Original Documents Royal Letters and other Documents Amongst the Municipal Records of the City of Exeter

Abstract

THESE interesting documents, addressed to the Mayor and Corporation, and others, were formerly scattered about amongst the numerous deeds and papers in the muniment room of the Guildhall.A few years since they were, with others of kindred character, gathered together, arranged, and bound up in the form of a book. They are in fair condition and some few of the seals are well preserved.No. 1 is a letter from Henry the Seventh, and bears the date, 23rd day of June only.The year must be 1508, as the treaty mentioned in it was concluded at Paris on 21st Deer. 1507, and the marriage was to have taken place before the following Easter on pain of heavy penalties, "but the illness of the King caused delay. The Prince of Castile was Charles, then Archduke of Austria and Prince of Spain, who afterwards became the celebrated Emperor, Charles the Fifth. He was then only seven years old, and the marriage was celebrated by proxy on 26th October 1508.No. 2 is an epistle from Henry the Eighth, to the Mayor, &c., of Exeter, dated 26th Feb. 1524, and is curious on account of the half-apologetic manner in which the collection of the subsidy is pressed. The impost referred to was evidently a distasteful one, and may have been the tax upon foreigners instituted in the previous year, to provide the means for carrying on the war with France in conjunction with the Emperor Maximilian and others. There were numerous foreigners established in Exeter at that time, in connection with the woollen trade, for which the city was celebrated. The memorial mentioned as enclosed is not to be found.No. 3 is from Queen Elizabeth, dated 4th Novr. 1562. In the previous reign the city of Exeter had been made a county of itself, and consequently could not be included in the shire of Devon. This consideration appears to have been overlooked upon a levy of five hundred men, for the public service, being made upon the county of Devon. The mayor very properly considered that it did not concern Exeter, and so forbore to contribute the quota demanded from the city.Nos. 4 to 9 refer to the siege of Exeter by the Cornish rebels in 1549. The first of the series was written immediately after the raising of the siege by Lord John Russell, and at the commencement he confirms the statement of Hoker, that the rebellion would never have reached such a head but for the lack of energy shown by the county magistrates and gentry, Downloaded by [Northwestern University] at 09:50 11 January 2015 62 ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. and he pays a tribute to the courage of the citizens in defending their city. The intended removal of the church bells shows an uneasy feeling as to the future. In his second letter he condemns those who were backward and lukewarm in the cause of loyalty, to contribute a larger share towards the expenses of the siege.Sir Peter Carew, who writes to his ' lovinge ffriendes,' the mayor and his brethren, offering the services of Mr. Sture, a lawyer, to be to them a continual counsellor, was at that time in military charge of the city. His seat, one of the best forti...