Armorials: B. 18-23, B. 28-29. Particularly significant medieval rolls of arms are in B. 29, B. 22 and B. 23.
B. 29 contains three medieval painted rolls of arms: Povey's Roll (time of Edward II); the Heralds' Roll (c 1270-1280), the surviving portion (195 shields) of a larger original (a 15th copy in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, contains 697 shields); Talbot banners (c 1442). Both Povey's Roll and the Heralds' Roll were painted on vellum but the shields have been cut out and mounted on paper.
B. 22 contains three mid to late medieval rolls of arms: Bowyer's Book (c 1440); Collingborne's Book (late 15th century), and Basynge's Book (c 1395).
B. 23 is an early 15th-century German roll of arms.
B. 19 includes the Mandeville Roll, c 1460.
B. 20 consists of 16th century copies of originals including an enlarged version of the c 1312 Parliamentary Roll and the 1308 first Dunstable Roll.
For descriptions of the rolls in B. 22 and B. 29, see Wagner, A Catalogue of English Medieval Rolls of Arms (1950).
Original records of the Court of the Exchequer: B. 13, B. 25-26, B. 32-33.
B. 33, B. 25 and B. 26 are accounts relating to payments out of the Exchequer of pensions and fees, B. 33 in the time of King Philip and Queen Mary II and B. 25-26 in 1603. B. 13 and B. 32 are lists of crown leases for the years 1558 to 1570. Some extraneous material has been bound into B. 32 after it left official custody.
Extracts from records: B. 1-12, B. 14-17, B. 24, B.30-31, B. 34 (late 15th century to early 17th century). Extracts from medieval records including Parliament rolls, patent rolls, charter rolls, close rolls, summonses to Parliament, lists of escheats, lists of grantees of lands by the Crown and tenants-in-chief, foreign rolls, and the red book of the Exchequer.
Original documents: B. 27, grant of subsidy for the archdiocese of York (1601); B. 35, location index of monastic muniments, St Augustine's Canterbury (15th century); and B. 36, the Roger Cartulary (15th-16th century)
B. 20bis, an early 16th century historical and heraldic commonplace book mostly in the hand of Sir Richard St George (died 1635 as Clarenceux King of Arms), does not form part of Povey's donation and in 1700 was in the possession of Sir Henry St George (Clarenceux King of Arms, later Garter King of Arms).
Bowyer , William , died 1569-1570 , public servant and antiquary Bowyer , Robert , died 1622 , public servant Povey , Sir , Thomas , Knight , 1613-c 1702, colonial entrepreneur and administrator