This is one of those Consistory suits that is not really adversarial: both plaintiff Thomas Laurence and defendant Agnes Jaco alias Sawier appear to have wanted to be married to one another. There may in fact have been another plaintiff only obliquely indicated in these depositions, John Weston, and it was certainly his objections toContinue reading “Thomas Laurence c. Agnes Jaco alias Sawier”
Author Archives: shannonmcsheffrey
William Gilbert c. Ellen Harrison
This set of depositions all appear to point to the same set of facts, with some minor differences of memory as to what day the transactions took place: William Gilbert and Ellen Harrison exchanged vows of consent to marry before several men and (according to hearsay, at least) also on other occasions. The later stepsContinue reading “William Gilbert c. Ellen Harrison”
Agnes Eston c. John Crosby
In 1494, a young servant woman, Agnes Eston, sued John Crosby. The two had been spending time alone in her chamber, with her employers encouraging the relationship and turning a blind eye to the impropriety. Eston alleged that the two had exchanged binding vows of marriage, but Crosby denied it – occasioning this lawsuit. WitnessesContinue reading “Agnes Eston c. John Crosby”
Unknown c. William Eve and William Hayward Jr.
These depositions are not especially informative about the substance of this lawsuit (or possibly disciplinary proceedings?) about a will – even the name of the party bringing it forward is unclear. William Hayward Sr. died in August 1493; as other evidence indicates, he lived in Chelmsford, Essex. Both he and his son appear in ChelmsfordContinue reading “Unknown c. William Eve and William Hayward Jr.”
Office c. Master John Asshwell
Master John Asshwell – tangentially involved in two other Consistory cases over previous months in 1494, Laurence c Jaco and Unknown c Eve and Hayward – was the curate of Chelmsford parish church; this meant that he had “cure of souls” for his parishioners, that is acted as their parish priest, though he was notContinue reading “Office c. Master John Asshwell”
Elizabeth Kirkhouse c. Richard Haymond and Emma Cowper
In this lawsuit, the deponents, including defendant Richard Haymond himself, all tell different parts of the same story, that Richard was already married to Elizabeth Kirkhouse when a year later he bigamously married Emma Cowper. The point of the lawsuit was clearly to annul Haymond’s marriage to Cowper so that he could resume his spousalContinue reading “Elizabeth Kirkhouse c. Richard Haymond and Emma Cowper”
James Ely c. Sir William Kirkham
In this defamation case, a quarrel between a parish priest and one of his parishioners appears to have become heated. James Ely, the parishioner, sued the priest Sir[1] William Kirkham for publicly insulting him multiple times, including from the pulpit during Sunday mass. According to testimony from Ely’s witnesses, there were different versions of theirContinue reading “James Ely c. Sir William Kirkham”
Margaret Shewyn alias Howsyn c. Adam Bagby
This is a case of disputed inheritance, the suit revolving around whether legacies made by oral bequest were to be honoured even when not specified in the testament. Margaret Shewyn’s witnesses testified that Elizabeth Smyth had several times orally bequeathed to her a bed, a blue gown, and a blue girdle or belt decorated withContinue reading “Margaret Shewyn alias Howsyn c. Adam Bagby“
Agnes Moyne and Margaret Broke c Christopher Kechyn
Christopher Kechyn, a carpenter of mature years, was busy in 1496, contracting marriage with at least three young women. This brought him in early 1497 before both the Consistory – where two of those women, Agnes Moyne and Margaret Broke, sued him to enforce the contracts they claim to have made with him – andContinue reading “Agnes Moyne and Margaret Broke c Christopher Kechyn”
Christopher Bradley c Margaret Bradley
In May 2024, I found in the London Consistory records this highly unusual case of an apparent intersex person. She[1] was Margaret Bradley of Edmonton and Hackney, Middlesex, whose husband Christopher sued her in 1522 to annul their marriage. Six women, three midwives and three apparent neighbours of Christopher in Hackney, testified in significant anatomicalContinue reading “Christopher Bradley c Margaret Bradley”
Consistory 