Appendix 3 - View of Frankpledge with Court Baron of William Gostwicke Esquire, held there on the twenty third day of October in the Forty first Year of the reign of the our lady Elizabeth, by the grace of god, Queen of England, France and Ireland, defender of the faith etc [1599]

Summary

The following court roll is divided into two sections, the view of frankpledge and the court baron. It was written by the Gostwicke's steward, William Butler, in Latin and English. As the seventeenth century progressed, English was used throughout the court rolls with only the heading and the concluding sentences being written in Latin.

At the end of the sixteenth century the few surviving court rolls show increasing concern about the use of the commons in Willington. By 1599 the roll contained a list of twelve orders; evidence that the lord and his steward wished the medieval rules for the use of the open fields and common lands to continue to be observed. It also contains a list of about thirty tenants with the amounts of common fine that they each paid.

This view of frankpledge was written in Latin, although some English words were used, and there is very little punctuation. It has been translated into modern English with punctuation marks added to make it easier to read, using upper and lower case letters as in the original.

The orders, which form the bulk of the record of the court baron, were written in English and have been transcribed using the original spellings and upper and lower case letters. Latin numerals have been replaced throughout by Arabic numerals. Where details of saints’ days have been given in the footnotes, they are taken from C. R. Cheney's A Handbook of Dates.

View of Frankpledge with Court Baron of William Gostwicke Esquire, held there on the twenty-third day of October in the forty-first Year of the reign of the our lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God, Queen of England, France and Ireland, defender of the faith.

The first Court of William Butler, gentleman, Steward there

Essoins

None on this day

Sworn now for the lady Queen, from the Homage, by the Sworn Men

William Yarwaye William Sylbey Thomas Shadbolt

William Ball Thomas Gayton Robert Dey

John Hilles William Osmond Richard Rozell

Thomas Cleyton George Fadlett Peter Inyce

William Mason Thomas Rozell John Rogam

They present common fines for head silver and land silver 8s. 11d.