[Sidenote: 1466 / JULY 17]
Trusty and welbeloved, we greet yow well, letting yow wete that our
trusty and welbeloved knight Sir John Paston, our welbeloved William
Paston, and Clement Paston, with other, have been before us and our
councell worshipfully declared of the surmise of great charge that was
laid on our behalfe unto John Paston deceased and them, jointly and
severally; so that we hold them and every of them sufficiently declared
in that matter, and take and repute them as gentlemen descended lineally
of worshipfull blood sithen the Conquest hither; and over that, have
commanded that plenare restitution of the manner of Castor, and of all
other lands and tenements, with goods and cattell, that the said John
Paston deceased had of the gift and purchase of Sir John Fastolfe,
Knight, shall wholly be restored unto our said Knight Sir John Paston,
like as the said John Paston deceased had in any time of his daies.
Wherefore, in as much as our said Knight intendeth to make his abideing
in Castor, we desire and pray yow that, for our sake and contemplation,
ye will be friendly and neighbours unto him in his right; and such other
things as may be to his profitt and ease, wherein ye shall do unto us
full and good pleasure. Yeaven under our signet in our Castle at
Windsore the xvij^th day of July.
Subjoined to the above in Sandford’s Genealogy is ‘the coppie of a
warrant sent from Kinge Edward the Fourth to restore Sir John Paston
to the lands and possessions which he purchased of Sir John
Fastolfe, whereof the originall remaineth in the custody of Edw.
Paston, Esq.’ It is addressed ‘To all tenaunts, fermors, or
occupiers of all the lands and tenements, and of every part of them,
that late were John Paston’s, Esq., now deceased, by way of
inheritance, or Agnes Paston, Margaret Paston, William Paston, and
Clement Paston, or any of them, and to all such persons what so they
be, now being in the manner or place of Castor, or in any lifelode
that was the said John Paston, Esq., by way of gifte or purchase of
late Sir John Fastolfe, or of any other, within our counties of
Norff., Suff., and Norwich, and to all the tenants, fermors,
baylies, or occupiers of the same, and of every part thereof; and to
all mayers, shreves, eschetors, bayliffs, and other our officers, as
well within franchise as without our counties aforesaid, hereing or
seeing these our letters.’ The King mentions in this warrant that
‘great part of the said lands, tenements, and manors had been seized
into our hands’; and the tenants, farmers, bailiffs, and occupiers
of the said lands are charged thenceforth to pay the whole issues
and profits thereof to Sir John Paston; and the mayors, sheriffs,
escheators, and others the King’s officers are charged to be
‘assisting, helping, and strengthening.’ The warrant is ‘Yeven under
our signet at Windsore, the xxvj^th day of July, the sixth yeare of
our reigne.’
[Footnote 246.1: This letter is reprinted from the _Norfolk
Archæology_, where it was first published by Mr. Worship from a
transcript made by Sandford in his MS. Genealogy of the Paston
family, compiled in 1674. Sandford states that ‘the originall
under the King’s seale remaineth in the custody of Edward Paston,
Esq.’ The date is rendered certain by the warrant subjoined.]
[Footnote 246.2: We have placed the words ‘Edward the Fourth’ in
parentheses, though they are not so printed by Mr. Worship, and
are probably not so written in Sandford’s MS., because we suspect
that they were not in the text of the original document, but were
added by Sandford by way of explanation.]
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