| Abstract | East Mersea Book: ELIZABETH (letter) Essex Record Office D/DRc M12
Transcribed by: Trevor Hearn 14th October 2020
There is a Translation to Modern English further down the page
| 1 | | At the Fyrst Cou[er]t of o[ur] Sov[er]aign Ladye Quene |
| 2 | | Elizabeth: e[t]c / in the Fyrst year of hir Raigne, It is |
| 3 | Eliz[abethae] prim[0] | InRoulled / |
| | |
| 4 | | M[emoran]d[um] in the year above sayd & at this Cou[er]te Came John |
| 5 | | Abell gen[t] and bringeth the Letters of o[ur] Sov[er]aign Lady |
| 6 | | the quen upon hir previe Seall or Signett, To hir |
| 7 | | Stiward & Surveyo[ur] of hir mann[er] of Eastm[er]sey & to eyther |
| 8 | | of them derected The tenou[er] wherof Followeth in thes words |
| 9 | | Trustey & welbeloved we greet you well. Lettinge you to understand |
| 10 | | we ar contented & well pleased That o[ur] well beloved John Abell |
| 11 | | shall have <..> <...> <.> of us to him & to his heyers for A resonable |
| 12 | | Fyne, Acordinge to the costom of the mann[er] of Eastm[er]sey, in the Countye |
| 13 | | of essex / One pece of Custom[er]ie Land by estemacion xv acres called |
| 14 | | Stone Lande, and Fower acres of Salt m[er]she in Eastm[er]sey aforsayd |
| 15 | | beinge \Late/ p[ar]cell of the possecions of Thomas Abell Clarke, attaynted of |
| 16 | Fynn v.li | highe treason: yeldinge & payinge therfore to us & o[ur] Successors |
| 17 | | yearlye Eighte shilling[es] & eight pence beinge the accostomed Rente |
| 18 | | And doinge all other services as A Costom[er]ie tenant of that one |
| 19 | | mann[er] oughte to doe, Requiringe & chardginge you therfor, To mak[e] |
| 20 | | A good & sufficient Copye of the sayd costom[er]ie Lande unto the sayd John |
| 21 | | Abell & \to/ his heyers, in sutch mann[er] & sorte as you accostomablye use to |
| 22 | | make to the costom[er]ie tenants of the same o[ur] Lordshipp, to the Intent |
| 23 | | the sayd John Abell may Inioyee the same Accordinge to o[ur] graunte as apper[eth?] |
| 24 | | And this o[ur] Letter shalbe yo[ur] sufficient warrant & discharge in that behal[f] |
| 25 | | yeven under o[ur] Signett at o[ur] pallayc of westm[inster?] the xv day of may in the |
| 26 | | Fyrst year of o[ur] Raign / By vertue wherof Tho: wallenger dep[uty?] <..> unto |
| 27 | | Anthony Broune one of the Justices of o[ur] Sov[er]ain Lady the quene of hir Ben[ch] |
| 28 | | principall Steward of hir hignes mann[er]s aforsayd, doth graunte out of the |
| 29 | | hands of o[ur] sayd sov[er]aign Lady the quene all & singuler the p[re]misses \w[it]h the Appurt[ena]nces/ above expre[ssed] |
| 30 | | & specifyed. To the aforsayd John Abell his heyers & assignes forev[er], of o[ur] sov[er]a[ign] |
| 31 | | Lady the quene & hir successors, by the rod [ Note 1 ] at the wyll of o[ur] sayd sov[er]aigne |
| 32 | | Ladye the quene acordinge to the Costom of the mann[er] afforsayd by the Rente of |
| 33 | | Eighte shillings & eight pence by year & services therof due & of right Acost[omed?] |
| 34 | | for ever And doth gyve o[ur] sayd sov[er]aign Ladye the quen[e] for hir Fynne as apper[eth?] |
| 35 | | and dothe his Fealtye etc. / |
| 36 | | And at the same Cou[er]t & in open[n] Cou[er]te acordinge to the costom of the mann[er], the aforsayd John |
| 37 | Fynn: | Abell Surrendred all & singuler [ Note 2 ] the p[re]mises into the hand[es] of o[ur] sov[er]aign Lady the Quene |
| 38 | xxxs | by the hands of the Steward: unto the use of myche[al] mydelton his heyers and |
| 39 | | Assignes for ever / etc / ut patett [ Note 3 ] |
Note 1 The property was officially handed over to the new tenant 'by the rod'. This was a public ceremony in which the steward of the manor gave the tenant a rod as a symbol of the transfer. Many tenants did not appear in court in person, but were represented by an attorney.
Note 2 all and singular means "every one of" or "all"
Note 3 Ut patet means "as it appears"
Translation to Modern English by Trevor Hearn 14 October 2020
| 1 | | At the first court of our sovereign lady Queen |
| 2 | | Elizabeth, etc., in the first year of her reign. It is |
| 3 | Elizabeth I [ Note 1 ] | enrolled [ Note 2 ] : |
| | |
| 4 | | Memorandum: in the year above written and at this court came John |
| 5 | | Abell, gentleman, and brought the letters of our sovereign lady |
| 6 | | the Queen under her privy seal or signet [ Note 3 ]. The following |
| 7 | | words are directed to the steward and surveyor of her manor of East Mersea, |
| 8 | | or to either of them as appropriate: |
| | |
| 9 | | Trusty and well loved, we greet you well. We let you know that |
| 10 | | we are contented and well pleased that our well loved John Abell |
| 11 | | shall have from us to him and to his heirs for a reasonable |
| 12 | | fine [ Note 4 ] according to the custom [ Note 5 ] of the manor of East Mersea in the county |
| 13 | | of Essex, one piece of customary land, by estimation 15 acres called |
| 14 | | Stone Land, and four acres of salt marsh in East Mersea aforesaid, |
| 15 | | being recently a part of the possessions of Thomas Abell, priest, attainted of |
| 16 | Fine: £5 | high treason. This land yields and pays to us and our successors |
| 17 | | yearly eight shillings and eight pence, being the accustomed rent, |
| 18 | | and doing all other services as a customary tenant of that |
| 19 | | manor ought to do. We therefore require and charge you to make |
| 20 | | a good and sufficient copy of the said customary land for the said John |
| 21 | | Abell and to his heirs in a similar way to that normally provided for |
| 22 | | the customary tenants of our Lordship, with the intention that |
| 23 | | the said John Abell may enjoy the same according to our grant as it appears. |
| 24 | | This letter shall be your sufficient warrant and discharge in that regard. |
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| 25 | | Given under our seal at our Palace of Westminster the 15th day of May in the |
| 26 | | first year of our reign. By virtue whereof Thomas Wallenger, deputy to |
| 27 | | Anthony Brown, one of the Justices of the Queen's Bench, |
| 28 | | principle steward of her highness's manors aforesaid, grants out of the |
| 29 | | hands of the Queen, all the premises with the appurtenances [ Note 6 ] above mentioned |
| 30 | | and specified to the aforesaid John Abell, his heirs and assigns forever. |
| 31 | | At the behest of our sovereign lady, the Queen, and her successors, transfer is made by the rod [ Note 7 ] |
| 32 | | according to the custom of the manor aforesaid; and by the payment of the rent of |
| 33 | | eight shillings and eight pence annually together with all usual services due to the lord |
| 34 | | for ever; and gives to the Queen, the amount above stated, |
| 35 | | and does fealty Note 8 ] etc. |
| | |
| 36 | | And at the same court and in open court according to the custom of the manor, the aforesaid John |
| 37 | Fine | Abell surrendered all premises into the hands of our sovereign lady, the Queen, |
| 38 | 30s | through her steward, for the use of Michael Middleton, his heirs and |
| 39 | | assigns for ever, etc. As it appears. |
Note 1 Elizabeth I means in the first year of the reign of Elizabeth the first, i.e. 1558
Note 2 "enrolled" means to write an agreement, deed, obligation etc. upon a roll or parchment
Note 3 A small seal used for formal or official purposes either instead of, or in addition to, a signature to give authentication or authority to a document
Note 4 A "fine" is a sum of money payable on admission to a holding (so called because it was "final" i.e. it only had to be paid once by that person); it was payable by every copyholder on his being admitted through inheritance or purchase. In nearly all manors the amount was at the discretion of the lord of the manor, or his steward. (Source: The Local Historian's Glossary of Words and Terms by Joy Bristow)
Note 5 "Custom" means the body of manorial laws detailing conditions of tenure and the services to be rendered by tenants to the lord of thre manor.
Note 6 Appurtenances are other items belonging to a property such as yards, gardens, rights etc.
Note 7 The property was officially handed over to the new tenant 'by the rod'. This was a public ceremony in which the steward of the manor gave the tenant a rod as a symbol of the transfer. Many tenants did not appear in court in person, but were represented by an attorney.
Note 8 Fealty is the obligation of fidelity on the part of a feudal tenant or vassal to his lord
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