In February 1651, Mr. James Hanham, of the west, petitions the commissioners at Haberdashers-hall, to this effect: that he had never acted any thing against the parliament, yet two parts of his estate were sequestered with such rigour for his recusancy, that he could not possi bly subsist with necessaries, by the remaining thirds, when taxes, and other charges were deducted that he was, therefore, constrained to borrow fifty pounds upon bond, and having disbursed fifteen pounds of the money; it seems, the sequestrators got notice that the petitioner had somewhat in his house, worth a new sequestration or review, as they call it; thereupon, they search his trunks, find the remaining thirty-five pounds, pull out the guilty bag, and two parts of it they sequester into their own pockets, to the use of the commonwealth'; and for relief therein, Mr. Hanham appealed, but found no redress at present, more than an order for the sub-commissioners in the country to examine the business, and certify, &c. At the return of whose certificate, I leave the petitioner to expect his doom. On the 31st of March, 1652, the petition of one Hammond or Ammot, was read, to this effect; that the petitioner never did bear arms, or assist the enemies of the parliament, yet his estate had lain under sequestration ever since the year 1645, and not one penny allowed him for his maintenance. The petitioner being a recusant, did in the time of the late war, continue at his own house, as long as he could without apparent danger of his life; but considering how obnoxious even the most peaceable of his religion were to be affronted and ruined by the daily mischiefs they received from some disorderly soldiers, and especially seeing one of his neighbours (a recusant,) slain at his own door, the petitioner did then, and not before, fly for protection, to a garrison of the late king's, without acting any thing in the least kind against the parliament. And, therefore, humbly prayed he might have a fifth of his estate, and the arrears allowed him, to buy bread. But it not appearing to the commissioners that he had a wife or children, their answer was, they had no power to grant him any relief. On the 16th of April, 1652, the case of Mrs. Church of Essex, a recusant, was heard, whose petition spoke to this effect: that her late husband in his life-time, settled a lease of Muck-hall, (or such like name,) in Essex, of considerable value upon her, in lieu of jointure, for divers years yet in being, and was held of the late dean and chapter of St. Paul's, that alderman Andrews and Mr Nathaniel, his son, had bought the reversion of those lands, at Gurney-house, and had since taken a lease of seven years of the commissioners for sequestration, in Essex, of the whole present possession, without the petitioner's consent or knowledge, and without any regard to her thirds: and that the said Mr. Andrews having now possession of the whole estate, had demolished the petitioner's mansion-house, and did refuse to pay the petitioner her thirds, whereby she was driven to a necessity of wanting bread, being a distressed and friendless widow, of almost eighty years of age: she therefore prayed her thirds, and the arrears, and that the said lease might be annulled, &c. The first, was charitably granted, but as to the lease, and what her thirds should be, she was left to the mercy of Mr. Andrews, who I fear does forget what the Father of Mercies says, in Jerem. xxii. 3, execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hands of the oppressor, and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, and fatherless, and widow, &c. And in Matt. xxiii. 14, Wo unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, for ye devour widows houses, and for a pretence make long prayers; therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. That which in this case did most exact my observation, was, that Mr. Andrews, (a person of quality,) should make use of his power against a poor widow, and should be present, and openly avow the taking of her estate over her head, with so little regard to the thirds, which is allowed her by the act of parliament, and so much to his own benefit, without which it is like he would not have taken it, and with which the petitioner must needs suffer. • From Haberdashers-hall give me leave to make a step into Moorfields, where on the 19th of May 1650, being the Lord's-day, Richard Ledsam and one Ledbeater, two pursuivants apprehended Robert Segar, a poor old decrepid man, upon a suspicion, (and it was but a suspicion,) that he had been at the Spanish ambassador's at mass; upon this bare surmise the poor man was searched, and in his pockets they found an old prayer book; whereupon he was carried before a justice of peace, and committed to the Gatehouse at Westminster, where he lay in the common jail till the quarter sessions in January 1651, being full twenty months, without any discharge or proceedings against him, and at that session was acquitted by proclamation, through the mercy of justice Scobell, but was detained prisoner, (until April 1652,) by Mr. Weeks, the keeper of the prison, for the rent of his lodging, for which the said keeper demanded fourteen pence a week, besides fees; and yet, (as I am credibly informed,) the old man lay on the boards in the common jail, and had no other pillow for his head, but a hard stone, for which he must now pay more than he is worth, or continue till he perish in prison, being above 86 years of age. And now I am at the Gatehouse I shall give you the supplement of a like sad story, mentioned in the twenty-first page of the first part of this Moderator, concerning a great-bellied gentlewoman, committed to prison on the 24th of June, 1651, her name upon inquiry I find was Delavall, an English woman, but her husband a Frenchman; she was committed to the Gatehouse, and with much importunity got leave by petition, to go out upon bail, till she was brought to bed, but was an actual prisoner full seven months of the twelve, which is prescribed by the statute, and the fine of one hundred marks stood charged upon her, till she was relieved by the late act of oblivion, and all this poor woman's sufferings merely grounded upon a bare supposition, that she had been at the then French agent's in Long Acre at mass, without so much as one witness that there was any mass said there at all; it being the truth of the case, (if I may believe their most serious protestations,) that they were only at their other private devotions.' See much more in this author of the unmerciful severities which the catholics endured in those days; who also informs us, that the sequestrators had so little regard to charity, or even common humanity, that they tripartited even the day-labourers' goods, and very household stuff, and have taken away two cows, where the whole stock was but three.' I shall here add my lord Castleman's list, (though imperfect in regard to several persons omitted,) of catholic noblemen and gentlemen that lost their lives for their loyalty in the quarrel of king Charles the first. A CATALOGUE OF CATHOLICS THAT LOST THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR LOYALTY. THE Earl of Carnarvan, slain at Newbury, Lord Viscount Dunbar, at Scarbro,' and first battle. two of his sons wounded. KNIGHTS. Lancashire. Sir J. Smith, banneret, (who rescued the Nich. Fortescue, knight of Malta, slain in king's standard from the rebels at Edghill, slain at Alresford, in Hampshire. Troylus Turbevil, capt.-lieut. of the king's J. Cansfield, wounded at Newbury, of life-guard, slain upon his majesty's which he died a lingering death. marching from Newark to Oxford. H. Gage, (governor of Oxford,) slain at Preston, wounded at Furnace, of which Collumbridge, Jan. 11, 1644." he died a lingering death. J. Digby, wounded at Taunton, and died at Bridgewater. J. Arth. Aston, (governor of Redding,) slain at Tredaugh in cold blood. P. Brown, wounded at Naseby, died at Thos. Tildesly, slain at Wigan. H. Slingsby, beheaded on Tower-hill. COLONELS. Col. Thos. Howard, (son of the lord Wm. valour. ed at Newbury, second battle, and died Francis Hungate, slain at Chester. Wm. Ewre, (son to the late Lord Ewre,) Thos. Morgan, of Weston, in Warwick- Cuthbert Conniers, at Malpass. Trollop, slain at Wigan. T. Dalton, of Thurnham, mortally wound- Wm. Walton, at Tredagh. Rich. Manning, at Alresford. LIEUTENANT-COLONELS. Lieut. Col. Thos. Markham, of Allerton, Middleton, at Hopton-heath. SERJEANT-MAJORS. Major Cusand, slain at the taking of Basing, in cold blood. Richard Harborn, wounded at Malpass, died at Kendal. T. Vavasor, slain at Marston Moor. Lawr. Clifton, at Shelford House. Panton, wounded at Cover, died at High-Richard Sherburn, at meadow. Hudleston, slain at York. Thomas Ewre, at Newbury 1. Holmby, at Henly. R. Norwood, slain before Taunton. CAPTAINS. Capt. Marmaduke Constable, standard, W. Symcots, Capt-Lieu. to lord Piercy, bearer to Lieutenant-General Lindsey, slain at Edghill. W. Laborn and M. Anderton, at Sheriff- Burgh, slain at Cover. slain at Newbury. 1 Thomas Singleton, at Newbury.1 Thurston Anderton, wounded at New-George Cassey, at Hereford. bury, died at Oxford. Langdale, at Greekhovel, in Wales. Haggarston, eldest son of Sir Thomas, in Carver, in Monmouthshire. Lancashire. Anthony Rigby, at Basing-house. Kenelm Digby, (eldest son of Sir Kenelm Thomas Cole, at Newark. Maximilian Nelson, at Marston Moor. Francis Godfrey, slain at Sherburn. John Clifton, at Shelford House. R. Lance, at Rowton, in Cheshire. William Jones, at Ragland. John Lingen, at Ledbury. Thos. Whittingham, at Newbury. Richard Walmsley, at Ormschurch. George Holden, at Usk. Richard Latham, at Litchfield. Thomas Charnock, at Robert Dent, at Newcastle. T. Heskith and J. Knipe, at Bindle. J. Hothersal and Nicholas Anderton, at Anthony Girlington, at Lancaster. Henry Wells, wounded at Newbury 2, Thomas Madden, slain in Wood-street by died in prison at London. Anth. Hamerton, near Manchester. the fanatics, January, 1660. INFERIOR OFFICERS. Lieuts. W. Butler, slain at Newbury. Short, slain near Gloucester. Richard Osbalston, at Leeds. George Hothersal, at Liverpool. William Girlington, at William Singleton, at Marston. Richard Bradford, at Blechington. Thomas Kingsman, at Lincoln. John Birch, at Birmicham. Staley, at Rashall-hall. Cornets-W. Culcheth, at Newbury. 184 Deinton, at Cardiff. Edward Walker, at Burton. GENTLEMEN VOLUNTEERS. Robert Bowles, at Basing. William Stoner, at Basing. James Anderton, in Wales. T. Westby, doctor of physic, at Preston Edward Davis, at Chester. Price, of Washingley, slain at Lincoln, in Roger Wood, at Chester. cold blood. Cuthbert Ratcliff, slain at Newcastle. Thomas Latham, at Newark. Andrew Giffard, at Hampton. Richard Seborn, at Ragland. William Alsley, at Wigan. Carey and Gennings, at Shelford House. Henry Lawson, at Melton. T. Craithorn the elder, at Uphaven. Three sons of Mr. Kitby, of Rancliff. William Selby, at Preston. Maj. Gen. Webb, dreadfully wounded at The names of such catholics whose estates (both real and personal,) were sold, in pursuance of an act made by the rump, July 16, 1651, for their pretended delinquency; that is, for adhering to their king. John, lord marquis of Worcester, who so valiantly defended Basing House. Henry, lord marquis of Worcester, who has been at least 300,000l. loser by the H. Singsby, beheaded at Tower-hill and Piercy Herbert, now lord Powis. Arthur Aston, governor of Reading. Rowland Eyre. Other catholics, whose estates were sold by an additional rump act, made August 4, 1652. Lance Errington. Henry Errington. |