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Bishop of Ely. King and council. Bishop of Ely [This petition is damaged and incomplete.]The...

Catalogue reference: SC 8/162/8059

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This record is about the Bishop of Ely. King and council. Bishop of Ely [This petition is damaged and incomplete.]The... dating from [c. 1348] in the series Special Collections: Ancient Petitions. It is held at The National Archives, Kew.

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Full description and record details

Reference
SC 8/162/8059
Date
[c. 1348]
Description
Petitioners
Bishop of Ely.
Addressees
King and council.
Occupation
Bishop of Ely
Nature of request
[This petition is damaged and incomplete.]The bishop of Ely requests a [writ] of villeinage against the Spinks in the oyer and terminer concerning them that they were born in the manor of Doddington, and the Spinks will say the exception and aver by the country, and the bishop requests that the exception be tried by people of Cambridgeshire where the villeins were born as it will be a great mischief if it is tried by people of the county of Norfolk who have no knowledge of their birth, and to the disinheritance of the bishop and his church.
Nature of endorsement
It is assented by the council in parliament that if the plaintiffs are his neifs and born in another county as he alleges then let it be received and allowed, if the plaintiffs answer that they are free and of free estate and offer to aver then the justices are to adjourn the parties before the king or in the common bench at the election of the defendant. And let a writ be granted in Chancery for the defendant to the justices before the session to make the adjournment and to make the record and process come to one of the places by the election of the defendant, and let the inquisition be taken by the people of the neighbourhood where the plaintiffs were born.
Places mentioned
Doddington, [Cambridgeshire]
Norwich, [Norfolk]
Norfolk
Cambridgeshire.
People mentioned
Richard Spynk (Spink)
William Spynk (Spink), brother of Richard Spink.
Note
The petition is dated to c. 1348 on the basis of related petitions by the same petitioner and the Spynks (SC 8/45/2212; SC 8/342/16148).
Related material

For responses in the process against the bishop, see C 49/46/18

For a further warrant of the privy seal delaying commissions of oyer and terminers against the bishop and his brother, see no. 17968 in C 81/315

For another petition from the same petitioner on the same matter, see SC 8/162/8059

For a counter petition, see SC 8/342/16148

For a privy seal warrant concerning the superseding of a writ of oyer and terminer, see no. 17851 in C 81/314

Held by
The National Archives, Kew
Legal status
Public Record(s)
Language
French
Closure status
Open Document, Open Description
Record URL
https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C9293903/

Series information

SC 8

Special Collections: Ancient Petitions

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Bishop of Ely. King and council. Bishop of Ely [This petition is damaged and incomplete.]The...

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