogatories I l and 12 put to Alexander Towse (see pp 324-5). Several
other wimesses similarly deposed that Towse and other dignitaries of both town and cathedral had watched
the shows that day, followed them to the church house for supper, and then followed the actors back to
the market square and High Cross, where they had watched the shows again (Henry Baron, sheet 31 v;
Daniel Tuthill, sheet 35; Richard Collins, sheet 41v; William Lane, sheet 42v; William Smythe, sheet
43v;, John Ayshe, sheet 45; Richard Bowrne, sheet 48v; John Isaac, sheets 67-7v; and Henry Boureman,
sheet 68v). None of the witnesses said that shows had been held in the churchyard or church house as
part of the dinner.John Brent, the only wimess deposed on the defendants' behalf who answered questions
about the events of 18 June, said only that one of the actors riding disguised had indeed been John Smith
(sheet 159).
According to William Lane 'after supper ended the sayed disguised persons agayne continueinge the
sayed shewes in manner before deposed, and then goeinge before the sayed Maior and his Companye
towardes the Markett place, bee and they did behold the same and when the sayed Major and his
Companye came to the Crosse they stood a while w/thin the same, the whileste the sayed disguised
persons contyneweinge theire shewes in manner before expressed, went rounde aboute the same' (sheet
42v). From this it would appear that the market cross in Wells was of the type surviving in many other
places in Somerset, a roofed or vaulted platform with open sides, surmounted by a cross, and probably
raised on several steps. It must have made an excellent vantage point for viewing a circling procession.
For further discussion of the town masters and the shows see Henry Boureman's answer to this same
interrogatory (on pp 356-7) and on pp 945-8, endnotes to pro: STAC 8/16111 sheets 216v-17, 217v
and sheets 24-4v, 25v.
346-50 vRo: STAC 8/161/1 sheets 38v-9, 40-40v, 41
Article 5 of Hole's general series about the events of 3 May essentially repeated the corresponding article in
his series for principal defendants (see pp 275-6). Croker's version of the events of 3 May should be
compared with those of the defendants Edmund White (pp 283-4), Thomas Petters (pp 300-2), John
Gylbert (p 313), Stephen Millard (pp 320-1), and George Greenstreet (pp 331-2) and also with that
of John Yarde (p 341) and the corresponding endnote.s. Others who gave essentially the same answer as
Croker to article 5, though in less detail, were Humphrey Palmer (sheet 33v), Daniel Tuthill (sheets
34v-5), Joseph Hill (sheet 55v), and John Ward (sheet 65). Tuthill not only confirmed that the second
minstrel who performed with Mayne had been his son and that the Whites, George Greenstreet (the
May lord), and John Gylbert had been 'speciall Actors' leading the dance but also added that persons
in the street had not been able to get past the dancers conveniently 'without creaping vnder or breakinge
theire handes and soe passinge thoroughe them' (sheet 34v). John Ward estimated that the couples (most
of them married) had each spent 6d on wine at the George (sheet 65). Everyone else who deposed on
the number of persons in the streets gave a lower figure than the 500 estimated by Ctoker, ranging from
200 (Tuthill and Ward) to 300 or 400 (Hill). Ward also estimated that 150 people had actually danced
but Palmer and Hill agreed with Croker's estimate of about 100.
In answer to article 6 concerning the show of 10 May, William Lane deposed that it had included 'a
trurnpett or twoe one drumbe, one Ensigne, xxx Muskettes and Calyvers often chardging and dischardg-
inge them with powder, makinge shewes and representac/ons' (sheet 42). He identified the carrier of the
picture as 'one Chambers,' a servant of the schoolmaster William Evans. George Greenstreet, however,
clarified this apparent confusion by giving the man's name as 'Peters al/as Chambers' (sheet 218v); he
952 ENDNOTES
was identified by most witnesses as William Peters (see pp 939-40, endnote to pgo: STAC 8/161/1
sheet 126). Lane also identified many defendants as having been actor-participants and all the others
as part of the audience (sheet 42). Edward Smythe claimed that more than twenty persons had been
involved in the show, which had lasted half an hour or more; he also named John Rodway as one of
the participants (sheet 22). Compare the version of these events given by John Rodway (see p 306 and
endnote) and for further details see William Tyderlegh's answer to this interrogatory (p 351). Henry
Baron (sheet 30) and Matthew Jefferis (sheet 70) added no further detail.
In answering article 7 regarding the shows on Ascension Day, 14 May, Henry Baron estimated the
number of spectators and actors together as at least 200. He named Edmund White, his wife, and
George Greenstreet as actors, 'the last two having been May lord and lady' (sheets 30-30v). Compare
the accounts of the defendants Thomasine White (p 282 and endnote) and William Williams (pp 333-
4).
John Yarde (sheet 29v) and Humphrey Palmer (sheet 34) gave substantially the same answer to article
40 as Croker, except that Palmer was unsure whether Hole read the proclamation or Towse read it
'vpon his' (presumably Hole's) 'notice thereof gyven.' Besides Towse, Croker named Edmund White,
Steven Millard, Thomas Petters, and Virtue Hunt as among those present (sheet 40). Towse acknow-
ledged that Hole had read out a proclamation in his garden and that Sir John Rodney was present at
the time but said he could not remember which of the defendants were present or what the proclamation
had said (sheet 217). Millard and George Greenstreet were also asked about the incident. Greenstreet
said Hole had produced a printed paper that he identified as the king's prodamation and someone (he
did not remember who) had read an extxact from it forbidding unlawful games and plays on Sundays
(sheet 218v). Millard identified Hole as the reader and said that Rodney had warned those present to
do nothing in contempt of Hole as constable (sheet 214).
The proclamation must have been STC: 8309, issued 7 May 1603 (printed in James E Larkin and
Paul L. Hughes, Stuart Royal Proclamations, vol 1 (Oxford, 1973), 11-14). This forbade bearbaiting,
bullbaiting, interludes, common plays, 'or other like disordered or unlawful Exerdses or Pastimes' on the
sabbath (p 14). It did not explicitly forbid piping, dancing, or parades such as had taken place in Wells
on the previous two Sundays but Rodney must have known of the king's supplementary instructions of
23 May 1603 to constables and overseers, preserved in a Ms copy among the Rutland papers at Belvoir
Castle, which specifically included piping and dancing among the forbidden activities (H.C. Maxwell
Lyte (ed), 'The MSS of the Duke of Rutland,' The 12th Report of the Manusoipts Commission, Appendix,
Part 4 (London, 1888), 390-1). In any case, the line that Towse and presumably the other defendants
took to defend their conduct was that the prohibitions applied only until evensong was over. This view
seems to have been widely held. Jacobean visitation articles address only pastimes held during the time
of actual services or sermons. The vast majority of prosecutions for sabbath breaking in the period
involved actual absence from church. When parliament debated regulating sabbath observance by
statute in 1614, James Montague, bishop of Bath and Wells, defended the lawfulness of recreation after
service (Kenneth Parker, The English Sabbath (Cambridge, 1988), 131-2) and that concession was
explicitly made in the Book of Sports of 1618.
Article 45 substantially repeated the allegations Hole had made in other articles dealing with the
events of 3 May, such as interrogatories 3-5 of his series for principal defendants (see pp 275-6) and
articles 2-4 put to Thomas Petters (see pp 298-9) and so it has not been printed in the Records. In
answering this article Humphrey Palmer and John Ward said that Hole had given the order to stop
drumming at 6 (not 7) and both described a confrontation between Hole and Hunt. Palmer deposed
that, when ordered by Hole to command his servant to cease drumming, Hunt 'replyed that hee would
962 ENDNOTES
Given the wording of the entry, the nature of the 'mumming' is murky. It may involve the kind of
clothes-switching gender-parody that was common in mumming and other parish mimesis during this
period or may simply refer to some sort of lovers' game by the couple.
387-8 sRo: D/D/Ca201 f 118
Mitlard (called 'Miller') was also presented at a session on 3 October (sRo: D/D/Ca 204, f [122v]) for
making a libel against some of his neighbours. This libel was presumably in written form since he is
accused of casting it into the church and there is no evidence that it was ever performed in any way.
388 sgo: Q/SR38 f 94
This report is written in a different hand and apparently at a later date below information taken on
11 June 1621 from Anthony and Agnes Collyns of West Hatch before Marmaduke Jennings, jr. They
were testifying to a specific incident during the church ale, a brawl on 3 June. The churchwardens here
attested to activities over a much longer term, similar to the extended revels at East Brent and other
locations in the county. The exact date of the bullbaiting is unknown.
388 -9 sgo: Q/SR2 f7v
The heading of the articles has no certain date but a marginale appears to mean that a warrant of good
behaviour was issued against Wolfall at the Bridgwater sessions (c 15 September 1607). An otherwise
blank page accompanying the articles says 'Articles against parson wolhCall B 5 pr0c,' followed by '1608'
in a different and presumably later hand, appearing to imply that the case was begun at Bridgwater but
forwarded, like others around it, to the justices at the Wells sessions in January 160718. The articles
appear to have been drawn up by two clerks; article 9 is the first one to be written in the second hand.
Robert Wolfall or Woolfal was parson ofWeston Zoyland 1588/9-1610. It was his fourth cure in
the diocese of Bath and Wells; he had previously served at Christon 1569-72, at West Harptree
156819- 80, and at Whatley 1580-88/9. He also seems to have held Wanstrow about 1600. At West
Harptree in 1580 Henry Sowtherton succeeded 'per derelictionem ILW.,' which suggests that Wolfall
had been in trouble with his superiors before (Weaver, Somerset Incumbents, pp 63, 204, 211-12, 268).
Such mobility was very unusual for an apparently undistinguished cleric and might suggest that his
career was a troubled one throughout.
If Cornish's account of the Sunday after Ascension Day is accurate, Wolfall omitted the latter half
of morning prayer and the whole of the litany, all of which ought to have formed part of the Sunday
morning worship, and resumed worship at or near the beginning of the communion service. Cornish
is plainly finding fault with him for that and for encouraging profane amusements on Sunday morning.
390 sgo: D/D/Cd21 ff [60],[61]
Two other witnesses discussed the libeUous ballad without attesting to its performance. W'dliam Warner,
a yeoman, while lying sick in bed, had received a copy from a neigbour. Alice Hillary deposed that
Warner had told her of receiving the ballad (which he considered 'abhominable') and that he had then
read it to her and 'diuers others,' presumably to illustrate its abominable nature.
392 sgo: D/D/Ca 155 f 216v
From the usual pattern of such entries it is likely that 'Mengh.' (1.21) is an abbreviation for the name
of the informer who supplied the court with information against Wattes. It is not possible to expand
the name.
972 EN D NOTES
with the Robin Hood game, see p 969, endnote to SRO: D/P/yeo.j. 4/1/1-2 item [1] col a. Yeovil had
an ale each year on Ascension Day (14 May in 1607), presided over by Robin Hood and his band, but
the arddes of complaint also claim that Robin Hood activities in the church house occurred on sabbath
days. Two indictments (sao: Q/SI 13, pt 1, ff88-9) charge that John Traske had attacked Jarvis on
1 May and that Thomas 'Fawnston,' Robin Hood's 'shrive,' had done so on 8 May (the fourth and fifth
articles respectively). The first attack, wkich is also the one complained of in sao: D/D/Ca 155, ff40v-I
(see p 413, !1.2-10), took place on May Day, of course, and both were Fridays. Thus it would appear
that in 1607 Robin Hood activities extended at least from 1 May through to 14 May (Ascension Day).
One of the witnesses who testified that the wardens allowed dandng in the church house, John Crocker
(p 411, 11.40-1), may have been the same man who served as churchwarden in 1581-2 and again in
1584-5 (sgo: D/P/yeo.j. 4/1/6, pp 93, 101). If so, he would have been in a position to know. The 'shrive'
(p 412, 1.10) Thomas Fontstone may have been related to Andrew Fontstone, warden in 1569-70 (sao:
D/P/yeo.j. 4/1/6, p 65).
412-13 sgo: D/D/Ca 155 ff 40v-I
The section of text 'the churche, they ... to goe with them' (p 413, !!.5-7) is continued on f41 in a
blank spot between unrelated cases; the remainder of the text, at the foot off41, is linked by a small
rosette symbol.
414 sao: DD/SF4035 f [12v]
The heading says that this account covers disbursements made since 'the last of October 1619.' The
account is chronologically arranged, starting with 3 November (1619), and the extracted entry comes
between ones dated 28 March and 1 April.
414 SRO: DDIHI 301 single sheet
This is a personal account, mainly for clothing. The nature of the payment is unclear - whether to a
musidan for playing or for musical instruction.
415 sao: DD/HI 216 f [Iv]
The payment comes between disbursements made at the Wells sessions (winter) and Ilchester sessions
(spring) and was therefore probably made in February or March.
415 SRO: DDILPI3717 mb 10
The payment to St Nicholas' clerks (1.24) occurs among a series of payments made on 5 January 1405/6,
Twelfth Night. Maxwell Lyte (History ofDumter, p 83), supposing that Sir Hugh Luttrell spent the
whole Christmas season at Dunster Castle, speculated that these 'derid' were boys from Dunster Priory
involved in some boy-bishop game or ceremony. This is unlikely on several grounds. First, it appears
that Sir Hugh was no longer at Dunster Castle but had already travelled to Bridgwater for the January
court sessions, because the first payment in the series reads: 'Item vto die Ianuarij videl/cet in vigilia
Epiphanie domini/In expensis dorniff ad Bridgewater venient/s certis de causis placitum suum tangent/bus
.iij. s. j d.' (rob 10). So the clerks, whoever they were, were rewarded in Bridgwater, not Dunster Castle.
Further, as discussed above in an endnote to a similarly worded but much later Glastonbury Abbey
payment (see p 128 and endnote), members of a religious house such as Dunster Priory (a small cell of
Bath Abbey according to David Knowles and R. Neville Hadcock, Medieval Religious Houses: England
and Wales, 2nd ed (London, 1971), 64) would not in any case be referred to as 'clerici,' a term used to
ENDNOTES
977
Sydenham (d. 1598) from Combe Sydenham in the parish of Stogumber. Thomas Horner (d. 1611),
of Cloford, was a son-in-law of Sir John Popham (Crisp (ed), Abstracts ofSomertshire Wil/, vol 5, p 108)
and his family was part of'a kind of alliance with Judge Popham that swayed all the temporal govern-
ment of the country' (J. Harington quoted in Hembry, The Bishops of Bath and g.l/s, p 185). John
Colles (d. 1627) was of Barton Grange in Pitminster (Crisp (ed), Abstracts of Somerseuhire Wills, vol 1,
p 33). John May (d. 1637), of Charterhouse on Mendip, was sheriffof Somerset in 1602-3. John Rod-
ney (d. 1612), from Rodney Stoke, was knighted in 1603. Many of this group of justices were linked
by family and other ties and all were from an area of west-central Somerset encompassing Taunton,
Bridgwater, Wells, and nearby regions.
433-4 sao: Q/SR2 f 118
There is a copy of this order among the Phelips papers, sgo: DD/PH 212, item 32.
435 sgo: Q/SR13 f 71
All the signatories to this order were members of the commission of the peace for Somerset. They were
John Portman, baronet (d. 1612), of Orchard Portman; Nicholas Halswell (d. 1633) of Halswell in
Coathurst; Edward Hext and Henry Walrond (see endnote above); John Farwell (d. 1616) of Holbrook
near Wincanton (Crisp (ed), Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills, vol 6, p 65); William Swanton (d. 1637)
of Bruton (Crisp (ed), Abstracts ofSomene#hire WilA vol 3, p 51); Thomas Phelips (d. 1618) of Barring-
ton (Crisp (ed), Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills, vol 1, p 77); Thomas Warre of West Monkton (Bates,
Quarter Sessions Records for the County of Somerset, vol 1, p xxiv); Alexander Ewens (d. 1620) of North
Cadbury; Christopher Preston (d. 1623) of Cricket St Thomas; and John Symes (d. 1661) of Poundis-
ford (Crisp (ed), Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills, vol 1, p 53).
435 sgo: Q/SR46 f 48
Wian was examined at the llchester sessions but the roll gives no specific locale at which he was arrested
or ,here a performance by George (1.26) occurred.
435 sao: Q/SR47 f 43
This same brief order appears in the Quarter Sessions Order Book for 1620-7, sao: Q/SO 3, f 394v.
436-7 sao: Q/SR61, pt 1 f 47
A copy of this same order, preserved in the Minehead parish records (sgo: DIPIm.st.m 2/911), says it
was made 'the xvth Day of Marche Anno domini 1627' (ie, 1627/8) and reissued 19 March 1631/2.
Appended to it is the directive, addressed to the parson, 'Mr Browse you are to publish this Order the
rext Sabboth that your parishe may haue notice heerof before [your] the day of your wonted Revell.'
This shows that the Minehead revel was customarily held some time later than 25 March. There is
reason to think that Browse's sympathies were with revels and traditional fund-raising entertainment: a
parishioner had been presented in the ecclesiastical court for having railed against him as a 'papistical
knave, asse and dunce' (Stieg, Laudj laboratory, p 234).
437-8 vRo: ASSI 24120, pt I ff 49v-50
A copy of this order is in the Phelips papers, sao: DD/PH 222, item 66.
438-9 vao: SP 161255 single sheet
This memorandum is item 38 in vao: SP 16/255. According to Prynne, 'Sir Robert Philips and others'
Patrons and
Travelling Companies
ARLEANE RALPH
The following list has two sections. The first section lists companies alphabetically by patron,
according to the principal title under which their playing companies and entertainers appear.
Cross-references to titles other than the principal, if they are also so named in the Records, are
also given. The second section lists companies which have been identified by place of origin.
The biographical information supplied here has come entirely from printed sources, the
chief of which are the following: Acts of the Privy Council; S.T. Bindoff (ed), The History of
Parliament: The House of Commons 1509-155& 3 vols (London, 1982); Calendar of Close
Rails; Calendar of Patent Rails (edited through 1582); Calendar of&ate Papers; C. R. Cheney (ed),
Handbook of Dates for Students of English History; G. E. C., The Complete Peerage...; The
Dictionary of National Biography; James E. Doyle, The Official Baronage of England Showing
the Succession, Dignities, and Offices of Every Peerjom 1066 to 1885, 3 vols (London, 1886);
P. W. Hasler (ed), The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1558-1603, 3 vols
(London, 1981); Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domeseic, Henry m, 21 vols and Addenda
(London, 1864-1932); E Maurice Powicke and E. B. Fryde (eds), Handbook of British
Chronology, 2nd ed (London, 1961); Josiah C. Wedgwood and Anne D. Holt, History of
Parliament: Biographies of the Members of the Commons House 1439-1509 (London, 1936); and
Josiah C. Wedgwood, History of Parliament: Register of Ministers and of the Members of Both
Houses 1439-1509 (London, 1938).
All dates are given in accordance with the style of the sources used. The authorities sometimes
disagree over the dates of birth, death, creation, succession, and office tenure. Where this
evidence conflicts, the Calendar of State Papers, Calendar of Patent Rolls, and similar collections,
such as the following, are preferred: J.H. Gleason, The Justices of the Peace in Englaut." 1558 to
1640 (Oxford, 1969); List of Sheriffi for England and Walesjom the Earliest Times to tD. 1831,
Public Record Office, Lists and Indexes, no 9 (London, 1898); and J.C. Sainty, 'Lieutenants
of Counties, 1585-1642,' Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, Special Supplement,
no 8 (May, 1970).
Normally each patron entry is divided into four sections. The first lists relevant personal
data and titles of nobility with dates. Succession numbers are given for the most important
titles held by a person, as well as for those titles by which he or she is named in the Records.
These numbers follow the absolute sequence given in The Complete Peerage rather than the
988 PATRONS AND COMPANIES
relative ones that begin afresh with each new creation. Knighthood dates are included only for
minor gentry not possessing higher titles.
The second section lists in chronological order appointments showing local connections
and includes those known to have been used within titles of playing companies. Purely
expeditionary military titles have been largely omitted, along with most minor Scottish and
Irish landed titles. For patrons holding peerage titles, minor civil commissions have been
omitted, except for those concerning Somerset and the geographically proximate counties of
Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire
in Wales.
Where possible, the date of an appointment is taken from the date of a document assigning
that position. If the appointment is stated in the document to be 'for life,' then these words
follow the job title. If the original document has not been edited and a secondary source is
used that states 'until death,' then this form appears. Otherwise dates of appointment and
termination are given, if available. If the length of time an office is held is not known, then
only the date of appointment is given. Alternatively, if the only evidence comes from a source
dated some time during the period of tenure, then the word 'by' and a date appears. If only the
date of termination is known, 'until' is used. For all minor commissions such as commissions
of gaol delivery, commissions of array and muster, and commissions of the peace 0v), years only
are given. If the dates of these commissions cover several years in sequence, then the earliest
and latest years of the sequence are separated by a dash.
The third section, for which information is often incomplete or unavailable, contains the
names and locations of the patron's principal seats, and of counties where he or she held lands.
Extensive property lists have been condensed by limiting them to Somerset, the southern
counties of Wales, and the counties surrounding Somerset.
The fourth section is an annotated index by date of the appearances of each patron's company
or companies in the Somerset Records. Following the date are the page numbers in parentheses
where the citations occur. Ifa patron's company appears under a title other than the usual or
prindpal one, this other tide is in parentheses next to the designation of the company. Companies
named according to a patron's civil appointment are indexed under the name of that post as
it appears in the Records: for example, 'Lord Admiral' and 'Lord Protector.' In cases where
the patron sponsored more than one type of performer, all entries for a given type are grouped
together in chronological order. Each group of entries is then listed according to the earliest
year in which that company appears in the Records. If two or more companies first appear in
the same year, alphabetical order is followed. In this section, the annotations 'Possibly' or
'Probably' indicate that the attribution of the performance itinerary item to the particular
patron is not definite. An 'Either/or' arrangement is used when the appearance of a company
or companies coincides chronologically with the succession date of a title between father and
son or of an appointment between one peer and another as in the 'Lord Chamberlain' below.
The reader may also wish to refer to the index for additional references to some of the patrons
and to various unnamed companies and their players.
PATRONS AND COMPANIES 989
Abbreviations:
acc
adm
bapt
bef
br
capt
comm
cr
custos rot
d.
da
gen
acceded
admiral
baptized
before
brother
captain
commissioner
created
custos rotulorum
died
daughter
general
gov
kt
lieut
m.
MP
parl
PC
pres
SUCC
summ
governor
Justice of the Peace
joint (three or more)
knighted
lieutenant
married
Member of Parliament
parliament
Privy Councillor
president
succeeded
summoned
990 PATRONS AND COMPANIES
Companies Named by Patron
Anmdd
Thomas Fitz Alan (or Mautravers) (1450-25 Oct 1524), styled Lord Mautravers; succ as 22nd
earl of Arundel 1487. Comm of array Wilts 1469-70, Dors 1470; jP Glouc 1473-5, 1477,
1479, 1481, 1493-4, 1496, 1499-1506, 1508, 1510-11, 1513-14, Dots 1475, 1483,
Wilts 1475; comm oyer and terminer Glouc 1471, 1493, 1495, Wilts 1502; keeper forests
of Clarendon, Wilts, sole 23 Mar 1495 and jt 16 Mar 1510; jt keeper Grovely Wood, Wilts,
16 Mar 1510. Seat at Arundel Castle, Suss; lands in Somers.
minstrels Bridgwater 1495-6(41)
Audio/
John Tuchet (c 1483- bef 20 Jan 1557/8), restored as 8th Lord Audley 1512. JP Wilts 1515,
1523, 1525-6, 1529, 1531-2, 1537-9, 1543, Dots 1528, 1530, 1532, 1536-40, Somers
1529, 1531-2, 1538-41, 1543-4; chief forester Milche, Wilts, 24 May 1531; comm oyer
and terminer Dors and Somers 1540. Lands in Dots and Somers.
minstrels Bridgwater 1524-6(42)
Bath
John Bourchier (c 1499-10 Feb 1560/1), son of John Bourchier, 5th Lord FitzWarin and 2nd
earl of Bath, qv under FitzWarln; styled Lord FitzWarin 1536-9; succ as 3rd earl of Bath and
6th Lord FitzWarin 30 Apt 1539 and as 2nd earl of Bridgwater and Lord Daubeney 8 Apt
1548. SheriffDom and Somers 8 Nov 1519 and Wilts 7 Nov 1526; jp Wilts 1523, 1525, 1529,
1531-2, 1535, 1537-9, 1543, 1547, 1558, Salisbury, Wilts, 1535, Somers 1539, Devon
1540-1, 1543-4, 1547, 1554; comm oyer and terminer Devon 1540; comm of musters
Devon 1546; PC 1553; comm of array Comw, Devon, Dots, Somers, and Exeter, Devon, 1556;
lord lieut Cornw, Devon, and Dot's 1556. Seat at Tawstock, Devon; lands in Devon.
players Bridgwater 1540-1 (44)
1542-3(45)
1543-4(46)
bearward Bridgwater 1542-3(45)
minstrels Bridgwater 1546-7(46)
1551-2(46)
William Bourchier (1557-12 Jul 1623), son of John Bourchier, 3rd earl of Bath, qv; succ as
4th earl of Bath 10 Feb 1560/1. JP Devon 1584 or 1585, and Somers 1584, 1608; vice-adm
Devon 1586: lord iieut Devon 12 Sept 1586 until death; recorder of Barnstaple, Devon, by
1589. Seat at Tawstock, Devon; lands in Devon.
players Bath 1576 -7( 11 )
See also John Bourchier under FitzWarin.
PATRONS AND GONIPANIES 991
Berkeley
Henry Berkeley (26 Nov 1534-26 Nov 1613), succ as 7th Lord Berkeley at birth. Keeper of
Kingswood Forest, Glouc, and Filwood Forest, Somers, for life 26 Jun 1559; Iv Glouc 1562,
1564; comm ofoyer and terminer Glouc and Monm, Wales, 1564; jt comm of musters Giouc
1569; lord lieut Glouc 13 Aug 1603 until death; vice-adm Glouc 14 Nov 1603 until death.
Principal residences at Yate Court and Berkeley Castle, Glouc, and Caludon Castle, Warw;
lands in Glouc and Somers.
players
players?
men
Bath 1578-9(12)
1580-1(12)
1582-3(13)
1583-4(13)
1584-5(13)
Bridgater 1604- 5 (58)
Bath 1581-2(12)
Bridgater 1583-4(53)
Henry Berkeley (c 1547-7 Sept 1601), kt c 1584-5. Keeper Selwood Forest and Norwood
Park, Somers, from 1581; jl, Somers 1582 onward; MP Somers 1584 and 1586; deputy lieut
Somers 1585-90; sheriffSomers and Dors 4 Dec 1587. Seat at Norwood Park in Glastonbury,
Somers, before 1585, and at Bruton, Somers, after 1585; lands in Somers and Glouc.
players (as Mr Berkeley) Bridgater 1571-2(50)
men (as Mr Berkdey) Bridgwater 1583-4(53)
Bridgwater
Henty Daubeney (Dec 1493-12 Apr 1548), succ as 2nd Baron Daubeney 22 May 1508; cr
1st earl ofBridgwater 19Jui 1538. jP Devon 1512-14, Somers 1512-14, 1521-2, 1524,
1526, 1529, 1531-2, 1538, 1540-1, 1543-4, 1547, Dors 1514, 1519-20, 1522, 1524,
1528, 1530, 1532, 1536, 1540; comm of array Dots and Somers 1513; comm oyer and
terminer Dots and Somers 1540; warden Neroche Forest, Somers, 24 Apt 1542. Seats at
Ingleby, Linc, and South Petherton, Somers; lands in Cornw, Dots, and Somers.
minstrels (as Lord Daubeney) Bridgater 1534-5(43)
players Bridgater 1540-1 (44)
Chandos
Giles Brydges (c 1548-21 Feb 1593/4), succ as 3rd Baron Chandos 11 Mar 157213. IV
Giouc 1570-1; MV Cricklade, Wilts, 1571 and Giouc 1572; chief steward manor of Hailes
and hundreds ofGretton, Holford, and Kiftsgate, all in Glouc, for life 19 Jun 1573; steward
manor and hundred of Slaughter, Giouc, for life 19 Jun 1573; keeper Braydon Forest, Wilts,
for life 19 Jun 1573; steward manors ofCricklade, Highworth, Long Compton, Staple,
Winterbourne Bassett, and Wootton Bassett, all in Wilts, for life 19 Jun 1573; lord lieut
992 PATRONS AND COMPANIES
Glouc 17 Nov 1586 until death; member Council in the Marches of Wales 16 Dec 1590.
Seat at Sudeley Castle, Glouc.
players Bath 1582-3(13)
1583-4(13)
Probably
players Bridgwater 1592-3(54)
William Brydges (after 1548-18 Nov 1602), br of Giles, 3rd Baron Chandos, qv; succ as 4th
Baron Chandos 21 Feb 1593/4. MP Cricklade, Wilts, 1572-83, Glouc 1584, 1586; steward
Cricklade, Wilts, and keeper Braydon Forest, Wilts, 1594; member Council in the Marches of
Wales May 1594; lord lieut Glouc 9 Sept 1595 until death. Seat at Sudeley Castle, Glouc.
players Bath 1596-7(17)
1597-8(18)
Probably
players Bridgwater 1601 -2(57)
Grey Brydges (c 1579-10 Aug 1621), son of William, 4th Baron Chandos, qv; succ as 5th
Baron Chandos 18 Nov 1602; imprisoned in the Fleet 14 Feb-31 Mar 1601. MP Cricklade,
Wilts, 1597; JP Glouc and Wilts 1603; lord lieut Glouc, jt Aug 1603 and sole 23 Dec 1613
until death; comm custos rot Glouc Mar 1614; member Council in the Marches of Wales
1617. Seat at Sudeley Castle, Glouc.
players Somer ton 1605-6(219)
Compton
Henry Compton (14 Jul 1544-bef22 Nov 1589), ward of William Herbert, 1st earl of
Pembroke; succ in 1544; cr 1st Lord Compton 8 May 1572. p Old Sarum, Wilts, 1563.
Seats at Compton Wynyates, Warw, and Tottenham, Midd; lands in Devon and Somers.
bearwards Bridgwater 1581-2 (52)
Darcy
Either
John Darcy (c 1530-18 Oct 1602), succ as 2nd Lord Darcy of Darcy or of Aston 28 Aug 1558.
Member Council of the North May 1574. Seat at Aston, Yorks w.
or
Thomas Darcy (c 1565-21 Feb 1639/40), succ as 3rd Lord Darcy ofChiche 3 Mar 1581; cr
Viscount Colchester 5 Jul 1621 and 4th Earl Rivers 4 Nov 1626. Seat at Chich, now St Osyth,
Essex; residence at Winchester House, London.
players Bath 1591-2(15)
PATRONS AND COMPANIES 993
Daubeney see Brldgwater
De la Warr
William West (c 1519-30 Dec 1595), disabled of honours 1 Feb 1549/50; restored 10 April
1563; cr by patent lOth Baron De la Warr 5 Feb 1569170. Seats at Offington and Ewhurst,
Suss; residence in St Dunstan's, London; lands in Wilts and Wales.
men Bridgwater c 1575-6(51)
Derby
Thomas Stanley (c 1435-29 Jul 1504), succ as 2nd Baron Stanley 20 Feb 145819; cr lOth
earl of Derby 27 Oct 1485; sovereign lord of the Isle of Man. Esquire of the body 1454; PC
1471-1485; lord steward of the household 14 Aug 1471-Oct 1485; jP Wilts 1473, Devon
and GIouc 1474, Somers 1474, 1475, Dors 1475; comm ofoyer and terminer Glouc 1485,
1495; constable of England for life 16 Dec 1483 and 5 Mar 148516. Seats at Lathom and
Knowsley, Lanc.
minstrels Bridgwater 1503-4(42)
Henry Stanley (Sept 1531-25 Sept 1593), styled Lord Strange until summ to pad as 12th
Lord Strange ofKnockin, Shrops, 23 Jan 155819; succ as 13th earl of Derby, 5th Lord Stanley,
and lord of the Isle of Man 24 Oct 1572. PC by 20 May 1585; lord steward of the household
after Sept 1588-93; member Council of the North. Seats at Lathom and Knowsley, Lanc, and
Knockin, Shrops.
players Bath 1578 -9 (12)
1580-1(12)
1582-3(13)
William Stanley (c 1561-29 Sept 1642), son of Henry Stanley, 13th earl of Derby, qv, and
br of Ferdinando Stanley, 14th earl of Derby, qv under Strange; succ as 15th earl of Derby
16 Apr 1594; confirmed in the lordship of the Isle of Man 7 Jul 1609. PC Mar-May 1603;
member Council in the Marches of Wales by 1617. Seats at Lathom and Knowsley, Lane.
players Bath 1595-6(17)
1596-7(17)
See also Ferdinando Stanley under Strange.
Dorset see Henry Grey under Lord Marquess.
Dudley
Edward Sutton or Dudley (bapt 17 Sept 1567-23 .Jun 1643), succ as 5th Lord Dudley by 12Aug
1586. Seat at Dudley Castle, Staff.
bearward Bath 1593-4(17)
See also Robert Dudley under Leicester andAmbrose Dudley underWarwick
PATRONS AND COMPANIES 995
fortescue
Henry Fortescue (by 1515-by 6 Oct 1576), succ 8 Aug 1517. Gentleman usher by April 1553;
esquire of the body by 1559. Seat at Faulkbourne, Essex.
players (as Sir Henry Fortescue) Wells 1567-9(257)
Possibly
men (as Mr Fortescue) Bridgwater
1562- 3(48)
1564-5(48)
Richard Fortescue (by 1517-26 Jun 1570). M p Tavistock, Devon, 1545; J p Devon c 1559
until death; sheriff Devon 19 Nov 1562-3. Seat at Castle Hill, Filleigh, Devon.
or
John Fortescue (1533-23 Dec 1607), restored in blood 1551; kt Sept 1592. Keeper of the
great wardrobe 22 Jul 1559 until death; chancellor of the exchequer and under-treasurer after
31 May 1589-24 May 1603. Principal seat at Salden, Bucks; seats also at Welford, Berks, and
Holborn, Midd; lands in Dors, Glouc, and Monm, Wales.
Possibly
men (as Mr Fortescue) Bridgwater
562-3(48)
564-5(48)
Percival Harte (d. 1580), kt after 1538. Usher of exchequer 11 Feb 1533; knight harbinger
for life 27 Jan 1539. Seat at Lullingstone, Kent.
players Bridgwater 1562-3(48)
Hereford see Robert Devereux under Essex.
Hertford
Edward Seymour (22 May 1539-6 Apr 1621), styled earl of Hertford 1547 until his father's
attainder 12 Apr 1552; restored 1553 or 1554; cr Baron Beauchamp and 9th earl of Hertford
13 Jan 1558/9; imprisoned 1561; released after 27 Jan 156718. jI, Somers and Wilts 1578, 1611;
jt comm of musters Wilts 1579; lord lieut Somers and Wilts 24 Apt 1601 until death; comm
custos rot Wilts Jun 1603. Seat at FAvetham, Hants; lands in Somers and Wilts.
players Bath 1591-2(15)
players (as earl of Hereford) Bridgwater 1600-1(57)
players Bath 1601-2(18)
Howard see Charles Howard under Lord Admiral.
PATRONS AND COMPANIES 997
James Stuart (19 Jun 1566-27 Mar 1625), son of Henry, Lord Darnley and Ma_,'y Stuart, queen
of Scots; acc as James w of Scotland 24 Jul 1567 and as James of England 24 Mar 1603;
crowned 25 Jul 1603.
players
trumpeter
trumpeters
Bath 1602-3(19)
Bath 1608-9(21)
Bath 1612-13(21)
1614-15(22)
1617-18(26)
1619-20(26)
Bridgwater 1619-20(59)
Chard 1619-20(73)
Bath 1622-3(26)
Lady Elizabeth
Elizabeth Stuart (mid-Aug 1596-13 Feb 1662), da of James Vl (of Scotland) and (of England),
qv underKing, and Anne of Denmark, qv under Queen; m., 14 Feb 1612/13, Frederick v,
elector palatine; crowned queen of Bohemia 7 Nov 1619.
players Bath 1610-11(21)
Leicester
Robert Dudley (24 Jun 1532 or 1533-4 Sept 1588), cr baron ofDenbigh, Denb, Wales,
28 Sept and 14th earl of Leicester 29 Sept 1564; imprisoned Jul 1553; attainted 22 Jan 1553/4;
pardoned 18 Oct 1554; restored in blood 7 Mar 1557/8. Master of the horse 1559-87; PC
23 Apt 1559; high steward Wallingford, Glouc, 1569 and 1570 until death; lord steward of
the house-hold 1 Nov 1584-8; warden and chief justice in eyre south of Trent 25 Nov 1585
until death. Seats at Kenilworth, Warw, and Wanstead, Essex; residence at Leicester House,
Midd; lands in Wales.
players (as Lord Robert Dudley) Bridgwater 1559-60(47)
players Bath 1577- 8 (12)
1585-6(13)
1586-7(14)
1587-8(14)
Lennox
Ludovic Stuart (29 Sept 1574-16 Feb 1623/4), succ as 2nd duke and 18th earl of Lennox
26 May 1583; naturalized 18 Jul 1603; cr 15th earl of Richmond and Baron of Settrington
6 Oct 1613 and 2nd duke of Richmond and 1st earl of Newcastle upon Tyne 17 May 1623.
Hereditary great chamberlain Scotland 26 May 1583; pres privy council Scotland 1586; jt
lieut Scotland Nov 1589-May 1590; chamberlain of the household Scotland 1590; lord high
adm Scotland 4 Aug 1591 until death; PC 4 May 1603; deputy earl marshal 1614; lord steward
of the household 1615-24. Seat at Richmond Castle, Yorks NR.
players Bath 1608 -9 (21)
998 PATRONS AND COMPANIES
Lord Admiral
Henry Fitzroy (c 1519-22 Jul 1536), natural son of Henry VIII, qV IgdrSing cr 1st duke
of Richmond, 4th duke of Somerset, and 9th earl of Nottingham 18 Jun 1525. Lord high
adm 16 Jul 1525 until death; lieut Order of the Garter 17 May 1533. Residences at Sheriff
Hutton, Yorks Iqg and Ponteffact, Yorks wa.
minstrels Bridgwater 1527-8(43)
John Russell (c 1485-14 Mar 155415), cr Baron Russell 9 Mar 153819 and 3rd earl of Bedford
19 Jan 1549/50; summ to pari as Lord Russell 16Jun 1553. Knight marshal of the household
1523-7; sheriffDors and Somers 16 Nov 1527; pc 1536 until death; comptroller of the
household 18 Oct 1537-9; }p Giouc 1537, 1542, 1544, 1544, 1547, Cornw 1539-40, 1544,
1547, Devon 1539-41, 1543-4, 1547, Dors 1539-40, 1547, Somers 1539-41, 1543-4,
1547, Wilts 1540, 1543-4, 1547, Monm, Wales, 1543-4, 1547; comm oyer and terminer
Cornw, Devon, Dors and Somers 1540-5, Wilts 1541-5; chief steward, surveyor, bailiffand
receiver manors of Curry Mallet and Stoke sub Hamdon, Somers, 23 Feb 1538; pres Council
in the West (Cornw, Devon, Dots, and Somers) by 12 Apt 1539; high steward duchy of
Cornwall and warden of the stannaries, Cornw and Devon, 4 Jul 1539 until death; master
forester Dartmoor, Devon, 4 July 1539; steward honour of Winkleigh, Devon, lordships of
South Tawton and Zeal, Devon, 18 Sept 1539; keeper parks of Tiverton, Ashley, and Lydford
Castle, Devon, and of the manor and park ofBoconnoc, Cornw, 18 Sept 1539; constable and
keeper castle and park of Restormd, Cornw, 18 Sept 1539; lord high adm 28 Jul 1540-17
Jan 1543; lord keeper of the privy seal 3 Dec 1542 until death; comm of array Cornw, Devon,
Dors, Glouc, Somers, and Wales 1545; lord lieut Cornw, Devon, Dors, and Somers 1545,
1549-53. Seats at Chenies, Bucks, and Berwick, Dots; principal residence at Russell House,
the Strand, Midd; lands in Cornw, Devon, Dors, and Somers.
players Bridgwater 1540-1 (44,45)
Charles Howard (c 1536-14 Dec 1624), succ as Baron Howard 11 or 12 Jan 1572/3 and cr
10th earl of Nottingham 22 Oct 1597. Chamberlain of the household 1 Jan 158314-Jul 1585;
pc by 5 Mar 1583/4 until death; lord high aclm 8 Jui 1585-27 Jan 1618119; chief justice in
eyre south of Trent 15 Jun 1597 until death; lord steward of the household 24 Oct 1597-Nov
1615; queen's lieut and capt-gen in the south of England 10 Aug 1599 and 14 Feb 160011;
jl' Somers 1608. Seat at Effingham, Surf.
players (as Lord Howard) Bath
players Bath
Bridgwater
Bath
players (as Lord Howard) Bath
players Bath
1578-9(12)
1586-7(14)
1591-2(15)
1592-3(54)
1593-4(17)
1594-5(17)
1595-6(17)
1599-1600(18)
1602-3(19)
PATRONS AND COMPANIES 999
Lord Chamberlain
Either
William Brooke (1 Nov 1527-6 Mar 1596/7), succ as 10th Lord Cobham 29 Sept 1558. PC
19 Feb 1585/6; lord chamberlain of the household 8 Aug 1596 until death. Seat at Cobham
Hall, Kent.
or
George Carey (1547-8 Sept 1603), son of Henry, 1st Baron Hunsdon, qv under Hunsdon;
succ as 2nd Baron Hunsdon 23 Jui 1596. Kmght marshal of the household 8 Oct 1577; Pc
and lord chamberlain of the household 17 Apr 1597-4 May 1603. Seats at Hunsdon, Herts,
and Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight; house at Biackfriars, London; lands in Cornw.
players Bath 1596 -7(17)
or
Henry Carey see under Hunsdon.
See also Thomas Raddiffe under Sussex.
Lord Marquess
Henry Grey (17 Jan 1517-23 Feb 1554), styled Lord Grey until he succ as 6th marquess of
Dorset, 9th Lord Ferrets, 9th Lord Harington, 4th Lord Bonviile, and possibly Lord Astley
10 Oct 1530; cr 7th duke of Suffolk 11 Oct 1551. JP Cornw 1539-40, 1544, 1547, Devon
1539-41, 1543-4, 1547, Dots 1539-40, 1547, Somers 1539-40, 1543-4, 1547, Wilts
1539, 1543, 1547; comm oyer and terminer Cornw, Devon, and Dots 1540; PC 11 Dec
1549-53; chief justice in eyre south of Trent 2 Feb 1550-3. Seats at Chewton, Somers, and
Bradgate and Groby, Leic; lands in Devon and Somers.
minstrels Bridgwater
bearward Bridgwater
players Bridgwater
1534-5(43)
1540-1(44)
c 1537-8(44)
c 1537-8(44)
1542-3(45)
1549-50(46)
Lord Protector
Edward Seymour (c 1500-22 Jan 1551/2), cr 1st Viscount Beauchamp 5 Jun 1536, 8th earl
of Hertford 18 Oct 1537, Baron Seymour 15 Feb 1546/7, and 5th duke of Somerset 16 Feb
1546/7; deprived of all offices and imprisoned in the Tower 14 Oct 1549-6 Feb 1549/50;
pardoned 16 Feb 1549/50; imprisoned in the Tower again 16 Oct 1551. Jt constable Bristol
Castle, Glouc, 15 Jul 1517; jP Wilts 1525-6, 1529, 1532, 1538-9, 1543, 1547, Somers
1538-41, 1543-4, 1547, Comw, Devon, Dors, and Glouc 1547; steward manors of Charlton
1000 PATRONS AND COMPANIE.S
and Henstridge, Somers, 5 Mar 1528/9; PC 1537 and 10 Apr 1550; lord high adm 28 Dec
1542/3; lord great chamberlain 16 Feb 1542/3-17 Feb 1546/7; lieut and capt-gen in the
North 12 Feb-Jun 1544 and 2 May 1545; councillor of regency and lieut of the realm 9 Jul
1544; lord treasurer of the exchequer 10 Feb 1546/7; protector of the realm 12 Mar 1546/7;
earl marshal 17 Feb 1547. Seats at Hatch, Somers, and Wolf Hall, Wilts; lands in Cornw, Devon,
Dors, Glouc, Somers, and Wilts.
players Bridgwater 1548-9(46)
Master of the Revels
Edmund Tilney (d. 20 Aug 1610). Master of the revels for the household 24 Jul 1579 until
death. Seat at Leatherhead, Surr.
players Bath 1583 - 4(13)
Montagu
Anthony Browne (29 Nov 1528-19 Oct 1592), cr 1st Viscount Montagu 2 Sept 1554. PC
28 Apt 1557. Seats at Battle Abbey and Cowdray Park, Suss.
players Bath 1577- 8(12)
Anthony Maria Browne (1 Feb 1573/4-23 Oct 1629), grandson of Anthony Browne, 1st
Viscount Montagu, qw, succ as 2nd Viscount Montagu 19 Oct 1592; committed to the Tower
15 Nov 1605-20 Aug 1606. Seats at Battle Abbey and Cowdray Park, Suss.
p layers Bridgwater 1592 -3(54)
1594-5(55)
Monteagle
William Parker (c 1575-1 Jul 1622), succ as 5th Lord Monteagle 12 Jun 1585 and as 13th
Lord Morley 1 Apt 1618; imprisoned in the Tower Jan 1600/1-Aug 1601. Seat at Hornby
Castle, Lanc; lands in Somers.
players Bath 1592 -3(15)
Mountoy
James Blount (c 1533-20 Oct 1581), succ as 6th Lord Mountioy 10 Oct 1544. Lord lieut
Dots 26 May 1559; JP Dots and Wilts 1562 and 1564; comm ofoyer and terminer Cornw,
Devon, Dots, Somers, and Wilts 1564; shareholder in the company of Mines Royal, Cornw,
Devon, Glouc, and Wales 28 May 1568. Seat at Apethorpe, Northants; house in London.
players
Bridgwater 1564-5(48)
Wells 1565-6(257)
1566-7(257)
Bridgwater 1566-7(49)
Bath 1568-9(10)
Bridgwater 1570-1 (50)
1572-3(50)
PATRONS AND COMPANIES 1001
men
Bath 1576-7( 1 l)
1577-8(12)
Bridgwater 1568-9 (49)
Nobell see Ogle.
Norris
Henry Norris (c 1525-27 Jun 1601), summ to parl whereby he was held to have become 1 st
Lord Norris 6 May 1572; restitution of father's attainted estates 1575-6. Butler port of the
town of Poole, Dors, for life 21 Oct 1553; capt light horse of the queen's bodyguard July 1588.
Seats at Bray, Berks, and at Rycote, Oxf.
players Bath 1593-4(17)
Northumberland (duke)
John Dudley (c 1504-22 Aug 1553), restored in blood 1512; succ as 7th Baron Lisle c 1530;
cr7th Viscount Lisle 12 Mar 154112, 19th earl of Warwick 16 Feb 154617, and 1st duke of
Northumberland 11 Oct 1551; imprisoned in the Tower 25 Jul 1553; beheaded 22 Aug 1553.
Vice-adm Feb 1537-Jan 1543; lord high adm 26Jan 1543-17 Feb 1547 and 28 Oct 1549-
14 May 1550; PC 23 Apr 1543-Jul 1553; jp Glouc 1547; lord chamberlain of the household
17 Feb 1547-1 Feb 1550; lord pres Council in the Marches of Wales 1549-50; lord steward
of the household 20 Feb 1550-3; lord pres of the privy council Feb 1550-Jul 1553; earl
marshal 20 Apr 1551. Seats at Halden, Kent, Chelsea and Syon, Midd, and Dudley Castle,
Staff.
players Bridgwater 1551-2(47)
Northumberland (earl)
Henry Algernon Percy (14 Jan 1477/8-19 May 1527), succ as 9th earl of Northum berland,
8th Lord Percy, and Lord Poynings 28 Apr 1489; imprisoned in the Fleet 1516. Member
Council of the North Jul 1522. Seats at Alnwick, Northumb, and Wressell, Yorks ER; house in
Aldgate, London.
minstrels Bridgwater 1524- 6(43)
Ogle
Possibly
Cuthbert Ogle (c 1540-20 Nov 1597), succ as 7th Lord Ogle 1 Aug 1562. Seat at Bothal,
Northumb.
players Bridgwater 1595-6(56)
Oxford
John de Vere (c 1516-3 Aug 1562), styled Lord Bolebec 1526 until he succ as 16th earl of
Oxford 21 Mar 1539/40. Pc 3 Sept 1553. Seat at Hedingham Castle, Essex; manor at Earls
Colne, Essex; lands in Devon, Dors, Somers, and Wilts.
1002 PATRONS AND COMPANIES
players Bridgwater 1557-8(47)
1559-6O(47)
Edward de Vere (12 Apr 1550-24 Jun 1604), son of John, 16th earl of Oxford, qv; styled
Lord Bolebec until he succ as 17th earl of Oxford 3 Aug 1562; imprisoned in the Tower c Mar-
8 Jun 1581. Lord great chamberlain 3 Aug 1562. Seats at Hedingham Castle, Essex, and
Hackney, Midd.
players Bath 1582-3(13)
1584-5(13)
men Bridgwater 1583-4(53)
Pembroke
Henry Herbert (after 1538-19 Jan 1601), styled Lord Herbert 1551 until he succ as 21 st
earl of Pembroke and Baron Herbert of Cardiff, Giam, Wales 17 Mar 1569/70. Jt keeper
Clarendon Forest, Wilts, and bailiffofthe water of the Avon from Harnham Bridge, Wilts,
to the sea 26 Jun 1553; JP Salisbury, Wilts, 1569, Wilts 1570; comm of musters Wilts 1569,
1573, 1574; lord lieut Wilts 4 Apt 1570, Somers 3 Jul 1585, and Wales 24 Feb 1587; warden
of Pewsham and Biackmore Forests and steward of the manor of Devizes, all in Wilts, chief
steward manor of Cranborne, warden and keeper Cranborne Chase, keeper Blagdon Park and
the manor of Cranborne, all in Dots, keeper parks of Holm and West Park and the manor of
Corsham, Wilts, constable and keeper Bristol Castle, Giouc, 15 May 1570; constable of St.
Briavei's Castle, keeper of the forest of Dean, and bailiffofthe manor of Lydney, all in Glouc,
for life by 18 Nov 1577; high steward Salisbury, Wilts, by 16 Dec 1582; lord pres Council in
the Marches of Wales Mar 1586 until death; vice adm of South Wales c 1586. Seat at Cardiff
Castle, Giam, Wales; residences at Ludlow Castle, Shrops, and Wilton, Wilts.
players Bath 1592-3(15)
1596-7(17)
1598-9(18)
Prince
Arthur Tudor (20 Sept 1486-2 Apr 1502), 1st son of Henry VII, qv underKinff,, succ as 8th
duke of Cornwall at birth; cr Prince of Wales and 20th earl of Chester 29 Nov 1489. JO Giouc
1490, 1493-4, 1496, 1499-1502, Wilts 1490-1, 1493-4, 1496, 1498-9, 1501-2, Devon
1491-2, 1494-6, 1501-2, Dors 1491, 1493-4, 1497-1502, Somers 1491, 1493-5, 1498-1500,
Cornw 1492-8, Wales 1493.
performers Wells 1500-1 (252)
Henry Frederick Stuart (19 Feb 1593/4-6 Nov 1612), 1st son of James I, qv underKing, and
Anne of Denmark, qv under Queen; succ as 11 th duke of Rothesay, Scotland, at birth and 13th
duke of Cornwall 24 Mar 1602/3, and cr prince of Wales and 22nd earl of Chester 4 Jun 1610.
players Bath 1605- 6(19)
1606-7(19)
1004 PATRONS AND COMPANIES
Bridgwater 1606-7(59)
1611-12(59)
Bath 1616-17(26)
dr u mmers Bath 1614-15 (22)
trumpeters Bath 1614-15(22)
Queen Mother
Margaret Beaufort (31 May 1443-29 June 1509), da of John, 1st duke of Somerset; m. lstly,
between 28 Jan and 17 Feb 1449/50 (dissolved before 24 Mar 1452/3), John de la Pole, 2nd
duke of Suffolk, m. 2ndly, 1455, Edmund Tudor, 13th earl of Richmond (d. 3 Nov 1456),
m. 3rdly, bef 1464, Henry Stafford, 2nd duke of Buckingham (d. 4 Oct 1571), m. 4thly,
before Oct 1473, Thomas, earl of Derby (d. 29 July 1504); mother, by her second husband,
of Henry v, qv underKing.
minstrels Bridgwater 1495- 6(41)
1504-5(42)
Radcliffe see Henry Radcliffe under Sussex.
Rogers
Richard Rogers (c 1527-1605), kt 25 Mar 1576. JP Dors from c 1570; MP Dors 1572 ; comm
of musters Dors 1573 and Blandford, Dors, 1587-1600; sheriff Dors 10 Nov 1573 and 4 Dec
1587; lieut Isle ofPurbeck, Dors, 1588 and deputy lieut by 160l; deputy lieut Dots by 10 Aug
1599. Seat at Bryanston, Dors.
players Bath 1577- 8(12)
Sa.ay
William Sandys (bef 1555-29 Sept 1623), succ as 3rd Lord Sandys 1559 or 1560; imprisoned
in the Tower 8 Feb 1600/1-5 Aug 1601. Seat at The Vyne, Sherborne St John, Hants.
Possibly
players Bridgwater
1592-3(54)
1601-2(57)
Sheffield
Edmund Sheffield (7 Dec 1565-Oct 1646), succ as 3rd Baron Sheffield (of Butterwick in the
Isle of Axholme, Line) 10 Dec 1568; cr earl ofMulgrave 5 Feb 1625/6. Lord pres Council of
the North by 22 Jul 1603- by 11 Feb 1618/19 and member 21 May 1625. Seat at King's Manor,
York, Yorks.
players Bath 1580-1 (12)
1584-5(13)
Shrewsbury
George Talbot (1468-26 Jul 1538), succ as 7th earl of Shrewsbury, 9th Lord Furnivalle, Lord
PATRONS AND COMPANIES
1005
Talbot, Lord Strange, and earl of Waterford, Ireland, 28 Jun 1473. Lord steward of the house-
hold by 20 Jul 1506 until death; chamberlain of the exchequer, sole 14 May 1509 and jt
17 Jul 1527; PC by Jul 1512; lieut gen of the North 30 Jul-Sept 1522 and 6 Oct 1532. Seat
at Sheffield Castle, Yorks wa; London residence at Coldharbour.
minstrels Bridgwater 1503-4(42)
Stafford
Edward Stafford (17 Jan 1535/6-18 Oct 1603), succ as 12th Baron Stafford 1 Jan 1565/6. j v
Glouc by 1573/4; vice-adm Glouc 1587; member Council in the Marches of Wales Aug 1601.
Seat at Stafford Castle, Staff.
players Bath 1575-6(11)
1582-3(13)
Bridgwater 1594-5(55)
men Bridgwater 1586-7(53)
Strange
Ferdinando Stanley (c 1559-16 Apt 1594), son of Henry, 13th earl of Derby, qv underDerb
styled Lord Strange from 1572; summ to parl as Lord Strange 28 Jan 1588/9; succ as 14th
earl of Derby and lord of the Isle of Man 25 Sept 1593. Seats at Lathom and Knowsley, Lanc,
and Knockin, Shrops.
players Bath 1578-9 (12)
1580-1(12)
1591-2(15)
1592-3(15)
Thomas Radcliffe (c 1525 or 1526-9 Jun 1583), styled Lord FitzWalter 27 Nov 1542-53; succ
as 8th earl of Sussex and 3rd Viscount and 9th Lord FitzWalter 17 Feb 1556/7. Chief justice
in eyre south of Trent 3 Jul 1557 until death; lord pres Council of the North Jul 1568-Oct 1572;
lord lieut of the North 15 Nov 1569; Pc 30 Dec 1570; lord chamberlain of the household
13 Jul 1572 until death. Seats at New Hall and Woodham Walter, Essex.
players Bath 1572- 3(1 O)
players (as lord chamberlain) Bath 1576-7(11)
players Bath 1577-8(12)
players (as lord chamberlain) Bath 1578-9(12)
Henry Radcliffe (by 1533-14 Dec 1593), br of Thomas, 8th earl of Sussex, qv; succ as 9th
earl of Sussex and 4th Viscount and lOth Lord FitzWalter 9 Jun 1583. Seat at New Hall,
Boreham, Essex.
players Bath 1585- 6 (13)
players (as Sir Harry Radcliffe) Bath 1586-7(14)
players Bath 1587- 8(14)
1006 PATRONS AND COMPANIES
Warwick
Ambrose Dudley (c 1528-21 Feb 1589190), styled Lord Ambrose Dudley from Oct 1551;
imprisoned and attainted 1553, pardoned 22 Jan 1554/5, and restored in blood 7 Mar 155718;
cr Baron Lisle 25 Dec and 21st earl of Warwick 26 Dec 1561. Lord pres of the North by
22 Feb 1564; t'c 5 Sept 1573. Seat at Warwick Castle, Warw.
players (as Lord Ambrose Bridgwater 1562-3(48)
Dudley)
players Bridgwater 1562-3(48)
bearward Bath 1575 - 6(11 )
tumblers Bath 1587-8(14)
Worcester
William Somerset (c 1527-21 Feb 1588/9), styled Lord Herbert until succ as 8th earl of
Worcester 26 Nov 1549. Member Council in the Marches of Wales Nov 1553 and from 1576;
It' Glouc 1554, Monm, Wales, 1562 and 1564; comm of musters Monm, Wales, 1579-80.
Seat at Raglan, Monm, Wales; residence at Hackney, Midd.
players Bridgwater
Bath
Bridgwater
Bath
player Bridgwater
men Bridgwater
1565-6(49)
1568-9(10)
1572-3(10)
1572-3(50)
1576-7(12)
1570-1 (50)
c 1575-6(51)
1580-1(52)
1581-2(52)
Edward Somerset (c 1550-3 Mar 1627/8), son of William, 8th earl of Worcester, qv; styled
Lord Herbert until succ as 9th earl of Worcester and Baron Herbert 21 Feb 1588/9. Member
Council in the Marches of Wales 16 Dec 1590; t'c 29 Jun 1601 ; lord lieut Glam and Monm,
both in Wales, sole 17 Jul 1602 and jt 3 Dec 1626 until death; comm custos rot Monm, Wales,
Jun 1603; lord keeper of the privy seal 2 Jan 1615/16 until death; It' Somers 1626. Seat at
Raglan, Monm, Wales; residence at Hackney, Midd.
players Bridgwater
Bath
men Bridgwater
musicians Bath
1591-2(54)
1593-4(17)
1595-6(17)
1596-7(56)
1615(636)
Companies Named By Location
Andover, Hants
musicians Bath
1615(635)
PATRONS AND COMPANIES 1007
Ash Priors, Somers
pipers
Bridgwater
Bristol, Glouc
minstrels
waits
Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bath
Bridgwater
Bath
Wells, Somers
choristers
Bath
1448-9(41)
1495-6(42)
1566-7(49)
1568 -9(1 O)
1570-1 (50)
1586-7(14)
1574-5(11)
GLOSSARIES 101 1
senses given in The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (VSOED) have nearly always been passed over
and so have their obvious derivatives (eg, 'affecter' (352/38), the agent noun oflvsOEO 'affect' v! t in
sense lb). This rule effectively excludes nearly all archaisms commonly met with in literary texts when
they occur in reasonably recognizable spellings. Abbreviations have also been omitted if they are still
current or widely known, as have forms whose only difficulty is a false word division, errors corrected
in the footnotes, and matter cancelled and replaced by the original scribe. No attempt is made to gloss
words left incomplete by damage to the source texts. Readers are also expected to recognize such spelling
variations as aula, c/s, eale, iele(e), i/j, i/y, oloo, olou, oolu, sl schlsh, and ulvin the contexts
where they commonly occur in older literature and forms offering no other difficulty have usually been
passed over. So have easily recognizable combinations of the defmnite article with a following noun or
adjective, such as 'thage' for 'the age' and 'thearle' for 'the earl.' On the other hand forms such as 'ye'
for 'the,' in which a 'l ' identical in shape with the same scribe's 'y' has been transcribed as 'y,' have
been glossed for the benefit of readers unfamiliar with that convention.
To these general rules there are three exceptions. First, fuller treatment has been given to words and
phrases likely to hold a special interest for users ofa mED volume; these include terms for articles of
dress (eg, 'wascote') and textiles (eg, 'dowlis'), names of musical instruments (eg, 'cittern'), and the
specialized vocabulary of popular custom, pastimes, and the performing arts (eg, 'a mayeng,' 'boule,'
'minstreil'). Second, since much of the surviving evidence for performers' activity in Somerset comes
from legal and administrative records, spedal attention has been paid to technical terms of both secular
and church law and administration. Last, encyclopedic information on political and social history has
been provided in a few places where it seemed helpful. Where possible, though, cross-references to the
Endnotes or Introduction have been used instead.
The glossary follows alphabetical order but with 'l ' inserted after 't.' Normal headword forms are the
uninflected singular for nouns, the positive for adjectives, and the infinitive for verbs but nouns occur-
ring only in the plural or possessive, adjectives occurring only in comparative or superlative forms, and
verbs occurring only in one participial or finite form are entered under the form that actually occurs.
A verbal noun is subsumed under the infinitive when other parts of the same verb are also glossed (eg,
'bayting' under 'bayte') and an adverb is entered under the related adjective when that also finds a place
in the glossary (eg, 'commonly' under 'common').
A word appearing in several noteworthy spellings is entered under the one most often found in the
text. When two noticed spellings are equally or nearly equally common, the one nearer modern usage is
chosen as headword. Other noticed spellings am entered in their alphabetical places and cross-referenced
to the main entry. As a rule only one dtation of each word is given and further occurrences are represented
by 'etc,' except when the reader needs to be alerted that the sense in question applies in particular later
passages or when the same word serves as two different parts of speech.Two dtations given without 'etc'
mean that the form or sense in question occurs only twice.
Where the definition begins by repeating the headword in a different spelling, the latter is normally
the entry spelling in The Oxford English Dictionary and The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary and
further information can be found there. When that form is itself an archaism or ambiguous, a further
brief definition usually follows. Any further citation of an authority or other succinct account of the
glossarian's reasoning appears within square brackets at the end of the entry.
Works Consulted
Black's Law Dictionary. 5th ed (St Paul, 1979). [Black's]
GLOSSARIES 1013
OF
pass
per
perf
phr
pl
po
PP
ppl
pr
Old French
passive voice
person
perfect tense
phrase
plural
possessive
past participle
participial
present tense
prep
prom
prp
refl
sbst
sg
subj
tr
v
preposition
pronoun
present participle
reflexive
substantive
singular
subjunctive
transitive
verb
verbal
LATIN GLOSSARY 1025
lotrix, -icis nfa laundress 174/11; also apparently
s6undas surname Lavender 181/40 [Reaney]
ludibrium, -ii n nt playful or frivolous behaviour,
usually derisive or insulting; here describing
the seasonal misrule engaged in by cathedral
clergy 236/18, etc
ludo, -acre, -si, -sum v tr to play, with various
significances: 1. to play a sport or game, engage
in a pastime, such as a Christmas game 177139,
183119; 2. to play a play 248138; 3. to play
games of chance, gamble 23812, 23814; 4. used
without spedfication, sense unclear (possibly
occurrences of sense I or 2 or the ,L sense of
playing music not otherwise attested here)
415119, etc
ludus, -i n m game, sport, play, pastime, with
various significances: 1. sport, game, or popular
pastime (such as a Christmas game) 177139,
183118, 238113, 238115, 423114; 2. used
pejoratively in canonical sources, possibly
indicating a perceived affinity to andent drama
236114; ludus theatralis stage play 236/16-17,
236133, 238/27, 23912; 3. play on a biblical
theme or subject 241135, 242112, 243118; 4.
used without specification: play, entertainment
8/5, 816, 8/9, 8/11 l, 8/112, 8112, 8/13, 231127
(possibly occurrences of sense 1)
lupulatus, -a, -urn adj made from or flavoured
with hops, hopped; see ceruisia
lusot, -oris n m player in a play, interlude, pastime,
or entertainment, elsewhere used of players
both under patronage and local; the exact sense
here cannot be determined 255132
Lycurgus, -i n m Lycurgus, traditional founder
of the Spartan state, here used as the title of
Plutarch's life of Lycurgus 19214m [OCD]
Maecenas -atis n m Maecenas, Roman paon of
the arts and friend of Augustus Ca-'sar
see epistola
magister, -tri n m 1. one who has authority or
rank, master, also used as a title of respect with
names or titles of office, especially with the
names of those who have earned an o, degree
173136, etc; 2. master, one having authority
over and responsibility for a servant, employee,
or apprentice 145119
major,-ius compar adj greater (in size, dignity, or
worth); see excommunicatio
major, -oris mayor 881135
malum,-i n nt misdeed, evil 174121, etc; malum
de se an intrinsic or natural evil, distinguished
in law from malum prohibitum, an otherwise
neutral deed which becomes an evil when pro-
hibited by law 75011-2 [Black's]
mandatarius, -il n m literally one who is acting
under orders, here specifically, summoner, officer
of the ecclesiastical courts with special respons-
ibility for delivering dtations to appear in court
to accused persons 116/33, etc; litteratus
mandatarius lettered summoner 149/28, etc;
it is unclear why certain summoners are distin-
guished in this way; mandatorius 134123, etc
manerium, -ii n nt manor, teclmically a tract of
land held in chief of the Crown by a lord, here
used for manor house, the place of residence of
such a lord within his manor 175/10
mantdlum, -i n nt cloak, here referring to costum-
ing for play characters 243/32
manus, -us n f 1. literally hand 174/28; figuratively
the labour or craft of one's hands 8/26; 2. by
synecdoche a person; see purgo; 3. in various
/d/ores in manibus + gen in the care (of) 25211,
etc; ad marius + gen (paid) at the hands of
25017; see also duco
manuteneo, -ere, -ui, -rum v tr to maintain, sup-
port 189113
Maria, -e nfthe name Mary 13913; iij Marie the
three Marys, a traditional name for the group
of women who visited Christ's tomb on Easter
morning (cp Matt 28:1-10 and parallels), here
referring to play characters in liturgical drama
243132, etc; see also uigilia
mariscus, -i n m marsh 64819, etc; maryscus
64911, etc
materia, -e nflegal term matter, that which is to
be tried or proved, such as a statement or an
allegation 150/9, etc
matutina, -e sbstfmatins, one of the canonical
hours making up the divine office of clerics;
1058 iNDEX
abbeys see religious houses
Abbot (Abbott), George, archbishop of Canterbury
926; visitation articles of 425, 586-7, 975
- Thomas, churchwarden of Keynsham 910
- Thomas, husbandman 911
Abdick and Bulstone, hundred of 145, 147
Abingdon, Berks 975
Abraham (Abrahame), Adam, cleric 436
- John 201-2
accountants 473
accounts 146, 273,280
cathedral: Wells 239-56, 475,481,495, 499,
503, 562-5, 596, 598,929-31
churchwardens' 453,475, 506; Axbridge 4,
511,618, 867; Banwell 6, 512,641,643-4,
648-75, 981-3; Bath 7-9,457, 477-8, 515-
16,633,868-70, 980; Blagdon 641,644-5,
675-83, 983; Bridgwater 462; Charlton
Musgrove 74-5, 528, 894; Cheddar 645,
684-5; Crewkerne 86, 531; Croscombe 86-
90, 531-2, 642-3, 687-98, 985; Frome 506;
Glastonbury 126, 479, 539, 641,646, 698,
905; Halse 646, 698-9, 985; Keynsham 151-
2, 544-5; Nettlecombe 642, 646-7, 985-6;
Pilton 647, 706; Sherborne, Dorset 969;
Somerton 219-20, 456, 556, 925; Staple-
grove 506; Tintinhull 231,500, 559, 642,
708; Yatton 400-5, 453, 495, 500, 576-7,
599-600, 926-7, 964-5; Yeovi1405-11,
453,481-2, 506, 577-9, 618, 908,965-71
guild: Wells Cordwainers' 375, 377, 450, 471,
480
household: 475,488, 580; Clarke of Bradford on
Tone 414, 580,972: Hippisley ofSton Easton
414-15, 580-1,972; Luttrell of Dunster
Castle 415, 581,972-3; May of Charter-
house on Mendip 415, 581,973; Preston of
Cricket St Thomas 417, 582, 973; Wyndham
of Orchard Wyndham 422, 585
manorial: North Curry reeves' 183-4, 918
monastic: Glastonbury Abbey 128-9, 540,
905-6
royal household 634-6
school: Crewkerne grammar school wardens'
85, 484, 531
accounts (cont)
town and dvic 475; Bath chamberlains' 10-15,
17-22, 27, 457, 460-1,496, 502, 513-15,
598, 869-80; Bath hospital 12, 513,515,
872; Bridgwater collectors for the poor 57-8,
524-5, 598, 890; Bridgwater common
bailiffs' 41-2,478,520-1,598; Bridgwater
town receivers' 51-9,523-4, 598, 885-91;
Bridgwater water bailiffs' 41-53, 521-3, 598,
881-8; Chard town 73, 456, 528,893-4;
Wells civic 257-8,380, 499, 560, 931-2
acolytes, at Wells Cathedral 240-56, 481,929
Actaeon see under plays and pageants
Act of Uniformity 745,978, 986
Acton, William 11,871
Adam, le Henre 182
Adams (Addams) .... 81-3
- Joan, and her daughter 60
- John, jp 434
- Thomas, constable of Trent 232, 927
- William 651
Adams v. Gilbert et al, Star Chamber suit 81-3,
530, 895-6
Adelie, Richard, musidan 100-1
Admiral, Lord see Patrons and Travelling Com-
panies
adultery see cuckoldry
Agesilaus, king of Sparta 191
Agonalia, Roman festival 191
Aileworth, Mr 973
- Roger 415, 973
Aishcott, Aishecott seeAshcott
Aishe, Robert, surrogate judge 101
- Thomas, sidesman of Catcott 893
See a/o Ayshe
Aishe see Rw Ashe Farm
Aishelford, George 155
Alton see Ayton
Alan, John, boggler 648
aldermen see officers (local)
ale see drink and drinking
ale conner, at Huntspill 141
alehousekeepers 5(?), 11, 78, 382, 385, 451,487,
500, 617, 638, 869, 871-2,892
alehouses, inns, and taverns 11, 28, 74, 84, 95,
1060 INDEX
amal cont)
sheep 14, 21, 74, 449-50, 697; lambs 14, 21
swine 195
See also bears and bearwards; birds; bulls and
bullbaiting; horses
Anne of Denmark, queen of James l
- players of 490, 497; see also Patrons and Travel-
ling Companies under Queen
- visits to Bath 21,503-5,619, 634-6, 877-8
- visit to Bristol 504, 583
- visit to Wells 371-9, 470, 472,480, 495, 504,
572,634-5,724, 919,932, 937, 957-9
Annundation see St Mary the Wtrgin, feasts of
Ansford (Almesford) 638-9
Anthony, retainer of Thomas Hughes, trumpeter
298,722
antiquarian sources
Daniel, W.E., 'Churchwardens' Accounts' 126,
539,643,698, 905
Everton, Andrew, transcription of Yeovil church-
wardens' accounts 405-7, 410-11,577-9,
966-71
Hobhouse, Edmund, Church-wardens'Accounts
86-90, 531-2, 642-3, 687-98, 877, 897-8,
985
Nichols, John Gough, Collectanea 405, 577,
579, 965-6
Pearson, C.B., transcription of Bath church-
wardens' accounts 869, 871
Serel, Thomas, transcriptions of Wells records
562
Shickle, Charles, transcriptions of Bath records
504-5,871
apebaiting 200, 920
apes 200, 742,920
Aphrodisia, ancient Greek festival 191
Aplegard, Alice 95
apparitors see under officers (of church courts)
Appowell see Howell and Power
apprentices 133,881
in shows 291,934, 937
to juggler 382-3, 501
to musician 186-8, 502, 881(?)
to players 56, 57(?), 463,889-90
See also Gamin
aprons 62, 124, 292, 494
Arabians 195
arbours see bowers
archbishops see under clergy
archdeacons and archdeaconries 91, 111, 113,
465, 471,902, 920, 954-5,957
archery 103-4, 490, 595
Aristophanes, Greek comic playwright 311, 941
Aristophanes, of Byzantium, Greek scholar 941
Armagh, archbishops of 873
arms, coats of 372, 377, 471,480, 724, 729, 960
arms and armour 189, 214, 224(?), 262, 265,
296, 306-7, 313-15, 320-1,332-6, 340-1,
347, 352,398, 478,492,494, 722, 727, 906,
943-4, 948; brackets and chest for 887
bandoleers 878
bills 120,217, 348, 364, 398,887; halberds
167-8, 170, 189,217, 341-2,348, 887;
partisans 189, 200, 217
bows and arrows 15, 144, 267, 314-15,317,
321,333,335, 364, 372,410-11,482, 493-
4, 713, 723,944; crossbow 144
cannon 267, 352; in a play 421
clubs and cudgels 154
corslets 167-8
daggers 122, 217, 296, 335,347, 494, 721
ensigns (ancients) 62, 157, 167-70, 297, 314-
15, 317, 320, 332,334-5,341-2, 347-8,
477, 722-3, 727, 937, 940, 943-4, 946,951
guns 19, 120, 149, 168-70, 176, 272,347,
364, 433,713, 717, 725,727, 943-4, 949,
956; arquebuses (bombards) 920; calivers
167-8, 189, 200, 295-7, 306-7, 314-15,
317, 320-1,332-5, 341-2,348, 351,722,
920, 938, 946, 951; muskets 167-8, 189,
196, 200, 276, 295-7, 306-7, 335, 341,348,
722,920, 938, 946, 951; pistols 433
knives 84, 904
lances or spears 272, 314-15,317, 340, 717
pikes 74(?), 167, 169,272,314-15, 317, 333,
335,717; morris pike 144,944
shields (targets) 272, 306-7, 717, 721
staffs 62, 120, 144, 337, 377, 398,470, 480,
493-4, 638
swords 19, 171,190, 217, 269,296-7, 340,
1066 INDEX
bookseller and binder 271
Boor(e)ton see Flax Bourton
Boorne, Gilbert, commissary and vicar general 69,
77, 131,158-9,892-3,907
Bord, John, hoggler 655
Borough see Burrowe; W'dliam
Borough Farm 917
Borough Post 917
Bossher see Busher
Bosworth Field, battle of 551
Botwell (Bottwell), Henry 203-4, 921
Boughton (Bolton), Richard, precentor of Wells
Cathedral 185,206,356
Boulting, William 233-4
Bourchier, Cicely, sister of Lord Daubeney 918
- Elizabeth, wife of John, 2nd earl of Bath, sister
of Lord Dinham 186, 882,918
- Fulk, Lord FitzWarin 918
- John, Lord FitzWarin, later 2nd earl of Bath
882, 918; entertainers of 498, 872, 882-4;
see also Patrons and Travelling Companies
under FitzWarin
- John, 3rd earl of Bath, entertainers of 498; seealso
Patrons and Travelling Companies under Bath
- William, 4th earl of Bath see Patrons and Travel-
ling Companies under Bath
Boreman, Andrew 937, 950
- Henry 356-7, 568,937, 947-8,950-1,954
- William, son of Andrew 950
- William, surrogate judge 424
Bourne, Gilbert, bishop of Bath and Wells 472,
892-3
- Gilbert, nephew of Bishop Gilbert 893
- Gilbert, prebendary of Wells Cathedral 893
- Richard, scrivener, alleged target of Wells shows
304-5,725, 934-5, 939,946, 949, 951
Bouse, Richard, hoggler 666
Boussler, Thomas, hoggler 657
Bowden, John, watch keeper 145
Bower, Walter, canon of Wells Cathedral and
surrogate judge 129
bowers 208,326, 384, 471,480, 490, 492-3,
495,720-1,737, 922,945,953,961
bowling see under sports, games, and pastimes
Bowmer. Ralph. hoggler 654
Bowrne see Bourne
bows and arrows see under arms and armour
boy bishops and canons 236.239-56. 452. 481.
488. 564. 594. 905-6. 929-31. 972-3
forbidden 931
Boyce (Boysse). James. bailiff and mayor of Bridg-
water 883.886
- John 105
boys 329. 476. 733.906. 944; blind 890
as acolytes 240-56. 929-30
as actors 12(?). 276-7. 282. 372. 460. 463.
469.479. 488. 722.903.935. 972-3
as dancers 415(?)
as drummers 300-1. 720. 938
as mock preacher 396
as mock soldiers 168-70
as musicians 463.479
as singers 463. 476. 890; as choristers 4. 11.
127-8. 240-56. 337-41. 352. 358.465.
468-9. 479.481. 488. 503. 594. 636. 724.
729-30. 906. 929-30. 947-8. 956
as waits 381. 503
at cockfights 85. 110-11.415(?). 419.484. 974
singing libellous ballads 290. 937. 950. 954
See also apprentices; boy bishops and canons;
children; Gamm; yuths and yung men
Bozie. Thomas 412
bracelets 372. 494
Bradford Abbas (Bradeford). Dorset 405. 483
Bradford on Tone 414. 751-2
Bradley (Bradly). Richard. churchwarden of Yeovil
969
Braine. Thomas 411-12
Branch (Bronch). John 99
- William. churchwarden of Croscombe 86.88.
689. 691. 898
Brasier see IAdeard
Brathead. William 124
brawls 71.84. 111.118.122. 198. 206. 597. 739.
899. 922. 962
Brayte. William 8. 869
bread see under food
breakfasts see under feasts and feasting
Breamore Priory 986
Breddie. Eleanor 223
1104
Mcadc (cont)
365,710-11,725-7, 915,934, 942,953,
955
Mcarc 451
meat see uer food
Medlam see Midlam
Medland, John, wait of Exeter 503
Meere see Mere
Melasso see Myla.sa
Melazo see Miletus
Meikyns. Thomas 69
Mells 162-3, 455, 546
Melt,m, William 179
memoranda 414, 438-9, 580, 590, 977-8
Menander, Greek playwright 194, 919
Mendip Hills 449, 451,464, 616, 945
Mengh ..... summoner(?) 392.962
mercers see under trades and professions
merchant 130
Mere (Meere), family 895
- Henry 82, 896
See also William
Mere (Meere), Wiks 146, 501,541,906
Merest, Thomas, surrogate judge 258,368
Merie, Peter 171-2
Meriet see Merriott
Merifeld see Marvell
Merifylde, Richard, churchwarden of Wells 931
Merriott (Metier, Merrott) 163-4,487, 495, 547,
754, 913
Mersfy/de see Mars/afield
Merston see Marston Magna
Merton College, Oxford 879
metal workers 466
Metamorphoses 958
Methwyn (Methwin), Anthony, the eider, pre-
bendary of Ilton, surrogate judge 3, 20, 30-1,
79,83,95, 118,121,134, 139, 146, 160,
165, 171,177, 201,204-5, 211,230-1,
233,369, 387, 399, 412, 867, 876,924;
parodied 105
- Anthony, the younger, parson ofliton, son of
Anthon the elder 867
- John, vicar of Kewstoke 396. 963
- Paul, cleric 233
Methwya (cont)
- Thomas, vicar of Kewstoke 963
Mew, Harry 688-9, 691-2
Michaelmas see under feasts days and festivals
Micheall, William, constable of Odcombe 200
Middlesex 216
Middlezoy 165,489, 547, 751,754, 913-14
Midlam (Medlam, Mydlam), Robert, bearward
64-8,892
Midleham, Thomas 385
Midsomer Norton (Midsommer Norton) 165-7,
547, 753,914
Midsummer Day see under feast days and
festivals
MiL see Mylasa
Milborne Port (Miiborne Porte) 167-71,450,
474, 477, 483, 492, 547, 895, 914-15, 924
Miletus (Melazo), ancient Greek city 198,920
milk 416
Mill, William, clerk of Star Chamber 529-30,
539, 547-8, 556
Millard (Millerd, Millerde, Millward, Millwarde,
Miiward), John 370
- Richard, musician 387-8,962
- Stephen, Wells town serjeant, actor in Wells
shows 261,274, 309, 311-12, 319-22, 341,
346-9, 360-2, 570, 597, 720-1,723, 935-
8,941-6, 949-53, 959
- Thomas 376
See also under Smith
miller, as play character 416
See also under trades and professions
Mils (Mylles), Tobias, actor 10, 870
Milton (Myiton) ..... son of John 215
- John, alias Forde 212-13, 215-16
Milton Clevedon 171,548
Milverton (Myiverton) 171-2, 455, 548,639,
915
Milverton hundred 171-2
mince pie 917
Minehead (Minhede) 172-3, 415,451,455, 485,
488, 548, 618, 751,754, 878, 923, 977
miners see under trades and professions
Minerva, Roman Temple of 456
mining and quarrying 450-1,461
ll05
INDEX
ministers see under dergy
minstrels and minstrelsy 20, 40-7.71, 118,
120-1, 130-1, 139, 142, 164. 171, 176,
201,205-6, 228, 243. 261,283-5, 299,
301-2, 309, 319-1,326, 335,339, 341,
346, 349,360, 378, 384, 398, 400-4. 406.
411,422, 437-8, 451,454. 476, 482. 484-6,
489-91,495-503, 592, 594, 617-18.749,
876. 881-4. 900,904,907, 909.912-13,
915.944, 947. 953, 964
licensing of 744-7, 909
See also music and musicians
minute books
Bath City Council Minutes 504-5, 513
Bridgwater 479
Chard Corporafon Old Book 73.528. 893-4
Merriott Court and Tithe Book 163-4. 547,
913
Star Chamber 309-13, 363-7, 571,939-42,
954.956
Wells Corporation Act Books 242, 251-2,
257-8. 367, 371-6. 379-81,467, 493.499,
560-1,959
mock musters 167-70, 189-90, 200, 214-15,
217, 262, 265. 267-8. 295-8, 306-7, 313-
15, 317, 320-1,332-7, 347-8, 351,364,
454, 477, 492, 494,594. 712, 721-3. 726-7,
904, 908, 924, 937-8, 943, 946, 948-9,
951-2, 957
Moggs (Mogg), Samuel, churchwarden of Brisling-
ton 60-2
Mohun, family 473
Molton, John, churchwarden of Brent Knoll 984
monasteries see religious houses
money bags see undo" properties
monks and nuns 174, 471,479, 540, 609, 905,
973
abbots 127-8, 173, 451. 460.464. 540, 906
Austin canons 478, 911
priors 502, 609
See also friars; Jesuits; religious houses
Montacute, family 473
Montacute (Mountagu) 231,416, 431,483, 500,
582, 926, 978
Montagu (Muntegxe, Muntygue), Henry, eaxl of
Montagu (cont)
Manchester, keeper of the privy seal 446.
979
- Lord see Browne and Patrons and Travelling
Companies
Montague ..... clerk or attorney of Star Chamber
274
- James, bishop of Bath and Wells 371-3,470,
472. 504.635,926, 952,958; visitation
articles of 424, 587
Montayn, Walter 178
Monteagle (Montegle). Lord see Patrons and
Travelling Companies
Montgoye see Mountjoy
Moon (Moone), Rbert, player 56, 889
Moore, John 114, 166-7
- Robert 112-13
Mooreley see Morley
Moorllnch 173, 549
mop 62
Morck ..... summoner(?) 34
More, John 11,871
- Sir Thomas. lord chancellor, humanist 472
Moredon (Muriden. Muridene), John de 177-82.
916
Morgan (Morgen), Anne 960
- John (1) 960
- John (2), morris dancer 280. 377(?), 960(?)
- Juliana 960
- Mary 960
- Richard, grand juryman 980
- Richard. of Berrow 984
- William see undo'W'dliams
Moris see Morys
Morley (Mooreley, Morlay, Morlie, Morly,
Moryleye), Anthony 20
- Humphrey, bailiff of Bridgwater 885
- Marion 116-17
- Robert 20. 877
Morocco, performing horse 924
Mortice, Morris seeMorys
morris dancers and dancing 129, 134-5, 162,
168, 262, 276, 280-1. 319-20, 322, 324.
330-1. 333-5,341,347-8, 350-1. 354-5.
372. 400. 454. 475-7. 479-80, 484-7, 492,
INDEX 1109
offers (Io,I) (co.t)
hogglers 641-2. 648-75
masters, ofdty of Wells 320, 323-5,328,352,
356-7, 359, 371,375, 383,412, 468-9,
503,721,726, 931,936, 947-8,951,953-4,
957; of town of Bridgwater 56; of town of
Yeovil 412, 482
mayors 14, 21,26, 44-5, 47, 52, 54-6, 59,
264, 270, 280, 309, 320-1,326, 328-30,
337-8,340, 342, 344-5, 347-8.352, 354-
7, 359-60, 364-6,371,375, 379-80, 382-
4, 447, 455-7, 459-60, 462, 466, 468-70,
480, 490, 496-8, 502-4, 513, 572, 596, 610,
617, 619-20, 720, 726, 746, 872,874-5,
877-8,881-8, 930, 935,938-9, 946, 949,
951,953,956-7, 959
portreeves 156, 456, 482, 496, 531
proctors 456
questmen see sidesmen
receivers 367, 371,376, 885-6, 889, 959
recorders 359,366, 379, 383,459-60, 465,
469, 919, 956, 958
reeves 177, 462, 550
rent warden 933
serjeants at mace 380, 459, 469, 482, 721
sidesmen 60, 79, 97, 185, 229,430, 893,955,
976
steward, of guild merchant 462
tithingmen (verderers) 143, 164, 298,300,
638,640, 746, 748-9, 981
wardens of the shambles 369, 375-6, 378
watchmen 257-8(?), 501
water bailiffs 881-3, 886-7
See also under accounts
ocers (of church courts)
apparitors see summoners
chancIIors see vicars general
commissaries 98, 173,230, 391,686, 706,874
proctors 292, 955
registrars 3, 5, 20, 31-3, 63-4, 70-2, 77, 79,
83, 91-2, 95, 98, I01, 105-6, 114, 116,
118-19, 121,125, 129, 131,138-40, 146,
150, 155-9, 161-3, 165-6, 172-3, 175-7,
185, 201-4, 206-I I, 223, 226, 230, 233,
357, 369-70, 373,377, 380, 385, 387, 389-
officer, (of church cots) (cont)
92, 395,397, 399, 412, 424, 601-2, 686,
706, 907, 918, 927
summoners 3, 5, 28, 34, 70, 85, 92, 94, 108-
9, 116, 118, 120, 131-2, 134- 5, 139, 141,
149, 155-7, 163, 165, 171, 175- 6, 201,
207-9, 229-30, 233,357, 386-7, 392, 395,
399-400, 412, 601-2, 895-6, 907, 923,
926; parodied 93-5, 155, 157
surrogate judges (officials) 3, 5, 20, 30-1, 33,
61-3, 70, 79, 83, 95, 101,103, 118-19, 121,
129, 135, 139, 146. 150, 160-1,171-2, 177,
185, 201,203-4, 206-8, 210-12, 223, 225-
6, 230, 233, 258,357, 368-9, 380, 384-7,
390, 395, 399, 412,424, 601-2, 867, 901,
921,924, 961; parodied 92-5, 112, 152
vicars general (officials principal) 27, 32, 40,
63-4.69,71-2,77,85, 91-2, 105, 114, 116.
118, 129, 134. 138, 140. 156-7, 159, 162-3,
165, 175,202,207-9, 226. 235, 251,357.
370, 373,377, 387, 391-2. 397, 601,867,
873-4, 878-9, 892-3, 895,899,901,906-
7, 923, 926, 957-8
officers (royal) 634-6, 885,916
attorney 869; attorney general 469, 583
auditors 596
chamberlain 596; vice-chamberlain 958
chancellor 916
chaplains 916, 961
coroners 460, 869
dean of chapel 470, 504
earl marshal 446, 979
footmen 22
foresters 212
gentleman of the bedchamber 634
gentlemen ushers 11,619,876
groom porter 635
grooms of the chamber 583, 635
grooms of the wardrobe 635
guard 22
herald 194; pursuivants 19, 48, 872
jester 48,885
keeper of the great seal 438-40, 445, 979
keeper of the privy seal 446. 979
keeper of the robes 583, 958
1140 NDF
York, archbishop of 906
- duchess of see Cecily
York, Yorks 875
York, province of 906
Young, t, Mary, mother of William 71
- William, minstrel 71. 893
youths and young men 172, 451
as actors and gatherers 18,478,676-83,
695-6, 876
as dancers 72, 121,162-3,208, 228-9,320,
412,490, 900, 946
as game players 103, 900
youths and young men (cont)
as musicians 502
as show promoters 289
as vagrants 747, 749
in May rites 300, 369
in mock muster 168-9
See a/do apprentices; boys
Yowe, Dorothy 221-2
Zayr see Saytr
Zouche, family 462
RECORDS OF EARLY ENGLISH DRAMA
York edited by Alexandra E Johnston and Margaret Rogerson. 2 volumes. 1979.
Chester edited by Lawrence M. Clopper. 1979.
Coventry edited by R.W. Ingram. 1981.
Newcastle upon Tyne edited by J.J. Anderson. 1982.
Norwich 1540-1642 edited by David Galloway. 1984.
Cumberland/Westmorland/Gloucestershire
edited by Audrey Douglas and Peter Greenfield. 1986.
Devon edited by John Wasson. 1986.
Cambridge edited by Alan H. Nelson. 2 volumes. 1988.
Herefordshire/Worcestershire edited by David N. Klausner. 1990.
Lancashire edited by David George. 1991.
Shropshire edited by J. Alan B. Somerset. 2 volumes. 1994.
Somserset including Bath edited by James Stokes,
with Robert J. Alexander. 2 volumes. 1996.
n
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