shannonmcsheffrey

Thomas Philpott c. Margaret Frowyke

Another case of a man doggedly pursuing a woman, hoping to persuade her to marry him. The responses of Margaret Frowyke give us more details than other similar examinations: the man suing her was named as Thomas Philpott, and the two likely lived in Barnet, Essex. Frowyke, like others, accepted gifts from him and inContinue reading “Thomas Philpott c. Margaret Frowyke“

William Pepard c. Alice Mayte

This is an unusual defamation case: a mother, Alice Mayt, publicly accused a man, William Pepard, of having murdered her son, a child. The witnesses give some interesting details about precisely where each was standing when the words were spoken, at a corner by the church in the parish of St. Lawrence Jewry, the variousContinue reading “William Pepard c. Alice Mayte”

Sir Thomas Wiseman c. Sir David Kingesbury

This case is a tithe dispute between two clerics, one a chaplain sent from an Augustinian priory in Suffolk to a chapel dedicated to St Laurence at Wormley, Hertfordshire, and the other the parish priest of the local parish of Cheshunt. The chaplain collected a sizeable sum offered by those who came to the chapelContinue reading “Sir Thomas Wiseman c. Sir David Kingesbury“

Sir John Manyngham c. Edmund Caryngton

John Manyngham, a priest, sued Edmund Caryngton after Caryngton failed (or so Manyngham alleged) to repay 20 shillings the priest had given him as a loan. As a debtor took an oath to repay the creditor, this kind of case could come into the church court as a breach of faith. Manyngham produced four witnessesContinue reading “Sir John Manyngham c. Edmund Caryngton”

Agnes Crowcher c. John Trewington or Trewerton

Agnes Crowcher sued John Trewington in 1492 to enforce a contract of marriage she claimed they had made. In responding to her suit, Trewington denied they had made any such contract. We can infer from his answers that she had made a claim that either he gave her, or she gave him, a coin asContinue reading “Agnes Crowcher c. John Trewington or Trewerton”

Prior and Convent of Hertford c. John English and John Burton

The Prior and Convent of Hertford sued John Burton and John English in 1493 to force payment of tithes from their holdings in Amwell Bury Wood. This action ignited a sprawling case from which twenty-six depositions survive, with at least two more implied but evidently lost. The controversy only makes sense after considering the complexitiesContinue reading “Prior and Convent of Hertford c. John English and John Burton”

Agnes Symson alias Baker c. John Baker

Only part of this testamentary case survives, leaving the precise matter at issue (and indeed even the question of who was plaintiff and who was defendant) unclear. Luckily, the will in question survives (TNA, PROB 11/8/388) and it throws light on what the dispute might have been. John Baker Sr.’s testament was written on 13Continue reading “Agnes Symson alias Baker c. John Baker”

Joan Hancok c. Master Henry Aprece

This is a tale of two Joan Hancoks, sisters-in-law, who appear to have been mistaken for one another several times. The testimony is not entirely clear, but the situation seems to have gone like this: Joan Hancok the elder, who was married to Christopher Hancok, was summoned at least three times before one of theContinue reading “Joan Hancok c. Master Henry Aprece”

Marion Filders c. John Arnold

This may be an example of a stalled marriage process: according to the three witnesses, more than two years before, Marion Filders and John Arnold had contracted marriage in the house of John and Elizabeth Hayward in Stratford Langthorne, Essex. The only hint as to what had gone wrong afterwards is in the third witness’sContinue reading “Marion Filders c. John Arnold“