_[To the King] our souverain Lord._
[Sidenote: 1475]
[SHEWETH] unto your highnesse your feythful liegeman and servaunt, John
Paston, Knight, that wher Sir William Yelverton, William Jenney, and
Thomas Howes were infeffed in certain . . . . . [to the] use of your
said suppliaunt, they of grat malice confetered with oon or ij. of the
counsell of my lord the Duc of Norffolk, caused the same Duc to clayme
tytle unto [the mano]ir of Caster and other lands of your said
suppliant, wherinne the said Yelverton and his coofeffees wer infeffed,
contrary to th’entent and wille that thei wer enfeffed for; upon whiche
title the said Duc with great force asseyed and entred the said manoir
of Castre and other lands of your said suppliant, putting hym from the
lawful possession and estate that he had in the same, and also take from
him vj^c. shepe and xxx. nete, and the same, with other stuf and
ordinaunces longing to the same manoir, of the value of C_li._ toke and
caryed awey, and the said manoir diffaced, hurt, and appeired, so that
it coude not be repaired with CC. marc. Also the revenues of the said
lands by the space of iij. yeres, to the value of vij^xx._li._, the same
my lord the Duke receyved, and the owtrents of the same never payed,
whiche great trouble was like to be the undoing of your said suppliant;
wherfor he was fayn to sue to the said Duc and lord by the meanes of his
godsip the Bisshop of Wynchestre, whiche was in his special favour; at
whos contemplacion, and for v^c. [500] marc whiche the same your
suppliant payed unto the same Duc, he graunted him to have agen his said
manoir and lands, and to restor him to the possession of the same,
whiche was so doen. And your said suppliant being in peasible
possession, my said lord the Duc and his cofeffees, Sir William Brandon,
Thomas Hoo, Rauf Ashton, and other, at the desir of my said lord,
relessed their estate and interesse, as wel under my said lordes sele as
under their own sele. Wherupon your said besecher continued in
possession but half a yer; at whiche time he was chargid in reparacions
to the somme of C. marc, and payed the owt rents dewe by the space of
the said iij. yer to the some of xl_li._ That doon, my said lord, by
sinistre motive and advice, with force agen entred the said manoir and
other lands aforsaid with alle stuf of howshold being in the same manoir
to the value of C. marc, and so long time hath kept and rejoysed the
revenues of the said lands, and in chief the said manoir, to the value
of vj^xx._li._ by the space of iiij. yer and mor; for redresse wherof
yor said suppliant hath this said space of iiij. yer sued to my said
lord and his counsell, and of alle that time the same my lord wold never
suffre him to come in his presence, ne here him, ne noon other for him
to declair or shewe his grief. And furthermor whanne your said besecher
hath sued to the counsel of my said lord, and desired them to move his
lordship therinne, and to answer him resonably and according to right,
they answered that thei have shewed my said lord his request, and that
he was, and is alwey, so moved and displesed with them, that thei dar
nomor move him therinne. And thus yor said suppliant hath loste alle his
coste and labour, to his charge by his feyth this iiij. yer in his sute,
the somme of v^c. marc, and now is owt of remedye, without your
habundant grace be shewed in that behalve, in somoche as he is not of
power t’attempt your lawes ayenst so mighty and noble estate, nor
t’abide the disples of him. Wherfor please it your moost noble grace, at
the reverence of God, to move my said lord to withdrawe the affeccion
whiche he so hath to the said manoir and lands, and to suffre your said
besecher to have and enjoye the possession of the same according
to right; and he at your commandment shal relesse unto my said
lord alle the damages above wretyn, whiche amount to the somme of
m^{l.}ccc.liij_li._ vj_s._ viij_d._, and in time to come, with Goddes
grace, be the mor hable to do you service, and also specially preye to
God for the conservacion of your moost noble persone and estate royall.
_Endorsed in a later hand_-- . . . . Paston mil. Regi pro . . . .
. . . . . Norff. in . . . . . de Caister.
[Footnote 242-1: [From a MS. in the Bodleian Library.] The Castle
of Caister was surrendered to the Duke of Norfolk in September
1469, but he must have been taking the rents of the manor for a
year or two before. From what is stated in this petition, the Duke
must have given it up again in the end of the year 1470, _i.e._
during the restoration of Henry VI.; but he entered again after
half a year, and the date of this second entry is given by William
Worcester as the 23rd June 1471. After this, the petition says, he
kept possession for four years and more, so that the date of the
document must be towards the close of the year 1475. The Duke died
on the 17th January 1476.]
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