STAC 5/P4/10
STAC 5/P4/10 - B - Trin 29 Eliz - Kent - Francis Parker v Henry Roise see STAC Parker
Transcribed (with a lot of added punctuation) by Helen Good
To the Queens most excellent Majesty
In most humble wise complaining showeth onto your most excellent majesty your dutiful and obedient subject Francis Parker of St Jhones in the Isle of Thanet [Margate] in your majesty’s county of Kent, that whereas your most excellent majesty of your most gracious and benign disposition towards your subjects have from time to time had not a special care and regard that the ancient laws and customs of your majesty’s realm and dominion might have free and uncontrolled execution, so as every [. . .] the least and meanest of your majesty’s subjects might assure him self under your majesty’s protection quietly to hold and enjoy in all peace and quietness his life liberty lands and goods according unto the same laws and customs, and whereas by the said laws and customs of your majesty’s said realm of England no man ought to be oppressed injured vexed or disquieted either in his goods or liberty but by the due and ordinary proceedings of the said ancient laws and customs of this your said realm, but should therein be protected to walk and travail in any honest course or trade of life for the maintenance of him self and his family.
And whereas your said subject hath for many years together now last past employed himself for the maintenance of himself and his family in the trade of a merchant and so by all the same time hath borne him self therein that he hath both gotten unto himself an honest name reputation and report amongst his neighbours, and some reasonable wealth to maintain himself by, and thereby liveth there to the great comfort of other his poor neighbours about him.
Nevertheless so it if it may please your most excellent majesty that one Henry Roise, a man of very loose and dissolute disposition, not using or exercising any good or honest trade, only given over to wicked life and to maintain himself by shift and cozenage, little regarding either his duty towards god or towards your majesty, and casting aside all regard of the laws of this your majesty’s realm, envying the good estate name estimation and honest dealing of your said subject, most wickedly and against the said laws of his own proper malice or incited and stirred up thereunto by some lewd or wicked persuasion or instigation of some other as malicious as himself and of a greedy lewd and covetous disposition, hoping or at the least endeavouring by unjust ungodly and unhonest means to get and acquire unto himself some portion of money from your said subject, did about the second day of December now last past seeing your said subject in the High Street of your majesty’s City of Canterbury, He then there being in your majesties peace quietly going and travelling about his affairs and business of his trade and vocation and having a little before received some money to the value of seven and forty pounds and odd money, he the said Henrie Roise the said second day of December did make assault upon your said subject and him did attach and arrest, he the said Henry Roise taking upon him to be a pursuivant and saying that he had warrant so to do, to to the end to bring your said subject Parker before the lords of your majesty’s honourable Privy Council. And your said subject desiring to see by what warrants he said Henry Roise did attempt this matter, the said Henry Roise openly affirmed himself to be a pursuivant and showed forth a paper or parchment with a seal unto it saying it was the warrant of the lords of your majesty's most honourable Privy Council and further said that he must keep your said orator close prisoner and carry him to the Tower, but suffered not the same paper or parchment so showed forth to be read, but immediately carried your said subject away with him (scarce suffering him to go to his hosts house to lay up such money as the said Henry Rose knew your said subject had late before received) unto the sign of the Saracen’s Head in the said High Street of Canterbury ,and there imprisoned your said subject and locked your said subject into a chamber and there kept him, the said Francis Parker your your said subject, until the night time of the same day suffering very few but none of your said subject’s friends to have access unto him. Nevertheless in that time when he was himself present, threatened and used very many menacing words unto your said subject and thereby declared unto him that he was like to sustain some great punishment, or at least some great blemish in his estate and reputation, for that his offences were conceived to be no less than high treason, And in the same time when himself was absent he procured such as he permitted to come and speak with your said subject to persuade him to deal well with the said Henry Roise, and that the said Henry Roise was [. . .] duty to have of your said subject six and twenty shillings eight pence for any days travail, and that he had been six days in travail to find your subject, and to use divers other speeches which might tend to persuade your said subject to give money to the said Henry Roise for his friendship, to be helpen out of that trouble wherein they said he the said Henry Royse might do your subject great friendship, and in this time also the said Henry Royse persuaded your said subject to send for his money that he had laid up as aforesaid, saying it were good for your said subject to be provided of money for he knew not what need he might have nor how long he might be kept in prison, whereby your said subject was persuaded in the end, and did send for his said money, and when the same was brought unto him unto him the said Henry Royse willed the party that brought the same to depart, saying that your said subject was to be kept close prisoner or words to like effect and therefore this is no place for you, and after he the said Henry Roise told out the same money being seven and twenty pounds or thereabouts, saying to your said subject I will answer it, for it were as good that I had the money as those to whom you shall go, Soon after the said Henry Roise under colour of sealing up the bag of money took your said subjects ring from him, and kept the same being of the value of four pounds, and after in the night of the same day soon after your said subject was gone to bed the said Henry Roise came again unto your subject saying you have good store of gold today where is it, your said subject answered that it was in his purse in his sleeve, then said Henry Royse took the same also from your subject which was nineteen pounds and odd money.
The next day your said subject desired to ride towards London upon his own horse and the said Henry Royse willed him to send for his horse and your said subject sending another ring as a message to his host for delivery of the horse the said Henry Royse when the horse was come took that ring also and kept the same, and after he placed your said subject notwithstanding upon a hackney, and one of the said Henry Roise his companions was set to ride upon your subject’s horse, And so your said subject was brought that day unto Datforde [Dartford] where he was also locked into a chamber and kept close prisoner, the said Henry Royce willing him to be contented for that he your said subject his money rings geldings and all, were his the said Henry Royse’s and at his disposition wholly.
The next day he brought your subject to the sign of the Fawcon in Southwarke and there in like sort locked up your subject keeping him close prisoner then also continually in manner [. . .] to urge your subject to give him more money and so he worked to procure his discharge, and said that before he went he would have threescore pounds more of your subject, but if your subject told it to any man it should cost him his life, And so from day to day carried your said subject from place to place about London by the space of six or seven days, keeping him still in every place close prisoner, so as no man might speak with him and many times menacing him and many times offering him friendships for more money, and some times threatened your said subject that he your subject should be carried to the Tower there to be packed and that he the said Roise had order therefore from the lords of her majesty’s most honourable privy council, and would longer have detained your subject had it not been that by some means made by your subject, in the absence of the said Henry Royse the matter was notified to the lords of your majesty's most honourable Privy Council by whose warrant your said subject after such his imprisonment and restraint of his liberty was delivered by their honourable warrant, and the said Henry Royse apprehended and examined of the said premises, but still detaineth the said money being forty seven pounds and upwards and the said rings being of the value of eight pounds, where in very truth the said Henry Roise is no pursuivant but a notorious imposer and deceiver and had no warrant at all to arrest or apprehend your said subject, but some counterfeit thing of his own making wherewith to deceive cozen and defraud your majesty’s subjects. In tender consideration whereof for so much as the example of this practice is very dangerous unto the common wealth and unto other your majesties subjects and therefore most necessary to be made an example by severe punishment lest others of such like wicked and [. . . ] disposition should be by the neglect of punishment thereof emboldened to enterprise the like may it please your most excellent majesty in zeal of justice to grant that the said Henry Roise maybe called before your most excellent majesty and your most honourable council in your majesty’s court of Star Chamber at Westminster there to receive such condign punishment as such his misdemeanours do worthily desire and so much the rather for that all the said premises do you stand in effect proved by examination of the said Henry Royse and your subject and divers others taken before Sir Jhon Popham knight lord chief justice of England and others. And your said subject shall be bound to pray for your majesty long to reign over us.
