single membrane (25 June)
Iacobus dei gracia Anglie Scotie ffrancie & hibernie Rex fidei defensor etc. Dilectis nobis Roberto Bromfeild armigero Iohn Hunt armigero Lionello Tichborne generoso & Willelmo Day generoso salutem. Cum lites & discordie nuper orte habite & mote fuerunt in Curia nostra coram Thesaurario Cancellario & Baronibus de Scaccario nostro apud Westmonasterium inter attornatorem nostrum generalem pro nobis querentem & Willelmum henslowe & Iacobum meade defendentes de vno Capitali mesuagio & tenemento sive hospicio nuper vocato le Unicorne cum pertinencijs ac omnibus illis messuagijs Cottagijs Curtillagijs Wharfis gardinis pomarijs & ab hereditamentis nostris cum pertinencijs quondam in tenuris sive occupacionibus Iohannis Allen Roberti Mote Roberti Iohnson leonardi Willis Iohannis Dancy Thome Warren Thome ffloody Roberti Exninge Petri hemminge sive alicuius vel aliquorum assignatorum suorum sive eorum alicuius scituatis iacentibus & existentibus in parochia sancti salvatoris in Burgo de Southwark in Comitate nostro Surrie nuper de terris & tenementes henrici Polsted armigeri & per ipsum henricum Polsted cum Edwardo nuper Rege Anglie Sexto in vel circa annum regni sui sextum excambiatis Et postea per eundem nuper Regem Edwardum Anglie Sextum per litteras suas patentes de dimissione gerentes datas xxvjto die Aprilis dicto anno regni sui sexto prefato Henrico Polstead pro termino xximo annorum sub Annuali reddit xxxij li. iiij s. v d. concessis posteaque per nuper dominam Reginam Elizabetham per litteras suas patentes magno sigillo suo Anglie sigillatas gerentes datas apud Westmonasterium vndecimo die Octobris anno regni sui xxxvijo quibusdam Roberto Livesey armigero & Gerardo Gore (exceptis vno tenemento & parcella terre modo vel nuper vocata the Queenes Pike Garden parcella inde eidem nuper Regine reservata) pro termino quinquaginta annorum adtunc Futurorum sub annuali reddito xxvij li. xiiij s. x d. Concessis Et quia nondum satis apparet dicte Curie nostre vbi & in quo loco sive quibus locis terre & tenementa nostra predicta iacent & existunt. Sciatis igitur quod nos de fidelitate, industria & providentibus circumspecionibus vestris in negotijs nostris agendis plurimum confidentes assignavimus vos ac vobis quatuor tribus & duobus vestrum plenam potestatem & auctoritatem damus & committimus per presentes tam per visum et perambulacionem vestrum aut trium sive duorum vestrum quam per examinaciones et deposiciones testium quorumcumque fidedignorum ac omnibus alijs vijs, medijs et modis quibus melius sciveritis aut poteritis aut tres sive duo vestrum sciverint aut poterint inquirendum vbi & in quo loco sive in quibus locis predicta terra & tenementa nostra iacent & existunt & eadem separabiles per metas & bundas ab alijs terris tam prefatorum defendentium quam aliorum quorumcumque eisdem contigue adiacentibus dividendis & bundandis vt perfecta cognitio eorundem & cuiuslibet eorundem parcellarum posthac habeatur Ac etiam ad testes quoscumque de & super quibuscumque articulis siue Interrogatorijs premissa tangentibus tam ex parte nostra quam ex parte prefatorum defendantium vobis quatuor aut tribus siue duobus vestrum exhibendis siue deliberandis diligenter examinandum Et ideo vobis mandamus quod ad huismodi diem & locum siue dies & loca quos vel que ad hoc provideritis aut tres siue duo vestrum providerint circa premissa diligenter intendatis aut tres siue duo vestrum intendant Eaque omnia & singula faciatis & exequamini aut tres siue duo vestrum faciant & exequantur cum effectu in forma predicta Ita quod tam examinaciones & deposiciones testium predictorum quam totum residium factum vestrum aut duorum siue plurium vestrum in premissis habeatis aut duo siue plures vestrum habeant coram Baronibus de Scaccario nostro apud Westmonasterium quam citius poteritis & tandem a die sancti Michaelis in xv dies sub sigillis vestris aut trium siue duorum unacum hac Commissione nostra libandas. Damus etiam, vobis aut tribus siue duobus vestrum plenam potentatem & auctoritatem per presentes quascumque personas quas maxime idoneas pro testificacione veritatis in premissis videritis coram vobis aut tribus siue duobus vestrum evocandum ac de & in premissis super sacramenta sua tactis per eos prius coram vobis aut duobus siue plurijs vestrum sacrosanctis dei evangelis corporaliter prestanda diligenter examinandum ne hoc prius mandatum nostrum remaneat vlterius exequendum Damus insuper omnibus & singulis maioribus vicomitibus Ballijs Constabularijs & alijs officarijs ministris & subditis nostris quibuscumque tenore presentium firmiter in mandato quod vobis & cuilibet vestrum in execucione premissorum pareant obedient & intendant provt decet periculo incumbenti Proviso semper quod predicti defendentes habeant premonicionem per spacium quattuordecim dierum de die & loco executicionis presentium In cuius rei testimonium has litteras nostras fieri fecimus patentes Teste laurencio tanfeild milite apud Westmonasterium xxvo die Iunij anno regni nostri Anglie ffrancie & hibernie xvjo & Scotie ljo per Rotulum memorandum de eodem anno Regis huius Ciuitatis Comissionum & litterarum patentium Rotulum Ac per ordinacionem Curie &c Et per Barones
(signed) Hatton
single membrane (25 June)
James, by the grace of God, king of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, etc, (sends) greetings to our beloved Robert Bromfield esquire, John Hunt esquire, Lionel Tichborne gentleman, and William Day gentleman. Since disputes and disagreements lately arisen have been held and raised in our court before the treasurer, chancellor, and barons of our exchequer at Westminster between our attorney general, plaintiff on our behalf, and William Henslowe and Jacob Meade, defendents, regarding one principal messuage and tenement, or inn, lately called the Unicorn, with appurtenances, and all those messuages, cottages, curtilages, wharfs, gardens, orchards, and, by our inheritances, with the appurtenances formerly in the tenure or possession of John Allen, Robert Mote, Robert Johnson, Leonard Willis, John Dancy, Thomas Warren, Thomas Floody, Robert Exninge, Peter Hemminge, or of any one or any of their assigns, or any one of them, situated, lying, or existing in the parish of St Saviour's in the borough of Southwark in our county of Surrey lately of the lands and tenements of Henry Polsted, esquire, and exchanged by that very Henry Polsted with Edward VI, formerly king of England, in or around the sixth year of his reign, and afterwards by the same late Edward VI, king of England by his letters patent regarding the demise bearing the date 26 April in said sixth year of his reign granted to the aforesaid Henry Polsted for a term of twenty-one years with an annual rent of £32 4s 5d and afterwards by the late lady queen, Elizabeth, by her letters patent sealed with her great seal of England at Westminster bearing the date of 11 October in the thirty-seventh year of her reign granted to a certain Robert Livesey esquire and a certain Gerard Gore – with the exception of a tenement and parcel of land now or lately called 'the Queen's pike garden,' a parcel thereafter reserved to the same late queen - for a term of fifty years, at that time to come, for an annual rent of £27 14s 10d. With these things having been granted and because it is not yet apparent to our said court where and in which place or in which places our aforesaid lands and tenements lie and exist, you should know for that reason that we, trusting greatly in your faith, industry, and provident circumspection in the conduct of our business, assign you and give to you, to four, three, and two of you full power and authority, and we entrust you, four or three or two of you, by the presents, both by your viewing and perambulation of either three of you or two of you and by the examinations and depositions of any trustworthy witnesses and by all other ways, means, and measures by which you might better know or be able, or three or two of you might know or be able, to inquire where and in what place or in what places the aforesaid land and our tenements lie and exist and (where) the same (are) separable by limits and boundaries from other lands both of the aforesaid defendants and from any others lying contiguous to the same which are to be divided and bounded so that perfect knowledge of the same and of each of the same parcels may be known thereafter, and also diligently to examine any witnesses regarding and concerning any of the articles or interrogatories to be exhibited or weighed touching the premises both on our behalf and on the part of the aforesaid defendants. And therefore we command you that, on a day and at a place of this kind, or on days and at places, which you will have arranged or three or two of you will have arranged for this purpose, you attend to the premisses or three or two of you attend, and that you do and execute, or that three or two of you do and execute, all and each of those things with the effect in the aforesaid form so that you have, or two or more of you have, both the examinations and depositions of the aforesaid witnesses as well as all the rest done by you or by two or more of you to be delivered before the barons of our Exchequer at Westminster as quickly as you are able, and at the latest within fifteen days after the day of St Michael under you seals, or (the seals) of three or of two of you, together with this our commission. We also give to you, or to three or two of you, full power and authority by the presents to call before you, or three or two of you, any persons whom you see to be especially suitable for attestation of the truth in the premises and diligently to examine (them) on their oaths which are to be taken, the holy gospels of God having first been touched corporally by them before you, or two or more of you, on and regarding the premises. Lest this our earlier command should remain further to be executed, we grant, moreover, to all and singular our mayors, sheriffs, bailiffs, constables, and other officers, ministers and underlings, whomever they may be, by the tenor of the presents firmly in command that to you and to each one of you in the execution of the premises should obey, comply with, and heed just as is proper at the peril of the incumbent, with the proviso always that the aforesaid defendants should have forewarning of a length of forty days regarding the day and place of the execution of the presents. In witness of which matter, we have made these our letters to be patent with Lawrence Tanfield, knight, as witness at Westminster on 25 June in the twenty-sixth year of our reign of England, France, and Ireland, the fifty-first of Scotland by the memorandum roll concerning the same year (of the reign) of this king, of the commissions of the city, and by the roll of letters patent. And by order of the court, etc. And by the barons.
(signed) Hatton
For Bromfield see the endnote to Philip Henslowe's will; see Will of Philip Henslowe, 1615/16. Lionel Tichbourne was a scrivener frequently used by Alleyn for a variety of purposes; see Young, Dulwich College, vol 2, p 466. Tichborne also appears as a witness on behalf of the Crown on 29 January 1620/1; see Exchequer Depositions on behalf of the Attorney General v. Bishop of Winchester, William Henslowe, and Jacob Meade, 1620–21.
Record title: Letters Patent regarding the Dispute between the Attorney
General and William Henslowe and Jacob Meade
Repository: Dulwich College
Shelfmark: Mun 174
Repository location: Dulwich
These letters patent from James I to Robert Bromfield, John Hunt, Lionel Tichborne and William Day ask them to determine the boundaries of the Unicorn and other messuages on Bankside conveyed to Henry Polsted in 1552 (TNA: LR 1/89, ff 35–6) and leased to Livesey and Gore by Elizabeth I in 1595 (TNA: LR 1/100, f 261). The letters patent are a result of the case brought by the attorney general and related by Edward Alleyn, claiming the right to rents of parts of the Bear Garden; see Appendix 4: V.
25 June 1618; Latin; parchment; single membrane, written 1 side only; 510mm x 290mm; a few enlarged black words or phrases; excellent condition; indented, no seal (on dorse where seal would have been is written 'Dabb'), no endorsements.