Court Order against William Johnson

f [1] (1 April)

...

Whereas william Iohnson of great fenton in the County aforesaid att the generall Sessions of the peace holden the daie yeare & place abouesaid before the Iustices there confesseth that he in the night tyme came from Iohn Brownes howse of fenton aforesaid to a Maye powle standing by the house of the said Browne, and there seeing a paper fyxed vpon the said powle tooke it & deliuered it to Iohn Hodgskinson, And that one william diche there being reade ytt, And therevpon he & thesaid Iohnson went to the said Maye powle And there the said Iohnson stowping downe the said William diche standing vpon his shollders did sett the same paper or writing vpon the Maye powle higher then it was before, that it might not bee pulled downe, And further he confesseth that the writing or paper sett vpon the said Maye powle being shewed to him was the same writing or paper that he and the said diche sett vppon the same Maie powle. which conteynethe verie fowle & filthie matter concerning dyuerse of his honest neighburs therein habiting, in the nature of a lybell. Nowe forasmuche as the saide diche is not to be fownde, and therefore the Courte ymputeth the greater fault in the said Iohnson for that he hathe not brought in the saide diche whome he accuseth as aforesaide; yt is therefore ordered that the said William Iohnson shall before the feast daie of the Natyvytie of Saint Phillipp & Iacobb called maie daie nowe next ensuyng vpon some festivall daie betwene the howers of one & Sixe of the clocke in the afternoone of the same ‸⸢festivall⸣ daie att the towne of Bucknall remayne twoe howers to gethers in the stockes in some publike place In which tyme this order shalbee openly reade in the same place where he shalbee soe punished vnto the contentes wherof the said Iohnson shall acknowledge his saide offence and then to bee dischardged And that the Constable of Bucknall aforesaid shall certifie att the next Quarter Sessions ‸⸢the performance of ⸣ the contentes of this order as he will aunswere the contrarie att his perill./

By the Court/

°your woorships Commandement was executed and performed the xxviijth daie of Aprill beinge the Saboath daie before manie sufficient witnesses./°

Exemplificatum per Willelmum Iremonger Clericum Pacis Comitatus predicti