most noble good hartes desyre. From the monastery of Vale Royall, the xxijti, day of August.

Your lordscyps ever att commandment,

To the right bonerable and his singuler

good lord, my lord prevy seall, this be delyvered.

THOMAS LEgh.

In the following letter, which is imperfect at the beginning, the abbot of Vale Royal refuses to acknowledge the deed of surrender.

CXXI.

THE ABBOT OF VALE ROYAL TO CROMwell.

[From MS. Harl. No. 604, fol. 62.]

me and my brothren the kynges most graciouse and drade commyssion, wherein his graciouse plesure was that for the gratuytye that his grace trusted in me and my brethren, that we wold clerelye of our own consentes surrendre into his graciose handes our monasterye, beying of his most graciouse foundacion, and whereof your lordship is stuard. My good lorde, the truthe is, I nor my said brethern have never consented to surrendre our monasterye, nor yett doo, nor never will doo by our good willes, onles it shall please the kynges grace to giff to us commandement so to doo, whiche I can not perceve in the commyssion of maister Holcroft so to bee. And if any informacyon be giffon unto his magestye, or unto your good lordship, that we shulde consent to surrendre, as is above sayd, I assure your good lordship, apon my fidelitie and truthe, there was never non suche consent made by me nor my brethren, nor no person nor persons had auctoritye so

to do in our names. Wherefore I humbly beseche your good lordship, in whome is my single trust under God and the kynges magestye, to be meane for us unto his grace, so that we may contynewe in our sayd monasterye to pray for his most noble grace and your good lordship, whiche we shall dayly doo, accordyng to our bounden duyties, duryng our lyves. I assure your lordshipe I am cumyng upwardes as fast as my sekenes will suffre me, to beseche your lordshipe of charite to be good to our pouer monastery. I sende unto your lordshipe the bill indented made by me and my brethren, whiche in presence of worshipfull men I proffered to M. Holcroft, whiche to take he refused. And thus our Lord God preserve your lordshipe in good helthe. Writen at Lychefyld, the ix. day of Septembre, by your pouer bedeman,

To the ryght honorable sir Thomas Cromewell, knyght, lord Cromewell, lord prevye seall, and chieff secretarye to the kynges highenes.

JOHAN, abbot of Valerayall.

We have next another letter of the chancellor Audley, which relates to the two houses of St. Osith's (mentioned before) and St. John's at Colchester. The latter was founded by Eudo Dapifer at the beginning of the twelfth century. The last abbot was John Beche, who was executed Dec. 1, 1549, for his opposition to the king's com mands. His predecessor had suffered the same fate.

CXXII.

SIR THOMAS AUDLEY TO CROMWELL.

[From the State Papers, vol. i. p. 526.]

After my right harty comendations to your good lordship, with my most harty thankes for your last gentill letters, I am required by the erle of Oxford and master chauncelour to desire your good lordshipp, in all our names, to make our moost humble recommendations to the kynges mageste, and to render ouer most

harty thankes to his highnes for our licens to visite and see my lord prynces grace,* whom, accordyng to our desires and duteez, we have seen, to our most rejoise and comfort, next the kynges mageste. And I assure your lordshipp I never sawe so goodly a childe of his age, so mery, so plesaunt, so good and lovyng countenans, and so ernest an ye, as it were a sage juggement towardes every person that repayreth to his grace; and, as it semyth to me, thankes be to our Lord, his grace encresith well in the ayer that he ys in. And albeyt a litell his graces flesche decayeth, yet he shotyth owt in length, and wexith ferme and stiff, and can stedfastly stond, and wold avaunce hymself to move and go, if they wold suffir hym; but as me semyth they do yet best, consideryng his grace is yet tendir, that he shuld not streyn hymself, as his owen corage wold serve hym, till he cum above a yere of age. I was right glad to understond there that the kynges mageste wil have his grace removyd from Haveryng now ageynst wynter tyme; for surely it semythe to me that the house wil be a cold. howse for wynter, but for somer it ys a good and a goodly ayer. I can not comprehend nor describe the goodly towardly qualiteez that ys in my lord princes grace. He ys sent of almyty Good for al our comfortes. My dayly and contynual prayer ys and shalbe for his good and prosperus preservation, and to make his grace an olde prince, besechyng your good lordeshipp to rendir to the kynges mageste thankes in al our names as ys abovesayd.

Suche brutes hath runne, sythen my last departyng from your good lordshipp, concernyng the dissolution of the abbeys of seynt Johns in Colchester and seynt Osyes, that I am bold to wryte to your good lordshipp after myn old sute for the contynuans of the said 2 places, not, as they bee, religeous, but that it mought plese the kynges mageste of his goodnes to translate them into collegys, after suche sort and ordynaunces as shall seme most

Prince Edward, son of Queen Jane Seymour, born Oct. 12, 1537, afterwards King Edward VI.

charitable to his highnez; for the whiche, as I seyd to you afore, his grace may have of eythir of them a £1000, that ys for bothe £2000, and the gyft of the deanes and prebendaryes at his owen plesure. The cause I move this ys, fyrst, I consider that seynt Johns stondyth in his graces owen town at Colchester, wherin dwel many pour people, whiche have dayly relefe of the house; another cause, bothe these howses be in the ende of the shire of Essex, where litel hospitality shalbe kept, yf these be dissolved. For as for Seynt Jones lakkyth water, and seynt Osyes stondyth in the mersches, not very holsom, so that fewe of reputation, as I thynke, wil kepe contynual howses in eny of them, oonlez it be a congregation, as ther be nowe. There ys also 20 howses, gret and smal, dissolved, in the shire of Essex, all redy. These, and many other considerationz, movyth me to be a suter for ther traunslationz; and yet I will not nor mynde in eny wise to move or speke in this mater othirwise than shal stond with the kynges plesure; nor, in good fayth, I entend not to have eny particler avauntage for ther standyng. Yt hath plesid the kynges mageste to giff me leve to exchange londes and thynges with eyther of the house, wher with I am satisfyed, and right hertely thanke his highnes for the same. I beseche you, my good lord, if your lordshipp shal thynke thys sute honest and resonable, to move this mater to the kynges mageste, and to sett it ernestly forward. Your lordshipp knowing bothe the howses, as ye do, can alegge more better considerations then I can imagyn or wryte. And thus I trobill you with my sutes oft tymes, and can not recompens your often gentilnesses and paynes taken for me but with my pour harty good will, whereof your lordeshipp shall be suer duryng my lyff. And besides that, if ye can or may opteyn this sute for the traunslation of these 2 howses, your lordeshipp shal have for your favour therin £200, besechyng you to travayle therin and to advertise me, as sone as ye shal se tyme, of the towardnes or ontowardnes therof. And thus, as a bolde sutour, puttyng your good lordshipp in remembrauns of al myn olde sutes, to use them

at your owen leysur, I beseche our Lord to send your lordshipp as good helth, and as wel to fare as I wold myself. Wryten at Berechurch, the 8th day of September.

Your assured, to all his power,

THOMAS AUDELEY, k. chauncelour.

Post scripta. Forasmoche as this day I ryde into Suffolk, to mete the duke of Norfolk at Framyngham, to kyll sum of his bukkes there, I thought good to advertise your lordeshipp therof. His grace desired to have had me to Kenynghale, to his howse there, but I besought hym to pardon me therof, it was so ferre from me; and so, to satisfy his desire, I promysed to mete hym at Framyngham, whiche ys but 24 miles from me; besechyng your lordeshipp to advertise me, by your next letters, of the kynges magestes retourne to London, or nere there abowt, with such other occurrauntes, as your lordshipp maye. And thus fare your good lordshipp hertely well.

The following letter relates to the abbey of Whitby, which has been already mentioned in the present volume.

CXXIII.

THE PRIOR OF GISBURNE AND TRISTRAM TESHE TO CROMWELL.

[From MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. iv. fol. 48.]

Maye it please your good lordeshippe to be advertised, that accordinge to the kinges majestie commaundement we have byne at the monasterie of Whitbye, to have taken thelection of a newe abbott there. Aftre moch comunication hadd with the bretheren of the same howsse, we movid them according to your lordeship pleasure to compromitte the election into our handes, and therupon we to have nominate hym that your lordeshipp com