Star Chamber Case: Cholmley v. Hoby

Item 2, single membrane (Bill of indictment)

To the Kinges most excellent Maiestie

In all humblenes sheweth and informeth vnto your most excellent Maiestie Sir Henry Hobart Knight your highnes Attorney generall That wheras by vertue of the seuerall Comissions of the late Queene Elizabeth and of your Maiestie Sir Thomas Posthumus Hoby Knight hath by the space of twelue yeares now last paste together bene and yet is a Iustice of peace and one of the Quorum of the sayd Comission within the Easte and North Riddinges of your highnes Countye of york And likewise by all the time aforesayd hath bene and yett is a Commissioner of Oyer and Terminer and one of the quorum of the sayd Commission within your highnes sayd Countye of yorke And wheras it hath gratiously pleased your most excellent Maiestie since your Maiesties most happie enterance and accesse into this Lande to nominate and appoynte the sayd Sir Thomas Postumus Hoby to be one of your Maiesties Councell in the North partes and as it hath pleased your excellent Maiestie and the Lordes of your most honourable privie Counsell of your gratious and their honourable opynions Conceived of his fidelitie and indeavour to imploye him in the sayd services who hath in the execucion of them <..> to the vttermost of his best skill and ability proceeded for the best advancement of your highnes service without favor or respecte of persons and without iust cause of greevance to any of your Maiesties subiectes And wheras within the sayd North Riddinge and within the devision wher the sayd Sir Thomas was a Iustice one Richard Cholmley of Whitby in the sayd North Ridding knight sonne and heire apparant of Henry Cholmley of Roxby in the sayd Northridding knight doth dwell and inhabitt And without any iust cause of offence given hath euer lodged in his harte a deepe and grounded Mallice and purpose of revenge against the said ‸⸢°Sir°⸣ Thomas and to manifest the same the more the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley with some other of his Complices heretofore offered vnto the sayd Sir Thomas an intollerable disgrace and outrage in his owne howse for which the sayd Sir Richard Chomley was iustly Censured in your Maiesties high Courte of Starchamber who thirvppon tooke <..> occasion to growe worse affected towardes the sayd Sir Thomas then before and with malicious mynde plotted and resolued how hee might worke revenge on him and to that purpose hee entertayned into his service one william Harrison who hee knewe formerly to haue serued the sayd Sir Thomas and his wief and to haue bene trusted by his sayd wief in her late widdowhood to administer the goodes and Chattelles of Thomas Sidney esquier deceased her late husbande and for his fowle abuse in falsifyinge the trust in him reposed as aforesayd to bee putt forth of his service who being thus reteyned by the said Sir Richard Cholmley soe soone as the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley had knowledge that the sayd Sir Thomas was bound by obligacion in one thousand fiue hundred poundes to saue the sayd Harrison harmles from all charges and expences of suites which might bee Commenced against him the sayd Harrison by reason of the sayd administracion the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley of sett purpose and out of a malitious mynde to vex the said Sir Thomas and to drawe him into daunger of forfeiture of the sayd penall bond Combyned with the sayd Harrison, and they two diuerse tymes Conferred practized and plotted togither how to drawe the said Sir Thomas into the forfeiture of his said bond of one thousand five hundred powndes And the better to effecte the same the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley Carryed the sayd Harrison to London and ther the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley and the sayd Harrison Combyned Confederated, and Covenously practised with one christofer Porter of London a pretended Creditor of the sayd Thomas Sydneyes that the sayd Harrison should bee arrested by the sayd Porter which accordingly by Covyn and Confederacy aforesaid was effected And therby the bond of one thousand five hundreth poundes of the said Sir Thomas in strictnes of lawe became forfeited notwithstandinge the sayd Sir Thomas and his wief had longe before payed a greater some of money towardes the debtes of the sayd Sir Thomas Sydney then his goodes did amount vnto, and had before procured a Quietus est for the sayd Harrison of all such somes of money as hee was bound to pay by vertue of the sayd administracion, And when the sayd Sir Thomas would haue removed the sayd Harrison by your Maiesties writt of habeas Corpus which hee procured forth of your Maiesties bench from the Counter in London into your Maiesties bench The sayd Sir Richard Cholmley prevented the sayd Sir Thomas by baylinge the sayd Harrison and became bound that hee should appeare at the sheriffes Courtes at London of purpose to compell the sayd Sir Thomas to pay the forfeiture of the sayd bonde ‸⸢of⸣ one thousand five hundred poundes And the sayd Sir Thomas endevouringe to have served your Maiesties writt of subpena vppon the sayd Harrison to haue had him answer vnto a bill exhibited by the sayd Sir Thomas into your Maiesties high Court of Chancery for his relief in the premisses of the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley kepte the said Harrison private in his lodging and beinge asked by such as were appoynted to serve your Maiesties proces vppon the sayd Harrison whether the sayd Harrison were within the lodginge hee denied his beinge ther when in truth the sayd Harrison was in that house, and was afterwardes serued with your Maiesties sayd proces and did answer vnto the sayd Sir Thomas his bill And vppon the full hearinge of the Cause in open Courte yt was ordered that the bonde of one thousand fyve hundred poundes should bee redeliuered vnto the sayd Sir Thomas to bee cancelled which was performed accordingly And after the sayd bonde of one thousand five hundred poundes was cancelled wherby the said Sir Richard Cholmley perceiued that the said Sir Thomas could bee no further dampnified by meanes of the sayd Harrison The sayd Sir Richard Cholmley did ymediately putt the sayd Harrison forth of service And the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley procuringe himself soone after to bee made a Iustice of peace within the sayd North Ridding of your Maiesties sayd County of yorke hath euer since shewed and borne a deepe and inveterate mallice towardes the sayd Sir Thomas And discouered the same at publique meetinges aswell when occasione of your Maiesties service was offered as otherwise yf the sayd Sir Thomas were presente, his carryage beinge such as that hee purposely held acourse to provoke him the sayd Sir Thomas to quarell to the disturbance of Iustice And namely and particularly in or aboute the moneth of September in the yeare of our Lord god one thousand sixe hundred and five the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley meetinge with the sayd Sir Thomas and other Iustices of the peace within the sayd North Ridding at a Muster kepte in a place neere vnto pickeringe in your Maiesties sayd Countye of yorke The sayd Sir Richard Cholmley beinge then a Iustice of peace within the sayd North Ridding began to brave the sayd Sir Thomas and entered into comparison with him in the face of the Countrye and ther vttered many provokinge speeches to him of purpose and malicious intent to stirr vpp quarrell and to disturbe the service supposinge that the sayd Sir Thomas would therby haue bene induced to forgett himself And the nexte yere followinge that is to say in or aboute the moneth of october in the yere of our Lord god one thousand sixe hundred and sixe, the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley beinge then likewise a Iustice of peace within the sayd North Ridding meetinge with the sayd Sir Thomas and one Sir Richard Etherington of Ebberstone in your Maiesties sayd Countye of yorke knight beinge then and yett another Iustice of peace in the sayd North Ridding at a place nere vnto Dalby in Pickering lyth in your Maiesties sayd County of Yorke about the like service of takeinge of a Muster, the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley havinge noe Cause of quarrell to the sayd Sir Richard Etherington but of malicious purpose to worke his will and revenge vppon the sayd Sir Thomas in whose companie hee was did vtter manye bravinge and insolent speeches of disgrace to the sayd Sir Richard Etherington ‸⸢and contynued bravinge of the sayd Sir Richard Etherington⸣ home to his owne howse and within his owne doores purposinge and resoluinge as himself hath since affyrmed yf any sword had bene drawne to haue wrought his will and revenged himself vppon the sayd sir Thomas And shortly after the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley then beinge a Iustice of peace within the sayd North Ridding tooke occasione to quarrell with one Mychaell Wharton a frinde to the sayd Sir Thomas and appoynted to have foughte with him in the field at a place Called Crayke hill in your Maiesties sayd Countye of yorke without dewe regard had of the oath which hee had taken to preserve your Maiesties peace aswell in himself as others. And fyndinge that none of his malicious proiectes, nor quarrelsome courses would sorte to his mynde and expectacion nor could provoke the sayd Sir Thomas to any violente revenge or to giue occasione of the breatch of your highnes peace to sayd Sir Richard Cholmley vnder Couller of his office of Iustice of peace hath diuers tymes since your Maiesties generall and free pardon indevoured and saught to crosse the sayd Sir Thomas in such services as the sayd Sir Thomas vndertooke to performe in the dutye of his place for the good and quiett of the Country And the sayd Sir Thomas with the helpe of one other Iustice of peace within the sayd North Ridding haueinge appoynted a day and place for the execucion of your Maiesties service ‸⸢in preuentinge regratinge and forestallinge of Corne and setting order for the bringinge of Corne to the market by such as had plentie accordinge to your Maiesties direction published to that end⸣ The sayd Sir Richard Cholmley voluntarily and maliciously repayred thither and openly and insolently before the poeple sought to disgrace the sayd Sir Thomas Hoby and published that his warrantes were vnlawfull, and that hee had vnlawfully entred into the service and vttered many malitious and provokeinge speeches against the sayd Sir Thomas Hoby wherby the service for your Maiestie appoynted Could not be effected And of late since your Maiesties sayd generall and free pardon the sayd Sir Thomas havinge received notice that a sort of obstynate popish Recusantes dwellinge at Egton in the sayd North Ridding about fower Myles from the dwelling howse of the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley had taken vppon them to become ‸⸢common⸣ Stage players and <...> travailed about the Countrye as players of Stage playes ⸢‸and had appoynted and were readie to play at a place called Sneaton in the sayd County of yorke fower miles distant from the dwellinge ⸣ and that the sayd Sir Thomas had sent forth many seuerall warrantes to sundry townes in the Country for the apprehension of the sayd playars yf they should wander fourth of their parishe Contrary to your Maiesties Lawes The sayd Sir Richard Cholmley being then a iustice of peace within the sayd libertie as aforesayd and bearinge inward loue and affection to such as are obstinate popish Recusantes and havinge manye obstinate popish recusantes that depend on him and which dwell in or neare the liberty of whitby aforesayd hath placed one that hath an obstynate popish recusant to his wief to bee his deputie baylif of the sayd liberty of whitby wherby such service as is at any time intended against any of the sayd ‸⸢obstinate⸣ popish recusantes for the most parte is prevented And although hee knoweth your Maiesties lawes made against Stage players and is sworne to execute the office Iustice of peace accordinge to the lawes statutes and Customes of this your highnes realme of England did notwithstandinge since your Maiesties last generall and free pardon not only geiue leaue vnto the sayd staigeplayers the most of them being obstinate popish recusantes as aforesaid vnder his hand and seale to travaile about the Country But the sayd Staige players Cominge into his sayd fathers howse at Roxby aforesayde being within the Constablery of Thornton and fformanby after the Constables ther had received and taken notice of a warrant sent from the sayd Sir Thomas for the apprehension of them yf they should fortune to rome thither the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley being then present at his said fathers howse in despite of the sayd Sir Thomas his warrante did not only suffer but also did giue leave and lycence vnto the sayd players to play diuers Staige playes Conteyninge in them much poperie and abuse of the lawe and Iustice before his sayd father himself and others makinge himself disporte therby and suffered them to depart without apprehendinge any of them, wherby they being Countenanced and takeinge encouragement in their lewde Courses wandered vp and downe in the Countrey and played popish playes contrary to your Maiesties lawes and statutes in that case made and provided All which foresayd Combynacions, practises, quarrelles and other misdemeanors haue bene entered into and Committed by the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley since your Maiesties laste generall pardon In Consideracion wherof and for as much as it concerneth the publicke peace and generall gouerment of your Highnes realme of England that men imployed by your Maiestie should bee freed and protected in their services from all insolencies Braveries and disgraces grounded vppon inveterate malice formerly conceived for executinge your highnes lawes and Comissions And that your Maiesties louinge subiectes should bee reliued against all such Insolencies Bravinges and oppressions and that by exemplary punishment to such as are called in question for such foule offences others may make vse therby and learne to avoide to Committ the like and that all the sayd offences and misdemeanors aforesayd were done and Committed sythence your Maiesties most gracious and free pardon. May it therfore please your most excellent Maiestie to graunte your Maiesties most gratious writtes of subpena to bee directed to the sayd Sir Richard Cholmley and such other persons as shalbe found out to bee practizers and plotters with the sayd Sir Richard ‸⸢in⸣ his sayd vnlawfull proceedinges whose names when they shalbee discouered your Maiesties sayd Attorney doth humbly pray may bee incerted as deffendantes in this sayd Informacion therby Commaundinge him and euery of them at a day certaine therin to bee lymitted and vnder a certayne payne parsonally to appeare before your Maiestie in your highnes most honorable Court of Starchamber then and there to answere the premisses and to receiue such punishment as to your Maiestie and your ‸⸢Maiesties most⸣ Honourable Counsell shall seeme fitt and convenient./

(signed) Henry Hobarte (signed) Thomas Crewe