Extracts from the account rolls of the Abbey of Durham. Vol. 3.

No. 3198.

Payd xxviij^o Septebris 1589. To the right worshipfull M^r Doctor Pilkington vicedeane And the chapter of Durh^am.

May it please yo^w to vnderstand right worshipfull that whereas yo^w have one pare of Orgaynes w^ch standeth above the Quere doore, & haith not bene played vpon thes many yeres for lacke of mendinge, I have bestowed a weekes labor in mendinge the sownd boord, the wynd stopp, the springe wyers, and in tuninge the pipes, so that I have mayd them in that good order as now they will much delight bothe the auditorie and the player because they yeld the most principallest and imperiall sound of all the rest. And if it seame strainge vnto yo^r worshipes that I have tayken in hand to doe it, yo^w shall vnderstand that I have had some practise in mendinge of an Instrument, and also I have geven diligence in markinge men of greater skill that haith bene here in tymes passed when they have been recompensed five markes or fortie shillinges for lesse paynes than I have taken (w^ch I referr to the quere) so that now I leve my paynes to yo^r good considera∣tions, for because I did not so much seeke after the recompence of rewarde as I did the excellencie of the Instrumente regarde, and as also that yo^w should see my redinesse & good will to indevour my selfe in what soev^r I may to profitt o^r Churche.

Yo^rs in whatt soev^r he is able

Will^am Smythe pettica'no'. [William Smith was a composer as well as Pettycanon and amateur organ-builder, and was also organist 1588-1598. In one of the MS. organ∣books of the Cathedral are Kyries, Creeds, Preces and Psalms for different Festivals, Collects, and Anthems, by "D^s Smith, Clericus," described in the same book also as "William Smith."]

Summa allocata in cap^lo vt ex altera parte pat., xxxs.

Endorsed, Will^am Smithes Petitione. Alloc. xxxs. 3198.