Item 4, single membrane (Interrogatories on behalf of John Digges and John Gape)
Interrogatories to be mynistred at the parte and behalf of Iohn Digges and Iohn Gape defendauntes agaynst Edward Bowes Compleynaunt
ffirst doe you knowe Edward Bowes Esquier Iohn Digges Iohn Gape William Glover Iohn napton and morgon Pope or any of them
Item what doe you knowe touchinge the Sealinge & deliverey of one Indenture of Assignement made from Iohn napton vnto Iohn Digges & Iohn Gape beringe date the xxiiijth of march in the xxjth yeare of the Raigne of our soueraigne Lady Elizabeth the Queenes maiestie that nowe is of all his Right interst in & to certeyn Intentures tenementes beare howses & bull howses which nowe is called parys garden & mencioned in the said Indentures & when was the same sealed & deliuered and whether was yt bona fide or no
Item what consideracion was gyven yat you knowe of or what was then or since confessed to be payed by the said Digges & Gape & receved by Iohn napton for the same assignment eyther by cyrcumstaunce or otherwise & was there any corupt Chevysaunce or excessive usury in the matter ye or no
Item yf you knowe the said Edward Bowes whether did you Ever see him in London abroade synce the sute by the said Digges & Gape was Comensed in the kinges bench
Item do you not knowe yat william Glover hath byn employed in the beare garden Commonly called paris garden as a reputed servant vnto Edward Bowes
Item doe you not knowe that Edward Bowes & Rafe Bowes & theire servantes or some of them were privie to an eiecc<.>e firme that Digges & Gape brought agaynst Glover in the myddest of mychelmas terme last & yat they or some of them were aidinge & assistinge of Glouer at the assisys holden in Sowthwarke in the Countie of Surrey where Evidences on both sydes were shewed forth aswell by one mr Sherley beynge a Counsell with Glover (& solycited there by Bowes his servant) as by Gape & Digges & the writinges there on both sides shewed forth for their prooffes
Item whoe hath paied the rent for these three yeres for the beare garden & other the premysses nowe in question betwene Bowes Digges & Gape & what is the rent yerely
Item have you not harde Digges & Gape often saye yat yf mr Bowes had not byn her maiestes servant that they wolde never have delt in lawe fothe tryall of theire Right with any man but hym
Item what is owinge to your knowledge by morgan Pope vnto Iohn napton
Item hath not Pope byn often a suter & procured meanes for a composicion in the cause in question & offred money of his owne accord
Item whereas Mr Rafe Bowes to Conteinne the Cause on his Brothers side hath affirmed in her maiestes Courte of Requestes that at the tryall in Suthwarke agaynst Glover there were noe other witnesses but only Iohn naptons wief & his brother./ was that true or most false & sklanderouse and whoe was there els produced as witnesses that you remember
Item what benyfitt hath mr Bowes or his assignes taken by the same garden synce his first enteraunce and what was the game vidz./ beares bulles apes & Dogges worth to him to your knowledge
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Undated but presumably in the same year before the depositions were taken; see Item 3.
Record title: Court of Requests: Edward Bowes v. John Digges and John
Gape
Repository:
TNA
Shelfmark: REQ 2/177/35
Repository location: Kew
In this case of 1584, Edward Bowes launched a countersuit against John Digges and John Gape in the court of Requests regarding who was the rightful lessee of the Bear Garden on the Barge, Bell and Cock property. Edward Wistowe, after leasing the property from William Payne in 1572–3, had in 1578 assigned it to grocer John Napton. Napton, in serious financial difficulties, in March 1578-9 assigned it to his creditors Digges and Gape, and then in December 1579 to another creditor, the goldsmith Morgan Pope. Pope and Edward Bowes (a brother of Ralph Bowes, then Master of Bears) and William Glover began games there. Digges and Gape then brought suits against Bowes and Glover, possibly initially in the Southwark Assizes and in the King's Bench. From there the case was taken to the court of Requests. It seems the court's decision was in favour of Pope and Bowes, or there was a settlement, as between 1585–90 Pope retained control of the Bear Garden.
See also Letter from Sir Francis Walsingham to the Lords of the Privy Council, and Court of Requests: Order in the case of Bowes v. Digges and Gape.
Not much is known of Digges and Gape. John Digges seems likely to have been the illegitimate son of Edmund Tilney (1536–1610), master of the Revels, 1579–1610. He was a merchant taylor and an employee of the Revels Office from 1579 until 1585, though somewhat dodgy in character; see further William Streitberger, The Masters of the Revels and Elizabeth I's Court Theatre (Oxford, 2016), 148–9.
1584; English and Latin; 8 items;
unnumbered; tied with string at the top left corner:
Item 1: 26
June 1584; paper; 17 leaves, written on one side only; approximately
345mm x 265mm, except for f [14] a torn fragment 272mm x 185mm;
unnumbered; some fraying to edges; no decoration; no endorsement.
Depositions on behalf of Edward Bowes, each leaf signed at the foot by
the deponent in question or on his behalf.
Item 2: undated;
parchment; single membrane, written one side only; 575mm x 575mm; good
condition; no endorsement. Interrogatories on behalf of Edward Bowes.
Item 3: 22 June 1584; paper; 345mm x 255m; 8 leaves; written on
one side only; unnumbered; good condition; no decoration; paper tie in
top left corner. Depositions on behalf of John Digges and John Gape,
each leaf signed by deponent or on his behalf.
Item 4: undated;
parchment; single membrane; 400mm x 285mm; hole (40mm x 50mm) at the
foot but no loss of text; no decoration; no endorsement. Interrogatories
on the behalf of John Digges and John Gape.
Item 5: 20 June 1584;
parchment; single membrane; 128mm x 435mm; good condition; no
decoration; no endorsement. Rejoinder of John Digges and John Gape.
Item 6: 6 May 1584; vellum; single membrane; 330mm x 450mm; good
condition; no decoration; no endorsement. Replication of Edward Bowes.
Item 7: 11 February 1583/4; vellum; single membrane; 340mm x 485mm
(text area: 250mm x 455mm); no decoration; good condition; no
endorsement. Answer of John Digges and John Gape.
Item 8: 30
January 1583/4; parchment; single membrane; 360mm x 600mm; no
decoration; generally good condition, 2 small holes but no loss of text;
endorsed: 'Edwardus Bowes Esq versus Iohannem
Gape et | Iohannem Digges defendentes,' left
hand side: 'xxxo die Ianuarij Anno |
Regni Regine Elizabethe Etc xxvito | fuit Breve de Privato
Sigillo directum parti
defendentis ad | comparendum
Immediate sub pena C li. Etc | Vocetur
per municionem,' followed by signatures,
'Thomas Se<..>on' and the
second illegible. Bill of Complaint.
The National Archives (UK), ref. REQ 2/177/35