Legal cases - other families

Description

Draft petition of -----, reciting a grant from the crown by letters patent to Robert Boucher, and ----- his wife, of the manor of Crulefeld, alias Crufyld, to hold to the said Robert and ----- and their heirs, with reversion, in case of default, to the crown, and alleging that there was appurtenant to this manor a parcel of land called Dawley Hethe, alias Cryfyld Hethe,on which the plaintiff, for the good of the inhabitants of Stonley, has only pastured 200 sheep there according to an agreement made in Edward II's time and has allowed the said inhabitants to pasture there and also in Armyll Hethe, Kingeswood and Stonley Hethe; and alleging that, despite this, there had been controversies for some seven years past concerning common of pasture in other places, viz. in several closes adjoining Dawley Hethe belonging to James Cruse, being part of the farm called Mylbourne which had been aliened by the late King Henry VIII before any such claim of common, and they had also attempted to establish that their neighbours in Fynham had no right to common with the inhabitants of Stonley in Armyll Hethe and had tried to prevent the farmers of the manor of Crulefyld from commoning on Dawley Hethe; also alleging that at a meeting of Mr. George Gyfforde and Mr. Robert Burgyn, the king's officers in these parts, and Sir George Throgmorton, knight, Mr. Roger Wigestone, and Thomas Trye, esqs., justices of the peace, the said George Gyfford and Robert Burgyn exhibited a `certen booke or regester' which did not support the agitators' allegations, and that despite this, when Sir Fulk Grevyll, knight, John Hayles and Thomas Marowe, esqs., and other enclosure commissioners were in these parts, the said inhabitants of Stonley again made their representations but again without effect; and that finally one William Farr of Stonley, tanner and baker, `a very presumptuous arogant and talkatyfe fellowe' had assumed the role of ringleader, and in collusion with Thomas Rowley of the same, yeoman, Richard Nottyngam of the same, miller, Roger Calough of the same, tailor, and William Glasier of the same, smith, had put forward their claim again at the Michaelmas Court of Stonley, which claim had been allowed by the steward, Walter Horton, gent.; for which the plaintiff claims redress for himself and his farmer of the said manor, William Raynsford, knight, in the court of Star Chamber.