William Melton, Archbishop of York, the Abbot and convent of Fountains, their tenants,...

Petitioners

William Melton, Archbishop of York, the Abbot and convent of Fountains, their tenants, and all the community of Wharfedale.

Name(s)

Melton, William

Addressees

King and council.

Occupation

Archbishop of York

Nature of request

The Archbishop of York, the Abbot and convent of Fountains, their tenants, and all the community of Wharfedale, whose lands adjoin the free chase of Knaresborough, state that their lands and tenements were brought within the forest by John de Segrave, but that then, on better advice, they were removed from the forest: and they have a charter for this, the transcript of which is sewn to this petition. Nevertheless the foresters of Knaresborough are inflicting various charges and grievances upon them as if their lands were within the forest and the honour of Knaresborough. They request a remedy.

Nature of endorsement

[On face] They are to show their charter in Chancery, and when it has been examined there, the Keeper or Steward of the Forest of Knaresborough is to be ordered to cease these exactions for this [puture], by reason of these lands and tenements etc., and not to prevent the Archbishop or others from doing their will with their woods or other possessions or to meddle [with anything which belongs to the Forest], contrary to the tenor of the charter.[None on dorse]

Places mentioned

Fountains, [West Riding of] Yorkshire

Wharfedale, [West Riding of] Yorkshire

Knaresborough, [West Riding of Yorkshire].

People mentioned

John de Segrave.

For a duplicate of this petition see SC 8/11/504

For a petition formerly attached to this petition, see SC 8/257/12832

For a copy of a related charter of King John, formerly attached to SC 8/11/504, see SC 8/11/505

• Calendar of Close Rolls, Edw III, vol. I, 1327-1330, (Public Record Office, 1896), pp.146-7 (order to Geoffrey le Scrope and his companions, justices, to do justice on this matter)
• Rotuli Parliamentorum; ut et Petitiones, et Placita in Parliamento, vol. II, Edw III, (Record Commission, 1783), p.24b-25a (no.32) (full edition of a later copy of the 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.13-30, no.32 (summary of references)