ff [1] (21–2 September)
Please yt your honourabill lordship to vnderstand that when by vertu of
a lease to me mad by sir Thomas Wentworth of the parsonage of lyth vnder his Seale redy to be shewyd I entred into the same & therof was
possessed acordyngely. Immedyatly after wiche entre forcebly & riotusly ded enter vj of
sir Raff Evars Evars seruantes the younger who hathe
in the same maner contynuyd euer syns wythe suche Showtyng rowtyng blowyng
of hornes & with pypes as haue neuer beyn seyn./
Auertysing your lordship not
thus content the young lord Evars appercyuyng my coming down in to thes contre I
then beyng at sir Thomas Wentworth howse intending from there to have gon streyt to lyth parsonage to my wif/
And appercyuing also that one Thomas Wright & Iohn Norman her howsolde ‸⸢seruantes⸣ wer sodenly gon to my wif to lyth wyche
Thomas & Iohn tofor had hard ther mestres speke certen wordees
concernyng the kynges magestie feryng the openyng therof to my seyd wif
sent to all the abbot of wyteby tenantes & sent word to one hall bayly of Egton to haue all Mr Salvyn Tennantes redy Ayeynst my comyng down/
And on monday before seynt mathew day last past sent one Iohn Evars her brother in law with the
number of iijx<.>
persons vnlawfully assembled at one of the Clok at myd nyght arrayed
with all maner of wepons for th & entrid the seyd
parsonage my wif & her seruantes beyng in ther nakyd
bedes and then & ther in suche wise revylyd her & her
seruantes callyng them false carles wretches Sowthern Tykes
Swering suche orrible othes yf they wold not come down & avoyd the howse she & all
her seruantes shuld be hewyn & cutt in peces and yf
they wold not come & wer not avoyded with all spede they seyit &
causid ij honest men to assure her they shuld barre <..> with suche barres that no creatur shul come
to her ne she shuld haue neyther mete ne dryng ne other food wythe suche other meneshes
& threttes as neuer was hard ne seyn So that for feare my wif was
& yet ys in suche case that I think she shall hardly escape yt & so contynnyd ther
tyll the next mornyng by the coming of a Iustice of pease by whose comyng she was holpen
& conveyd to one Mr Musgrave seruantes to my lord latymer
& ther caryed tylle thes present seynt mathews day at night she was
came to me pykryng beyng xvj myle from my seyd parsonage and as I haue
lernyd credebly they lye in wayt for the seid Thomas Wright & Iohn Norman throw all thes
guestes
Aduertysing your lordship
furder eftsones as my wif was come to me to pykering
lyth she shewyd me what the seides Thomas & Iohn Norman had told her/
Whervppon incontynently or euer I speke with euery of
them/ I caryed them both to my sir Roger Chamley knight beyng wythin 8
myle of pikryng and one of the kynges Iustices of pease William
Wytheam gentleman & Roberte hunter with other beyng
present at ix of the clok at nyt & ther wer they deposed & examynyd Whose
confession herinclosed I send to your good lordship/ And thes confession
with spede incontynently sir Roger Chalmely sent to mr Weastell
to my lord of Norffok and for furder declaracion of thes gret riot &
vnlawfull assemble to my seyd lord of Norffok that day I am toward newcastell
with spede
f [2]
Homby beseching your
good lordship not only ‸⸢to⸣ provyd suche condynyne ponyshement &
remedy for thes gret riot & shamful demeaning in example of like offendors acordyng to
the Kinges lawes but also to haue the kinges comandment dyrectyd to the
seyd Iohn Evars & to all the rest beyng now within the seyd
parsonage in forceble wise whose names thes berer my seruant
hathe in writyng com'a comandyng them by the same to avoyd the possessyon of the
seyd parsonage & furder to apere <..> fr personally befor your lordship & other of the
Kinges most honorabill cowncell ther to abyd suche order as your lordship
& other shall Iudge
ffor wytheowt your good lordships help herin I am not able to occupy my seyde beneffyse ne yet able to tary in thes Countre ffrom Pikeryng thes Saterday after seynt Mathew day
by your bounden seruant
(signed) Edmond Wryght
f [3]
This ys the confession of Thomas Wright
vppon the sayinges of my lady Eure wif vnto young Raff Eure knyght in her own
Chamber at Skarburgh taken before sir Roger Chamley knyght one
of the kynges Iustyse of pease William Wytheam gentleman
Roberte Hunter & other ther present seynt Mathew day at nyght beyng
ther xxj day of thes present moneth of September
ffyrst the seid lady abowt the Tuysday next befor Bartylmew day last past seyd vnto the seyd Thomas her seruant Thomas Ther ys xx of the best in yorke shire hathe sent me woord that yf my hosbond wer in ony daunger that they wold ryse & fetche hym owt / Orelles to dy therfor
Iohn Norman seyth that the seid Thomas
shewyd hym all the premysses of my lady seynges as they wer lying in ther
bed to gyther and the seyd Iohn seyd to hym ageyn that she ded sey asmoche to hym the day
afor/ Also the seyd lady ded say to her brother in law Iohn Evre That in case her hosbond
wer in ‸⸢any⸣ daunger above yt wold turn to a furder worse
besynes then the dethe of eny man that dyed within york shire as yet
Also the seyd Thomas & Iohn seyn
that Iohn Evre the younger wythe other evyll dysposed persons to the nomber of xxx
persons or mo kepid the seid Thomas & Iohn within a
parsonage chamber within the parsonage of
lyth and they maneshid & threatyd them that yt shuld cost them ther lyves yf they cam
forthe and so they cowd not come forthe tyl they wer delyuered of a Iustise of
pease
c
c
c
c
c
c
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Wryght's letter to Cromwell was written not long after the suppression of the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace, though it is not clear whether Thomas Wryght's confession is connected to that rebellion.
The relationshops between the various members of the Eure family in this document is not entirely clear. 'Ralph' was a traditional name in the family, but those who were not knighted can be eliminated, and Sir Ralph Eure 'the younger' is likely to have been the Sir Ralph who was governor of Scarborough Castle, killed at the battle of Ancrum Moor in 1545. His grandfather Sir Ralph died in 1540, so distinguishing between Sir Ralph the younger and elder would have been necessary (HPO, 'Eure, Sir Ralph (by 1510–45),' accessed 28 December 2020). John Eure is a problem. 'John' was a common name in the family, but only until 1393, and the visitations undertaken later in the century give no John Eure as either the brother-in-law of Edmond Wryght's wife, or of Lady Eure. Wryght was a soldier, not a clergyman, so his occupancy of the parsonage at Lyth would not indicate that he was the vicar rather than a tenant or householder (see Barker, 'The Eure Family,' pp 62–4).
'Roger' was a traditional name in the Cholmeley family and the man cited here is unlikely to be the Sir Roger who became Lord Chief Justice, but rather his nephew.
The parish of Lythe is located about three miles northwest of Whitby. John Neville (1493–1543), third Baron Latimer, served as a member of the Council of the North from 1530 until his death. His primary residence was at Snape Castle in the Vale of York, just south of Bedale. His third wife was Katherine Parr (1512–48), later Henry VIII's sixth wife (Keith Dockray10514, 'Neville, John, third Baron Latimer (1493–1543),' ODNB, accessed 28 December 2020; HPO, 'Neville, Sir John I (1493–1543),' accessed 28 December 2020). Sir Thomas Wentworth (1501–51), first Baron Wentworth, was Edward VI's lord chamberlain (P.R.N. Carter, 'Wentworth, Thomas, first Baron Wentworth (1501–1551),' ODNB, accessed 28 December 2020). 'My lord of Norfolk' would likely be Thomas Howard (1473–1554), eighth duke of Norfolk and fourteenth earl of Surrey (P&P). The abbot of Whitby in 1537 was John Hexham alias Topcliffe, who resigned his position the same year (VCH: Yorkshire, vol 3, pp 101–5, British History Online, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/vol3/pp101-105, accessed 28 December 2020).
Record title: Letter from Edmond
Wryght to Lord Privy Seal, Thomas Cromwell
Repository:
TNA
Shelfmark: SP1/125/733
Repository location: Kew
In February 1543/4 Edmond Wryght, who had distinguished himself as a captain in the Scottish wars, was granted Grosmont priory in Egton parish, which had been surrendered in 1539. Wryght alienated the property to Sir Richard Cholmley of Whitby in 1545/6 and it remained in possession of the Cholmley family and its successors until 1683/4 (VCH: Yorkshire, vol 2, pp 343–8, British History Online, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol2/pp343-348, accessed 9 April 2021).
21–2 September 1537; English; paper; 3 leaves; 290mm x 205mm; unnumbered originally, foliated now as 12–14; bound in red leather volume, 'SP | 1 [on paper label] | LETTERS | AND | PAPERS | HENRY VIII | 125 | XII pt 2 | 722–960' on spine, addressed on f [1v]: 'To the right honorabyll & my singular good lord & agenst my lordes privye Seale delyver this.'