William Melton, Archbishop of York. Melton William King and council. Archbishop of...

Petitioners

William Melton, Archbishop of York.

Name(s)

Melton, William

Addressees

King and council.

Occupation

Archbishop of York

Nature of request

[Petition in 3 parts:]1) The archbishop requests remedy as Despaigne has taken the corn measures of the archbishop and the profits due to the bishop from cognisance of contacts, covenants, trespasses and all other things committed in the haven which his predecessors have had in the haven from time out of memory.2) The archbishop requests that the king will ordain on the matter of prisage taken in the haven of Hull as certain men unloaded three ships outside Hull and carried their wine into the haven in small vessels to defraud the archbishop of his prisage as in an inquisition into the archbishop's prisage it was recorded that prisage was only taken on ships carrying 20 tuns of wine or more, and the archbishop feels that this wine should be forfeit for default of prisage.3) The archbishop requests that a writ of attachment purchased by Despaigne against the archbishop to make him appear in his court of Kingston-upon-Hull be repealed as it is against law and the archbishop should not answer.1)

Nature of endorsement

He should sue in Chancery and have a writ formed in his case.2) He should wait until the business concerning prisage is determined.3) Let the bailiff be warned to show by what warrant he has made such grievances to the archbishop.

Places mentioned

Kingston upon Hull, [East Riding of Yorkshire].

People mentioned

John Despaigne, king's bailiff in Kingston upon Hull.

For a related petition, see SC 8/11/515

• Calendar of Close Rolls, Edw III, vol. II, 1330-1333, (Public Record Office, 1898), p.94 (order to the king's butler in Hull to to restore the prises of wine to the archbishop)
• Rotuli Parliamentorum; ut et Petitiones, et Placita in Parliamento, vol. II, Edw III, (Record Commission, 1783), p.39b (no.42) (edition of later copy of original petition)
• The Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, Ed. Paul Brand, Anne Curry, Chris Given-Wilson, Rosemary Horrox, W.M. Ormrod and J.R.S. Phillips, (Cambridge University Press, 2005), Appendix of Unedited Petitions, 1307-1337, Rotuli Parliamentorum II, pp. 31-51, no. 42 (summary of references)