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The document consists of two parchment sheets, the first containing the Bill, the second the Demurrer. Both sheets are clean, complete, and easy to read. The complainant is John Rye. The defendants are Francis Best, Abel Browne, and William Bundye. At issue is the theft or misappropriation of certain deeds, leases, etc, once property of John Palmer and now property of John Rye his brother in law. The leases etc are to properties on the Bankside [Paris Garden] in St Saviour. Text has been modernised, but surnames retain their original spelling. Ellipses indicate missing or unreadable text; words enclosed in {curly braces} are questionable readings. For unfamiliar terms see the Glossary.
    • The Bill of Complaint of John Rye
    • The Demurrer of Francis Best, Abel Browne, and William Bundye

The Bill of Complaint of John Rye, plaintiff

25 June 1614

To the Right Honourable Thomas, Lord Ellesmere, Lord Chancellor of England

[1] Most humbly complaining sheweth unto your honor your poor orator John Rye of the parish of St Saviour within the borough of Southwark in the county of Surrey, joiner, the natural brother of Ann, [2] the late wife & executrix of John Palmer late of the parish of St Saviour aforesaid, deceased, and administrator of the goods & chattels, rights, credits, & debts of the said John Palmer (by her the [3] said Ann not administered), which said Ann died intestate. That where the foresaid John Palmer in his lifetime & at the time of his death was lawfully possessed as of his own proper goods, chattels, [4] and estate of and in two leases of divers tenements, cottages, grounds, & hereditaments with their appurtenances in the foresaid parish of St Saviour made to the said John Palmer by one Francis Langley [5] for long terms of years yet to come & unexpired, being of the value of two hundred pounds or thereabouts to be sold. And was also possessed of divers other leases & of divers bonds, bills, [6] good & just debts, ready money, plate, jewels, & of divers other goods & chattels, trunks, chests, boxes & household stuff aswell within the said county of Surrey as within the county of [7] Devon to the value of one hundred and twenty pounds, & also of divers acquittances & releases of debts & accounts & of divers books of account & reckonings, & other books, notes, [8] writings manifesting his estate. And he the said John Palmer, of all & singular the said leases, demises, goods, chattels, bonds, bills & other the foresaid premises so being possessed [9] as aforesaid, part of the said leases, goods, chattels, & premises remaining at or in the parish of St Saviour within the diocese of Winton [= Winchester], and part in Devon within the diocese of [10] Exeter, & in divers other several places, the said John Palmer upon or about the 14th day of September in anno domini 1599 made & declared his will in writing, & thereof made [11] and ordained the foresaid Ann, then his wife, sole executrix of the same, and afterwards, upon or about the 27th of February in anno domini 1608, died thereof so [12] possessed, interessed, & entitled. By & after whose decease the said Ann by virtue thereof took upon her the administration of the said will, and afterwards, that is to say, upon [13] or about the seventh day of April in anno domini 1611 she the said Ann also died. After the decease of which said Ann the administration of all & singular the goods, chattels, rights, [14] credits & debts late of the foresaid John Palmer (by the foresaid Ann his late wife not administered) was & is lawfully & duly granted unto your said orator, to whom the same did duly appertain [15] as by the letters of administration thereof under the seal of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury ready to be shewed to this honorable court more at large doth & may appear. By reason whereof [16] your orator was & yet is justly & lawfully interessed & entitled in & to the same several goods & chattels, leases, indentures, bonds, bills, acquittances, releases, writings, debts & estate of the said John Palmer [17] and ought to have & enjoy the same accordingly for the payment of the debts of the said John Palmer, & further as in conscience & equity the same shall be fit to be disposed. But now so it is, may it [18] please your good lordship, that one Francis Best, Abel Browne, & William Bundye unlawfully combining & confederating themselves to defraud your orator of all & singular the goods, chattels, leases, [19] bonds, bills, debts, credits & estate of the said John Palmer, which amounteth in the whole to the value of three hundred & twenty pounds & more, and unlawfully to share & divide the same [20] amongst themselves, they the said Francis Best, Abel Browne, & William Bundye or some of them presently after the death of the said John Palmer & Ann his wife to that end & purpose by [21] color or pretense of some feigned title to the premises, or some part thereof, did unlawfully enter into one house of the said John Palmer situate in the parish of St Saviour aforesaid & beset the [22] said goods, chattels, bonds, bills, leases, & premises, and there fiinding divers indentures of lease, bonds, bills, releases, acquittances, books of account & other writings aforesaid concerning the [23] estate of the said John Palmer & now of right belonging to your orator as administrator of the goods & chattels, rights & credits of the said John Palmer, took the same into their or [24] some of their hands & custody, and afterwards they or some of them have made or caused to be made divers & sundry secret leases, assignments, mortgages, & conveyances of the foresaid [25] premises and do unlawfully detain & withhold the same from your said orator contrary to conscience & equity, although they & every of them have been by your said orator in friendly manner [26] oftentimes since the death of the said John Palmer & Ann his wife required to deliver the same to your said orator to whom in conscience & equity the same do duly belong, as they & every of [27] them do themselves very well know. In tender consideration whereof, and forasmuch as your said orator doth not know the certain dates, covenants, or contents of the said leases, [28] demises, or grants, nor the certain terms in them or any of them contained, nor the certain dates or covenants of the said bonds, bills, releases, writings, & other the premises, nor wherein [29] the same or any of them be contained, whether in bags, boxes, trunks, or chests, sealed or unsealed, locked or unlocked, nor the certain qualities, quantities, or values of the grounds, [30] messuages, tenements, cottages & hereditaments, goods & chattels, ready money, plate, jewels, trunks, chests, boxes & household stuff & other goods, or any of them, or the certainty of the debts owing [31] unto the said John Palmer at his death, and for that they the said Francis Best, Abel Browne, & William Bundy or some of them by such practice & confederacy as aforesaid do unlawfully conceal [32] suppress the estate of the said John Palmer, pretending unjustly to share & divide the same & every part thereof amongst themselves, & utterly to defraud & defeat your orator of & in the premises [33] contrary to all equity & good conscience, which they are very likely to effect & bring to pass, unless your orator may be relieved in this honorable court of equity. And for that your said [34] orator doth no whit doubt but if they & every of them be called into this most honorable court upon their corporal oaths they & every of them will truly discover the true estate of the [35] said John Palmer with the unjust practices thereof & where the same do remain & give divers answer to the matters wherewith they & every of them are charged in this bill, in such sort as [36] in equity and right they ought to do. May it therefore please your good lordship, the premises considered, to grant unto your said orator his majesty's most gracious writ of subpoena to be directed [37] to the said Francis Best, Abel Browne & William Bundye, thereby commanding & enjoining them & every of them at a certain day & under a certain pain therein to be limited, [38] personally to be & appear before your good lordship in his majesty's high Court of Chancery, then & there upon their corporal oaths respectively to answer to the premises & further to stand to perform & abide [39] such further order & decree in that behalf as your good lordship shall be thought most meet to stand with equity & good conscience. And your poor orator will daily pray for your honor's [40] long life in much happiness still to continue.

The Demurrer and Plea in Bar of Francis Best, Abel Browne, and William Bundye, defendants
A 'plea in bar' in Elizabethan law was a special defense raised by an accused person to stop a criminal indictment or civil action completely by denying the cause of complaint or the substantive merits of the case.


Abel Brown juratus 13 Julii 1614
Francis Best juratus 14 Julii ut supra

The demurrer and plea in barre of Francis Best, Abel Browne, and William Bundye, defendants, to the Bill of Complaint of John Rye, complainant

[1] These defendants now and at all time hereafter saving unto themselves all advantage of exception to the incertainty and insufficiency of the Bill of Complaint and of the several allegations and matters [2] therein contained, they the defendants and each of them for himself severally saith that as unto the title of the lands, tenements, goods and chattels questioned by the said Bill of Complaint, they these defendants [3] do in no sort acknowledge themselves bound to make answer unto, for that the title of the said lands, tenements, goods and chattels now questioned in the said Bill by the said complainant, [4] together with sundry suits and quarrels thereupon depending or sprung, was upon petition of this defendant Best and one John Blenckhorne, by the letters of the now lord chancellor, recommended to the hearing, [5] examination, order, or other certificate of Sir Thomas Low and Sir Edmund Bowyer, knights, who by authority of the said letters, having called aswell the said complainant before [6] them, as the said Blenckhorne and every of these defendants, and often and deliberately heard and considered of the said matter in controversy, being in effect no more than is now inserted [7] in the said Bill of Complaint. They the said committees did thereupon make and deliver up their certificate to his lordship in these words following, viz with remembrance of our humble duties to [8] your honorable lordship, whereas upon the humble petition of John Blenckhorne and Francis Best made to your honorable lordships suggesting that certain differences between them, John Rye, and [9] Dennis Sherringham touching a lease if certain tenements lying on the Bankside in the county of Surrey had formerly been referred to us by their consents, and that we had set [10] down an award for the quiet compounding thereof. And notwithstanding the said Rye and Sherringham sued the petitioners in three several actions, the said Rye commencing suit in [11] forma pauperis, the other by privilege in the Common Pleas, whereupon it pleased your lordship to write your letter rrequiring us to call the said parties before us and to examine in whose [12] default the said award was not performed, and thereupon to take further order as the case in justice and equity should require. We humbly certify the case to be that the said Rye and [13] Best, pretending both of them title to a lease of certain houses standing in Paris Garden aforesaid, and certain goods late one Pallmer's, the said Rye conveyed his interest and [14] title to Dennis Sherringham and John Blenchorne for the better trial of his title, after which [...] whereof after many troubles with divers suits were commenced on both parts for deciding whereof after many trials [15] and expenses, Blenchorne, Rye, and Best referred their differences to us to award and order whereupon we, knowing the poverty of Best and Rye, were desirous to make peace between [16] them and thereupon in presence of all those parties we heard their allegations and proof produced, at what time the said Rye and Blenchorne had counsel learned in the law, and upon full hearing [17] thereof we conceived our opinions that Best had good title to the leases and goods, yet in respect Rye was poor and Blenckhorne had been at great charges in prosecuting suits, we awarded, [18] with both their consents, that Best should pay Blenckhorne the sum of threescore and six pounds, eight shillings, and four pence at several times, and that Rye should only rely upon Blenckhorne [19] for his satisfaction according to his own desire; and upon security for payment Rye and Blenckhorne were to pass all their interest in the leases and goods to the said Best, and Blenckhorne [20] to be bound to save Best harmless from Dennis Sherringham as by the said award appeareth. Sithence which time we understand that Best hath satisfied and paid to Blenckhorne [21] full payment of the same award the sum of three and forty pounds, and that as yet Rye hath received nothing, which hath occasioned as we think these suits against Best and others [22] whom Blenckhorne standeth bound unto. May it please your honor to be advertised that upon receiving your lordship's letters we have conferred with the said Blenckhorne and challenged him [23] to have dealt hardly with Rye in that he had paid him no part of the said money, whereupon he answered that he was and is ready to yield him any satisfaction we think fit to allow [24] him. But Rye being talked withall by us and shewed that our purpose was that Blenckhorne should make him such satisfaction as we thought to allow him, he refused the same and requireth the [25] re-examination of the cause again, which we having already effectually done according to our best understanding, and Rye bound to observe the same, we held it contrary to your [26] honor's direction, and therefore we did not meddle therein. And so having truly related our proceedings, we humbly take our leave, the 9th of July 1614, your honor's in all [27] duty to be commanded, Thomas Low, Edmund Bowyer. As in by the said Certificate so returned and further doth appear, by comparing of which said proceedings and certificate together [28] with the Bill of Complaint exhibited into this court against these defendants, it manifestly appeareth to these defendants, the matter so formerly referred and certified into this court is all [...]and [29] the same matter, and no new matter added thereunto, whereby these defendants, by information of their learned counsel, do rest satisfied) that until the pleasure of this court be known and such order [30] had for ratifying or disannulling the said certificate, they these defendants ought not to answer this Bill of Complaint appearing upon the reason aforesaid to be exhibited, rather upon [31] malice or for vexation of these defendants than any just cause or color. In respect whereof, as for that this said Bill of Complaint tendeth to a re-examination of the matters so certified by the [32] said committees, which they have ertified to the be contrary to the direction of his lordahip, these defendants do forbear to give any further answer unto the said Bill of Complaint [33] but do abide and demur in law thereupon, and demand the judgment of this honorable court whether they shall be compelled to make any further answer thereunto, all which these defendants [34] are ready to aver and prove as this honorable court shall award, and most humbly pray to be hence dismissed with their reasonable costs and charges in this behalf most [35] wrongfully sustained.