The Stonor letters and papers, 1290-1483; ed. for the Royal historical society, from the origial documents in the Public record office, by Charles Lethbridge Kingsford.

65. THOMAS HAMPTON TO THOMAS STONOR [1462]

The history of Mistress Swete's case is too complicated for treatment here and has therefore been given at length in an Appendix to the Introduction—see pp. xlviii-lvi above. This and No. 67 were clearly written whilst the litiga|tion was pending,.and since No. 67 is dated 31st August both letters must be ascribed to 1462; after July, 1463, Mistress Swete's friends could no longer have believed that Thomas Romesey was son of Sir Walter and his first wife Joan. The writer was Hampton of Kimble—see Nos. 68 and 76. It is diffi|cult to tell why he calls Mistress Swete his sister, unless Hampton's wife was a sister of Thomas Swete. Stapulham (now Staplefarm) was a vill or tithing in the Hundred of South Damerham, Wilts. I have not discovered what place is meant by Sylverton. From A.C., xlvi, 54.

Rytht wurschypfull and my tender welbelovyd Cosyn, I recommaunde me to yow: letyng yow wyte þat my Suster Swete recommaundyth her to yow, and hertyly thankyth yow for her chylderyn, and so do I as well for owr venyson. Syr, sche prayth yow specyally to make your effectuell labor un[to] the parson of Sylverton þat he wull in weye of Crystes charyte loke up all suche evydens as in eny wyse may make eny proffe Thomas to be þe son of Syr Water and Jahne his ffurst wyff. Of Margete and Isabell: Margete was weddyd un[to] John Hunteley: Isabell was weddyd unto John Popham. That þese persons, all or some of þeyse wer þe chyldryn of þe seyde syr Water and Jahne: lete hym schewe hit in the wey of good and of concyens. Þe parson, þe Kynges Chapeleyn, when he was with hym sye a full fayre Dede and Sealle of Armys: and when þe parson of Sylverton sende his ffolke to London, þey wulde in nowyse schew þat dede. And þyff my Suster Swete mochte hafe had mony at here wyll, the parson schulde haf com over to yow; hit wulde nat be. Moreover, syr, we haf a ffyn reryd unto Syr Water and Jahne terme of þer lyvys, þe rem. þerof unto Thomas, þe son of Jahne, and thit [sic] he was þe son of þem boþe, of Domerz and Morton: [I.e. Domerham and Merton, now Damerham and Marten.] but Wykes wuld haf þe ffyn servyd in Stapulham, because hit ys in þe same parische, surmyttyng þat Jahne schulde furst hafe ben weddyd unto Amaryke Northlode, and he to be ffader to þe sayde Thomas. And for certeyne Stapulham came nevyr by þe ffyn, þe wyche was reryd A^o xxiiij Regis E. iij: but by a latter tytull. Lete hym geder all þe dedys of Stapulham to geder, þat hit may be provyd þat hit ys no parcell of þe ffyn: and lete þem be schewyd, and by here trouth to haf all þe dedes þat consernyth here enherytaunse þat he hath in his kepyng: sche wull þat he haf Stapulham as sure &c., as we all can make it.

Moreover, Syr, I wryte aparte þat hit may be kette away, þyff ye lust to schew þis above unto þe parson of Sylverton. The case was soo when my Suster Swete man schulde go sche kowth haf no money as for þe ffyndyng of þe Offyces, unneth to make hym bryng yow þis my sympyl byll. Nevyrthelese here we praye yow that ye make some redy apoyntement with the Eschetor, þat he wull not fayle yow, but be redy at suche tyme as ye and we schall sende unto hym both to haf hit fond yn þe Com. of Suth. as well as in Wylschere: and what he wull haf to ffynde hit in on, and what in the toþer Schyre: for per case þe on schall suffyse. Anoþer poynte, þat ys we kepte not sende þe Dede aboute

into þe tyme hit were enrowlyd, for drede of losyng &c., Syr, we haf ffonde a gentylmanly thynge, a copy of þe Kynges Recordes þat Thomas, ffader to Syr Th., was seysyd and dyde seasyd A^o regis H. iiij^ti ij^o, the wyche schall make owr ffyn gode. And so thys fondyn, he most breff Margete, Suster to Th., bastard, wych was ffader to Syr Th. Nomore to yow at þis tyme: but almythty Godd haf yow in kepyng. Amen.

By your owne Thomas Hampton.

To my ryght wurschypfull Thomas Stonor, be þis delyvered.